Uchiha Seiryu [247-249] (Patreon)

Chapter 247: Is This My Son?

"Alright! Then let's head to the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Roran together tomorrow!" Naruto said, slapping Gaara's shoulder and making a decision.

"Hey, Naruto, don't mess around—ah, whatever. Roran's been deserted for so long, nothing bad should happen there," Jiraiya tried to warn Naruto not to be reckless, but seeing the boy clearly set on his plan, he gave up. If Naruto were the type to listen to advice, Jiraiya wouldn't be here in the desert instead of relaxing in the hot springs of the Land of Hot Water.

The next morning, after waking up, Naruto and Gaara set out for the ruins of Roran.

When they neared the site, Naruto looked up at the structures, now almost completely eroded by wind and sand but still showing traces of their former grandeur. He stared absent-mindedly before turning to Gaara.

"Gaara, do you know why this place ended up like this?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I'm not sure either," Gaara replied.

"When the decline started, neither of you were even born, so it's normal you don't know," Jiraiya chimed in, explaining, "The ancient kingdom of Roran once built a brilliant civilization in this desert, powered by a special energy source that operated their puppet technology. But when the energy ran out, they couldn't sustain such a large nation, so Roran fell into ruin."

Jiraiya's face showed a trace of sadness as he finished.

"Special energy?" Naruto was puzzled. What kind of power could build such a grand empire, then cause its collapse when it disappeared? Somehow, Naruto had a feeling this might be connected to his father, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

At that moment, Jiraiya reminisced, "It was around the time your father came here on a mission. The Third Hokage suspected it was related to your father, but neither he nor his teammates could remember exactly what happened on that mission."

The three wandered through Roran's ruins and soon reached a half-collapsed tower standing alone in the desert.

Naruto stared at the tower, feeling a mysterious urge to go inside.

After a moment's thought, he stepped in. Jiraiya and Gaara followed.

Inside, after making their way through the dark, Naruto reached the center of the tower. When light finally appeared again, he found himself in a room with faded sealing jutsu symbols covering the floor.

Naruto scratched his head, looking at the seals, and said uncertainly, "Is this... the Five Elements Seal?"

"Who taught you sealing? That's clearly an Eight Trigrams Seal," Jiraiya quipped after inspecting the room.

"Oh, so it's the Eight Trigrams Seal," Naruto said, sticking out his tongue. "No wonder it looked familiar."

"This must be where Minato came back then," Jiraiya said. "Back then, only your parents could use the Eight Trigrams Seal. But why does it look like this seal's been broken?"

Naruto stared at the center of the room, where the remaining seal symbols converged around a special kunai stuck in the ground.

"Shinobi Ai-No-Ken?" Jiraiya recognized the three-pronged kunai with a text "shinobi Ai-No-Ken" immediately—it was unique in the ninja world.

"This... is my dad's kunai?" Naruto asked Jiraiya.

"Yes," Jiraiya nodded.

With his question answered, Naruto reached for the kunai.

"Wait!" Jiraiya called out.

But in the next instant, Naruto felt his chakra resonate with the lingering chakra in the kunai, and a blinding white light flashed before his eyes.

No one knew how long it took before they slowly woke up.

When they came to, they looked around.

"Is this... the same place as before?" Jiraiya recognized the room, but now the kunai and sealing marks were gone. The room seemed newer, and a purple pillar of light now stood where the kunai had been, radiating powerful chakra.

Suddenly, the sound of a crowd came from outside. The three exchanged shocked glances.

"Are there other people here?" 

They rushed toward the noise, but when they emerged from the tower, they were stunned—the dead ruins were replaced by towering, unusual buildings.

Before they could process this, three massive puppets attacked from behind.

"Careful!" Jiraiya shouted.

The three dodged the attack and turned to face the puppets.

"Puppets?" Jiraiya frowned. "That big?"

While he was still marveling at the puppets' size, Naruto and Gaara were already engaged in battle.

Naruto dodged an attack, then struck a puppet with his wind-infused kick, leaving a crack on its steel body. But the puppet didn't slow down.

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara weaved hand signs, summoning sand to bind the puppet. He felt its immense strength struggling inside the sand.

Gaara frowned, tightening his grip. The sand pressed down with a grinding noise—but even this attack, which would have crushed an ordinary ninja, wasn't working well on these metal puppets.

"You two! Don't use brute force! Find the chakra threads connecting the puppets and cut them!" Jiraiya called. He was frustrated that these two, both jinchuriki, didn't know the basics—especially Gaara, coming from the puppet-using Sand Village.

"Chakra threads?" Naruto inspected the puppet and soon spotted faint blue threads at its back, nearly invisible in the sunlight.

