Chapter 267 : Faster Than Namikaze Minato

As Riku and Temari suddenly appeared in the underground Dragon Vein chamber, Mukade frowned.

But his hands were already on the Flying Thunder God seal.

"You won't catch me," he said flatly.

With that, he pulled hard on the seal.

At that moment, a violent surge of energy erupted around them—the Dragon Vein had been unsealed, and a massive force shot straight into the sky.

Sensing the enormous chakra within, Riku narrowed his eyes. "This chakra… It's even more terrifying than the Nine Tails. How was this formed?"

He was deeply curious about the origin of the Dragon Vein.

In his mind, he thought, Could it be that this Dragon Vein can absorb the natural energy of the earth like the God Tree?

Riku's guess wasn't far off—he could feel the Dragon Vein constantly drawing in natural energy from its surroundings.

The absorption method was entirely consistent with that of the God Tree.

But he had no time to dwell on it. In a flash, Riku used his teleportation and appeared behind Mukade.

In that instant, the power of the Dragon Vein suddenly erupted and swallowed both Riku and Mukade.

As the two vanished into the surge, Temari stood frozen in shock.

"Did… Did Riku just get swallowed up?"

The chakra of the Dragon Vein continued to expand rapidly, thickening and saturating the area within tens of meters.

Meanwhile, Riku, swept into the Dragon Vein, reappeared at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

He didn't end up in Rōran.

More strangely, the moment he appeared, a specially crafted kunai appeared in front of him.

Riku's eyes sharpened—and in the next moment, he vanished, reappearing behind Namikaze Minato, who had suddenly arrived at the location. Riku held a short sword to Minato's neck.

At that instant, a massive swarm of insects surged toward Riku.

Just before they could surround him, lightning exploded from his body with a sharp crack.

Violent currents of electricity surged in all directions.

Countless insects were immediately incinerated by the crackling thunder chakra, their tiny forms bursting into flames.

In the heart of the blast, a three- to four-meter-wide dome of insect chakra was completely consumed by fire.

Then, a massive fist came crashing toward Riku.

Lightning surged from Riku again, and a snake of thunder instantly coiled around the fist, halting it mid-swing.

Zzzzt!

Under the intense voltage, the owner of the punch—Akimichi Choza—collapsed to the ground, his entire body scorched. "Aaargh—!"

All of this happened in just a second or two.

In an instant, Riku had taken down three Konoha Jōnin. His combat strength was terrifying.

Aburame Shibi rushed to Choza's side and helped him up, his expression solemn as he stared at Riku. "He knows space-time ninjutsu? And why is he faster than even Minato?"

Though Choza's body was charred, his life wasn't in danger—Riku had clearly held back.

Minato, meanwhile, hadn't made a move. He had sensed from the beginning that Riku harbored no killing intent toward them. More importantly, he had the distinct feeling that—even with his own mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique—Riku could kill him in an instant if he wished.

He didn't know why, but that instinct was undeniable.

Riku calmly sheathed the short sword.

Minato didn't attack either. He understood now—Riku had no hostility toward them.

Then Minato's gaze fell to Riku's arm. His eyes widened in disbelief. "You… You're a Konoha ninja?"

Choza and Shibi were just as stunned. They had also seen the Konoha forehead protector on Riku's arm.

Riku nodded.

"Namikaze Minato," he said casually. "Oh—right, I should be calling you the Fourth Hokage. But I guess you haven't taken the title yet."

Minato froze.

Based on Riku's words, it sounded like he was speaking from a point in the future—one where Minato had already become Hokage.

Because Yamato hadn't traveled back with him, Minato had no way of knowing that Riku had come from the future.

Riku walked over to Choza's side. Shibi moved to guard him warily.

Riku smiled. "Relax. I know medical ninjutsu."

"Besides… if I really wanted to hurt you three, there's nothing you could do to stop me."

Though Shibi remained cautious, he didn't stop Riku.

He knew that even Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique couldn't outpace Riku's speed.

Riku placed his hand on Choza and quickly healed him with precise medical ninjutsu.

Watching Riku work, Minato frowned. "That technique… It's almost identical to Lady Tsunade's medical ninjutsu."

Tsunade's methods were unique and instantly recognizable.

And indeed, Riku had learned medical ninjutsu from Tsunade herself.

Which is why Minato could immediately recognize the source of Riku's skills.

Within minutes, Choza was fully recovered.

He hadn't sustained life-threatening injuries—Riku had pulled his punches. Had he used a bit more force, Choza might've died on the spot.

As Choza stood up, Riku turned to Minato.

"I'm also a ninja of Konoha," he said. "But I'm not from this era—I'm from the future."

Choza and Shibi were stunned. "From the future? What does that mean?"

Minato was surprised, but didn't show it. Instead, he asked, "Then what's your objective?"

Riku walked over to a nearby rock, gazing out toward the dunes in the distance. "Your mission this time is to head to Rōran. There's a ninja there who also came from the future—a rogue from Sunagakure. He's my target. The Dragon Vein brought both of us into this time period."

Minato believed him. Their current mission was to go to Rōran and eliminate Mukade.

According to their intel, Mukade had taken control of Rōran and imprisoned all its citizens.

Under the alias "Anrokuzan," Mukade had seized control of the Dragon Vein and planned to power puppet armies with its energy in order to plunge the world into chaos.

Hearing Riku's explanation only solidified Minato's conviction—this rogue ninja was indeed the one Riku had been pursuing.

No one else had ever even considered using the Dragon Vein to power puppets.

Even with Rōran's knowledge, it had never been done.

Mukade had seemingly appeared out of nowhere—and had quickly gained the favor of Rōran's former queen.

Shortly afterward, that queen had mysteriously died, leaving her daughter Sāra as the sole heir.

Minato glanced back at Riku. "You used time-space ninjutsu just now, didn't you?"

More than Rōran, what intrigued him most right now was Riku himself. His speed far surpassed Minato's.

From their brief clash, he could tell—Riku's space-time ninjutsu wasn't just fast. It was precise.

There was no one like Riku in the current shinobi world.

That could only mean one thing: he truly had come from the future.

And meanwhile, across the shinobi world, the legend of the "Yellow Flash" was just beginning to spread.

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