Mukade sprinted at full speed, his cloak billowing behind him as he darted through the endless sand trails beyond the casino district. Behind him, more than twenty members of the Casino Group gave chase, their furious shouts echoing across the dunes.
Yet Mukade moved swiftly and effortlessly, leaving no footprints behind as a testament to his speed and precise chakra control.
Tokuma observed the scene with the sharp focus of his Byakugan, his pale eyes locked onto Mukade's chakra signature from afar. Moving silently, he kept his presence hidden as he followed the pursuit across the dunes. With each step, he released a faint trail of perfume powder, a subtle marker to help guide his teammates.
Though the desert wind and shifting sands might eventually erase the trail, the scent would linger for several hours. That window of time was all Team 1 needed to track his path and catch up.
But something felt strange.
Even under pursuit, Mukade remained calm, showing no emotion. The way he moved was almost inhuman, his speed just slightly behind Enso, the fastest member of the team. He never faltered, never looked over his shoulder, and never once showed fear. Tokuma narrowed his eyes. It didn't seem like Mukade was trying to shake off his pursuers. He was leading them somewhere.
Tokuma calmly assessed the terrain around him and pulled out the map provided by Konoha to pinpoint his location. He quickly realised that Mukade was intentionally guiding them toward the ruins of Rōran. A sense of unease settled in his chest. Unlike the members of the Casino Group, Tokuma knew that Mukade had once brought down an entire country. It was clear now that Mukade wasn't trying to escape; instead, he was using the terrain to eliminate his pursuers.
Mukade was leading them into a trap.
Mukade suddenly stopped and waited for the Casino Group to catch up. He faced them with an unsettling smile, unfazed by the twenty or more members circling him. The group closed in, weapons drawn, but their movements were cautious, as if unsure of his next move. Tokuma had a bad premonition as the situation took a sudden turn.
"Welcome to my home," Mukade said, his voice steady and laced with menace. "Ready to die?"
The leader of the Casino Group, a large man with jagged scars and a golden tooth, stepped forward, laughing heartily.
"Are you picking out your own burial ground?" he mocked, flashing a toothy grin. The others chuckled behind him, their confidence riding high in numbers.
Mukade smiled cruelly, his eyes sharp with intent. With a flick of his wrist, he unrolled a summoning scroll and pressed his palm against it. A burst of smoke revealed five puppets. Three were identical, angular and solidly built for raw strength and intimidation.
The other two had more sinister forms, one shaped like a spider with blade-tipped legs, the other resembling a centipede, long and segmented with a low, coiled body. With one hand, Mukade connected chakra threads to each puppet. On the other hand, he held a kunai, ready for battle.
Then he charged.
For a moment, the Casino Group hesitated, stunned by the sheer madness of what they were seeing. A puppet master, charging in with his own puppets? That went against every known tactic. Puppet masters were supposed to stay behind the lines, directing attacks from safety. Charging in was suicide.
But this wasn't a normal puppet master.
The five puppets surged forward in perfect unison, forming an attack formation mid-run. Their bladed arms gleamed as they sliced through the air with terrifying precision. In a blur, they crashed into the group, blades spinning and limbs stabbing in a coordinated dance of destruction. Mukade remained in the centre of the chaos, seemingly vulnerable, yet untouched.
His puppets moved like extensions of his own body, covering his flanks, countering attacks before they could reach him. He moved with calculated steps, timing his advance with theirs. Anyone who managed to get close found themselves locked in close combat with Mukade himself, and his taijutsu was nothing short of brutal. Fast, efficient, and overwhelming.
okuma observed from a distance, quietly impressed by Mukade's performance.
The tide of battle shifted violently. The twenty attackers were cut down one by one, their cries echoing through the ruins. In minutes, the desert floor was stained with dust and blood. Only five remained, and the confidence they once had was now shattered.
Weapons clattered to the ground.
The leader dropped to his knees, head bowed, trembling. "Please… spare us… We didn't know…"
Mukade walked forward, his puppets following at his sides like hounds on chains. He tilted his head, expression unreadable.
"I did pick a burial ground," he said, voice low and cruel. "But not for me."
The leader's face twisted in panic, and he shouted something unintelligible. Before Mukade could take another step, the four remaining underlings surged forward, grabbing his limbs and holding him down with all their strength.
