"Your Majesty, may I ask what's the matter?"
The man named An Lushan was about thirty years old, with a beard on his face, looking like a shrewd and capable character.
He maintained a respectful attitude towards the Queen on the throne.
"An Lushan, I have recently heard that many residents in the city have gone missing. Do you know what's going on?"
The Queen conveyed her will.
As the Queen of Roran, she had the duty to protect her people domestically.
Among all her ministers, An Lushan was the most capable and trustworthy.
He always maintained a respectful attitude towards her, was friendly with his colleagues, and treated the people of Roran kindly, never feeling superior.
As long as she expressed her concerns, she believed that An Lushan would quickly and thoroughly investigate the matter. This was an esteemed trust.
"Your Majesty, I've heard about this matter too. In fact, before this, I have already sent people to investigate it. I believe we will soon have results."
"I'll leave this matter to you then, An Lushan."
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. It is my duty, and I will not betray your trust."
An Lushan showed a gentle smile and respectfully withdrew under the Queen's gaze.
Not long after An Lushan withdrew, a red-haired girl ran in from a side door.
"Mother!"
The girl dove into the Queen's arms, wearing a happy smile.
"What's up, Sara? Is class over for today?"
"Yes, I've finished learning."
"That's good. In the future, you will be the next Queen of Roran. Make sure to work hard to be a good Queen who considers her subjects, Sara."
The Queen lovingly stroked Princess Sara's hair and showed her a kind smile.
◎
Near the oasis city in the desert was the place known as Roran.
As night fell, the city was shrouded in swirling dust storms. From afar, only the dark silhouette of the city could be seen, filled with mystery.
Arriving at the sewer grate location, based on Ayane's findings, entering from this manhole can lead to the place where the immense Chakra energy is located.
Hakushi, under the moonlight, studied this oasis city in the desert. The pipes connecting all the towering buildings in the sky transmitted extraordinarily abnormal Chakra, forming a cyclic Chakra supply system to power the entire city.
Although it is a relatively prosperous city, its defenses were so poor that Hakushi didn't even want to comment.
Originally thinking that infiltration would take some time, it turned out there were no other defense measures except guards composed of ordinary people, allowing the three of them to sneak in easily.
"What do we do next? Do we need to cause a disturbance?"
"No need. The defense at this level doesn't require such means. Let's resolve this quickly and leave early."
Initially, Hakushi considered whether to create a disturbance before seizing the Dragon Vein Power, but upon thinking about this country's defense, it's entirely unnecessary.
With that, Hakushi opened the manhole cover and jumped down first, followed closely by Ruri and Ayane.
Below, exhaust ducts crisscrossed in complex routes.
Fortunately, with Ayane's Byakugan, there's no need to worry about these. They could directly find the correct path to the underground Dragon Vein and accurately locate the source of the Dragon Vein Power.
During the journey, Hakushi saw a group of raggedly dressed people, who looked like criminals, collectively pushing a strange device resembling a giant millstone.
Within it was a huge Chakra reaction emerging from the ground.
Metallic puppet soldiers guarded the vicinity, leaving Hakushi puzzled about the situation.
Could these prisoners be the criminals of Roran?
"That device is connected to the factory producing puppet soldiers."
Ayane explained.
Her Byakugan could see all the circumstances here, including the location of the factory producing puppet soldiers clearly.
"Looks like this country has quite the ambition. Are they planning to stir up a storm within the Land of Wind?"
Hakushi chuckled.
Although he could sense the part of the Dragon Vein's pulsations using Perception Ninjutsu, relying solely on that level of power to shake one of the Five Great Nations, the Land of Wind, is too simplistic.
Ultimately, if exposed, it would most likely end up in the hands of Hidden Sand.
Rather than that, it's more fitting for him to take care of it.
Avoiding those puppet soldiers patrolling with Dragon Vein power, with Ayane's Byakugan detecting, they easily bypassed all defensive lines and reached the final blockade.
In front, a five to six meters tall giant gate blocked their way, with exquisitely carved images on the surrounding walls, likely representing the cultural emblem of Roran.
Pushing open the giant gate, they continued through the corridor, starting to explore deeper.
The puppet soldiers grew denser here, but their actions were relatively clumsy and their detection range was narrow. Hakushi and the others still easily made it to the location of the Dragon Vein.
It was a huge chamber with four gigantic statues arranged around it. In the center of the four statues, something resembling an eye was closed, from which purple Chakra light permeated.