Sara's Resolve

"And now, after the passing of the Queen Mother, Anrokuzan has inherited her will as a minister, working with all his might for the sake of this city."

"He is a man who loves peace, absolutely not the ambitious Mukade you speak of."

Facing the stubborn Sara, who refused to listen to reason, Namikaze Minato's expression remained unchanged as he regretfully told her, "I am sorry, Your Majesty, but you have been deceived by Mukade."

"Pfft~"

Uchiha Aoba's reaction was different; he burst out laughing.

"I didn't realize it, Your Majesty, but you are quite the comedian."

"Are you trying to challenge me?"

"I admit I've lost."

"You..."

Hearing the mockery, Sara glared at him.

Uchiha Aoba chose to ignore her, turning to Namikaze Minato. "Captain, it is clear that Her Majesty does not believe us, even though we came here because we accepted her commission."

"But then again, I can understand why she feels this way; after all, words alone are not proof."

"So, I suggest we take her directly to the puppet manufacturing factory. If she still chooses to deceive herself then, we can consider whether to take further action."

Namikaze Minato pondered for a moment, then looked at Uchiha Aoba. "That is the best course of action for now."

He immediately turned to look at Sara.

"Your Majesty, we will have to trouble you to accompany us."

"Naruto!"

Uchiha Aoba called out.

"Yes!"

Hearing the shout, Naruto Uzumaki stood straight by instinct.

Uchiha Aoba gave him a strange look, unable to help but wonder what kind of training the future version of himself had put this child through, that he would react this way just by hearing his voice.

He had been prepared for Naruto Uzumaki to talk back, knowing his personality well.

However, this was not the time to satisfy his curiosity.

"Her Majesty is your responsibility. You will take charge of her and move with us."

"Wait! What are you doing!?"

Seeing Naruto Uzumaki approach her and bind her hands behind her back after acknowledging the order, Sara immediately began to struggle.

Namikaze Minato watched the scene speechlessly, his thoughts nearly identical to Aoba's.

What on earth happened in the future to make his own son so obedient in front of Aoba?

"Let me go, I can walk on my own."

Sara struggled more violently, causing a look of distress to appear on Naruto Uzumaki's face.

Although he was very obedient to Aoba, he had been raised well by Namikaze Minato and Kushina Uzumaki since he was a child, and he could not bring himself to be too rough with a girl.

After all, to them, Sara was not an enemy.

Uchiha Aoba noticed this and, suppressing a laugh, spoke up. "Your Majesty, as long as you promise not to run off, I will have Naruto let you go."

"Why would I run!? I was planning to go and verify it myself anyway."

Seeing the seriousness in Sara's expression, Uchiha Aoba nodded at Naruto Uzumaki.

"Hmph, what a rude man!"

As her hands were released, Sara rubbed her wrists while looking at Naruto Uzumaki with disdain.

"Hey, it was Aoba-sensei who told me to take charge of you; I was just following orders," Naruto Uzumaki retorted speechlessly. "So don't look at me when you say that."

"It's different!"

"What's different about it?"

"I won't lower myself to the level of a child."

"..."

It was happening; Uchiha Aoba's fists were clenching.

Once again, he was being treated like a child. He really wasn't that young anymore, okay?

He was thirteen years old this year, after all.

It was just that his body was only starting to develop and hadn't fully grown yet.

Just then, Naruto couldn't hold back his laughter and let out a snicker, but the next second, he felt the temperature around him drop, and he froze in place.

"Alright, that's enough."

To prevent his son from getting a beating, Namikaze Minato had to speak up to steer the conversation back on track.

"I've just thought it over. To avoid being detected by Mukade, we should wait until nightfall to take action."

"There's still over an hour until night, so everyone should take a moment to rest and adjust their state."

After saying this, he called out, "Naruto."

"Yes, Dad."

Namikaze Minato looked at him, his expression gentle as he said, "During tonight's operation, I'll leave Queen of Roran in your care. While completing the mission is important, her life is far more significant."

"Don't worry! I absolutely won't let the enemy hurt her," Naruto Uzumaki promised, patting his chest.

"Mm, I believe in you," Namikaze Minato nodded with a smile.

Time passed quickly.

As the sun dipped below the western horizon, nightfall shrouded the entirety of Roran.

Led by Uchiha Aoba, the group arrived beneath a massive tower entirely encased in steel.

"This is the place."

"I can feel it too," Sara said, her eyes flickering as she whispered, "The ventilation shaft beneath our feet at our current position is the convergence point for the flow of the Dragon Vein throughout the city."

"Oh? You have this ability?" Uchiha Aoba asked, surprised.

Sara paid no mind to Uchiha Aoba's words, simply explaining, "This is an ability possessed by every Queen of Roran; we can perceive the power of the Dragon Vein."

"That is precisely why I issued the commission to you all, to investigate the truth behind the Dragon Vein's eruptions."

"Then are you prepared?" Uchiha Aoba asked.

"The situation inside the tower will be a cruel sight for you, as the Queen."

Upon hearing this, Sara bit her lip, then nodded firmly.

Seeing this, Uchiha Aoba turned to look at Namikaze Minato, signaling that he could issue the order to move.

Namikaze Minato did not hesitate; he opened the grate leading to the ventilation shaft and was the first to climb down.

Uchiha Aoba followed closely behind, followed by Naruto Uzumaki and Sara.

Choza Akimichi brought up the rear.

It was fortunate that the ventilation shaft was quite large, otherwise, given Choza Akimichi's size, he truly wouldn't have been able to fit.

The five of them crept through the duct for about a few dozen meters before successfully entering the tower through an exhaust vent.

Steam filled the air.

One by one, the men of the city, under the surveillance of several puppets, pushed a massive millstone at the base of the tower to ensure the machinery continued to run, while puppet parts were constantly being assembled.

Since Uchiha Aoba and the others had already been here during the day, they didn't find it particularly shocking.

However, Naruto Uzumaki, seeing this scene for the first time, was stunned.

As for Sara, the Queen of Roran, it went without saying; with the cruel truth laid out before her, combined with Uchiha Aoba's words from earlier echoing in her mind, she nearly broke down in tears.

"Anrokuzan, he actually enslaved my people just to manufacture weapons."

"I must put an end to his actions."