Sarah looked at the mural on the wall, frowning, her mind drifting back to memories of her time with her mother.

Not long after, her gaze sharpened with renewed determination.

From beginning to end, her mother had always cherished the people of Rōran most. Now, she would inherit that will.

She stood up slowly, her eyes filled with resolve. Her expression mirrored the pride and dominance of an eagle. There was a glint of Shukaku-like chakra in her aura, strong and unwavering. It was as if she had reached an epiphany.

"We need to confirm the true state of this city first," she said, turning her eyes toward the tangled network of pipes above.

"The Queen of Rōran can sense the flow of the Dragon Vein's chakra. If we can trace where these pipelines connect—"

Naruto, now fully energized seeing Sarah's renewed spirit, nodded eagerly.

"Yosh! Let's go!"

Uchiha Hikaru observed Naruto's enthusiasm and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Was this the power of the future Seventh Hokage?

As expected, Naruto's most dangerous ability wasn't the Nine-Tails or being Asura's reincarnation—it was his terrifying Talk-no-Jutsu that even Obito couldn't resist! (￣▽￣;)

Following Sarah's lead, the five of them reached the heart of Rōran, the hidden origin point of the entire pipe network.

They came to a massive exhaust shaft surrounded by thick, tangled tubes. Sarah closed her eyes, focusing, and once again sensed the pulse of the Dragon Vein.

"This is it," she said firmly. "The convergence point of the entire city's chakra flow."

Uchiha Hikaru glanced back at Masako and Sarai, both breathing heavily from the run.

"We'll find your families and get them out safely," he assured them. "But for now, go find shelter with the others. Stay hidden."

Sarai looked up at Hikaru, Naruto, and Sarah with pleading eyes, her voice trembling with hope. "Really…?"

Sarah placed a hand over her chest. "I swear in the name of the Queen of Rōran—we will save everyone."

Naruto's blood burned with conviction. "Yeah! And I swear on the name of Konoha's next Hokage—I'll make sure we do!"

Masako exchanged a glance with Sarai, then gave a small nod. They both understood: if a battle broke out, they'd only be liabilities. The best thing they could do was find a safe place to hide.

She grabbed Sarai's hand and darted down a side alley.

Hikaru stepped forward and kicked the metal grate off a nearby sewer opening. "No time to waste. Let's move."

He jumped down first, followed closely by Naruto and Sarah.

Hikaru immediately began sensing chakra signatures, scanning for the highest concentration. Moving swiftly through the tunnels, he eventually found a ventilation shaft and silently carved away the grate with a kunai before dropping in.

Naruto, too impatient to wait, jumped down after him.

Only Sarah remained above, feeling awkward now that she was alone.

Gritting her teeth, she prepared to leap—only to catch her foot on the edge of the vent and fall forward. She barely managed to grab onto the side with both hands.

Seeing this, Naruto rushed to catch her, bracing himself below.

Bang~!

Sarah landed squarely on top of him.

"Ugh… that hurts…" she groaned, rubbing her back.

Oddly enough, Naruto didn't even flinch. Sarah was the one in pain.

"Shhh." Hikaru gestured for silence. "Come quickly. You have to see this."

Sarah hurried to his side with Naruto, and together they peeked through the maze of pipes from above.

Below them was a haunting sight—dozens of malnourished laborers chained hand and foot, slowly pushing massive poles connected to some kind of machine. The clang of metal echoed around the chamber. They looked like walking corpses, empty-eyed and broken.

All around, puppet soldiers stood on alert.

Nearby was a puppet assembly line and a massive chakra furnace, pulsating with power.

Hikaru's hands clenched into fists. "This… is the truth hidden in Rōran."

Damn Mukade.

He was using an assembly-line setup to mass-produce puppets—forcing these people to labor under the Dragon Vein's chakra, even though human effort barely added 10% efficiency at best.

How heartless could one man be?

Naruto's face darkened as he recognized the puppets.

"They're the same kind I fought before… But there's just so many…"

Sarah's voice trembled. "Unbelievable… Mukade used my name to enslave people, to build this…"

Naruto surveyed the crowd of puppets, a nervous sweat beading on his brow.

"There's way too many of them… I wanna charge in, but—what do we do?"

He looked over to Hikaru and Sarah. He didn't expect himself to have the answer—but Hikaru always did.

Hikaru met Sarah's gaze as if to ask: Well, Princess?

She looked around, searching for something—then her eyes locked onto a spot near the base of the massive chakra furnace. She pointed firmly.

"Take me there. If I can reach that point, I can cut off the Dragon Vein's power."

"Please, we have to hurry!"

Dark chakra mist surged from Hikaru's right wrist. As he willed it, the shadows coiled into the shape of two jagged blades—his Mangekyō technique, Sword, manifesting in full.

"Naruto, get her there," Hikaru ordered. "I'll release the prisoners to keep them from being caught in the fight."

Without waiting for a response, Hikaru leapt down into the furnace chamber below.

Naruto grabbed Sarah and took off toward the altar at full speed. (ง •̀_•́)ง

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Send Power Stones

Bonus Chapter at 150 Power Stone

Second Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones

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