Konoha: Gu Master

Hearing Minato's words of comfort, tears that had been gathering in Kakashi's eyes finally spilled over. In an instant, he disappeared, leaving the group in silence.

Sasuke watched in surprise. It was his first time seeing Kakashi like this. The Kakashi he knew was always laid-back, with a detached, half-lidded gaze.

Minato sighed deeply. He remembered the bright and spirited young genius Kakashi had been.

He could only wonder what tragedies had changed him so drastically. But Minato knew he had to hold back his questions.

A few minutes later, Kakashi reappeared, composed, though his eyes were still a bit red.

"Sensei," he said, taking a deep breath. "Did Obito and Rin come with us?"

His voice was laced with both apprehension and hope.

Minato shook his head. "No, this mission was too dangerous for them. I brought only you."

Kakashi's shoulders dropped, his expression conflicted as he nodded. 

Deep down, he had known. He could barely recall his team's first visit to Roran, but he knew he had been the only one accompanying Minato.

Letting go of his thoughts, Kakashi said, "Let's focus on finding Shinho and Karin."

"Karin is over there," Shibi said, raising a hand and gesturing. "She stands out quite a bit."

"She's a member of the Uzumaki clan," Minato noted with a slight smile. "Sasuke mentioned it, and I was surprised. The Uzumaki clan was nearly wiped out years ago. I thought Kushina might be the last of her people."

"What about Shinho? Have we found him?" Kakashi asked, frowning slightly.

Shibi looked slightly worried. "No, not yet. Even though I've never met him, he's still my future son. With these puppet soldiers around, there's a high chance of him running into trouble."

Sasuke suddenly interjected, "If he doesn't want to be found, there's little chance we will. His skills in stealth and scouting are far beyond any of ours."

Shibi froze, unable to believe it. He was an elite Jonin! And the Aburame clan's skill set, while versatile, didn't usually reach elite standards. 

But this was coming from a Uchiha—one who didn't give compliments lightly.

"True," Kakashi agreed, nodding. "He's extraordinarily talented."

"Oh?" Minato's curiosity was piqued. "Even more gifted than you?"

"By far," Kakashi replied, his expression serious.

Minato blinked, visibly surprised. In his mind, Kakashi was already one of the most gifted shinobi of his generation.

"He defeated the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast," Kakashi added after a pause.

Minato's expression changed as he understood; "That certainly qualifies him as a talent."

Minato had fought with the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, and knew firsthand how strong Jinchuriki were. 

Without an edge like the Flying Thunder God Technique, ordinary shinobi stood little chance against them.

"My clan produced someone this extraordinary?" Shibi muttered, scratching his head, both incredulous and amazed.

"Lucky you," Choza said with a grin, then couldn't help but ask, "What about the Akimichi? Did we produce any prodigies?"

"The same as always," Kakashi said.

Choza looked dejected, realizing that his clan hadn't managed to surpass their predecessors.

"Oh, Sensei," Kakashi said, turning as they walked. "Where is my younger self?"

"I left him to guard Queen Sara. That's part of our mission here," Minato explained. "But it seems like the situation is far more complicated than we anticipated."

The streets ahead bustled with activity as the group approached a crowd, the air buzzing with festive excitement.

Looking up, Kakashi saw a lively celebration. A huge crowd was cheering for a young girl standing on a high platform.

"She's Sara, the daughter of Roran's queen," Minato said.

"So that's her," Sasuke murmured, recognizing her as the girl he had seen singing when he first awoke in Roran.

Suddenly, Sara lost her footing and began to fall from the platform.

"Wait, that's Karin!" Kakashi spotted Karin dashing forward to catch the falling princess.

"There's something wrong here," Sasuke said, his hand tightening on his sword. "Why is the crowd still cheering?"

Kakashi scanned his surroundings, also sensing something amiss. 

Normally, if a princess fell, the spectating crowd's obvious reaction should be shock or panic. But they seemed oblivious, still caught up in the revelry.

"That's because they're not human," Minato said gravely. "Earlier, we discovered that everyone here, except the queen and princess, is actually a puppet."

