Yellow sand filled the sky, like a huge curtain hanging between heaven and earth, swallowing up all life.
The wind whizzed past the sand grains, making a whimpering cry, as if telling the story of the past glory and current desolation of this Ancient City.
Naruto stepped on the cracked earth under his feet and walked step by step into the ruins of Ancient Kingdom of Roran.
There are ruins all around, and now only half of the earthen wall of the former Palace pavilion is left crumbling in the wind and sand.
The once bustling streets were buried by yellow sand, with only a few broken bluestones vaguely exposed.
The wind passed through the empty window lattice and door openings, sending out a low whimper, like the last sigh of this dead city.
Naruto stopped and glanced over the exquisite fragments of murals. The colors had peeled off, but the ingenuity of the painters back then could still be seen.
Twenty years ago, this was a bustling city full of people, with an endless stream of Merchant Caravan, and children playing in the streets. Now, there is only this boundless silence, and the faint whispers of dead souls in the wind and sand.
Rōran ah!
Naruto thought of Rōran in his previous life, who was a frequent guest in poetry.
The yellow sand wears golden armor in a hundred battles, and if it is not broken Rōran will never return it.
May you lower your sword to kill Rōran.
Both of them dropped their whips and hunted towards Rōran.
The year before last, Rōran was cut, and the previous year's branch was flat.
Haha, no wonder Ancient Kingdom of Roran is ruined, this name has bad luck.
"Hey, little brother."
The sudden sound cut through the whimpering of the wind and sand.
Naruto followed the sound and saw a withered figure of a man walking out from under the crumbling ruins.
The man was as thin as a walking skeleton, with skin sticking close to the bones, high cheekbones, and deep-set eye sockets, but his eyes were extremely bright, like two faint burning will-o'-the-wisps.
He was wearing a black cloak full of dust, holding a roll of yellowed Scroll in his hand, with a faint smile on his lips.
"Are you also interested in the legendary Dragon Vein?"
The man's voice was hoarse and dry, as if he hadn't drank water for a long time and his throat was filled with gravel.
Naruto didn't answer immediately. The wind picked up a corner of his Hood, revealing a few strands of Golden's hair.
"That's not possible," the man continued, minding his own business, with an almost crazy certainty in his tone, "This is my target."
He slowly unfolded the Scroll in his hand, and the two ghostly fires in his eyes burned even brighter.
Naruto raised his hand and took off Hood and the mask together.
Yellow sand jumped in his Golden hair.
He grinned, and the bright smile on his young and energetic face was so bright that it almost pierced the gloom that filled the city.
"I remember you," Naruto's voice was clear and determined, and his blue eyes reflected the other person's momentarily stiff expression, "You must have participated in Sunagakure's encirclement and suppression of me some time ago."
Mukade's complexion changed drastically in an instant.
Fear, anger, and unwillingness flashed across that withered face, and finally turned into the instinct of survival.
He turned around suddenly, his black cloak flapping in the wind, and he ran towards the depths of Ruins like a frightened sand fox.
The yellow sand exploded under his feet, and his figure flickered among the ruins of the wall, so fast that he almost melted into the wind and sand.
Mukade ran wildly while unfolding Scroll in his hand.
His fingers trembled slightly because of fear, but his instinct of Puppet Master over the years made him still choose to use his Puppet Technique at the first opportunity.
Two balls of white smoke exploded behind him, and two ferocious-looking Puppet emerged from the smoke.
One is a humanoid Puppet, with sharp blades protruding from the joints of its limbs; the other is an animal-shaped Puppet, with a Poison Needles launcher hidden in its mouth.
One on the left and one on the right, they rushed towards Naruto with their claws and fangs bared.
Mukade controlled two Puppet backwards to intercept Naruto.
He knew that these two Puppet couldn't stop that Blond-Haired Boy.
The opponent's sword is very powerful, so powerful that it can easily cut off the Chakra Threads he controls Puppet.
In the Sunagakure battle, he saw with his own eyes that Naruto cut off dozens of Chakra Threads with one sword, and those carefully crafted Puppet fell like puppets with broken strings after losing control.
But Mukade has no choice.
He could only bet that these two Puppet could delay even a few breaths.
As long as you can get to the Sealing Grounds underground Dragon Vein, the sealing array left by Fourth Hokage Martial Arts Alliance Leader Minato Namikaze.
Mukade still has a chance to fight back!
He also holds in his arms the method to break the seal, which he spent several months of hard work to find.