The leader grinned viciously.
"You think we came unprepared?" he spat. "Let's all burn together!"
In an instant, explosive tags ignited across the bodies of the four men, glowing with deadly chakra. Tokuma's eyes widened in horror as realisation hit him.
It was the infamous technique of Sunagakure's elite assassins, "Heavenly Punishment." A suicide tactic designed to take down enemies far more powerful than oneself. It was considered a last resort, even in war.
(Obviously, the leader once worked as a Jonin in Sunagakure)
The explosion ripped through the ruins with a deafening roar. A pillar of flame and sand blasted into the sky, raining debris in all directions. Tokuma shielded his eyes, sand pelting his face like needles. He watched, stunned, as fragments of puppets, flesh, and scorched cloth scattered across the battlefield.
Mukade's puppets were in pieces, his body nowhere in sight.
Below, the Casino Group leader stood amidst the wreckage, laughing like a madman. He stomped on a burnt puppet limb, spitting in contempt.
"Now that's how you kill a freak."
He began to walk toward the charred pile of wreckage, intent on confirming the kill. But just as he neared, something shot up from beneath the sand. Two mechanical hands snapped onto his feet and yanked him down.
Before he could scream, a spinning blade erupted from the ground beneath him, slicing him clean in half. His body collapsed into the sand in two heavy thuds.
The desert went quiet.
Mukade rose from beneath the surface, untouched by the blast. His clothes were clean, not a scratch on him. Though his breathing was heavy, the sharp gleam in his eyes hadn't faded. He had used the Hiding in Surface Technique to evade death at the last possible moment.
Glancing around at the wreckage, he stepped forward and picked up the severed head of one of his puppets.
"Idiots," he muttered, brushing sand off his sleeve.
Tokuma felt a cold sweat run down his back. This man didn't fight like any puppeteer he'd ever seen. Who would have thought someone could wield ninjutsu, taijutsu, and control puppets all at once?
He wasn't sure if he could take Mukade down alone, especially not here, where the terrain worked in the fugitive's favor. But just then, his Byakugan caught a familiar chakra signature approaching from afar. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Reinforcements had arrived.
At the front was Enso, leading the charge. His Mind's Eye of Kagura had already locked onto both Tokuma and Mukade from a distance. "I've spotted Tokuma. We need to speed up," he said with urgency.
Enso picked up the pace, forcing Hayama and Itachi to keep up. Before long, Team 1 had regrouped. Hayama glanced at Tokuma, who was drenched in sweat, and asked, "What's the situation?"
Tokuma swallowed hard. "This guy just took out more than twenty people on his own. He's skilled with both puppets and ninjutsu. His taijutsu isn't that strong, but with the support of his puppets, I don't think I can handle him alone."
Hayama frowned slightly, glancing at Enso and Itachi. Fortunately, the two remained composed. If they had reacted the same way as Tokuma, he might've considered calling off the mission.
"Good work," Hayama said. "You made the right call. His abilities weren't listed in the report. No wonder he once escaped the Fourth Hokage."
He turned to the group and gave quick instructions.
"You three will engage him with the triangle formation. Start with Formation A. Remember, chakra flow techniques are effective against puppeteers. If you cut the threads, the puppets become useless. Tokuma, your Gentle Fist is ideal for that. Just do your best. I'll cut off his escape route."
The three nod heavily, and silently take off to confront their target.
Meanwhile, Mukade was cleaning up the battlefield. He collected the scattered parts of his puppets and reassembled them, restoring them to pristine condition. As for the bodies and blood, he calmly directed a puppet to dig a large pit, tossing the corpses and bloodstained sand inside before covering it all up again.
As he finished, he sensed movement in the distance. Three unknown outcasts were charging toward him at full speed. His eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed a pair of Sharingan and a Byakugan among them.
"Well, well... aren't you all from the Hidden Leaf? Why bother with the disguise?" Mukade said mockingly as the three stopped in front of him. Tokuma didn't bother to respond. He thrust his palm forward, releasing a Vacuum Palm. Mukade leapt back, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Enso infused chakra into his Nail Shuriken and hurled them high into the air. As they reached their peak, he triggered Explosive Touch, turning the sky into a storm of chakra-laced metal shards aimed straight at Mukade.