"A puppet?" Kakashi's eyes widened. "Then where did all the people go?"

"We don't know," Minato replied, shaking his head. "We're searching for them now."

"Searching this way will take too long," Choza grumbled. "We should just go straight to Anrokuzan and Shi Siming and deal with them!"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Karin called out, spotting the group. She finished her conversation with Sara and ran over, waving.

"Let's put that plan on hold for now," Minato said, glancing at Sara. "We might have an opportunity here."

"Eh?" Karin said, pointing at Minato. "You look just like one of the statues on the Hokage Rock."

"Must be a common face," Minato joked.

"Karin," Kakashi interjected, steering her back to the task at hand. "Why don't you introduce us?"

"Oh, right!" Karin pulled Sara forward. "This is Princess Sara of Roran."

"Hello," Sara greeted them politely, glancing curiously at Sasuke. She remembered only she and her mother had access to that hidden door.

"Have you noticed anything strange in Roran, Princess?" Minato asked, pulling out a kunai. In an instant, he appeared behind a nearby passerby, who he then knocked to the ground.

"What are you doing?! Th—this is…" Sara trailed off in shock. The body on the ground had split open, revealing a hollow shell with metallic innards.

"Everyone here is a puppet," Minato said, gesturing to the crowd.

"That's impossible!" Sara protested, her voice full of disbelief.

"You're free to check for yourself," Minato replied calmly. "It's easy to tell the difference between a puppet and a human. Go on."

Sara hesitated, but then moved to inspect the crowd. She lifted a bystander's clothing, revealing the gleam of metal instead of skin.

After inspecting several, Sara was drenched in sweat and muttering, "What… what is going on?"

"I suspect this is the work of Anrokuzan and Shi Siming," Minato said. He paused, then added, "Princess, could you take us to see them? Then we'll uncover the truth together."

Sara hesitated, looking over the group of shinobi. After a few moments, she nodded.

Seeing the truth firsthand, Sara was shaken. The crowd around them was indeed all puppets. So where were all the real citizens?

"Come with me!" Sara said urgently. "Anrokuzan's base must be the Dragon Vein Transfer Station."

"Transfer Station?" Kakashi repeated, intrigued.

"It's a mechanism that channels the energy of the Dragon Vein to power the puppets," Sara explained, leading them to an underground passage.

The group followed her down the passage to the so-called Dragon Vein Transfer Station, a massive, cavernous space filled with gears and grinding machinery. 

Streams of purple chakra were drawn from the depths below, transferred through various conduits to the surface, feeding the endless army of puppet soldiers.

"This Anrokuzan is quite the genius," Choza remarked, eyeing the machinery around them.

"All we need to do is cut off this formation, and the Dragon Vein's power will stop supplying the puppets," Minato said.

Just then, countless puppet soldiers flooded the room, surrounding them.

"Sara, this is Roran's most closely guarded secret," said a man dressed in elegant robes who stepped out to confront them. "Even as the princess, you can't just bring strangers here."

"Anrokuzan!" Sara shouted, anger and desperation coloring her voice. "Where are the citizens of Roran?!"

"That's a question you should ask your mother," Anrokuzan retorted coldly. "She had them all relocated."

"What did you say?" Sara's eyes went wide with shock.

The others also exchanged looks of surprise. The actual situation seemed completely different from what they'd guessed.

"I don't believe you!" Sara shouted, torn between anger and confusion, still trusting her mother.

"Believe me or don't, it makes no difference," Anrokuzan sneered. "What matters is that I'm finally free from that scum's control! Hahaha!"

His laughter held a bitterness that was hard to ignore.

The group glanced at each other. Control? Wasn't Anrokuzan supposed to be the mastermind here?

"Who's controlling you?" Minato asked, his eyes narrowing. "Shi Siming?"

"Don't say that name!" Anrokuzan spat, his expression twisting with fury. "Three years! For three years. Do you know how I spent these three years? I've been his puppet! doing everything he commands like some miserable dog!"

Minato blinked in astonishment, recognizing the raw sincere emotions in Anrokuzan's outburst. He had no reason to act, especially in front of them.

