A Second Blooming

He did not drag things out with Sara like Naruto did in the original story, nor did he end up running around like a headless chicken while being chased by puppets in the streets.

Yue Uchiha's movements were a textbook example of an Anbu-style infiltration.

He wrapped Sara in a black cloak and, utilizing the terrifying insight of his Sharingan to see through the flow of chakra, precisely avoided the line of sight of every patrolling puppet and every chakra tripwire.

The underground tunnels of Rōran, originally teeming with danger, were as easy to navigate as a stroll through one's own backyard under Yue Uchiha's lead. Sara didn't even catch a glimpse 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, signaling for Sara to look down.

The moment Sara poked her head out and saw the scene below, she was struck as if by lightning; she clamped her hands over her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

In the massive underground cavern, countless purple Dragon Vein chakra pipes were woven together like a web. Beneath these pipes lay an enormous armory, reeking of machine oil and radiating intense heat!

Thousands of cold, hideous combat puppets were being assembled on an assembly line.

What broke Sara the most was that the laborers responsible for hauling heavy parts—emaciated to the bone from the high heat and whipped by supervisor puppets—were all citizens of Rōran! They were the husbands, fathers, and sons who had been told they were "going away for work."

"Work faster! Lord Anrokuzan says this batch of Chakra Cannons must be finished by tomorrow!" a supervisor puppet emitted a cold, synthesized mechanical voice.

"Please... let me rest for a moment. I haven't closed my eyes in three days. I want to see my daughter..." a gaunt man collapsed to the ground, begging in despair.

"Bang!"

The puppet kicked the man away without a shred of mercy: "Work, zzzt~ work, or die!"

Hearing this, Sara, huddled at the ventilation vent, froze completely.

The fantasies in her mind regarding the "kind Lord Anrokuzan" and the "prosperous Rōran" were shattered at this moment by the iron hammer of reality, just like fine glassware.

There was no arguing, no excuses.

In less than twenty minutes, Yue Uchiha used the most brutal truth to tear away all of Mukade's (Anrokuzan's) disguises, forcing the naive queen to fully awaken.

"Did you see clearly?"

In the darkness, Yue's low voice rang in Sara's ear, sounding exactly like a devil tempting someone to sign a contract. "The prosperity you imagined is built upon draining the blood of your people. That guy called Anrokuzan is actually named Mukade, a missing-nin from Sunagakure. He stole your mother's power, and now, he intends to eliminate you, the only obstacle, to claim the Dragon Vein for himself."

Sara trembled all over, tears wetting her cheeks.

After waiting for a while, Sara regained her senses. There was no more confusion or cowardice in her eyes; instead, a fire of unprecedented rage and hatred burned within them.

"What... what should I do?" Sara turned her head and gripped the corner of Yue Uchiha's clothes tightly, as if clutching a life-saving straw. "Since you brought me here, you must have a way, right?! Please, help me save my people!"

Watching the "tool" finally "see the light," the corners of Yue Uchiha's mouth curled up in satisfaction beneath his mask.

This was how a smart person did things.

Don't try to be some goody-two-shoes; instead, make the other party beg you for help.

That way, the initiative always remains in your own hands.

"Of course, my Queen. We share a common enemy."

Yue slowly drew the short blade from his back, his Sharingan emitting a soul-stirring red glow in the dim underground.

"You have the bloodline to control the Dragon Vein, and I have a blade that can sever everything. Let's go and take back what originally belongs to you."

Once the secrets in the depths of the underground were fully exposed, the fragile balance that had been maintained beneath the surface collapsed instantly.

The moment Sara made up her mind to reclaim control of her country, the purple chakra light in the entire underground cavern suddenly flickered violently, and a piercing alarm echoed throughout the armory.

"Warning! Warning! Unauthorized intruder detected! Target: Daughter of the former queen, Sara! Eliminate on sight!"

The cold, synthesized mechanical voice echoed through the empty underground.

Immediately following, the hundreds of combat puppets that had been working on the assembly line had the purple light in their eyes instantly turn into a murderous crimson.

They turned their heads in unison, locking onto Yue Uchiha and Sara at the high ventilation shaft.

"We've been discovered. That guy Mukade isn't slow to sense the Dragon Vein."

Yue Uchiha watched the army of mechanical spiders surging like a tide, crawling frantically along the walls and pipes. His expression remained calm, but the tomoe in his Sharingan began to spin at an accelerated rate.

"Yue... what should we do?" Sara gripped Yue's sleeve tightly. Facing the dense mass of steel monsters, the courage she had just ignited wavered slightly.

"Don't panic, my Queen. Just stay close to me."

Yue wrapped an arm around Sara's waist, his figure leaping rapidly through the intricate network of pipes.

However, there were simply too many puppets.

These monsters, which relied on the Dragon Vein for infinite power, knew no fatigue. Hundreds of high-energy chakra lasers crisscrossed like a rainstorm, almost completely sealing off the path behind Yue.

"This won't do. I don't have enough chakra to waste on this pile of scrap metal."

While swinging his short blade to sever a few puppets closing in, Yue calculated rapidly in his mind.

At this critical juncture, he needed a "meat shield" capable of large-scale crowd control.

Just as he was considering whether to use Susanoo—

"BOOM—!!"

The incredibly thick metal ceiling above their heads suddenly collapsed with a deafening roar!

Amidst the sky-filling debris and twisted steel, several impossibly thick, massive wooden pillars erupted from the ground like wild dragons, smashing straight through the underground defensive layer of Roran!

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence... No, the scale isn't this small. This is Wood Style: Great Forest Technique!"

Watching those vibrant, thick wooden bars instantly crush dozens of pursuing puppets, Yue Uchiha's eyes darted around.

Following the appearance of the Wood Style, a ninja wearing a green Konoha flak jacket and a specialized face-guard helmet tumbled clumsily from the collapsed gap, sliding down a massive wooden pillar to a platform not far in front of Yue and Sara.

"Ouch... Where on earth is this? The side effects of the space-time teleportation are way too intense..."

The newcomer rubbed his head and stood up; it was none other than the team leader who had been swept into the space-time vortex along with Naruto, Yamato.

Before Yamato could even get a clear look at his surroundings, a dense, rapid sound of mechanical friction reached his ears.

He jerked his head up, instantly breaking into a cold sweat at the sight of the hundreds upon thousands of clawing, gnashing puppet army before him.

"What is going on?! Isn't this the ruins of Roran? How can there be so many active puppets?!"

Yamato instinctively formed hand seals, preparing to defend himself.

"To think I would actually wait for reinforcements from Konoha!"

Suddenly, a low, dignified voice carrying a hint of appreciation came from behind Yamato.

Yamato turned his head, and the first thing he saw was a young man in a black robe shielding a red-haired girl behind him.

And what shocked and reassured Yamato the most was the gleaming Konoha forehead protector on the young man's brow.

"I am an Anbu of Konoha, codenamed Azure Dragon, currently executing the mission to protect the Queen of Roran!"