Naruto, still reeling from the shock of Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique, barely had time to process the experience before he heard Minato's words. According to Minato, this powerful Anbu ninja known as "Moon" could easily deal with the formidable Mukade.
'No way!' Naruto thought, feeling a surge of disbelief.
But Aizen, unfazed by Naruto's astonishment, quickly formed hand seals. "Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"
Boom!
A massive torrent of water surged forth like a tidal wave, towering tens of meters high! With an unstoppable force, it crashed toward the giant puppet, overwhelming it completely.
"Damn it! With such a massive Water Style, even my puppet's chakra absorption ability can't handle this much water at once!" Mukade cursed, realizing that even his colossal puppet was powerless against the sheer volume of water. The waves engulfed the puppet, dragging it into the watery depths.
"Water Style: Vortex Water Blade!"
Aizen wasn't done yet. His second Water Style ninjutsu immediately followed.
The water surrounding the giant puppet began to spin violently, forming a massive whirlpool with the puppet at its center.
Chi chi chi.
Within the whirlpool, the water morphed into razor-sharp jets, emitting a continuous, piercing sound! Unlike the singular A-rank Hard Vortex Water Blade, the Vortex Water Blade was a large-scale A-rank Water Style ninjutsu!
The whirlpool, spinning with countless water jets, relentlessly shredded the giant puppet, reducing it to fragments!
Gulp!
Even Naruto, with his usually fearless nature, couldn't help but swallow hard. 'What's the difference between being caught in that whirlpool and being thrown into a giant meat grinder?'
However, despite the devastating power of Aizen's Water Style, the dragon vein's energy was formidable in its own right. The giant puppet began to reassemble itself, its broken parts reforming as purple chakra surged within it, preparing to break free from the whirlpool's grip!
"Ah!"
Aizen scoffed at the puppet's futile resistance. Forming another set of seals, he quickly unleashed two more jutsu.
"Water Style: Magic Mist Technique!"
"Genjutsu: Darkness Technique!"
Above the lake created by Aizen's Water Style, a thick fog and impenetrable darkness descended simultaneously, shrouding the entire area in obscurity!
With its vision completely blocked and its mind disturbed by the powerful genjutsu, Mukade found himself unable to gather the dragon vein's chakra, trapped entirely in Aizen's dark illusion!
"Incredible...!" Naruto stammered, his voice filled with awe as he watched Mukade—who had previously seemed invincible—rendered helpless by Aizen's swift and precise attacks.
"Moon, your Water Style is getting stronger and stronger, especially when combined with that Darkness Technique. Even I would find it challenging to deal with!" Minato exclaimed, genuinely impressed by the display.
"That's kind of you to say, but if we're talking about difficult techniques, your Flying Thunder God is the real game-changer! With time-space ninjutsu like that, no shinobi would want to face you in battle," Aizen replied modestly.
As Aizen and Minato exchanged compliments, their words brought Naruto out of his stunned state.
"So strong! These two are unbelievably strong! Whether it's the time-space ninjutsu from earlier or Moon's Water Style and genjutsu, even in the village of my time, no one matches this level! Who are they, really? With such power, and being close to my age, they can't be nobodies in Konoha's history!"
Naruto's mind raced with curiosity as he looked at Aizen and Minato.
Of course, Aizen and Namikaze Minato were still Anbu operatives, and even Naruto wasn't so dense as to ask them directly about their true identities. He knew that they wouldn't reveal such information freely.
So, instead of pressing the issue, Naruto wisely kept his curiosity to himself.
As they continued their conversation, Minato couldn't help but occasionally glance at Naruto, his future son, with growing curiosity. The more he observed, the more intrigued he became.
It wasn't long before Sāra and the others managed to sever the connection between the dragon vein and Mukade.
Aizen and Minato, both possessing formidable perception abilities, immediately sensed the moment the dragon vein was disconnected.
Afterward, Aizen dispelled the illusion, revealing the battered and broken giant puppet.
With Minato's assistance, Naruto formed a Rasengan, delivering the final blow that completely obliterated Mukade.
"This is the most foolish villain I've encountered since I arrived in this world," Aizen mused inwardly, finding it somewhat anticlimactic that Mukade had been defeated so easily.
With Mukade dealt with, Aizen and Minato—"father and son"—made their way to the core sealing chamber of the dragon veins.
As soon as they arrived, they immediately noticed a suspicious figure lurking in the shadows.
Aizen and Minato exchanged a brief, knowing glance, and Aizen gestured that he would handle it.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
Without hesitation, Aizen unleashed a series of high-pressure water jets that effortlessly sliced through the stone wall, revealing the figure hiding within.
"Captain Yamato!" Naruto shouted anxiously, recognizing the unfortunate individual who had been struck.
Before anyone could fully process what had happened, Naruto rushed over and pulled out the severely injured Yamato.
Luckily for Yamato, Aizen's attack had been relatively restrained. Had Aizen been in his Reiatsu-empowered state, the outcome would have been far more dire.
Yamato had managed to shift his body just enough to avoid a fatal blow, thanks to his Elite Jōnin reflexes.
"Captain Yamato, why were you hiding there? You almost got yourself killed!" Naruto scolded, though it was more out of concern than anger.
He didn't blame Aizen at all—Yamato's behavior had been suspicious enough to warrant such an attack. Naruto understood that, had Aizen accidentally killed Yamato, it would have been a regrettable but understandable mistake.
Yamato, still coughing up blood as Naruto tended to his wounds, couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness.
Unlike Naruto, Yamato had maintained absolute vigilance from the moment he found himself in this strange time and place. He had been hiding around the area of the dragon vein seal, knowing it was the key to returning to their own time.
He had noticed Naruto earlier, but the unfamiliar ninjas accompanying him had made Yamato wary. So, he had chosen to remain hidden.
In the end, it was simply his bad luck that had led to this unfortunate encounter.
After Naruto explained the situation, Minato and the others learned of Yamato's identity and relaxed their guard against him.
With that misunderstanding cleared up, it was time to seal the dragon veins once and for all.