Unlike Naruto in the original story, he did not spend ages bickering with Sara or get chased through the streets by puppets in a frantic mess.
Yue Uchiha's actions were a textbook example of Anbu infiltration.
He wrapped Sara in a black cloak and used the Sharingan's terrifying insight into chakra flow to precisely evade every patrol puppet's line of sight and chakra detection barrier.
The underground passages of Rōran, once fraught with danger, became as easy to navigate as a stroll through his own backyard under Yue Uchiha's lead. Sara did not even catch sight of a single puppet before Yue brought her to the deepest underground space in Rōran.
"Shh."
At the exit of a dark ventilation shaft, Yue made a silencing gesture and motioned for Sara to look down.
The instant Sara poked her head out and saw the scene below, she froze as if struck by lightning. She clapped a hand over her mouth, tears spilling from her eyes.
Within the vast underground cavern, countless purple Dragon Vein chakra conduits crisscrossed like a web. Beneath them stood an enormous armory reeking of engine oil and scorching heat!
Thousands upon thousands of cold, grotesque Combat Puppets were being assembled on production lines.
What shattered Sara the most was that the laborers hauling heavy components, worked to the bone in the heat, even whipped by overseer puppets—were all citizens of Rōran! The husbands, fathers, and sons who had supposedly "gone away for work" up above!
"Work faster! Lord Anrokuzan said this batch of Chakra Cannons must be finished by tomorrow!" an overseer puppet declared in a cold mechanical voice.
"Please... let me rest for a while. I haven't slept in three days. I want to see my daughter..." A gaunt man collapsed to the ground and begged desperately.
"Bang!"
The puppet mercilessly kicked the man away. "Work, bzzz~ work, or die!"
Hearing those words, Sara, sprawled at the vent opening, went completely rigid.
Every fantasy in her mind of "kind Lord Anrokuzan" and "prosperous Rōran" was smashed to pieces in that instant, like exquisite glassware struck by reality's iron hammer!
There was no argument, no defense.
In less than twenty minutes, Yue Uchiha had used the cruelest truth to rip away every one of Mukade's disguises, bringing this naive queen to a complete awakening.
"Can you see clearly now?"
In the darkness, Yue's low voice sounded beside Sara's ear, like a devil tempting her into a contract. "The prosperity you believed in was built on draining the blood of your people. That man called Anrokuzan is really Mukade, a rogue ninja from Sunagakure. He stole your mother's authority, and now he plans to eliminate you, his only obstacle, and claim the Dragon Vein entirely for himself."
Sara trembled all over, tears soaking her cheeks.
After some time, Sara came back to herself. The confusion and weakness in her eyes were gone, replaced by an unprecedented fury and hatred.
"What... what should I do?" Sara turned around and clutched the corner of Yue Uchiha's clothes as though it were a lifeline. "Since you brought me here, you must have a way, right?! Please, help me save my people!"
Seeing that the tool had finally "wised up," Yue Uchiha's lips curled upward beneath his mask.
That was what smart people did.
Rather than playing the fool who tried to be a good person, he made the other party come begging to him.
That way, the initiative would always remain in his own hands.
"Of course, Your Majesty. We share a common enemy."
Yue slowly drew the short blade from his back, his Sharingan radiating a soul-stirring red glow in the dim underground darkness.
"You possess the bloodline to control the Dragon Vein, while I possess a blade that can cut through anything. Come. Let us take back what was originally yours..."
Once the secret in the depths underground was fully exposed, the fragile balance maintained beneath the surface instantly collapsed.
The moment Sara resolved to reclaim control of her country, the purple chakra light throughout the underground cavern suddenly flickered violently, and piercing alarms echoed through the entire armory.
"Warning! Warning! Unauthorized intruders detected! Target: daughter of the former queen, Sara! Eliminate on sight!"
The cold mechanical voice reverberated through the empty underground space.
Then, hundreds of Combat Puppets that had been working along the production lines had the purple light in their eyes instantly turn into crimson filled with killing intent.
They all turned in unison, locking onto Yue Uchiha and Sara at the ventilation shaft high above.
"We've been discovered. Mukade's senses for the Dragon Vein aren't slow after all."
Yue Uchiha watched the army of mechanical spiders surge forward like a tide, frantically climbing along the walls and pipes. His expression remained calm, but the tomoe in his Sharingan had begun spinning faster.
"Yue... what do we do?" Sara tightly gripped Yue's sleeve. Faced with those densely packed steel monsters, the courage she had just summoned began to waver again.
"Don't panic, Your Majesty. Just stay close to me."
Yue wrapped an arm around Sara's waist and rapidly leaped through the tangled network of pipes.
However, there were simply too many puppets.
These monsters, sustained by the Dragon Vein's endless power, knew no fatigue. Hundreds of high-energy chakra lasers interwove like a torrential downpour, almost completely sealing off Yue's path of retreat.
"This won't do. I don't have that much chakra to waste on this pile of scrap metal."
As Yue swung his short blade and severed several approaching puppets, he calculated rapidly in his mind.
At a moment like this, he needed a "meat shield" capable of tying down enemies over a wide area.
Just as he considered whether to use Susanoo—
"Rumble—!!"
The incredibly thick metal ceiling above them suddenly collapsed with a deafening crash!
Amid the flying rubble and twisted steel, several unbelievably massive logs burst forth like raging dragons, smashing straight through Rōran's underground defensive layer!
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence... no, the scale isn't that small. This is Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
Watching those thick, life-filled wooden trunks instantly crush dozens of pursuing puppets, Yue Uchiha's eyes rolled.
Along with the appearance of the Wood Release, a ninja wearing Konoha's green flak jacket and a specially designed faceguard helmet tumbled awkwardly from the collapsed opening. He slid down a massive log onto a platform not far in front of Yue and Sara.
"Ow... where the hell is this? The side effects of time-space teleportation are way too intense..."
The newcomer rubbed his head and stood up. It was none other than Yamato, the squad captain who had been swept into the time-space vortex alongside Naruto.
Before Yamato could make out his surroundings, an incredibly dense chorus of mechanical scraping reached his ears.
He jerked his head up and immediately broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of the hundreds upon thousands of menacing puppets.
"What is going on?! Isn't this supposed to be the ruins of Rōran? How are there so many active puppets?!"
Yamato instinctively formed hand seals, preparing to defend himself.
"Konoha reinforcements actually arrived!"
Suddenly, a deep, commanding voice carrying a hint of approval came from behind Yamato.
Yamato turned around. The first thing he saw was a young man in black robes shielding a red-haired girl behind him.
What shocked and reassured Yamato the most was the unmistakable Konoha forehead protector on the young man's brow.
"I am an Anbu of Konoha, codename Azure Dragon. I am currently carrying out a mission to protect the Queen of Rōran!"
Before you continue