Shindai brought Naruto Uzumaki to where Sara was sitting on the staircase.
Sara sat there singing a song to herself.
Shindai sneered mockingly, "Well now, you still have the mood to sing."
Naruto pulled Shindai aside. "Aniki, please don't cause trouble, I'm begging you!"
Naruto muttered quietly to himself, "Man, if only my two sisters were here—they're the only ones who can control you."
Naruto's muttering was too soft for Shindai to catch clearly, "Huh? You said you have a sister? Are you a twin? Or did Lord Minato and Sister Kushina have another child... Wait, wouldn't that child be your younger sister?"
"No way! I'm an only child—just me alone. Got it? Now keep quiet!"
Naruto felt truly helpless. If he'd known this would happen, he wouldn't have agreed to go along with Shindai in the first place.
After taking a deep breath, Naruto walked toward Sara and said, "This song… you were singing it the first time I saw you too."
Sara hugged her knees with both arms and rested her chin on them as she replied, "It's the song Mother used to sing for me. An Lushan advised Mother to use the Dragon Vein's power for the sake of her people.
Mother harnessed the power of the Dragon Vein, combining it with the advanced methods An Lushan introduced. In no time, Loulan developed into a city of thousands of towers.
But… Mother died before achieving her great ambitions. After her death, only An Lushan remained by my side. No one else… no one else at all..."
Shindai sneered mockingly, "Probably because An Lushan got rid of everyone else?"
Naruto shot Shindai a glare. "Aniki, if you keep this up, I'll have to report you."
Suddenly, a shiver of fear ran through Shindai, and he fell silent.
Wait? Hmm, something's wrong—he shouldn't feel uneasy at all!
At most, Naruto could only tattle on him to Kushina Uzumaki, since only she could make him feel even slightly uneasy. But his reaction just now seemed far too extreme.
Naruto seriously said to Sara, "I've received many precious things from many people—the persistent determination to stick to my Ninja Way once decided. I want to pass these treasures on to others too. Your mother left you something truly precious too, didn't she?
So, think again about what valuable treasure your mother gave you. Then you'll know what you should do now. As the future queen, you should pass the treasure your mother gave you to your people. Do what you must do—never give up easily!"
Sara stared blankly at Naruto Uzumaki, who smiled at her with the exact same grin as Minato.
Shindai flinched slightly at the sight.
This Sara… is doomed.
Even Shindai couldn't resist that Minato-style smile sometimes.
Sure enough, Sāra had seemed deeply troubled just moments ago.
And now… her expression was one of firm determination.
Sāra declared with unwavering conviction, "First, we must find out what's really going on in this town. As our Queen, she has the ability to sense the Dragon Vein's flow. If we can determine where this pipeline carrying Dragon Vein Energy connects, we might be able to locate those who were taken."
Naruto Uzumaki exclaimed enthusiastically, "Great! Then let's get going!"
Sāra walked ahead, followed closely behind by Shindai and Naruto Uzumaki.
Shindai mockingly whispered, "Hey, Naruto, you're from another world, after all. She's way older than you—flirting with someone old enough to be your aunt? That makes you kind of a playboy."
Naruto shot back indignantly, "I'm not flirting with anyone! And I'm definitely not a playboy. When it comes to age, no one could possibly be older than you, Aniki!"
Shindai arched an eyebrow, surprised. "What exactly are you trying to say? You think I'm old?"
Naruto glanced sideways. "I wasn't talking about you! Come on, hurry up and catch up with Sāra!"
Shindai, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sāra reunited with Yako and the chubby little boy Sarai who were waiting for them.
The five-man team followed the pipeline until they reached an exhaust vent.
Standing before the vent, Sāra confidently stated, "This exhaust vent should connect directly to the convergence point of the town's entire Dragon Vein network!"
Naruto turned to Yako and Sarai and said, "If we find your families, I swear I'll bring them back safe. So please wait here with your comrades."
The chubby little Sarai asked excitedly, "Really?"
Sāra placed her hand over her heart and promised firmly, "I swear upon my honor as Queen!"
Shindai drawled sarcastically, "I… swear… upon my honor… as Queen! Real inspiring act—too bad there's no actual strength behind it. So it's all on us again, huh?"
Both Sāra and Naruto had bulging veins throbbing on their foreheads.
Sāra snapped angrily, "You jerk! Can you be any more annoying!"
Shindai scoffed, "Annoying? Naruto, you know me better than anyone. Why don't you tell her how great I really am?"
Naruto sincerely apologized to Sāra. "Sāra, I'm really sorry on behalf of my Aniki—he's just like this. Very few people can tolerate his personality—even we have trouble dealing with him sometimes. Please don't take offense."
As Shindai started to object, Naruto quickly covered his mouth. "Aniki, can't you just keep quiet for once? Not another word! I know plenty of your secrets—you wouldn't like what happens if I shared them with them!"
Shindai swatted Naruto's hand away and questioned perplexedly, "Them? Don't be vague! At least say their names! Talking like a cryptic puzzle isn't cool at all!"
"Immoral? Whatever. You've dragged me into plenty of immoral stuff before, so what's one more?" Naruto Uzumaki shrugged off. "Alright, let's move."
He ripped open the iron cover of the exhaust vent and shouted, "Let's go!"
Shindai, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sāra entered through the exhaust vent.
The moment they got inside, Sāra's eyes widened at the unbelievable sight before her.
It was an underground factory.
Inside this factory were many people, working like beasts of burden, continuously pushing and pulling levers without rest, while a Puppet stood nearby supervising them.
Iron shackles cuffed their wrists and ankles. Steam spewing from the machines turned the entire place into a sweltering furnace.
Elsewhere on a conveyor belt, parts for Puppet were being mass-produced.
Her voice shook with outrage, "An Lushan actually exploits his own people to manufacture weapons! We must... we must stop him!"
"Okay, this is the core location transferring Dragon Vein Energy, right? Destroying it should do the trick?"
Shindai had already begun forming [Hand Seals]. Sāra quickly stopped him, shouting, "If you destroy it directly, the out-of-control Dragon Vein Energy will trigger an explosion here!"
Shindai halted his Hand Seals, furrowing his brow slightly.
"Now what do we do?"
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