Boom.
Boom. Boom.
Under the relentless assault from Naruto and his allies, the puppet body of Mukade was battered and broken, forcing him to activate the Ultra-Fast Regeneration Technique.
At the same time, Minato had pinpointed Mukade's weakness, identifying the true body hidden deep within the massive puppet construct.
Mukade, fully aware now that without absorbing more energy from the Ryūmyaku he was as good as dead, swept his gaze across Naruto and the others. A new, desperate idea surfaced in his mind.
Detonate the Ryūmyaku, unleash its unstable energy in a violent surge. He didn't know what kind of destruction it would cause, but it was the only option left to him.
Phenomenal Evil Rasengan.
Just then, Veigar arrived, joining the siege against Mukade.
Boom!
Struck by the enormous puppet's swipe, half of Veigar's head was knocked clean off. He flipped in the air and landed beside Minato, calmly asking:
"Sensei, you've found his weak point, haven't you?"
Minato immediately understood what Veigar was planning. He gave a resolute nod.
"I understand. I'll do my part."
Then he called out to his son:
"Naruto!"
Naruto, in the midst of launching another full-scale attack on Mukade, turned at the sound of his father's voice. Confused, he landed beside Minato and Veigar.
"Dad? What's wrong?"
Minato patted his head gently and chuckled.
"Naruto, today I'm going to teach you the strongest Rasengan there is."
Naruto blinked, puzzled. He glanced at Veigar, then back at his father.
"The strongest Rasengan?"
Veigar and Minato exchanged a knowing smile. They placed their hands together, turning their eyes to Naruto.
"Come on, lend us your hand."
Still unsure, Naruto followed their lead, placing his hand over theirs. Minato began to explain:
"The Rasengan isn't just a single technique. It can be wielded in unison, by more than one person."
"As long as the chakra types are compatible, we can create the strongest form of Rasengan."
Before Minato had even finished, the chakra within Naruto's body began resonating. It was drawn into the Rasengan that he, Veigar, and Minato were jointly channeling. Their overlapping palms conjured a swirling sphere radiating brilliant blue, green, and spectral indigo, stirring a violent vortex around them.
"What is this?" Naruto asked, eyes wide.
Minato smiled again.
"This is the strongest Rasengan, the Triune Rasengan."
Intent on extracting the Ryūmyaku energy from Mukade's puppet body, Veigar spoke up:
"Sensei, I'm counting on you for the opening."
"Leave the rest to me."
Minato nodded and leapt from the sphere's wind vortex, charging toward Mukade.
"Naruto, watch carefully."
With that, Veigar charged forward, the Triune Rasengan glowing in his hand, leaving Naruto behind.
Seeing Veigar approach, Mukade knew time had run out. He began channeling all the Ryūmyaku energy housed within his puppet shell.
Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Minato hurled a volley of shadow-cloned shuriken that pierced straight through the puppet's armor, revealing Mukade's true body.
"Veigar! That's his weak point!" Minato shouted.
But Mukade was ready. He roared with maniacal glee, channeling the gathered energy.
"I am invincible! Even the Five Great Nations will fall before me!"
Still clinging to his delusions.
Ryūmyaku Style: Ultra Ryūmyaku—Great Dragon Fire Technique!
He launched all the Ryūmyaku's accumulated energy in a beam toward its very core.
Veigar, seeing through Mukade's intentions, charged head-on, pouring even more chakra into the Triune Rasengan.
Phenomenal Triune Rasengan!
"Raaahhh—!"
The empowered Rasengan collided against Mukade's devastating Ryūmyaku beam.
Rumble...
BOOM!
The Phenomenal Triune Rasengan tore through Mukade's core, reducing his true body to dust and shattering the massive puppet.
BOOM!
The resulting explosion was immense, a maelstrom of wind and light tore through the area, forcing everyone to retreat from the blast's epicenter.
When the storm finally cleared, the group regrouped, their eyes fixed on the sealed Ryūmyaku source. Relief spread across their faces.
It seemed they had finally defeated Mukade and that time itself could begin to heal.
But then, his voice echoed again:
"In that case… you'll all die with me!"
Everyone froze.
From the dust and debris, Mukade's shattered remains began to reassemble, his form now grotesquely spider-like and monstrous. Before anyone could react, he leapt into the heart of the Ryūmyaku.
RUMBLE...
The once-dormant Ryūmyaku, only recently sealed, suddenly roared back to life, boiling with energy.
Mukade had become the spark dropped into a vat of hot oil, igniting the entire source.
The Ryūmyaku... had been detonated.
And now, its seal was on the verge of collapse.
If it wasn't subdued quickly, all of Roran would be obliterated in the ensuing explosion.
Minato turned to Naruto.
"Naruto. Give me the Flying Raijin kunai I gave you."
"I'm going to seal the Ryūmyaku for good."
Without hesitation, Naruto pulled the kunai from his pouch and handed it over.
"But Dad… how are you going to do it?"
Minato didn't answer.
He leapt onto the altar, plunged the kunai into the heart of the sealing shrine, and shouted:
"Seal!"
In the entire shinobi world, no one rivaled the Uzumaki Clan in sealing techniques. As Kushina Uzumaki's beloved, Minato had learned many powerful seals.
Now, he was reactivating the shrine's ancient sealing array, supplementing it with his own as a safeguard.
The runes of the Ryūmyaku shrine flared to life once more. Empowered by Minato's chakra, the detonated Ryūmyaku was gradually sealed again.
The energy finally calmed.
"Phew…"
As the Ryūmyaku settled, Minato and everyone, including Veigar, let out a collective sigh of relief.
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