"But that miserable life ends here!" Anrokuzan's body began to swell, sharp metal legs ripping through his clothes as he transformed.

In moments, his tattered garments fell away, revealing his true form—a massive puppet spider.

"I've worked for years to modify myself into the ultimate puppet," he said triumphantly, "and by connecting to the Dragon Vein, I'm now invincible! His parasitic insects are useless against me now. From this day on, I'll stand above all as my own master!"

"Parasitic Insects?" Kakashi echoed, a bit stunned. "Are you talking about Shinho?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he recalled seeing Shinho and Anrokuzan standing together before the Dragon Vein transported them. If Shinho had indeed taken on the role of Shi Siming to control him, it made perfect sense.

"Who else would it be?" Anrokuzan's bloated spider body loomed over them, filled with contempt.

Kakashi fell silent. So, after all this, Shinho was the real "villain" behind the scenes?

"Who's Shinho?" Sara asked, completely lost. "What's going on here?"

Just then, Anrokuzan leaped forward. "I'll deal with his team first, then go after him!"

His eight spider legs ignited with purple chakra, his entire spider body now a blazing, destructive force hurtling straight for Kakashi.

Choza swung a massive, enlarged fist, smashing Anrokuzan's body back against the wall.

"Ultimate puppet?" Shibi smirked, raising both hands and releasing a swarm of kikaichu insects.

"I hate bugs!" Anrokuzan roared. Drawing on the Dragon Vein's energy, his body swelled even larger.

Kikaichu covered one of his spider legs, tearing a section away, but it instantly regenerated with purple chakra.

Minato took note of the regeneration. 

In a flash, he was right in front of Anrokuzan, slamming a Rasengan into his metal exoskeleton, carving a small dent into the surface. 

But within seconds, purple chakra poured into the dent, restoring it completely.

"We need to sever his connection to the Dragon Vein!" Minato shouted. "Kakashi!"

"Understood!" Though they hadn't fought together in years, Kakashi and Minato's teamwork was instinctual, engraved into each other's bones.

Kakashi's hand crackled with lightning as he appeared in the center of the formation and drove his attack downwards. The floor shattered, disrupting the array.

"It's working!" Kakashi called, looking over at Anrokuzan.

But Anrokuzan only laughed. "Useless!"

In defiance, he drew on the Dragon Vein once more. The sheer overflow of chakra distorted the air, surrounding him in a furious whirlwind.

"It's no use! His power is increasing too quickly!" Choza's enlarged fist was thrown back.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Minato hurled a shuriken, forming hand seals at lightning speed. 

The shuriken split in the air, doubling, quadrupling, until a rain of metal rained down upon Anrokuzan, slowing his advance.

"His weak point is in the chest!" Minato called out as he noticed a flicker of instability.

Sasuke dashed forward without hesitation, moving with lightning speed. His blade cut through the air, each strike a flash of blinding light.

"Is that Sakumo-senpai's sword technique?" Minato murmured with surprise.

With a powerful thrust, Sasuke drove his blade deep into Anrokuzan's chest. Expression hard and focused, he pressed down, burying the blade to the hilt.

"Impressive!" Minato praised without reservation. "Kakashi, you've taught your student well."

Kakashi managed a faint smile.

But then, in an instant, the situation changed. A torrent of purple chakra exploded outward, sending Sasuke and his blade flying back.

"Why is his regeneration so strong?" Minato muttered, rushing forward to catch Sasuke, eyeing Anrokuzan, who seemed entirely unscathed.

"Princess Sara, take them to the source. You need to cut off the Dragon Vein's core connection," came a calm, commanding voice from the shadows.

"Shinho?" Kakashi exclaimed, his voice filled with relief.

"Shinho-nii!" Karin shouted, her enthusiasm momentarily betraying her usually composed demeanor.

Fortunately, the others were too preoccupied to notice her slip.

"Is this Shinho?" Minato looked Shino over with interest. He seemed far more striking than Shibi.

"Shinho Aburame!" Anrokuzan's eyes flared with rage as he locked onto Shinho.

Hatred poured off him, the purple chakra flooding the room in response to his fury.

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