Fire Style. Dragon Flame Song Technique!

The ground trembled, and the entire high tower began to shake violently.

As an ordinary person, Sara lost her footing and collapsed to the floor, and Naruto Uzumaki quickly reached out to help her up.

Compared to Sara, her enslaved subjects were in an even worse state.

Under Mukade's long-term exploitation, they had been kept in a state of high-intensity labor with barely a moment to rest.

With such violent shaking, they were completely unable to maintain their balance.

Realizing the danger, Namikaze Minato quickly issued orders: "Naruto, take the Queen and her people and leave this tower immediately. Choza Akimichi, you cover them."

"Aoba, you and I will stay behind to hold the line."

"Understood!"

The group responded in unison.

"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"

Naruto Uzumaki whispered as he formed the hand seals. The next second, amidst a rising cloud of smoke, dozens of clones appeared on the scene.

They then scattered, each clone carrying a civilian, while the original body carried Sara on his back, sprinting out of the tower under the cover of Choza Akimichi.

Shortly after they departed.

Deep beneath the tower, a massive puppet broke through the earth. Standing over thirty meters tall, its appearance caused the expressions of Uchiha Aoba and Namikaze Minato to turn grave instantly.

"Damn Konoha ninjas, I will make you die!"

"And Sara, you cannot escape the palm of my hand. I will capture you, and then I will kill you!"

A roar of fury echoed from within the giant puppet's body.

Tch, this is troublesome.

Uchiha Aoba thought to himself.

At the same time, looking at the towering puppet, the urge to activate his Mangekyo Sharingan grew increasingly desperate.

"Aoba, don't face him head-on. We should focus on maneuvering," Namikaze Minato shouted as he dodged a grab from the puppet.

"Understood."

Uchiha Aoba's Sharingan scanned the puppet for weaknesses, but the results only made his expression more solemn.

The giant puppet before him was different from ordinary ones.

It had no chakra strings controlling it; it had become a completely independent entity.

Regarding this, Uchiha Aoba couldn't help but speculate.

It seemed Mukade had undergone a mechanical ascension of sorts, fusing himself with the puppet.

Since that was the case, Uchiha Aoba decided to test just how hard Mukade's turtle shell really was.

After retreating slightly to avoid Mukade's attack, Uchiha Aoba began to weave hand seals rapidly.

Namikaze Minato watched his movements, startled: "Those seals are..."

"Fire Style! Dragon Flame Song Technique!"

To test the giant puppet's defensive capabilities, Uchiha Aoba unleashed one of his most powerful A-rank ninjutsu.

Four fire dragons erupted from his mouth, whistling toward the giant puppet from the top, bottom, left, and right, exploding against its massive frame in an instant.

The scorching heat engulfed the entire tower, and the giant puppet let out a painful wail.

As expected!

Hearing the wail, Uchiha Aoba realized his guess was correct.

At the same time, the outer structure of the giant puppet began to melt and shatter at a visible rate under the fire attack.

Namikaze Minato saw it clearly and was about to use the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique to finish it off.

Suddenly, Mukade roared.

"Do you think you can kill me!?"

"As long as the Dragon Vein remains, my power is inexhaustible!"

No sooner had he spoken.

A massive surge of purple energy flickered wildly across the puppet's body, and its damaged frame began to restore itself.

Seeing this.

Namikaze Minato frowned and retracted his kunai to avoid wasting chakra.

In contrast, Uchiha Aoba nearly laughed out loud on the spot.

They say only a fool would reveal their weakness to an enemy during a fight.

Uchiha Aoba had thought such idiots only existed in the movies and anime of his past life, but he never expected to see a live broadcast of it today.

Perhaps Mukade also realized that his brain had short-circuited for a moment, and he had said something he shouldn't have.

Once his puppet was restored to its original state, Mukade chose not to continue entangling with Uchiha Aoba and Namikaze Minato inside the high tower; instead, he shattered the roof and appeared in the town, charging toward Sara to kill her.

It seemed Mukade realized who his greatest threat was at the moment.

Meanwhile.

In the central plaza of Rōran.

Under Sara's command, Naruto Uzumaki had brought everyone here, intending to use the surrounding towers as a barrier to defend against the giant puppet.

One could only say the idea was good, but reality was cruel.

As a distant tower collapsed and the figure of the giant puppet appeared in their line of sight, the crowd, having rested for only a few minutes, was startled, their hearts leaping back into their throats.

"Sara!"

Mukade's gloomy shout echoed continuously throughout Rōran.

While ordering her people to retreat, Sara looked at the giant puppet drawing closer with grief and indignation.

As her pupils trembled, she seemed to have made up her mind.

First, she snatched the kunai from Naruto Uzumaki's hand, then, amidst a chorus of gasps, she shed her cumbersome robe and tore her long skirt with the kunai, revealing her slender, jade-white legs.

Finally, she tied her long hair back with a thin cord and said with a firm expression, "It is because of the Dragon Vein that all of this is happening."

"For the sake of my people, and for you who are risking your lives to protect me."

"Naruto!"

"I am going to shut down the source of the Dragon Vein completely."

"So that's it."

Naruto Uzumaki suddenly realized, "No wonder Mukade has been trying to kill you; it turns out you can not only close the Dragon Vein in the city, but shut down the entire Dragon Vein itself."

Swish! Swish!

Uchiha Aoba and Namikaze Minato arrived at the group's side via Body Flicker, having heard Naruto Uzumaki's words. The former spoke, "We heard Mukade let it slip earlier as well; only by severing the Dragon Vein can we stop him."

"Dad! Aoba-sensei!"

Seeing that both were unharmed, Naruto Uzumaki shouted happily.

After Namikaze Minato nodded in response, he said to Sara, "Your Majesty, I leave the rest to you."

"I understand."

Sara gripped the kunai tightly, "The Inner Court where I first met Naruto—as long as I can reach it, the power of the Dragon Vein will no longer be able to reach us."

"Then go quickly, and take your people with you!" Naruto Uzumaki encouraged.

"Use your unwavering perseverance to complete your mission!"

"Right! Everyone, follow me."

Sara nodded in response.

She then called out to the others, and after receiving their affirmation, she led them away from the plaza.

"OK! Let's do this."

Seeing Sara leave, Naruto Uzumaki was full of spirit, "Dad, Aoba-sensei, Uncle Chōza, let's go!"

"Kid, you're really overstepping your bounds."

Uchiha Aoba looked at Naruto Uzumaki with amusement and shook his head, "Since when is it your place to give orders here? Besides, we don't need your help here."

"Naruto, your mission has never been to fight," Namikaze Minato also chuckled.

"Compared to us, Her Majesty, as an ordinary person leading her people, needs your help much more."