The sudden ambush left Sara panting. Her abrupt movement had brought a breathtaking flush to her otherwise fair face.
Liumu crushed the puppet that had ambushed Sara with one hand and stepped in front of her.
Before he could speak, a puppet dressed exactly like Sara suddenly appeared near a window in the tower above the main hall.
"See that?"
Liumu sneered and said to Sara, "Now he's even planning to turn you, the queen, into a puppet."
Just then, several thin strands of green chakra shot out from behind the screen in the main hall.
They reconnected the puppets Liumu had shattered. As the overhead pipes fed energy into them, the puppets actually began moving again.
"So you're a ninja from Konoha!"
With that startled exclamation, a man in armor slowly emerged. Looking at Sara and Liumu in the distance, a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.
"You're Anrokuzan? Oh, no, I should call you Mukade!" Liumu stepped forward as he spoke, placing himself in front of Sara and looking down his nose at the man.
"Mukade?"
Hearing that name, the man seemed to sink into his memories.
"It's been a long time since anyone called me Mukade." Anrokuzan chuckled, then glared at Liumu with a twisted expression and snarled, "But my name is Anrokuzan now. Rōran's... An! Ro! Kuzan!"
With that, Anrokuzan swept his hand. As though receiving an order, the puppets that had quietly surrounded the pair thrust their coldly gleaming blades straight at their hearts.
"You think you can act so high and mighty with this pile of junk?"
As Liumu spoke, he stamped his right foot hard against the ground. The blue bricks shattered, throwing up countless fragments. His gaze flashed like lightning as he struck every stone hanging in the air, sending them flying.