"Minato-sensei, those puppets just now..."
"They are connected to a massive source of Chakra. Until that Chakra is completely depleted, no matter how many times we destroy these puppets, they should regenerate," Minato Namikaze said with a serious tone.
"A massive source of Chakra? Could it be the Dragon Vein?"
Minato Namikaze shook his head, "I'm not sure either. I've never seen the power of the Dragon Vein, but since this is Loulan, the possibility of it being the Dragon Vein is very high."
After hearing Minato Namikaze's words, Kakashi's expression grew considerably more serious.
Previously, Kakashi had thought that the so-called Dragon Vein was merely a huge mass of Chakra, similar to a Tailed Beast, and nothing special.
He had seen Tailed Beasts many times on the battlefield, so Kakashi had approached this mission with a degree of disregard.
But after the recent skirmish, Kakashi realized he was wrong; the power of the Dragon Vein was far more complex than just a massive mass of Chakra.
Aside from everything else, the ability to infinitely restore puppets was troublesome enough.
Meanwhile, Uchiha En and Aburame Shibi also encountered puppets while exploring ahead.
Although Uchiha En already knew the characteristics of the puppets, Aburame Shibi did not.
So, Uchiha En took action and destroyed a few puppets, allowing Aburame Shibi to witness the puppets rapidly restoring themselves.
Then Uchiha En reminded Aburame Shibi, "Shibi-sensei, these puppets, like the ones on the street, are all connected to the building in the center of the town.
We just need to sever the Chakra connecting them, and that should stop the puppets from moving!"
Aburame Shibi nodded, manipulating his Parasitic Insects to devour the Chakra connecting the puppets to the Dragon Vein, easily dealing with this batch of puppets.
"It's a good thing you're here, Shibi-sensei. If I were alone, I'd probably have to run away."
"The puppets' ability to regenerate is indeed quite troublesome," Aburame Shibi said.
"Judging by the number and distribution pattern of the puppets, Minato-senpai and Kakashi have most likely encountered them too. Since they don't have Parasitic Insects, they probably can't handle these puppets. We should go back and meet up with them first."
Before Uchiha En had finished speaking, a clear singing voice suddenly echoed from the distant ruins.
"Singing? Why would someone be singing in a place like this?" Aburame Shibi asked, frowning.
Uchiha En turned his head to look in the direction of the singing. That area of ruins was clearly outside the Dragon Vein's coverage, which aligned closely with the location where Sara appears in the original work.
So Uchiha En said, "Shibi-sensei, the person singing over there might be a Loulan native. Let's go take a look!"
Aburame Shibi hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. Since they had a way to deal with the puppets, they should be able to protect themselves even if it was a trap.
The two of them then went together to the ruins from which the singing originated.
"It sounds like the singing is coming from a dilapidated tower within the ruins," Aburame Shibi said, pointing toward the structure.
Uchiha En understood immediately and created a Shadow Clone to pretend to scout ahead, while his main body and Aburame Shibi followed closely behind, sneaking in from beneath the tower.
After Uchiha En and Aburame Shibi entered the tower, they saw a girl with deep red hair singing toward a bright light high above.
"She's human. Judging by her attire and clothing, she should be a resident of Loulan," Uchiha En said after scanning the red-haired girl with his Sharingan.
"Should we go talk to her directly?" Aburame Shibi asked.
Before Uchiha En could answer, a young man appeared: he had golden hair, blue eyes, six whiskers on his cheeks, wore a Konoha Ninja headband, and was dressed in an orange tracksuit.
This young man was, of course, Uzumaki Naruto, the true protagonist of the original work.
Just like the scene in the original work, Sara was startled by Naruto's sudden appearance, turned, and ran, with Naruto chasing right behind her.
Sara ran through a door one step ahead of Naruto, and Naruto entered the same door.
The puppet soldiers inside the door attacked Naruto. Naruto immediately retreated outside the door, but the puppet soldiers did not intend to let him go and chased him relentlessly.
However, this area was not covered by Dragon Vein Chakra, so the puppet soldiers immediately fell apart as soon as they passed through the large door.
Naruto finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he quickly realized that Sara had vanished.
After Uchiha En saw Naruto, he slowly activated his Sharingan.
Under the dual perception of the Sharingan and the Minds Eye, Uchiha En quickly saw Naruto inside and out.
The original work constantly emphasized Naruto's massive Chakra reserves, but Uchiha En had previously found it hard to imagine just how immense Naruto's Chakra truly was.
Now Uchiha En understood.
His current Chakra amount is 326. This figure is only about one twenty-fifth of Naruto's Chakra.
In other words, if Naruto's Chakra reserves were converted into a numerical value, it would be around 10,000. That is terrifying.
Of course, the Chakra here refers to Naruto's own Chakra plus the Tailed Beast Chakra inside him.
Speaking of the Tailed Beast inside Naruto, Uchiha En couldn't help but frown. Was the Tailed Beast inside Naruto the Nine-Tailed?
It certainly looked like a fox, but why did something feel off?
"En, that guy is wearing a Konoha headband."
Aburame Shibi's words interrupted Uchiha En's thoughts.
"Shibi-sensei, did the Village send anyone else for this mission?" Uchiha En asked, feigning a confused expression.
"No, and it's impossible! When Minato is on a mission, Hokage-sama wouldn't dispatch anyone else. Besides, I don't recall the Village having a Ninja like him."
"Shibi-sensei, that's a bit much. Can you really remember every Ninja in the Village?"
"Remembering every Ninja is impossible, but his Chakra reserves are far too massive. If I had ever seen him, I would definitely remember."
Uchiha En nodded and thought to himself, "That's right. Naruto's Chakra-ton characteristic is too obvious; anyone who sees it once wouldn't forget."
"En, let's not interact with him. We should go back and meet up with Minato and Kakashi first," Aburame Shibi said.
Uchiha En nodded, and together with Aburame Shibi, they turned and left.
After the two returned to the spot where they separated, they exchanged the newly acquired intelligence with Minato Namikaze and his student.
Minato Namikaze and Kakashi both changed expressions upon learning that the people in the town were actually puppets.
"Loulan definitely has problems! No wonder Hokage-sama was so anxious to send Minato-sensei here," Kakashi said.
"Indeed! The town is full of puppets, and the 'people' walking on the streets are all puppet disguises. This country has most likely been controlled by someone with ill intent, and that person should be our mission target, Anrokuzan," Aburame Shibi said.
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