"It's okay…"
Yagami stepped in front of Sārah and Naruko, guarding them behind his back.
Kakashi and Tekuno shifted instantly, forming a triangle formation around the two girls.
"Dad, you are underestimating me too much…"
Naruko puffed her cheeks, stepped out of the protective circle, and raised her tiny fist proudly.
THUD–THUD–THUD–THUD
Countless puppets marched toward them from every direction.
The heavy metallic footsteps echoed through the cavern like a rolling storm.
Sārah, sheltered at the center of their formation, clenched her fists nervously.
"Shisui!"
Swoosh—!!
Yagami swept Shusui in a wide arc.
A roaring, five-meter sword-light exploded forward, tearing through the puppet horde like a blade of wind.
SWOOSH—! ×5
Rows of puppets toppled like cut wheat.
After clearing one side, Yagami snapped the blade toward another wave...
But—
"Just now… Naru—"
BOOM!!
Naruko's furious punch blasted a puppet straight off its legs.
The flying puppet crashed into another group behind it, knocking several more over in a perfect domino effect.
Yagami froze for half a second.
"…Why is this girl so violent?"
The words slipped out of his mouth.
Tekuno and Kakashi nodded rapidly, both horrified.
This is way too violent for a girl!
"How about it, Dad? Am I good!?"
Naruko turned back with a bright smile, entirely proud of her destruction.
Yagami swallowed hard.
I am definitely disciplining you every day when you're born…
Then...
"Yagami-san! Go save them!!"
Sārah pointed frantically.
Another wave of puppets had surrounded the enslaved workers.
"Kakashi, Naruko — protect Sārah. Tekuno, with me!"
Yagami slashed open a path and charged toward the laborers.
Tekuno followed, crossbows raised.
BOOM! ×3
Explosive tags erupted, shaking the ground.
They reached the steam engine where the workers were chained.
Yagami circled around it in a blur, cutting every chain and shackle in sight.
"Everyone… I am Sārah, the Queen of Rōran… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry for letting this happen to you…"
She bowed deeply, tears trembling in her voice.
"Your families are waiting. Please… come with us."
The workers looked at her in numb confusion.
They had been taken under her name.
They didn't know if they could trust her.
"Please believe Her Majesty Sārah!"
Shinji — the woman searching for her husband — stepped forward.
"All of this was Mukade's doing. He acted without the Queen's knowledge!"
Slowly, painfully, the laborers began to move.
Years of malnutrition made their steps unsteady, but under Sārah's guidance they staggered into the stair passage and began climbing.
CLANG—!!
RUMBLE!!!
Just as the last person crossed into the passage, something massive dropped from the observation platform—
A giant metal spider crashed to the floor.
Mukade.
Over the years, he hadn't just built puppets.
He had transformed himself—turning his flesh into an immortal, mechanical body.
BOOM!!
The spider was cut in half the instant it hit the ground.
Future Kakashi landed smoothly after the strike.
His face didn't redden.
He wasn't even breathing hard.
It was clear Mukade's strength meant nothing to him.
"Not bad…"
Yagami nodded in genuine satisfaction.
The Kakashi he remembered from anime no longer existed.
This one was a Kenjutsu master.
A true Kage-level swordsman.
Crackle…!
RUMBLE…!
A purple chakra thread ripped through the wall and latched onto Mukade's corpse again.
His bisected body twitched—
Then healed before their eyes.
"This recovery speed is insane…"
Kakashi's expression finally tightened.
But Yagami remained calm.
He already knew Mukade's weakness.
Once the source of the Ryūmyaku was cut off—
Mukade could be killed with a single, clean strike.
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and R-18 Content!
--------------------------------------
Update schedule: 7 chapters/week
Every 100 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter
By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.