"Who's controlling these things?" Jiraiya wondered as he dodged attacks. These puppets were tougher than any he'd seen, and normally, puppet masters had to stay close due to chakra loss over distance.

But no matter how he looked, he couldn't find the puppeteer.

After Jiraiya's reminder, Naruto and Gaara cut the chakra threads, and the giant puppets collapsed. The three sighed in relief.

Just then, a kunai came flying toward them.

Naruto and Gaara reacted instantly, but Jiraiya stopped them, his face filled with disbelief.

As the kunai drew near, a golden figure flashed by, caught the kunai, and in the blink of an eye, grabbed Jiraiya's arm.

In the next second, all four vanished.

...

When Naruto came to, he found himself in a secluded alley, finally able to see the person who had rescued them: a blond man in a special mask.

The man removed the mask—Naruto was stunned by the face he saw.

"Jiraiya-sensei, why are you here?" Minato Namikaze asked.

"Mi... Minato?" Jiraiya was momentarily dazed, but quickly noticed something odd.

[Wait... this Minato looks way younger than when he became the Fourth Hokage. So... this is the past?]

"Jiraiya-sensei? Why are you looking at me like that?" Minato wondered. He hadn't noticed any change in Jiraiya's appearance—Jiraiya always looked older than his age anyway.

"Da... Dad?" Naruto suddenly called out.

Although this Minato looked younger than the one he'd met in the Nine-Tails' seal, the chakra was unmistakable—this was his father.

Minato: ???

 What's going on, why is this kid calling me dad?

 Minato turned to Jiraiya, "Jiraiya-sensei, who are these kids?"

"Uh, Minato, they're..." Jiraiya hesitated, unsure if revealing their identities would affect the timeline.

But Naruto blurted out, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! The Fourth Hokage's son—your son!"

"Hey! Naruto!" Jiraiya tried to stop him.

"Uzumaki... Naruto?" Minato looked at Naruto in disbelief. Now that he looked closer, the blond hair and facial features did resemble his lover, Kushina Uzumaki.

[So... is it true? Is he really my son?] Minato stared at Naruto, dazed.

"Minato, to avoid disrupting history, I won't explain too much. Let's just say we've come here from about twenty years in the future," Jiraiya said, deciding not to hide it anymore.

"I see," Minato nodded, but his face showed he was far from calm. He and Kushina were still just dating, and suddenly a son this old had appeared—anyone would find it hard to accept.

"Minato, can you tell me what your mission here is?" Jiraiya asked. He now realized why Minato's mission report was so vague—Minato must have sealed this memory to avoid altering the future.

"This mission... Jiraiya-sensei, come with me. I'll explain after we regroup with Choza and Shibi," Minato said.

"Alright," Jiraiya nodded.

"So, this is... twenty years in the past?" Gaara, who hadn't spoken much, suddenly looked up and asked.

Chapter 248: The Power of the Dragon Vein

"Yes, but... what do you want to do?" Jiraiya asked Gaara warily.

"I... I want to see my mother," Gaara said honestly, a little embarrassed by his request.

The responses were very different.

Naruto grinned and slapped Gaara's shoulder. "That's all? I'll go with you later."

"No, Naruto," Jiraiya said seriously, "If we act recklessly in the past, we could cause huge changes to history and the future."

"Ero-sennin, do you have proof of that?" Naruto scratched his head.

"Uh..." Jiraiya was stumped. It was just his guess.

"Jiraiya-sensei, who is this kid?" Minato asked Gaara's identity.

"The future Fourth Kazekage's son, and the One-Tails jinchuriki from the Sand Village," Jiraiya explained, figuring Minato would likely seal these memories later anyway.

"The Sand's jinchuriki?" Minato was stunned, giving Naruto and Jiraiya a look that seemed to say, "How did you two end up with the Sand's jinchuriki?"

"Yes, but let's focus on finding a way back first," Jiraiya said.

"Alright, come with me," Minato nodded, leading the group.

They followed Minato through Roran's maze-like streets, sometimes passing by crowds. But as they avoided people, Naruto noticed something odd. With Kurama's help, he could sense people's emotions—but in this city, he sensed nothing.

"Did you notice?" Minato said quietly beside Naruto, "They're all puppets."

"Puppets?" Naruto was shocked. "What about the real people?"

"Just follow me," Minato said, leading them out of the city and soon meeting up with Choza Akimichi and Shibi Aburame.

The two were surprised to see Jiraiya. "Why are you here, Lord Jiraiya?"

"The Third Hokage gave me a special mission, so I came here and joined Minato," Jiraiya replied.

They didn't question it—Jiraiya was known to wander everywhere. Choza was happy. "Great, with you here, we might actually have a chance—this mission is tougher than we thought, even with Minato leading."

"What intel did you find?" Minato asked.