Still, Mukade didn't flinch. He fired chakra threads into the sand and raised a hand. Two mechanical blades burst upward, spinning in sync as they formed a makeshift shield against the incoming barrage.
Tokuma leapt into the air just as Itachi finished his hand signs and unleashed a massive fireball toward Mukade, who was momentarily pinned down by Enso's rain of metal fragments. Without hesitation, Enso reinforced the attack with Great Wind Breakthrough, feeding it oxygen and turning the flames a searing blue. The fireball swelled to nearly three times its original size, roaring toward its target.
Tokuma landed and immediately dashed forward, using the fiery explosion as cover to close the distance. But just as he neared, Mukade flashed a mocking smile and sank into the sand with the Hiding in Surface Technique, evading the attack entirely. Tokuma halted abruptly, his momentum fading as Mukade vanished beneath the sand.
Mukade reappeared roughly 500 meters away from Team 1's formation. This time, he was not alone but accompanied by all five of his restored puppets. Enso assessed the situation and calmly called out Formation B. Itachi and Tokuma moved in tandem while Enso positioned himself to provide cover for both.
As Itachi and Tokuma charged forward, Enso calmly threw Nail Shuriken one after another, each infused with his lightning Chakra Flow. Itachi quickly formed a hand sign and created another shadow clone to assist in the battle. The goal of Formation B was to leverage Itachi's Sharingan to catch the opponent off guard with Genjutsu. Naturally, the clone was an Explosive Clone, designed to provide cover and distraction.
Enso's Nail Shuriken skimmed a few chakra threads from Mukade's puppet, but they didn't break free from his control. Mukade quickly reconnected the chakra threads, dodging the incoming projectiles. The Spider Puppet leaped forward, its mouth opening wide as it shot out a Great Dragon Fire, forming a dragon-shaped fireball. Mukade manipulated the fireball to intercept Itachi and Tokuma, forcing them to use an Explosive Clone to counter.
The clash of the two Ninjutsu sent debris and sand flying in every direction, creating a thick cloud of smoke. This gave Itachi the perfect cover as he rushed forward with great speed, sneaking behind Mukade. Itachi gripped his kunai with both hands, stabbing downward toward the target. Unfortunately, his attack was blocked by a centipede puppet, and Mukade looked at him with clear provocation.
"Minato couldn't capture me with a three-man team back then. What makes you think the three of you will succeed?" Mukade said proudly, clearly taking pride in escaping from the infamous Yellow Flash.
Although he acted composed in the face of the three skilled Shinobi, Mukade began to feel a silent pressure building. His rapid provocations had no effect at all. These people clearly weren't the type to act on emotion. They didn't come here to capture him. They came to kill. What's worse, he was being pressured so hard that he couldn't even confirm if anyone else was hiding in the shadows. 'I'll need to make my escape soon. These people are not easy opponents,' Mukade thought to himself.
Itachi responded with a smile as he activated his Sharingan, casting Genjutsu.
Tokuma felt a brief sense of relief, realising their tactic had worked, but suddenly, Enso appeared next to Itachi, blocking the three puppets that had quietly snuck up behind him, ready to attack while he was casting the Genjutsu.
"Vacuum Flash: Rampage!" A barrage of compressed Vacuum Blades shattered the three puppets into pieces.
"The real Mukade is hiding beneath the ground. You're missing an important piece of information, Tokuma. This guy is also skilled in sensory techniques; he controls the puppets with them. The Mukade we saw is also a puppet," Enso said calmly, landing back on the ground after saving Itachi's life from a sneak attack.
Tokuma was shocked, swallowing hard in disbelief.
Itachi was drenched in cold sweat. If Enso hadn't intervened in time, he could have suffered serious injuries from those sneak attacks. He glanced at Enso, his voice tense. "You're saying he's still hiding under the sand?"
Enso nodded calmly. Suddenly, the three broken puppets he had destroyed began to reassemble, forming a giant puppet. The force of the transformation stirred a strong gust of wind as each part locked into place. Enso took the opportunity to create a shadow clone and activate his invisibility. Using the Chakra Suppression Technique, he erased his presence completely and began silently searching for the real Mukade.
"Not good. We have to end this now, or he'll escape," Itachi said, his expression darkening.
Enso and Tokuma nodded firmly as they moved into Formation C, placing Enso's clone at the front while Itachi and Tokuma provided cover.
