But Unfortunately, I Don't Trust You

Before leaving the Rōran Ruins, Uchiha Ensei still had one matter to settle.

At present, aside from a few people in Konoha who still knew about Rōran, only Sara, Rōran's last queen, should have remained.

Moreover, Sara possessed the means to control the Dragon Vein Seal. She could even wield it to a certain extent and sense the Dragon Vein's power.

Naturally, he needed to find a way to deal with such a problem.

He used the Summoning Technique to call forth a ninja cat and had her return to ask Cat Granny where the Rōran survivors were now living.

A few minutes later, the ninja cat named Hina was summoned by Uchiha Ensei once more, carrying an intelligence scroll in her mouth.

"Here you go. There aren't many Rōran survivors left now, meow."

"Oh, right, Chachamaru asked me to ask you..."

Before Hina could finish, Uchiha Ensei answered, "Tell him to wait. Natural Energy isn't that easy to research. If he has any objections, he can go ask Cat Granny."

Hina licked her paw and said thoughtfully, "Got it, meow."

"Cat Granny said not to rush..."

Uchiha Ensei waved his hand dismissively. Once those little cats became familiar with him, every one of them wanted to get some benefit from him.

How could he possibly have time to make cat toys? If he had not accidentally created a Little Ten-Tails, he would probably still have been researching the Tenseigan.

But even with the Little Ten-Tails, that research could not stop. If anything, it had become even more urgent.

So he would put off Natural Energy for now.

Following the records of the Cat Ninja Village, Uchiha Ensei quickly located the Rōran survivors.

Sure enough, Minato Namikaze had handled things reliably. Those people now lived on the border of the Land of Fire, and their village even bore the mark of the Land of Fire's protection.

Through the Byakugan, Uchiha Ensei quickly spotted Sara.

At that moment, she was buried beneath a mountain of documents, handling the village's accounts.

Did no one in the Ninja World know to hire an accountant?

Thinking of Naruto Uzumaki becoming Hokage in the original story, Uchiha Ensei could not help sighing.

"Who goes there?!"

As the leader of the Rōran survivors, Sara was quite competent when it came to vigilance.

"Don't worry, I mean no harm. As for why I'm here... talking would be too slow. Let me show you the world as I see it."

As Uchiha Ensei spoke, he directly sent out a genjutsu through his Byakugan.

It was worth mentioning that Uchiha Ensei's Byakugan had already turned blue. After activating the Tenseigan, that blue would become even deeper.

He did not know the reason for it, but it did save Uchiha Ensei some minor trouble.

The Byakugan did not amplify genjutsu like the Sharingan did, but with Uchiha Ensei's current strength, dealing with an ordinary person who was not even a ninja naturally required no great skill in genjutsu.

Within the illusion, Uchiha Ensei showed her the Allied Shinobi Forces, the Ten-Tails, and several other shocking scenes of war.

"This is... a war between shinobi?"

Sara was somewhat puzzled by the images in her mind, but in the next instant, she connected them to the Dragon Vein.

Seeing Sara's expression change drastically, Uchiha Ensei spoke bluntly.

"That's right. I came for the Dragon Vein, but I'm not here to use you. I only hope you won't disrupt my plans."

"What you just saw were images related to the future."

"To stop a powerful enemy, I intend to use the Dragon Vein's power, and I have already made the necessary arrangements."

"I guarantee that the Dragon Vein's power will not run rampant, nor will it harm anyone."

"And as a reminder, I suppose I'm on the side of the good guys."

After Uchiha Ensei briefly explained the situation, he quietly waited for Sara's response.

Yet when faced with Uchiha Ensei, Sara recalled that sinner who had once used her and devastated Rōran to its current state—the Sunagakure rogue ninja Mukade!

"You want me to do that? Help you unseal the Dragon Vein Seal?"

Sara had calmed down by then and decided to temporarily placate the mysterious person before her. Once people noticed she was missing, someone would notify Konoha.

Hearing that, Uchiha Ensei immediately understood what Sara was thinking.

"I told you before, I've already dealt with the Dragon Vein. I don't need you. I only hope you won't cause me trouble."

"Actually, the best choice would be to kill you outright."

"But as I said before, I suppose I'm on the side of the good guys. Killing people is something I only do when there is no other choice."

Of course, beyond that reason, Uchiha Ensei was also concerned that Sara's death might very well bring him some trouble.

After all, although this bloodline appeared to consist entirely of ordinary people, they could connect with the Dragon Vein Seal and even control the Dragon Vein's power at critical moments. They were anything but ordinary.

Uchiha Ensei would not naively believe that the Ninja World contained only a limited number of powerful individuals. After all, chakra was not a power native to this world.

Even now, there were surely many strange powers hidden in every corner of the Ninja World.

For example, the Box of Bliss, Mōryō of the Land of Demons, and the Evil God of the Land of Hot Water.

That so-called Dragon Vein was probably something similar.

If it lost control, it would be the mighty power of time itself—an extremely dangerous existence.

Thus, Uchiha Ensei patiently explained the reasons he had fabricated to Sara in detail and stated that he was a Konoha ninja.

"You mean the Dragon Vein's energy has already begun leaking?"

Sara's expression turned grave. She could choose not to believe anything else, but she had to investigate anything concerning the Dragon Vein.

"Take me near the Dragon Vein. If everything is truly as you say, I won't interfere with you."

After hesitating for a moment, Sara spoke.

Uchiha Ensei considered it briefly, then placed his palm on Sara's shoulder.

In an instant, he used the Flying Thunder God to arrive in the underground space of the Dragon Vein.

"We're here. Flying Thunder God. I think you've seen it before..."

Seeing Sara's puzzled gaze, Uchiha Ensei explained.

At the same time, Sara sensed traces of the Dragon Vein Seal's presence. Yet the current Dragon Vein Seal did not seem to be leaking any power at all.

"I believe you. I won't stop you."

After hesitating for a moment, Sara made her promise.

As for whether that promise was sincere, even Sara herself was not entirely sure. She wanted to believe him, but she did not dare to.

Especially not when the person before her appeared to be only thirteen or fourteen years old.

"But unfortunately, I don't trust you."

"Don't misunderstand. I'm merely placing a genjutsu on you. It won't affect your life in any way. On the contrary, it will save your life if you encounter danger."

As Uchiha Ensei spoke, another identical figure appeared some distance away, like a pair of twins.

However, the newly appeared body's eyes were red and bore two different patterns.

Accompanied by a sensation like some icy liquid entering her brain, Sara finally lost consciousness.

The next day, when Sara awoke, she thought the previous night had merely been a nightmare.

But when she saw a kunai beside her pillow, she finally realized something.

Examining it carefully, Sara noticed a small black dot drawn on the kunai's handle. According to that person's explanation, it was his Flying Thunder God Mark.

As long as she carried the kunai with her, that person would be able to come save her at any time whenever she encountered danger.

Only then did Sara finally come to her senses and realize that everything had been real.