Hinata of the Future, Byakugan Trait Drop!

"It should be, Sister Tsunade."

Qingyu stood beside her, watching the Chakra channels that snaked between the buildings like centipedes.

This is most likely Anrokuzan, Mukade designed it.

Those Chakra channels should contain some of the Dragon Vein Chakra.

Mukade was a skilled puppeteer. He used Dragon Vein Chakra to control puppets, which then built cities.

I have to say, this guy does have some brains.

Unfortunately, it was defeated before it could fully develop and break through the regional limitations of the Dragon Vein Chakra.

Otherwise, by having the Mukade endlessly produce puppet soldiers, even a Kage Level expert could be worn down to death with ten thousand or even a hundred thousand puppets.

Minato Namikaze walked to Tsunade's side, his gaze also falling on the magnificent buildings in the distance.

His brow furrowed slightly.

"This scale indicates that Anrokuzan has a very deep grasp on the Dragon Vein. We will proceed according to plan. I will lead a small team to infiltrate the underground passage and find the source of the Dragon Vein."

"Lady Tsunade, you and Qingyu should enter the palace from the front. Although Anrokuzan controls the government, he is still nominally a minister of Rōran and would not dare to attack Lady Tsunade in public."

Minato Namikaze made a suggestion.

"Um."

Tsunade nodded.

"Qingyu, Kakashi, Ginka, come with me. Minato, you guys be careful."

"Lady Tsunade too."

Minato Namikaze smiled slightly, then gestured to Obito, Kakashi, Rin Nohara behind him.

The four figures quickly disappeared into the shadows behind the sand dunes.

Tsunade looked in the direction where Minato Namikaze had disappeared, then turned and walked towards the gate of Roran City.

Let's go.

Upon entering Rōran, the group was questioned.

Who are you?

--

The lead guard stepped forward.

"I am Tsunade from Konoha. I have been commissioned by the Land of Fire to treat Queen of Roran. I have already informed her in advance."

Tsunade took out a document from her bosom, which bore the official seal of the Land of Fire and the diplomatic reply from Rōran.

The guard took the document and glanced at it.

As he turned his neck, it made a grinding sound like gears grinding.

Qingyu's ears twitched, and he immediately and secretly activated his Sharingan.

Sure enough, he discovered that the Chakra flow within the guards in front of him was completely different from that of normal people.

Such a crisscrossing, square-shaped flow of Chakra could only be from a puppet!

"Please follow me."

He turned around and walked into the city.

Tsunade walked behind the guard, her gaze sweeping over the back of his neck.

A small section of bare skin could be vaguely seen through the gap between the armor and helmet.

But Tsunade always felt he was too pale, without any blood in him.

Just as she was about to take a closer look, a piece of paper was suddenly slipped into her palm.

Tsunade calmly held the note in her hand, glancing at Qingyu beside her out of the corner of her eye.

Then Tsunade bent down and unfolded the note.

There were only a few words on the note.

"It's a puppet, Sister Tsunade."

Tsunade put the note into her Ninja Tool Pouch.

Just as I expected.

No wonder I felt something was wrong earlier; these weren't living people at all, but puppets being manipulated.

If even the guards at the gate have been replaced with puppets, then what must be the situation inside the palace be like?

Tsunade a deep breath and suppressed her thoughts.

Qingyu followed behind Tsunade, observing the surrounding environment.

The streets were sparsely populated, and the few ordinary people who were seen were all in a hurry.

Taking advantage of the others' inattention, Qingyu quietly activated the perception of the "Barrier - Heavenly Canopy Formation" and silently explored the surroundings.

In his perception, the Chakra fluctuations nearby were much denser than normal.

A special kind of Chakra fluctuation flowed everywhere—on the ground, inside the walls, and even in the sky.

Qingyu felt as if she were surrounded by puppets.

Just then, semi-transparent text suddenly popped up in front of Qingyu's eyes.

[Collectible trait detected: The Puppet Master's Art of Self]

[D-Rank Trait: The Puppet Master's Art of Self]

[Effect: Enhances the Puppeteer talent by 30%.]

[Crafting: Defeating five different Clay Puppet will upgrade the trait to a higher level.]

Qingyu closed the panel without making a sound.

It seems this trait was dropped by Anrokuzan.

It seems Anrokuzan has noticed our arrival.

Before long, the group arrived inside the palace.

"Lady Tsunade, please."

The lead guard raised his arm and gestured for them to proceed.

At the far end of the hall, a throne made of gold and jewels stood tall.

Seated on the throne was a woman in a red dress; it was none other than Queen Sara.

She had bright red hair, delicate features, and fair skin, but her complexion was pale and sickly, and her lips had lost their color.

Seeing Tsunade walk in, Sara slowly raised her head.

"So you are... Tsunade from Konoha?"

Queen Sara spoke.

"It's me."

Tsunade said.

Sara nodded, then looked at Qingyu and the others standing behind Tsunade.

"Who are these people?"

