"Minato, let me follow that boy secretly. I don't think they're very reliable," Aizen suggested, a hint of calculation in his voice.
"This... well, alright. But it'll be tough on you, Aizen," Namikaze Minato considered the proposal and, finding it reasonable, agreed.
With that, Minato departed with his two squad leaders, leaving Aizen to his own devices.
Aizen watched as Minato's figure disappeared into the distance, then turned his attention toward the direction Naruto had taken.
A twisted smile crept across his face.
The events proceeded much like the original timeline.
After catching up with Sāra, Naruto encountered women and children pleading with Sāra to bring back the young men of Rōran. This encounter began to sow seeds of doubt in Sāra's mind, causing her to consider Namikaze Minato's earlier warnings.
Then, with the persuasive power of Naruto's determined words.
He took Sāra to witness the puppets operating in the festival. Seeing this, Sāra finally began to believe in Naruto.
In the end, Sāra and Naruto decided to work together to defeat Mukade and save Rōran.
Using her royal lineage, Sāra successfully sensed the transit station of the dragon vein.
It was at this moment that Mukade finally revealed himself.
Unlike the frail figure from the original movie, Mukade had grown noticeably corpulent after serving as Rōran's minister for several years.
However, this wasn't due to indulgence. Aizen could sense the truth—Mukade had transformed himself into a puppet!
His body's internal structure was filled with countless mechanical parts.
As Mukade appeared and boldly proclaimed his ambition to conquer the world.
The naive and trusting Sāra tried to convince him to stop.
But Mukade cruelly revealed that he was the one who had killed her mother, leaving Sāra devastated.
Seeing her weakened state, Mukade naturally attempted to eliminate Sāra to prevent her from cutting off the dragon vein.
But how could Naruto, with his strong sense of justice, allow this to happen?
As expected, Naruto leapt into action, just as he did in the original story, battling against Mukade's puppet army.
Unfortunately, Mukade, now empowered by the dragon vein, was beyond Naruto's ability to handle...
Naruto soon found himself trapped within one of Mukade's giant puppets.
Perfect opportunity!
Seeing Naruto incapacitated, Aizen's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
This was the moment he had been waiting for!
"Shatter! Kyōka Suigetsu!"
A low, resonant hum filled the air, accompanied by a flash of blue light!
In an instant, Sāra, Mukade, and Naruto fell under the hypnotic spell of Kyōka Suigetsu!
A thick mist began to envelop the entire area, shrouding the transit station in a dense fog...
With their perceptions thoroughly confused—including those of the hidden Hyuga brothers—Aizen's overwhelming spiritual power delved deep into Naruto's consciousness...
Drip... Drip...
Aizen found himself in a spiritual space bathed in an eerie orange glow, filled with metal pipes and stagnant water.
"So, this is the Nine-Tails' sealed space. It seems what I'm seeking lies within!"
Recognizing the familiar surroundings, Aizen's spiritual form advanced, his mind racing with possibilities.
He continued deeper into Naruto's subconscious, following the ominous path.
Before long, Aizen arrived at the massive sealed gate...
Roar!!
A ferocious roar echoed through the space, resonating from within the depths of the seal.
As Aizen approached the massive sealed door, an earth-shattering roar erupted from within, shaking the entire space.
Then, dark red chakra, thick and ominous like flowing blood, surged from the seal and rushed toward Aizen, enveloping him in its malevolent energy.
"The power of the Nine-Tails is truly extraordinary," Aizen muttered, his expression turning serious as he felt the immense hatred and ominous chakra pressing down on him.
Even though this was only half of the Nine-Tails' yang chakra, its strength was still formidable—enough to nearly overwhelm Pain's Deva Path with the power of just six tails during the battle against the Six Paths of Pain.
The might of the greatest of the tailed beasts was not something to be taken lightly, and Aizen could feel the intense pressure.
But Aizen wasn't one to back down easily. He wasn't here just to chat with Namikaze Minato about the Rasengan for nothing. With his cunning, Aizen could extract value even from the most unlikely sources.
And when it came to the Rasengan—a technique with immense potential once the chakra's form was pushed to its limits—Aizen saw even greater possibilities.
"Sealing Technique: Phoenix Seal!"
Aizen's body emanated a unique spiritual energy that transformed into dark purple runes, which then spread out and surged toward the Nine-Tails within the seal.
As the dark red chakra of the Nine-Tails clashed with the dark purple runes, it reacted as if lava were meeting ice, melting away instantly.
Sensing the imminent danger, the Nine-Tails stirred in its cage, its nine tails thrashing wildly, and its massive, mountain-like form came into view.
Dark red chakra surged across its body, attempting to resist the encroaching purple runes.
But no matter how fiercely the Nine-Tails fought, the purple runes clung to its form like a parasite, binding it.
The Nine-Tails snarled and struggled, but soon enough, its immense strength faltered, and it collapsed onto the ground, weakened.
"Hmph! What is your connection to the Uzumaki clan?"
The Nine-Tails, its enormous red eyes burning with violence, turned its head with difficulty to glare at Aizen through the seal.
The Fengyang Seal—a technique designed specifically to suppress yang chakra within a ninja's body—was unmistakable. Among the Uzumaki clan, this sealing technique was once used to punish and imprison their own criminals. It was also one of the most effective counters against the Nine-Tails in its current state.
After all, the Nine-Tails was now composed solely of yang chakra.
Aizen had prepared this technique specifically for this encounter.
"Who am I? That's not something you need to concern yourself with," Aizen replied dismissively. "I'm here simply to take something precious from Uzumaki Naruto."
As Aizen spoke, his spiritual power continued to probe deeper into the consciousness space.
"Something precious? Aside from me, the only thing of value in that fool is the blood of his Uzumaki lineage. Is that what you're after?"
The Nine-Tails, noticing that Aizen seemed indifferent to its presence, began to speculate, its curiosity piqued by this mysterious intruder.
"Of course not," Aizen responded, still searching the space. "While the Uzumaki bloodline is indeed valuable, it pales in comparison to what I'm truly after."
The Nine-Tails remained skeptical, its unease growing. Despite Aizen's calm demeanor, the beast sensed something amiss and became wary once more, suspecting that Aizen might covet its own power.
Noticing the Nine-Tails' reaction, Aizen's expression shifted slightly, and he cast a glance at the giant fox.
"Nine-Tails, I didn't expect you to be so self-centered," Aizen remarked a hint of amusement in his voice.
The Nine-Tails shot Aizen a cold glare, certain that the intruder was simply toying with it. After all, if there was something within Naruto that surpassed its own power, how could it not be aware of it?
"Hmm?"
But just as the Nine-Tails was stewing in its thoughts, Aizen's probing finally uncovered an anomaly deep within the consciousness space.