After the girl finished her song, its ethereal echoes lingered in the underground palace, like the last ripple fading from a lake.
Naruto quietly approached the entrance to the underground palace and raised his hands to applaud.
The crisp clapping rang especially loudly through the cavernous underground palace.
Sara spun around, her red hair tracing an arc through the air.
Her pupils contracted sharply. When had that man arrived?
While singing, Sara had immersed herself completely in the rhythm of the dragon vein, oblivious to everything around her.
This man in a white hooded robe had appeared near her without a sound.
"Hello." Naruto stepped out of the shadows, his blond hair gleaming softly in the fluorite's faint light. He raised both hands, palms open and facing outward, and flashed a smile so brilliant it was almost dazzling.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I took a mission from Sunagakure to find a Sand Ninja rogue ninja named Mukade."
He waved at the red-haired girl, his tone as casual as a neighbor dropping by for a visit.
"I don't know this Mukade you're talking about."
Sara's voice was tight. She jumped down from the stone pillar, putting distance between herself and Naruto.
Wariness and fear mingled in her red eyes, but she kept her chin raised, refusing to show weakness before a stranger.
Who wouldn't have been afraid?
A man with a long sword at his waist had appeared beside her without her noticing, though this blond young man did look rather handsome when he smiled.
His teeth were white, his eyes blue, and there was something in his smile that made people want to trust him.
Yet Sara still felt he had come with ill intentions.
Rōran might have been prosperous, but as its queen, she had been taught from