The Sweet, Naive Queen of Roran

"Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato."

"Captain, congratulations on successfully achieving your dream."

After parting ways with Naruto Uzumaki, Uchiha Aoba looked at Namikaze Minato with a smile and offered his congratulations.

"That is a matter for the future; it hasn't happened yet."

Namikaze Minato responded with an embarrassed smile, then his expression turned serious: "Alright, let's set aside matters unrelated to the mission for now and proceed with our previous plan."

"Uchiha Aoba, you take the lead. Use your Three-Tomoe Sharingan to observe, and we will conduct our investigation by following the flow of chakra."

"Understood, follow me."

When it came to official business, Uchiha Aoba's expression also became solemn.

He activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

The pale blue chakra flowing through the pipes came into view, and Uchiha Aoba said nothing more, heading straight out.

On the other side.

Naruto Uzumaki flipped and leaped between the buildings.

While searching for the others and contemplating his next move, his attention was drawn by the sound of fireworks and firecrackers. After a moment of thought, he couldn't help but move toward the source.

"Her Majesty!"

"Her Majesty!"

It seemed some kind of festival was being held.

The lively scene caught Naruto Uzumaki's attention, so he crouched on a high vantage point to observe.

"Her Majesty?"

"Sara?"

The cheers of the crowd reminded Naruto Uzumaki of the intelligence shared with him before he parted ways with Namikaze Minato.

Just then.

A familiar figure wearing a queen's crown appeared in his line of sight, waving to the crowd below while guarded by two puppets.

"She's actually the queen?"

The scene of his initial time-space travel flashed through Naruto Uzumaki's mind, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself: "I didn't expect such a coincidence. If I go and ask her, I should be able to learn something."

No sooner had he spoken.

A hidden hand appeared behind Sara and gave her a violent shove.

"Ah!!"

With a cry of alarm, Sara stepped through the high platform and plummeted from the heights.

Witnessing this, Naruto Uzumaki didn't have time to think; he immediately leaped to her rescue, caught Sara by the waist in mid-air, and then landed safely on the ground in a bridal carry, ducking into the shadows.

One could only say that Naruto Uzumaki was truly Namikaze Minato's own son.

This posture of saving a beautiful girl was basically identical to when Namikaze Minato had rescued Kushina from the Cloud ninjas in his youth.

However, the outcome was vastly different for the father and son.

Namikaze Minato had successfully won the beauty's heart, while Naruto Uzumaki had a much more miserable time.

The beautiful girl in his arms not only failed to show gratitude but acted as if she had encountered a hooligan, greeting Naruto Uzumaki's cheeks with a barrage of slaps.

It hit Naruto Uzumaki so hard that tears and snot streamed down his face, and he couldn't help but mutter speechlessly: "Teacher Uchiha Aoba was right; women are the most terrifying creatures in the world."

No sooner had he finished speaking than another elbow strike landed squarely on his face, knocking him flat on his back.

"Hooligan, let me go!"

Sara clutched her hands to her chest, looking as if she had been violated.

Seeing this, Naruto Uzumaki became annoyed: "What are you doing?"

"I saved you, you know! Is this the upbringing you have as a queen?"

"Hm?"

Sara paused, her expression shifting before she sat up straight and said: "I suppose I should express my gratitude for that."

"Thank you."

Naruto Uzumaki looked at the suddenly changing Sara, a string of question marks appearing in his mind.

What is the deal with this woman? Does she have a split personality?

"By the way, who are you?"

Sara asked.

"You don't look like a citizen of this town. You're an outsider."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I am a Konoha ninja." Naruto Uzumaki said, pointing to himself.

"You are a Konoha ninja."

Sara's eyes lit up.

"I previously issued a commission, asking you to come and help investigate the unusual activity of the Dragon Vein."

"You have finally arrived."

"However... are you the only one?"

"The matter you're talking about is a bit complicated." Naruto Uzumaki scratched his head. "How should I explain this?"

After a moment of thought, he added, "We have others with us, but we are operating separately."

Having said that, he immediately changed the subject.

"Compared to that, there is something more important that I need to remind you of."

"I saw that the reason you fell from the tower was because someone pushed you from behind."

"Is that so? I had that feeling too," Sara said, her expression dejected.

But then she countered, "That's impossible, though. Why would anyone want to take my life?"

"You saw it yourself, didn't you? How enthusiastically my people welcomed me."

"To be a queen and yet so naive—truly a textbook airhead."

Uchiha Aoba's teasing voice rang out. "I suddenly find myself curious as to how you managed to grow up at all."

"Aoba, that is too rude!"

Namikaze Minato's reprimanding voice came through.

Choza Akimichi did not speak, but the expression on his face conveyed the same sentiment.

"My apologies, I truly couldn't help myself."

Uchiha Aoba spread his hands helplessly.

"Who are you people?"

Faced with the sudden appearance of three strangers, Sara exclaimed in alarm and fear.

Naruto Uzumaki, however, was overjoyed.

"Dad, Aoba-sensei, Uncle Choza."

"Huh? You know them?"

Seeing this reaction from her savior, Sara's emotions stabilized once more. "So, the three of you are here to investigate the Dragon Vein's unusual activity along with him?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Namikaze Minato replied with a nod.

"Aoba will now explain the investigation findings to you."

"Aoba?"

"That's me!"

Looking at the bewildered Sara, Uchiha Aoba crossed his arms in front of his chest and spoke calmly.

"You? A mere child?"

Sara's eyes were filled with doubt and undisguised distrust.

Uchiha Aoba's mouth twitched.

"It seems that before I explain things to you, I must first make a correction."

"I may look young, but I am actually not that small; I am thirteen years old this year."

Without waiting for Sara to retort, he continued, "Furthermore, setting aside my age, Your Majesty, you are in big trouble. Your country has completely fallen into the hands of Anrokuzan, also known as the Sunagakure missing-nin Mukade."

"Your people are being enslaved, and your country is not far from destruction."

"Impossible!"

Sara refuted him in disbelief.

"Do you see these pipes?"

Uchiha Aoba pointed to the pipes running between the high towers. "Mukade uses these pipes, which span the entire town, to extract chakra from the Dragon Vein to control his puppet army."

"As for where his puppet army comes from, as the queen, you should know how many of your citizens have been missing without a trace for a long time."

"That is because they are being forced by Mukade to help him continuously produce puppets."

Upon hearing this, Sara was struck as if by lightning, murmuring in a daze, "Impossible, you must be lying to me."

"I don't know who this Mukade you speak of is, but it is definitely not Anrokuzan."

"He came to this town six years ago. He is a man of outstanding ability, and both my mother and I relied on him to build Rōran into what it is today."