Chapter 271 : The Final War Puppet

Hearing Mukade’s crazed words, a slight smirk tugged at the corner of Riku’s lips. "Still arrogant after more than ten years of floating around in this timeline."

Mukade had no interest in exchanging words anymore. With a wave of his hand, he commanded hundreds of puppets to swarm Riku.

Each puppet extended mechanical arms, unleashing concentrated beams of light—streams of chakra directly drawn from the Dragon Veins. These chakra blasts were immensely powerful, easily rivaling A-rank ninjutsu, and what made them truly terrifying was their speed—blindingly fast.

Hundreds of beams converged on Riku, the barrage nearly impossible to evade.

But just then, an explosive storm of lightning erupted from Riku’s body.

Thunder Net—his signature jutsu.

A massive lightning shield composed of writhing thunder serpents engulfed Riku, Namikaze Minato, Akamichi Chōza, and Aburame Shibi.

BOOM—!

The sheer force of the explosion kicked up a storm of smoke and debris, engulfing the battlefield in chaos.

The earth was devastated.

Vision within the dust cloud was impossible for human eyes—but the puppets weren’t relying on vision. Linked to the Dragon Veins, their perception systems locked onto Riku’s position and continued their relentless assault. Fueled by near-limitless chakra, they showed no signs of slowing.

Mukade laughed wildly as he watched the barrage. "Riku, I don’t care how strong you are—you’re not walking away from this!"

"These war puppets are my ultimate weapons to conquer the Five Great Nations. Hundreds of them can level a country’s military might."

While a swarm of this scale could certainly devastate a small or mid-sized nation, top-tier countries were still a different beast altogether.

Yet Riku—still cloaked in smoke—remained unfazed. Hearing Mukade’s boast, he chuckled darkly. "Arrogant."

In the next instant, an even more overwhelming chakra burst from his body.

Thunder Net was both offensive and defensive.

While shielding the group from the attacks, Riku channeled more chakra into the technique—causing a violent surge of energy. Arcs of lightning exploded from the barrier, materializing into hundreds of thunder serpents that tore through the battlefield, striking down war puppets dozens of meters away.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

BOOM—!

The serpents struck like divine retribution. Though the puppets were built from reinforced materials—tough as steel—they crumbled like paper under the lightning assault. In seconds, hundreds of puppets were obliterated, reduced to scorched fragments and ash.

Within the Thunder Net, Minato, Chōza, and Shibi could hardly believe what they were witnessing.

"This... this kind of power... it’s insane."

"I never imagined a jutsu like this could exist."

It was as if the Thunder Net were alive, responding directly to Riku’s will.

As the barrage continued, the technique erupted into a full-blown chakra storm—the pressure of which left even the three veteran shinobi staggering.

"This chakra... it’s monstrous," Shibi muttered.

Even Minato felt oppressed. He had never faced anything quite like it.

The shockwave from Riku’s chakra storm cleared away the smoke in an instant—revealing the aftermath.

The battlefield had gone eerily silent.

The once-mighty war puppets, each standing over two meters tall, now lay in ruins—burned out husks, or reduced entirely to ash.

Beyond the Thunder Net, the earth had been ravaged. The ground for hundreds of meters was shattered, littered with massive craters. Deep fissures snaked across the terrain, as though the earth itself was coming apart.

Minato, Chōza, and Shibi stood speechless.

Once again, Riku had defied all logic and expectation. He had effortlessly withstood a full-scale puppet onslaught and annihilated them all in a single counterattack.

Narrowing his eyes, Riku quickly searched for Mukade—and found him.

Mukade stared in shock at the ruined army. Fear slowly crept into his heart.

"He’s even stronger than I imagined... These war puppets are useless against him. I’ll have to deploy the Final Puppet."

The Final Puppet had been specially created to defeat Riku.

Though the total destruction of his puppet army was unexpected, Mukade had prepared for this contingency. He’d spent more than a decade planning for this very confrontation.

He knew that unless he could defeat Riku, he would never be able to challenge the Five Great Nations.

Even if hundreds of war puppets weren’t enough—he still had one last card to play.

"Awaken... Final Puppet."

Mukade’s consciousness linked to the puppet sealed deep underground. In response, his body convulsed as a surge of chakra poured through him, siphoning into the dormant weapon.

The energy of the Dragon Veins coursed through Mukade like a tidal wave.

But he trembled in fear.

"The chakra demand is... too much. Even after multiple infusions, its appetite is still this terrifying..."

As chakra continued to flood into the Final Puppet, Mukade’s body began to wither—shrinking rapidly until only skin and bone remained.

If he hadn’t turned himself into a half-puppet years ago, his body would’ve been annihilated by the overload.

At last, the colossal war puppet buried beneath the city of Loulan began to stir.

It had taken the ancient citizens of Loulan more than ten years to complete it—and now it had awakened.

BOOM—!

The tower where Mukade stood began to tremble violently before exploding outward.

The ground for hundreds of meters cracked open.

Riku, Minato, Chōza, and Shibi leapt back several hundred meters.

From the crumbling earth, a massive puppet began to rise.

Minato’s eyes widened in disbelief. "That puppet... it’s enormous."

Riku narrowed his gaze at the rising monolith.

"Impressive. In just ten years, he built something like this... It surpasses even Sasori’s puppet monstrosities."

As the ground split open fully, a war puppet over a hundred meters tall emerged from the depths, standing like a titan against the broken skyline.

High above, Sasha—who had been observing from a nearby building—lost her footing in the chaos and plummeted.

Riku noticed instantly. His body flickered out of view.

The next moment, he reappeared beside Minato—cradling Sasha in his arms.

She blinked in shock. She had expected death—but had been caught, saved by the very ninja fighting Mukade.

Looking into Riku’s face for the first time, she was stunned by the calm confidence he radiated.

After gently setting her down, Riku spoke without hesitation.

"Your Highness, please move to a safer distance. What comes next... is war."

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