Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

The blade was drawn from the seal, and the dense energy of the Ryūmyaku vein immediately surged again like a heartbeat, flowing through the surrounding rune network and spreading power throughout the entire city.

However, because of the blade's power, the Sealed Eye on the Ryūmyaku vein, which was half-closed, fully opened. 

A massive eye unleashed a powerful stream of chakra, like a pillar of purple fire, stretching from earth to sky. 

In the dim cave, it formed a radiant purple beam, dazzling like a starry sky.

Under everyone's gaze, Kagetsu swung the long blade in her hand toward the purple beam. As the blade sliced through the light, a purple crystal fell from the beam.

In an instant, the brilliant purple light dissolved into glowing specks and faded away completely.

The massive eye on the ground slowly closed.

"What is this?" Baki asked, staring at the large purple crystal that had fallen to the ground.

"It's the energy removed from the Ryūmyaku vein after it was stabilized," Kagetsu explained, looking at the waist-high purple crystal in front of him.

The Ryūmyaku vein's power spans the entire continent, and Rōran is just one of its most active nodes. 

If he tampered with its energy too much, any imbalance could cause Rōran to vanish completely from the world.

It might even trigger earthquakes or other disasters in the Land of Wind.

"Huh? Sakura, why are you glowing?" Naruto suddenly pointed at Haruno Sakura, surprised. Her body was glowing with a soft, milky white light, and particles of it shimmered outward like stardust.

"You're glowing too, Naruto," Sai added from behind him.

"It seems we're about to leave this place. Thank you for all your help," Yamato said, realizing that this was the sign they were about to return to their own world.

Aside from Sakura and Naruto, both Yamato and Sai were also emitting the same glowing aura.

Moments later, their bodies dissolved into particles and vanished before everyone's eyes, bidding farewell to this unfamiliar world.

Kagetsu's heart stirred, and instinctively, he glanced toward the seal of Mukade. He faintly sensed a slight shift in the seal's power, but the feeling seemed more like a fleeting illusion, a random impulse.

After hesitating for a moment, he chose not to open the seal or investigate the source of this foreboding sensation.

"The mission is finally complete."

Baki looked around at the now quiet underground space, letting out a soft sigh of relief. This mission had been full of twists and turns, leaving him mentally and physically drained.

Now he understood why the Sunagakure who infiltrated here never made it out alive, unable to send word back before disappearing without a trace.

He even thought that if it hadn't been for Lord Kazekage gathering powerful forces and personally leading the team, no matter how many Anbu ninjas were sent, it would have been futile.

Just the number of puppets in Mukade's control was enough to start a small-scale war.

He was even relieved that this mission was a joint operation with Konoha, because if he had led the team alone, there wouldn't have been a good outcome.

At least, he didn't have complete confidence in defeating Mukade in a direct confrontation.

Kagetsu led them out of the underground and up to the surface of Roran. This time, they weren't attacked by any puppets. 

Instead, the ground around them was scattered with broken puppet parts. Some seemed to have fallen from great heights after losing energy, their bodies shattered and scattered all over.

The entire street was eerily empty. Even though it was broad daylight, and the environment seemed better than Sunagakure, there were no living people around. It felt like a beautiful, yet oppressive and unsettling ghost town.

But soon, scattered figures appeared on the street. These were the citizens of Roran who had come out after seeing the puppets lose control.

Neither Kagetsu nor Baki paid any attention to them. This country would likely be in chaos for a while.

With the Ryūmyaku vein sealed, the barrier covering the entire Roran nation lost its energy and dissipated, allowing Kagetsu and the others to leave the country smoothly.

"Really, thank you, Kagetsu-kun. If it weren't for you, this mission would've failed," Baki, now holding the puppet secrets stolen from Sunagakure, sincerely thanked Kagetsu as they left.

The alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure was not strong; it was more of a temporary compromise.

For the prosperous Konoha, the Sunagakure, like other villages, had their own special plans. During the Second Ninja World War, they almost managed to steal from Konoha, but their luck ran out when they encountered the White Fang of Konoha, who turned the tide.

However, after experiencing this joint mission, Baki clearly felt the difference between Konoha and the Sunagakure.

No matter how weak Konoha seemed at the moment, its situation was still better than that of the Sunagakure. Because Sunagakure was much weaker than Konoha!

What was worse, Konoha still had its top-tier ninjs. The return of the Legendary Sannins, the new generation with the Yellow Flash, the wicked-eyed Fugaku, Shisui of the Body Flicker, and others like Kakashi.

Once the war ended, Konoha would train its lower-tier ninjas again and soon become powerful once more.

But what about the Sunagakure?

The Third Kazekage was missing and most likely dead. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, led the Sunagakure in repelling Cloud Ninja attacks.

Chiyo and Ebizō were old, and after the war with the Cloud Ninja, they even wanted to retire from their elder positions.

The Scorch Release user, Pakura, was another card for Sunagakure, but Baki, being close to Rasa, knew that Pakura, who failed to become Kazekage, was not accepted by the higher-ups of Sunagakure, and was left out of the core.

As for the new generation, the only noteworthy figure was Sasori of the Red Sand. 

But he frequently went missing, and especially now, he had been gone for years, even missing the war between the Sunagakure and Cloud Ninja.

If it weren't for Chiyo's face, his bounty would have been posted all over the underground black market.

Even though Baki firmly believed in the future of the Sunagakure, he couldn't deny that, compared to them, Konoha had much deeper roots and stronger talent.

Especially with the Daimyo of the Land of Wind displeased with the effects of the war, cutting the military budget repeatedly, forcing even the Kazekage to occasionally use his Magnet Release to extract gold to make up for the village's expenses.

"Please tell the Kazekage that Konoha and Sunagakure can cooperate on many matters. For example, we can use Wood Release and Ryūmyaku vein power to help improve the environment of the Land of Wind.

We understand the difficulties Sunagakure is facing now. We can help you out of this predicament." Kagetsu extended his hand to Baki.

"Of course, this is just my personal intention. Specifically, I need to discuss it with Orochimaru-sensei. Once I get his permission and both sides are in agreement, we will send delegations to communicate."

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