"He's my subordinate."

Tsunade turned to the side, allowing Qingyu and the others to come into Sara's view.

Qingyu stepped forward and bowed slightly to Sara.

"Qingyu, Chunin Konoha."

Qingyu said.

Sara didn't think much of it, just nodded slightly, and then looked at Kakashi and Hyuga Ginka.

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Hyuga Ginka."

The two simply gave their names.

Sara nodded slightly, then turned her gaze back to Tsunade.

"Thank you for your help."

She reached out and rolled up the sleeves of her long dress, revealing her slender wrists.

Tsunade sat down in the chair next to Sara and began her treatment.

Standing behind Tsunade, Qingyu secretly activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

His Sharingan could clearly see that an extremely faint Chakra was slowly spreading within Sara's body.

This Chakra did not belong to Sara, which is why Qingyu could detect the difference between the two colors.

Sara's was blue, but that Chakra was green.

Different Chakra have different colors, and the Sharingan can also see these colors.

Is it because there's a device constantly injecting it?

Qingyu found it strange.

Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that even Queen Sara's hat displayed traces of Chakra flow.

And the source of this connection is none other than the spires of those towering buildings.

Qingyu remembered that this was the key to the transmission of Dragon Vein Chakra in the original work.

It really is a small ninja tool.

Qingyu pondered to herself.

[Collectible trait detected: Queen's Sorrow]

[D-Rank Trait: The Queen's Sorrow]

[Effect: Increases resistance to mental interference by 30%.]

[Crafting: Restores Queen Sara's normal mindset, upgrading her to a higher-level trait.]

Qingyu looked at the text that popped up in front of her and her heart stirred.

That's easy, just defeat Anrokuzan, right?

Minato Namikaze came along this time.

Moreover, the enemies are all puppets and don't bleed, so Tsunade can go all out without any worries.

With these two strong players on the team, Qingyu felt that this game was already in the bag.

Just as Tsunade was about to unleash a more in-depth reconnaissance Ninjutsu, the guards who had been kneeling in the main hall suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, please be careful."

The guard faced Tsunade and Qingyu, raising his right arm.

Click.

The armor on his right arm split open, revealing the mechanism inside, from which a sharp blade popped out.

The blade pierced towards Queen Sara.

Queen Sara was startled.

Boom!

Tsunade's right fist, imbued with "Strength of a Hundred" Chakra, slammed into the blade.

The moment the fist struck the blade, a visible white shockwave erupted.

The blade shattered into fragments, which flew out and became embedded in the walls of the main hall.

Tsunade withdrew her fist and glanced down at the back of her hand.

The "Strength of a Hundred" Chakra formed a protective film on her fist, preventing her skin from directly contacting the blade, thus leaving no bloodstains.

"Assassination Queen?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, a sharp glint flashing in her brown-gold pupils.

Seeing this, Qingyu also began to make her move.

He drew the Muramasa, its blade extending into a sharp wind-blown edge.

With a flash, Qingyu appeared in front of another guard.

Laugh!

The guard's body was cleaved in two, turning into scrap metal under Qingyu's single strike.

Hyuga Ginka stood in front of Queen Sara, adopting the starting stance of Gentle Fist.

Her Byakugan was fully activated, and the pure white pupils reflected the Chakra flow patterns within all the puppets around her.

"Be careful, these people are all puppets, there are more underneath the floor!"

Hyuga Ginka finished speaking, the floor tiles in the main hall suddenly began to move.

A dozen or so figures emerged from the underground passage; they looked exactly like the guards at the entrance.

Qingyu formed a hand Hand Seals and spewed out a water dragon from his mouth.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

The water jets crashed into the puppets, the powerful impact sending them tumbling about.

Before they could even stand still, Qingyu struck again, slicing all four puppets in half at the waist.

They're all puppets of this type; we're missing four different kinds.

At this moment, Qingyu hoped that more puppets would come.

"Protect the Queen."

Tsunade a low shout and charged into the group of puppets.

With each punch she threw, she shattered three or four puppets.

"Here we go again."

Kakashi used "Chidori" to launch a surprise attack, killing many puppets.

Just then, a figure climbed in through a window on the side of the hall.

The newcomer was dressed as Konoha Ninja, with long, dark blue hair tied in a high ponytail at the back of his head, and wearing a white fox mask on his face.

After landing, she immediately assumed the starting stance of Gentle Fist.

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

She struck out with both palms at incredible speed, sending all the puppets flying and helping Qingyu and the others defeat them.

Before long, all the puppets in the vicinity had been cleared away by the group.

Tsunade turned around to look at the woman who had suddenly appeared.

"Who are you?"

The woman removed her mask, revealing a delicate and beautiful face.

She had a pair of pure white eyes and a pure, innocent face.

"Greetings Lady Tsunade."

Hinata Hyuga spoke up.

Tsunade frowned.

Is this the ninjutsu of the Sun Sea Clan?