As long as he touches the power of Dragon Vein, he can reverse the situation and even leave that Silver Sword, Golden Edge under this yellow sand forever.
Controlling Puppet while running around is a required course for Puppet Master.
Because compared to Puppet, Puppet Master is too fragile. Even if running away will affect the control of Puppet, Mukade dare not slow down.
The crisp sound of metal collision and the roar of Chakra explosion came from the Ruins behind him.
Mukade ran desperately towards the entrance of the underground passage.
The yellow sand filled the sky, Ancient City was dead silent, but the laughter of Blond-Haired Boy penetrated the wind and sand, and caught up with it clearly:
"Don't run away in a hurry, your name is Mukade, right."
Mukade There is nothing we can do.
Among the Ruins behind him, the crisp sound of metal collision was getting closer and closer. The footsteps of that Blond-Haired Boy were neither fast nor slow, but they were beating on his heart like an urging drum.
He is too aware of the difference in strength between them.
In that Sunagakure battle, dozens of Jonins surrounded and suppressed him, but they couldn't keep him alive. With only one Puppet Master on his own, there was only a dead end in a head-on confrontation.
Escape, the only option is to escape, to the depths of the earth.
He suddenly took out a few Explosive Tag from his arms and threw them behind him without looking at them.
Orange-Red Eyes's talisman flew in the wind and sand, like a few burning fallen leaves.
Mukade didn't even have time to confirm the result, Hand Seals his hands quickly, his bitten thumb pressed on the summon Scroll of the last Puppet.
White smoke exploded, and a black bird-shaped Puppet rushed out of the smoke, its iron wings glowing with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight.
This Puppet carries his last hope, and also carries his last Chakra.
"Go!"
Mukade turned over and jumped on the back of Puppet, holding the ring around Puppet's neck with both hands.
The bird-shaped Puppet Wings suddenly unfolded, taking Mukade directly towards the ground beneath its feet.
The iron rotates at Utakata speed, like a huge drill bit, instantly drilling through the cracked ground.
Gravel and yellow sand splashed, Mukade's vision fell into darkness, and the only sounds left in his ears were the roar of Puppet drilling through the rock formations and his own crazy heartbeat.
He made the right bet.
When exploring the Rōran ruins before, Mukade had already figured out the underground structure.
The underground of this Ancient City is almost completely hollowed out, and underneath is the magnificent Underground Palace that is more than a hundred meters deep.
That is the underground Palace group that was excavated by the whole country during the heyday of Ancient Kingdom of Roran. Its scale is so large and its craftsmanship is so exquisite that it is simply not a miracle that can be accomplished by human beings.
Countless tunnels extend beyond the Underground Palace, spreading in all directions like spider webs, connecting various important buildings in Rōran.
The location of Mukade at this moment is directly above the former Rōran Royal Palace, which is also directly above the core area of the Underground Palace.
This is the only chance of survival.
The bird-shaped Puppet carries Mukade through layers of Rock and Soil, and finally breaks out of the Underground Palace dome.
In the darkness, several faint blue lights lit up one after another.
Those were the lighting devices arranged by Mukade during previous explorations. They were arranged in a ring along the Underground Palace dome, reflecting the underground Palace like daylight.
Mukade stabilized his figure in the air and glanced across this magnificent and suffocating space: a huge Stone Pillar was pulled up from the ground, each one as thick as several people could hug it. The columns were carved with complex patterns; the dome was painted with long-faded murals depicting the ancestors of Rōran and the legend of the power of Dragon Vein; and in the center of the Underground Palace, a circular Altar stands quietly. Altar is surrounded by bottomless ravines, and the light of Purple Eyes can be vaguely seen in the ravines.
That is the power of Dragon Vein, the flow of Chakra flowing deep in the earth.
And in the very center of Altar, in the center of the sealing array, a special Kunai was deeply inserted into the stone platform.
The three-pronged blade has Flying Thunder God and Formula engraved on it.
Fourth Hokage Martial Arts Alliance Leader Minato Namikaze left a seal.
Mukade controlled Puppet to dive down at Altar. The bird-shaped Puppet folded its wings and turned over the moment before touching the ground, accurately throwing Mukade on its back onto the edge of Altar.
Mukade staggered two steps and knelt heavily on the stone platform with his dry knees.
He was panting heavily, sweat mixed with yellow sand sliding down from his forehead, but his eyes were fixed on the Kunai, with an almost crazy desire burning in his eyes.
"Finally... finally here..."