"I circled Roran's outskirts with Shibi. It's as our informants said: almost everyone in Roran has been replaced by puppets. Worse, Shibi's bugs detected large numbers of combat puppets hidden throughout the city. They're far more advanced than Sand puppets, and regular jonin can't handle them. What's more, these puppets don't need a puppeteer—their chakra threads are connected directly to that tower," Choza said, pointing at the visible tower.

"If that's true, then the energy source must be the Dragon Vein, which Roran's royal family guards," Minato said. "Looks like Roran is under the complete control of Minister of Roran Mukade. I haven't found the queen inside the city at all."

"This Mukade must have big ambitions," Shibi said. The number of combat puppets alone could threaten the Sand Village—there's no way he's doing this for peace.

"Then let's infiltrate the city and find the queen. Only the royal bloodline can seal the Dragon Vein," Minato said. "If not, I'll have to take the risk and do it myself."

"Understood," Choza and Shibi nodded.

"Jiraiya-sensei, please look after these two kids," Minato said.

"I can help too, ba—big brother!" Naruto almost called Minato "dad" in front of Choza and Shibi.

"Jiraiya-sama, who are these kids?" Choza asked.

"Uh... picked them up outside," Jiraiya replied.

"Naruto, stay with Jiraiya-sensei for now. Try not to fight unless you have to," Minato said.

"I'm strong! I can help!" Naruto insisted.

"Minato, since the enemy is strong, we'd better go together. Every extra person counts," Jiraiya said.

After seeing Naruto and Gaara's strength, Minato realized they could be a huge help. He was secretly proud: His future son was even more talented than he was.

"Alright," Minato agreed, but before setting out, he handed out kunai inscribed with Flying Thunder God seals. "Take these—if you're in danger, I'll come to help immediately."

"So this is the legendary Flying Thunder God kunai? Awesome!" Naruto said, thrilled, playing with the special kunai. Having learned about his father's legacy, he knew this weapon gave rise to the name "Yellow Flash."

Minato frowned slightly. It was clear Naruto didn't know him well—either he hadn't grown up with his son, or...

With that thought, Minato slowed down and walked beside Naruto, gently patting his head. "You're called Naruto, right?"

At this point, Jiraiya hadn't yet discovered Naruto's talents or written his novel, so Minato had to ask.

"Yep! Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto replied quickly.

"Uzumaki, huh?" Minato nodded. He'd considered giving his child Kushina's surname—it was more prestigious, and safer too, since he'd made many enemies as the Yellow Flash.

"Your skills seem strong—are you a chunin in the future?" Minato asked.

"Uh... sort of..." Naruto said, sweating nervously.

He realized that if his father found out he was actually a missing-nin, it might not end well.

"Sort of?" Minato was puzzled. 

"Right! I'll be a chunin soon," Naruto said.

But Minato wasn't satisfied, frowning. "As a ninja, you have to be precise. You either are or you aren't."

"Sorry!" Naruto scratched his head, feeling a strange sense of being disciplined by his dad.

[So this is what it feels like to get scolded by your dad...]

"Fine. I'm still a genin," Naruto admitted.

"Genin?" Minato nodded. He could tell Naruto's strength far surpassed most jonin, but rank isn't everything.

They soon reached the city center. Crowds gathered before the palace—thousands of puppet civilians, as if for a festival.

The group hid nearby, anxious. If all these were puppets, where were the real people?

At that moment, a noble figure appeared above the palace—apparently the princess—waving to the crowd.

"That's... their princess?" Minato frowned. What's the point of this show if the people are all puppets? Or is the princess a fake too?

Suddenly, the tower's bricks cracked, and the princess fell.

Using Kurama's power, Naruto sensed she was real and leapt up, catching her in midair.

At that moment, dozens of combat puppets surged toward the tower.

"Naruto?!" Minato was shocked. Now he understood why Naruto was still a genin—he was too reckless!

But then he saw golden chakra and chakra aura radiating from Naruto—his eyes widened.

"That's...?" Minato looked at Jiraiya in disbelief. He knew this chakra—it was the Nine-Tails. And Naruto's form matched descriptions of a perfect jinchuriki.

Chapter 249: Sealing Jutsu? No Idea!

Seeing the Nine-Tails' power, even Minato was shaken.

From Naruto's unfamiliarity, Minato guessed that either he had to leave his son for some reason, or he was no longer alive in the future.

But with the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, what did that mean?

Jiraiya felt guilty under Minato's gaze. If he revealed what happened that night of the Nine-Tails' attack, Minato would easily survive—but to avoid changing the future, he stayed silent.

Meanwhile, Naruto was fighting ten combat puppets, golden light flashing as he dodged with the queen in his arms. The puppets couldn't touch him, but his own attacks barely scratched them.

"These things are tough! Let's try this!" Naruto shouted, charging chakra into his hand, forming a massive Rasengan.

