Sara's Resolve

"But now, after my mother passed away, Anrokuzan inherited her will as a minister and has worked tirelessly for this town."

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

Sara was stubborn and refused to listen to reason. Without changing his expression, Namikaze Minato regretfully told her, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but Mukade has deceived you."

"Pfft—"

Uchiha Aoba reacted differently, bursting into laughter.

"I never would've guessed, Your Majesty. You're quite the comedian."

"Are you challenging me?"

"I admit defeat."

"You..."

Hearing the mockery in his words, Sara glared at him.

Uchiha Aoba simply ignored her and said to Namikaze Minato, "Captain, it's obvious Her Majesty doesn't believe us, even though we came here because she hired us."

"But then again, I can understand why she feels this way. Besides, talk is cheap."

"So I suggest we take her straight to the puppet factory. If she still chooses to deceive herself after seeing it, then we can consider what to do next."

Namikaze Minato pondered for a moment, then looked at Uchiha Aoba. "For now, that's the best we can do."

Then he turned to Sara.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to come with us."

"Naruto!"

Uchiha Aoba called out.

"Yes!"

Hearing his name, Naruto Uzumaki instinctively stood up straight.

Uchiha Aoba glanced at him oddly, wondering what he'd done to Naruto in the future to make the boy react like that whenever he called.

He'd been prepared for Naruto Uzumaki to argue with him, after all. He knew Naruto's personality well.

But now wasn't the time to satisfy his curiosity.

"You're in charge of Her Majesty. From here on, take her with you as we move out."

"Wait! What are you doing!?"

After Naruto Uzumaki responded, he came straight over to Sara and restrained her hands behind her back.

Sara immediately began struggling.

Namikaze Minato watched the scene in speechless disbelief. He was thinking almost exactly what Aoba was.

What on earth had happened in the future to make his son so well-behaved around Aoba?

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

Sara struggled harder and harder, leaving Naruto Uzumaki looking troubled.

Even though he seemed to obey Aoba without question, he'd been raised well by Namikaze Minato and Kushina Uzumaki. He couldn't bring himself to be too rough with a girl.

After all, Sara wasn't their enemy.

Uchiha Aoba noticed and spoke with a barely suppressed laugh. "Your Majesty, if you promise not to run off, I'll have Naruto let you go."

"Why would I run? I was already planning to go and see for myself."

Seeing how seriously Sara spoke, Uchiha Aoba nodded to Naruto Uzumaki.

"Hmph! What a rude man!"

Once her hands were free, Sara rubbed her wrists and looked at Naruto Uzumaki with disdain.

"Hey, it was Teacher Aoba who told me to bring you along. I was just following orders," Naruto Uzumaki said, exasperated. "So don't look at me when you say that."

"It's different!"

"How is it different?"

"I'm not going to argue with a child."

"..."

Uchiha Aoba clenched his fists.

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

He was thirteen this year, after all.

It was just that his body had only recently started developing. He hadn't grown into it yet.

Just then,

Naruto couldn't hold back his laughter and snorted. But the next second, the temperature around him seemed to drop, and he froze on the spot.

"All right, that's enough."

To keep his son from getting beaten up, Namikaze Minato had to steer the conversation back on track.

"I've given it some thought. To avoid alerting Mukade, we should wait until nightfall before we act."

"It's still over an hour until night. Let's take a short break and get ready."

Then he called out, "Naruto."

"Yes, Dad."

Namikaze Minato looked at him warmly. "When we move out tonight, you'll still be responsible for looking after Queen Sara. Completing the mission is important, but Her Majesty's safety is even more important."

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

"Mm. I believe you." Namikaze Minato smiled and nodded.

Time passed quickly.

As the sun sank in the west, night fell over all of Rōran.

Led by Uchiha Aoba, they arrived beneath a massive tower completely encased in steel.

"This is the place."

"I can sense it too." Sara's eyes flickered as she murmured, "The vent beneath our feet, where we're standing, is connected to the point where the Dragon Vein's energy flows together beneath the entire town."

"Oh? You can do that?" Uchiha Aoba asked in surprise.

Sara didn't take offense at his words. She simply explained, "Every Queen of Roran possesses this ability. We can sense the power of the Dragon Vein."

"That's why I gave you the mission—to investigate the truth behind the Dragon Vein's disturbance."

"Are you ready?" Uchiha Aoba asked.

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

At his words, Sara bit her lip, then nodded firmly.

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

Namikaze Minato didn't hesitate. He opened the grate leading into the ventilation duct and went down first.

Uchiha Aoba followed close behind, then came Naruto Uzumaki and Sara.

Choza Akimichi brought up the rear.

Fortunately, the ventilation duct was fairly spacious. Otherwise, Choza Akimichi's build would have made it impossible for him to get inside.

The five of them made their way through the duct for several dozen meters before successfully entering the tower through an exhaust vent.

Steam filled the air.

Under the watch of several puppets, one man after another from the town pushed a gigantic millstone at the base of the tower, keeping the machinery running. The parts for the puppets were being assembled one after another.

Since Uchiha Aoba and the others had already been there once during the day, the sight didn't faze them.

But Naruto Uzumaki, seeing it for the first time, was visibly shocked.

As for Sara, Queen of Roran, the cruel truth was right before her eyes. Uchiha Aoba's words from earlier echoed in her mind, and she nearly burst into tears.

"Anrokuzan really is enslaving his people to make weapons."

"I have to put a stop to this."