"What?"
Minato and his companions were stunned by the scene before them. They couldn't believe that the enormous, once-unrivaled puppet monster was knocked over by a single strike from this beautiful silver-haired girl. The giant puppet was sent flying, flipping in the air before crashing to the ground.
How much chakra must it take to achieve such a feat? This level of power was far beyond what someone of her age should possess. Even Minato himself doubted he could manage such a thing.
Who exactly is this girl? He had never seen her in Konoha before. Could she, like Mukade, have traveled here from the future?
"Are you...?" Sara stared in disbelief at the beautiful silver-haired girl, momentarily dazed. "Are you the person from the underground palace?" She finally remembered that the girl she had encountered in the underground palace a few days ago was standing before her.
Kaguya nodded. Before she could speak, the ground began to tremble, causing rocks and sand to shift and sending dust swirling into the air.
Everyone tensed, their faces showing concern as they all turned their eyes toward the puppet.
The monster puppet, which had been knocked down, was getting back up again. Its injuries had completely vanished.
"You can't defeat me. Just surrender quietly," the monster puppet said with a sinister laugh, its large, noisy voice grating on everyone's nerves.
"It seems the only way to defeat it is to shut down the Dragon Veins," Minato said gravely.
"I know where to shut down the Dragon Veins. Follow me," Sara said with a determined look. "I'll take you there."
"No," Minato shook his head slightly. "This monster won't let us get there easily. We'll stay here and hold it off. You go shut down the Dragon Veins." Minato turned to Kaguya as he spoke.
This was exactly what Kaguya wanted. Her goal was the Dragon Veins. She nodded and said, "Leave it to me."
"Good, there's no time to waste. Go now," Minato said seriously, drawing his kunai.
"Follow me. I know where the Dragon Veins is," Sara called, running ahead and waving for Kaguya to follow.
Kaguya didn't hesitate and quickly followed Sara.
"I won't let you reach the Dragon Veins, Sara," the monster puppet roared, shaking loose dust and debris as it raised its giant claws and lunged towards Sara. The puppet's claws tore through the surrounding walls of the tower, sending rubble flying and creating a thick cloud of dust.
"Save your words until you've beaten us," said Choza Akimichi and Shibi Aburame, who had already positioned themselves in front of the monster puppet.
As the puppet charged forward, Shibi Aburame's expression grew serious, and he quickly formed hand seals.
"Insect Clone Technique!"
Suddenly, the ground erupted with mud and sand, transforming into countless tentacles that shot into the sky and then descended, wrapping around the charging monster puppet. The puppet found itself immobilized, stuck as if in a quagmire.
In reality, it wasn't soil and sand, but rather Shibi Aburame's insects. These insects had disguised themselves as soil, and when the monster puppet charged forward, it fell right into this trap.
"The ground... since when?" The monster puppet roared in surprise, writhing its massive body in an attempt to break free from the sea of insects. But the insects swarmed in greater numbers, crawling over the monster puppet like layers of chocolate coating a cake. The puppet's movements grew slower and slower until it finally stopped.
"You monster, you're finished," Shibi Aburame said, forming hand seals as chakra swirled around him. "My insects can devour any chakra. The rest is up to you, Choza."
"Leave it to me." Choza pounded his fists together and charged at the monster puppet, swallowing a black pill from his pocket. As soon as he ingested the pill, his body swelled, growing even larger than the puppet.
Choza leapt into the air, interlocking his fingers and bringing them down with tremendous force.
"Boom!"
The monster puppet was struck by Choza's heavy blow, crashing to the ground. Choza grabbed its tail, roaring as he swung it around and smashed it down again.
"Great!" Shibi clenched his fist in triumph.
As the dust settled, the monster puppet's form reappeared.
Suddenly, the puppet's eyes, still covered by insects, snapped open, emitting a green light. At the same time, a bolt of lightning shot down from the tower above, crackling like a silver serpent as it struck the puppet.
The insects covering the puppet began to wither visibly, falling to the ground in a shriveled heap.
"What?" Choza and Shibi were shocked, unable to believe what they were seeing.
The monster puppet roared, stamping its foot with a force that shattered the ground beneath it. It launched itself like a cannonball towards the two ninjas.
"Puppet Whirlwind Punch!"
While they fought the monster puppet, Kaguya and Sara were racing towards the Dragon Veins, located in a towering structure.
Inside the tower, the space was vast, supported by dozens of stone pillars. In the center was a high platform connected by a narrow path. Four stone statues stood at the corners of the platform, facing a semi-circular object in the middle.
Kaguya found the scene familiar. Suddenly, it clicked in her mind—this was the same platform she had encountered when she first arrived.
"This is the Dragon Veins," Sara said excitedly to Kaguya. "As long as I close it—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Sara's smile froze. Her pupils lost focus, her gaze grew vacant, and she wobbled before collapsing into a soft embrace.
"I'm sorry," Kaguya whispered, her eyelids lowered. She cast her eyes toward the central platform.