With two stories unfolding at once, let us turn to the other.
Just as Minato Namikaze and Choji Akimichi were discovered by Gozuki's Observation Haki and the two sides began a fierce battle over Queen Sara,
Hiashi Hyuga and Inuzuka Gaku, aided by an invisibility technique, had also arrived in Loulan's western district.
Perhaps because the commotion around the central tower was too great and had drawn most people's attention, the two made their way there without much danger and quite smoothly.
It was not until they noticed an increasing number of guarding soldiers and black-clad men that they decisively stopped and hid behind a building.
"Byakugan!"
Hiashi Hyuga immediately activated his bloodline limit.
The bulging veins around his eye sockets and his nearly all-white eyes made his originally handsome face appear exceptionally savage.
He first swept his gaze over the heavily guarded base ahead.
Finding nothing noteworthy beyond the sheer number of people, he slowly looked underground following Minato Namikaze's instructions.
"You've got to be kidding me."
A massive cylindrical space stretched straight underground. Broad, long stairways spiraled down along the walls, with figures in all manner of standard uniforms constantly coming and going.
At the center were two elevator cables and enormous cars, though it was unclear whether they had always been there or had only been built recently.
One went up while the other went down, one on the left and one on the right, continuously transporting boxes of all sizes between the surface and underground. The Black-Clad soldiers then carried them into different buildings or trucks.
The entire process was so orderly that it gave Hiashi Hyuga an intense sense of oppression.
"That is..."
At last, his gaze found the underground palace Minato Namikaze had mentioned.
The environment here had changed greatly compared to before.
The