Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

"What should we do next?"

Baki glanced around and took the initiative to ask. 

Although Rōran was within the Land of Wind, the current situation was being led by Kagetsu. 

Even those who seemed to be from the future, like Yamato and the others, were still Konoha shinobi.

Baki made his stance clear and straightforward.

After all, the mission's objective was to eliminate the rogue ninja Mukade and, if possible, recover or destroy the stolen puppet techniques.

Especially now, with not just Hollowfication involved but also time-related elements, Baki didn't dare to act rashly.

"You over there, you're from the Root, right? Are you skilled in Yin Release?" Kagetsu shifted his gaze to Sai, who was standing next to Yamato, and asked.

"I am a member of the Root," Sai replied, nodding after receiving Yamato's permission, though he was a bit surprised that Kagetsu could tell his identity.

"Do you know the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier technique?" Kagetsu stepped forward, gave Naruto a quick glance, and continued, "Root shinobi are trained not only in assassination. Since you were assigned to the team guarding the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, you should know at least some sealing techniques, right?"

"The Four-Corner Sealing Barrier?" Sai nodded, then silently unrolled the scroll on his back and began drawing the formation for the technique.

Most sealing techniques are stored and used via scrolls.

Sai moved quickly. In no time, he had etched the chakra-inscribed symbols of the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier onto the large scroll. He then pulled out four smaller scrolls and began marking the secondary seals on each of them.

"Then the four of us will handle the sealing," Kagetsu said, once Sai finished his calligraphy. He pointed to Sai, Yamato, and Sakura Haruno, then finally to himself, proposing the plan.

When it comes to sealing and suppressing beasts on the level of a tailed beast, the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier—performed by multiple users—is an ideal technique.

As long as they had the sealing scrolls, the hand signs required weren't too difficult. 

As long as they had enough chakra and precise chakra control, they could use the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier effectively.

After Yamato and Sai handed over the coordinated hand seals to Haruno Sakura, she quickly grasped the trick behind them.

This was a technique that tested teamwork and chakra output balance.

The four of them stood at the four corners, pulling the barrier out from the scroll. 

It stretched out like a translucent sphere. While maintaining equal chakra output, they swiftly moved above the mutated Mukade.

The Four-Corner Sealing Formation was like a giant net. Under their control and hand signs, it descended from above, covering Mukade completely.

Sensing the external danger, Mukade forcibly broke free from the soul-level confrontation and regained some clarity. 

He began to thrash wildly within the sealing barrier, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free.

With the Queen of Rōran also pulling it back, Mukade was finally wrapped completely by the sealing technique and fell into silence, unwillingly subdued.

"Is it over just like that?"

Seeing the sealing pattern spread across the ground, with the phantom-like Mukade sinking into the earth and vanishing, Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

The pressure that came from the transformed Mukade was the most terrifying aura Sakura had ever felt. 

That almost tangible mental weight made her feel as if her soul was trembling inside her body as she got closer.

"It's only temporarily resolved. But that no longer concerns any of you," Kagetsu said, glancing at Yamato and the others.

"What do you mean by 'no longer concerns us'?" Yamato had a faint idea of what Kagetsu meant.

As the captain of Team 7, he could suppress his curiosity more than Naruto and the others. 

Even though he realized that the history of this world was different from the ninja world he knew, he had no desire to dig deeper.

"As long as I remove the medium that brought you here, the distorted space-time power affecting you—people who don't belong to this world—will naturally correct itself.

In other words, you'll be sent back to your own world."

Kagetsu walked to the Ryūmyaku vein's core, crouched down, and began examining the Seals suppressing its power.

"Thank you so much!"

Hearing Kagetsu's words, Yamato finally sighed in relief. He'd been worried they might not be able to return to their world—or worse, be held captive here just so these people could extract intel about the future.

"You're actually a good guy!"

Naruto Uzumaki shouted, pointing a finger dramatically at Kagetsu.

"If you can't speak properly, just shut up!"

Sakura Haruno knocked Naruto out with a single punch, unable to hold back her irritation. 

The man had just said he would send them home, and Naruto still had to mouth off? 

What was that supposed to mean?

"Anyone working with Orochimaru and this Itachi guy can't be good news!"

Naruto held his head in pain, pouting with frustration.

Sakura felt her fist itching again. Maybe that's why Lady Tsunade always treated Lord Jiraiya the way she did—now it all made sense.

"As a Konoha shinobi, isn't it inappropriate to speak so rudely about the Hokage?"

Itachi calmly walked up to Naruto, having caught the strange tone in his voice, and questioned him softly.

Though younger than Naruto in appearance—so much so that he had to look up just to meet his eyes—Itachi carried himself with a calmness and gravity that somehow made him seem more mature and composed than Naruto.

"Sorry! In our world, the Fourth Hokage is Lord Minato Namikaze. Orochimaru is an S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha. He was the mastermind behind the Konoha Crush Plan, killed his own teacher—the Third Hokage—with his own hands, and even kidnapped one of our comrades to use as a vessel for reincarnation."

Haruno Sakura quickly covered Naruto's mouth and gave a nervous laugh as she explained to Itachi.

"You're also an S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha, Uchiha Itachi! You slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan with your own hands, leaving only your younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, alive."

Sai added at just the wrong time, and Sakura's expression immediately froze. She let go of Naruto's mouth, feeling a wave of despair wash over her—as if to say, "Whatever… the world might as well just end now."

Can she please get two normal teammates for once?

Itachi's expression turned to shock in an instant.

Yamato walked over to Kagetsu's side, squatting down as he watched him study the Ryūmyaku vein seal intently. He asked curiously, "Is it really okay to let them know some information about the future?"

"As long as it's not from the same timeline, it doesn't matter. If you think it's necessary, you can seal parts of your memory," Kagetsu replied without looking away, glancing briefly toward Itachi and Asuma, who were talking with Naruto and the others. Then he shook his head.

"Step aside. I'm about to unseal the Ryūmyaku vein's power and reseal it again."

A moment later, Kagetsu stood up from the ground, gripped the hilt of the blade stuck in the center of the seal, and gestured for Yamato to move back a little.

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