"Guys," Enso said, eyes sharp with focus, "I'll break through the golem's outer shell. As soon as it's open, hit it with everything you've got. We can't let it pull itself back together."
Both Itachi and Tokuma responded with a solemn nod.
Enso's clone launched multiple chakra-infused Nail Shuriken at the giant, golem-like puppet. Using the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, he multiplied their number and stacked each with Explosive Touch, causing them to detonate on contact. The barrage effectively shattered the puppet's outer layer.
Tokuma rushed in, pressing both palms together to unleash a concentrated Vacuum Blast, breaking the puppet further apart.
Itachi followed up with a massive fireball, combining it with Great Wind Breakthrough on his own, clearly inspired by his previous combo with Enso. The resulting blue flames engulfed the wreckage, burning everything to ash.
At the same time, the real Enso had already located Mukade, who began fleeing the moment his puppet came under attack. Unfortunately for him, he had underestimated Team 1. Enso also sensed Hayama's presence through the Mind's Eye of Kagura, positioned right in the direction Mukade was headed.
Mukade noticed Hayama blocking that path, but he would rather take the risk than face the three attackers directly. He was confident in his own unique puppeteer style. While legends like Lady Chiyo and Sasori were known for their synchronised puppet combat, Mukade's technique focused on puppet reconstruction. It was arguably just as deadly, perhaps even more so.
Instead of coordinating movements with his puppets, he dismantled them into smaller weapons for surprise attacks or rebuilt them into stronger, more adaptable forms. His approach offered more versatility than the traditional puppetry methods taught in Sunagakure.
Enso moved swiftly, his Void Step carrying him across the sand without leaving a trace. This was thanks to Hayama's training in sand-walking. He closed the distance before Mukade could react, leaping high into the air and diving headfirst toward the ground. Using gravity to his advantage, Enso unleashed a vicious slash with Vacuum Flash: Rampage.
The strike carved a five-meter-deep gash in the sand and severely wounded Mukade, who was caught completely off guard.
"Sensei, now!" Enso shouted, revealing himself after the attack.
Hayama had already leapt into the air the moment Enso struck. With chakra infused into his blade, he plunged downward, piercing Mukade straight through the heart.
Blood dripped from Mukade's mouth, too stunned to speak. Hayama slowly pulled his sword free and asked coldly, "Not running anymore?"
He looked down at Mukade with disdain, then ended it with a clean slash, severing head from body. Blood sprayed like a fountain as Hayama wiped his blade clean.
Mukade's last thought was not of his killer, but of bitter resentment toward the Daimyo and Sunagakure. He had completed the mission of bringing down Rōran single-handedly, yet instead of being hailed as a hero, he was cruelly abandoned by Sunagakure and the Land of Wind's Daimyo.
He couldn't understand why, after succeeding in evading Minato, the 'Yellow Flash,' and accomplishing what seemed impossible, he was left to die in this way.
Betrayed and helpless, his mind was a jumble of emotions and confusion as he gazed at his headless body. His eyes remained wide open, filled with confusion and doubt in his final twenty seconds of consciousness.
Enso stepped forward, sealed the body into a scroll, and absorbed Mukade's soul in the process.
*Other than his appearance in Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Lost Tower, not much is known about Mukade. While the movie is non-canon, it gives me the freedom to expand on his character with more imagination and depth.
Mukade isn't portrayed as an overwhelmingly powerful antagonist, and many might argue he doesn't deserve an A-Rank threat level. However, mission rankings aren't based solely on a target's strength. This is someone who once escaped Minato Namikaze and was responsible for the fall of Roran, which alone justifies the rating.
Similarly, there are Shinobi who aren't the strongest in combat but still reach Jonin rank because of their contributions. By the same logic, if Mukade's capabilities were any higher, he would easily qualify for an S-Rank. But I've chosen to balance his resume with his ability, which reasonably places him at A-Rank.
Also, if you haven't left a review yet, please consider doing so. It would help a lot, especially when people search for books based on ratings.
I want to sincerely apologise for the delay in releasing the next chapter. One of my family members is currently unwell, and I need to focus on taking care of them during this time. Thank you for your understanding and patience. I truly appreciate your continued support, and I'll be back with new chapters as soon as I can.*