She looked closely at Hinata Hyuga's face, but couldn't recall where she had seen the girl before.

"You are... a member of the Sunsea Clan?"

"Yes, my name is Hinata."

Hinata Hyuga.

Ginka walked over to Queen Sara, her white pupils scrutinizing this suddenly appearing member of her race.

She was certain that she had never seen this girl in the clan before. She knew all the members of the Main Family of the Sun Sea Clan, and she had also met the members of the Branch Family, including Renqi.

"Your surname Hyuga? I've never seen you before."

Rihai Ginka frowned.

The Rihai clan maintains very strict control over its Main Family and Branch Family, and records are kept of any clan member's travels to the sea.

The sudden appearance of such a young Byakugan ninja on the battlefield of Rōran puzzled Hyuga Ginka.

Hinata looked at Ginka, blinked, and showed a confused expression.

"Senior Ginka? What are you doing here—"

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

She looked closely at Rihai Ginka's face, then at Tsunade, and realized that neither of them were the same as the one she remembered.

Tsunade and Hyuga Ginka exchanged a glance, both with the same expression on their faces.

The two had no idea Hinata Hyuga.

Who else could it be but this person?

Tsunade and Hikai Ginka were utterly bewildered.

But Qingyu's eyes widened after reading it.

The ninja techniques from the future... are they actually Hinata's?

Besides Hinata, who else came here?

After being surprised by the food, Qingyu quickly regained her composure.

It's just that the ninja who traveled through time has become a different person.

Should we try to find out about the future of Tsurugi from Hinata?

Qingyu frowned.

After thinking about it, he rejected the idea.

With his lineage and Trait System, he was bound to reach the top sooner or later.

Knowing the future can lead to unpredictable changes.

"You look just like the teacher."

Hinata also noticed Qingyu and turned to look at Qingyu.

Her pure white eyes lingered on Qingyu's face for a moment.

Teacher?"

Qingyu was puzzled and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Is he going to be Hinata's teacher in the future?

[Detectable] Collectible Trait: Princess of the Main House

[B-Rank Trait: Princess of the Main House]

[Effect: Increases Byakugan Purity by 100%, awakens Byakugan.]

[Synthesis: Close contact with Hinata will upgrade the trait to a higher level.]

Qingyu looked at the sudden, gathered characteristics, she felt a sharp pain in her eyeballs.

The excruciating pain traveled along the optic nerve all the way to the brain.

He immediately raised his hands, pretending to rub his eyes, and pressed hard on the acupoints around his eye sockets.

Through his fingers, he saw that his palms and eyelids had suddenly become transparent.

No, it wasn't transparent; it was that his gaze pierced through his palm.

His eyes saw what was behind the palm of his hand.

Byakugan.

His eyes flashed with the Byakugan for a split second!

Qingyu took a deep breath and forced herself to relax.

The excruciating pain came and went quickly; the clear vision gradually faded, and the palm regained its normal color and texture.

He lowered his hand and blinked.

The black pupils returned to normal, showing no signs of abnormality.

"Qingyu, are your eyes bothering you?"

Hyuga Ginka noticed him rubbing his eyes and turned her head to ask.

"It's nothing, just some dust in my eyes."

Qingyu shook her head.

Hinata looked at Qingyu and felt a strong sense of familiarity with this black-haired boy.

"Sister Tsunade, Queen Sara, please leave this place."

Qingyu steered the conversation back to the main topic.

The most important thing right now is to resolve the crisis in Rōran.

Tsunade nodded, turning her gaze away from Hinata.

Although the sudden appearance of Nimi Shinobu filled her with questions, there were indeed more important matters to attend to at the moment.

She turned and walked toward Queen Sara. Sara sat on her throne, her hands gripping the armrests.

The puppet riot just now had terrified her, and she hadn't fully recovered yet.

After all, the fact that the guards she spent every day with were actually puppets was naturally a shock to Queen Sara.

"Queen Sara, all those around you have been replaced by puppets by Anrokuzan."

Qingyu said.

In the theatrical version, Anrokuzan diverted most of the country's workforce to produce puppets.

What Qingyu couldn't understand was, if they could create such powerful puppets, why not use puppets to produce more puppets, instead of continuing to capture living people?

Is it a cost issue?

Are puppets more valuable than human lives?

Or is it that the Dragon Vein Chakra inside is more valuable?

"Impossible, Anrokuzan was a minister trusted by my mother—"

Queen Sara's eyes widened in disbelief.

That's just the way it is.

Qingyu shook her head.

Suddenly, he heard an explosion.

"Sister Tsunade, it seems Minato and his team are now facing off against the puppets."

Qingyu said.

"It should be."

Tsunade nodded.

"Once Queen Sara is settled, we'll go and support Minato."

Tsunade gave the order.

Hyuga Ginka and Kakashi nodded.

Qingyu then transferred a stream of Yang Release Chakra to Queen Sara, casually flipping her queen's hat off to reveal her smooth, vibrant red hair.