Compared to Sasuke's lightning jutsu or Neji's advanced tools, Naruto still relied on the Rasengan. The more chakra he poured in, the bigger it grew.

He smashed the huge Rasengan into a puppet, blasting it to pieces. But more puppets appeared.

"I'll bring him back," Minato said, tossing a kunai and teleporting.

He appeared before Naruto, who nearly smashed his dad with the Rasengan before stopping himself. Minato put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

A flash of light—and they were all back in the alley.

Once outside the inner city, Naruto finally set down the queen, who promptly fainted from the wild ride.

"What now?" Shibi asked Minato.

"Wait for her to wake up," Minato said.

As they waited, the atmosphere grew strange.

Shibi and Choza kept glancing between Naruto and Minato, while Minato wanted to ask Jiraiya about the future—and why the Nine-Tails was in Naruto—but hesitated.

Soon, Queen Sāra awoke, startled to see so many people.

"Please calm down, Your Majesty. We're Konoha ninja here to protect you," Minato said gently.

His aura put her at ease, and she remembered being caught when she fell.

"Where is this?" Sāra asked.

"The outer city of Roran," Minato replied.

"Thank you for saving me, but I must return to the palace. As queen, I can't be gone too long," Sāra said.

"I wouldn't recommend that. Don't you think your fall from the tower was suspicious?" Minato asked.

"You're overthinking it, ninja. That was just an accident," Sāra insisted.

"It wasn't," Naruto said. "I sensed strong malice from the person behind you."

"My back?" Sāra was confused. Other than Minister Mukade, who else was there?

 "You must be joking. Minister Mukade has always been loyal. He'd never harm me."

"Do you know what's happening in your country?" Minato asked calmly.

"Roran is thriving under me and Minister Mukade!" Sāra declared proudly.

"Really? Then do you know your citizens are being replaced by puppets?" Minato said.

"That's impossible!" Sāra objected.

"If you don't believe me, I can show you myself," Minato smiled.

"No need!" Sāra turned and left.

"Wait here. I'll be back," Minato told the group.

...

Twenty minutes later, Minato brought back a stunned Sāra.

"Now do you believe me?" Minato asked.

"This... can't be!" Sāra was in shock. Just as Minato had said, she saw her citizens turned into puppets, and after a brief encounter, combat puppets tried to kill her. If not for Minato, she'd be dead.

"Can you tell me what Minister Mukade has been up to these years?" Minato asked.

Now convinced, Sāra explained everything Mukade had done.

"So, you've been helping him use the Dragon Vein's power?" Minato asked.

"Yes," Sāra said. "But he always said the puppets were for the people's benefit." She was still processing the betrayal.

"But those combat puppets could destabilize the entire ninja world," Minato explained. "For peace, we need your help, Your Majesty."

"Alright, I understand," Sāra nodded.

"Let's discuss how to resolve this," Minato said, then turned to Naruto.

"Any ideas, Naruto?" Minato asked with a smile.

"Me?" Naruto felt like he was being called on in class. Usually, he left strategy to Sasuke or Neji, but now it was up to him.

"We find out where Mukade is hiding, storm in, take him down, and shut down the Dragon Vein?" Naruto suggested, relying on his usual direct approach.

Minato's mouth twitched.

[Is this part of his personality from Kushina? At least he knows to gather intel first...]

"We don't know how many puppets are in the city. A direct assault would be tough unless we called for backup—but that could be seen as an act of war," Shibi pointed out.

"Minato, just give the orders. Jiraiya and I will follow your lead," Jiraiya said, knowing Naruto wasn't suited for subtle infiltration.

"Alright," Minato said. "Jiraiya-sensei, Choza, Shibi, you'll infiltrate the palace with me and hold off the combat puppets. Naruto, you and..."

"Gaara," Gaara said softly.

"You and Gaara protect the queen and seal the Dragon Vein. Can you do it? The puppets are powered by the Dragon Vein—seal it and the threat is gone."

"Seal the Dragon Vein?" Naruto's head hurt at the thought. "I'm not good at sealing techniques..."

Minato: ??????

"You can't even use the basic Three Elements Seal?" Minato was shocked. He and Kushina were both seal masters, how could their son not know even the basics? "How about the Two Elements Seal? It's less secure but should work as a backup."

"Uh, I know a little, but I'm not confident. Maybe Jiraiya-sensei should do it—I might blow up the Dragon Vein by accident," Naruto said awkwardly.

"You can't even do the Two Elements Seal? Didn't anyone teach you?" Minato frowned.

"Someone tried, but I just couldn't learn," Naruto admitted, scratching his head.

"Alright. Jiraiya-sensei, looks like I'll have to ask you to handle the Dragon Vein," Minato sighed.