Yellow sand filled the sky like an immense curtain hanging between heaven and earth, swallowing every trace of life.
The wind swept past with grains of sand, howling mournfully as though recounting this ancient city's former glory and present desolation.
Naruto stepped across the cracked earth, making his way into the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran.
Crumbling walls surrounded him. The palaces and towers of old had been reduced to half-standing earthen walls, tottering in the windblown sand.
Yellow sand buried the once-bustling streets, leaving only a few broken paving stones faintly visible.
The wind passed through empty window frames and doorways with a low moan, like the dead city's final sigh.
Naruto stopped, his gaze sweeping over fragments of exquisite murals. Their colors had flaked away, but the artists' skill was still apparent.
Twenty years ago, this had been a thriving city filled with voices, with merchant caravans arriving in an endless stream and children playing in the streets. Now, only boundless silence remained, along with ghostly whispers drifting through the windblown sand.
Ah, Rōran!
Naruto thought of Loulan from his previous life, a frequent subject of poetry.
A hundred battles in yellow sands wore through our golden armor; until Loulan falls, we shall not return.
May the sword at your waist strike straight to slay Loulan.
In pairs they rode, flicking their whips, hunting toward Loulan.
The year before last, we conquered Loulan; last year, we subdued the Yuezhi.
Heh, no wonder the Ancient Kingdom of Roran fell into ruin. That name carried rotten luck.
"Hey, young man."
An abrupt voice cut through the moaning wind and sand.
Naruto looked toward it and saw a gaunt man emerge from beneath a tottering stretch of ruined wall.
The man was as thin as a walking skeleton, his