As Kaoru's words fell, the Sage Art: Hard Whirlwind Blade, which had been charging directly at Minato Namikaze's front, suddenly vanished. At the same time, this immensely powerful ninjutsu suddenly appeared behind Minato Namikaze!
"Flying Thunder God Third Stage… How is this possible? What kind of ninjutsu is this?!" Minato Namikaze's heart sank. An unprecedented sense of crisis instantly filled him!
BOOM!!!
The Sage Art: Hard Whirlwind Blade, launched by Kaoru, exploded instantly. Incomprehensible, shocking energy spread at an astonishing speed. Centered on this spot, countless tall towers of the entire Rōran city collapsed with a roar, and the entire land turned into a sea of flames!
"Hah, dead already… or did he escape…"
A moment later, Kaoru and Wan'er's figures landed again on the ground, which had now become ruins. Kaoru gently surveyed the surroundings. Naruto, Shibi Aburame, and Chōza Akimichi were nowhere to be seen. Whether they had teleported away with Minato Namikaze or were annihilated by his attack, Kaoru couldn't determine.
"Forget it… they're not from the same world as us, so they're not important," Kaoru muttered to himself, shifting his attention back to his original objective. "The most important thing now is to find the Dragon Vein and absorb it, then we can go back."
"Let's go… Wan'er…"
He spoke softly, waking Wan'er, who was still immersed in the shocking power of his Sage Art: Hard Whirlwind Blade. Kaoru took her hand and they flew towards the city ruins in the depths of Rōran.
...
Inside the city of Rōran.
Dust swirled everywhere, with collapsing buildings and towers. The ground was covered in scorching flames.
Under Kaoru's Sage Art: Hard Whirlwind Blade, a large portion of Rōran had been reduced to this state.
Amidst the ruins of broken walls and remnants, two figures moved swiftly.
"Such a beautiful city, it's a shame…"
A faint sigh escaped Wan'er's lips. Looking at the vast ruins of Rōran around her, a hint of reluctance flashed in her eyes—a feeling of sadness at the destruction of something beautiful.
Hearing Wan'er's sigh, Kaoru smiled. "My dear sister, you don't need to feel regretful about this… Although this city is beautiful, the people who lived here were not real. They were all puppets; it was all an illusion…"
"Even if I hadn't acted today… it would have still perished in the cruel flames of war in the future…"
Wan'er fell silent upon hearing this. She couldn't help but recall Rōran before she and Kaoru had traveled through time to this place—it was already a ruin of a long-destroyed ancient city.
Walking further into Rōran, Kaoru and Wan'er saw a towering building standing not far ahead, appearing to be the most magnificent structure in Rōran at present.
"Who are you two?!"
A clear voice called out. Standing atop the tall building was a red-haired girl. Her beautiful eyes regarded Kaoru and Wan'er with a mix of caution and anger.
"Hmm?!" Seeing the red-haired girl, Kaoru brought Wan'er to her. His crimson eyes fixed on her. "You must be the queen of this city, right?"
"I am Sāra, the Queen of this city of Rōran… Who exactly are you two?!" Queen Sāra's tone was laced with questioning and indignation.
She had just come to the top of this tall building to give a speech to her subjects below when she suddenly saw the city of Rōran suffer a devastating blow, with countless tall buildings collapsing and her subjects below inexplicably falling to the ground.
Looking at the puppets lying defeated below, Kaoru already had an answer. It seemed that when he unleashed his Sage Art: Hard Whirlwind Blade, he had inadvertently severed the chakra threads controlling these puppets, causing them to lose control.
"Queen Sāra… I ask you, where are that guy Mukade and the Dragon Vein?" Seeing that the red-haired girl before him matched his memory, Kaoru directly stated his purpose.
"The Dragon Vein?! So you two are also here to covet the Dragon Vein!!" Hearing Kaoru's direct question, Sāra became even more agitated. "You must be responsible for what just happened, right?! I won't answer any of your questions!!"
Calmly observing the unusually emotional and tsundere Queen Sāra before him, Kaoru said, "Six years ago, a man named Mukade came here. He is now your minister, Anrokuzan. He has deceived the entire populace of Rōran, and you…"
"You're lying! Anrokuzan inherited my mother's will; he's a loyal subject, a good person! He's not the Mukade you speak of!" Sāra immediately interrupted Kaoru before he could finish.
"A loyal subject…" A dismissive smile played on Kaoru's lips. He suddenly grabbed Sāra's wrist and pulled her down towards the ground.
"What are you doing? Let me go!!" Sāra, held aloft by Kaoru, struggled fiercely and shouted, but she couldn't break free from Kaoru's grasp.
Holding Sāra, who was struggling in his hand, Kaoru landed on the ground. He scanned the surrounding puppets lying defeated and said thoughtfully, "Look around you properly… Are you sure these are your so-called subjects?!"
Brought to the ground by Kaoru, Sāra finally stopped struggling. After scanning the defeated puppets around her, her face showed an expression of disbelief. "These are all…"
"Open your eyes and see clearly! These so-called subjects around you are all puppets controlled by the loyal minister Anrokuzan, whom you admire, to deceive you!!" Kaoru's tone was laced with mockery and ridicule. He had to speak sternly to awaken Sāra.
"Impossible… this is absolutely impossible…" Sāra looked at the dense rows of puppets around her in confusion, as if her lifelong beliefs had collapsed. She murmured in disbelief, "How can all my subjects be puppets… How can Anrokuzan be a bad person…"
"Someone suddenly appeared in your Rōran… with an unknown origin, and became your minister. Is it strange that he deceived you?" Seeing Sāra on the verge of collapse, Kaoru shook his head helplessly.
"No… I don't believe it… This must all be your doing!!" At this moment, Sāra, who had been lost in confusion, seemed to have found an escape from her shattered beliefs. Her eyes gradually regained clarity, and she looked at Kaoru and Wan'er with hostility.
Clearly, compared to the mysterious young man who suddenly appeared and destroyed a large part of Rōran, Sāra preferred to believe in Anrokuzan, whom she had relied on for six years—Mukade.
Fine…
Looking at the girl staring at him with hostility, Kaoru finally put his hand to his forehead in resignation and turned to Wan'er beside him. "Wan'er, you try to persuade her… If she still refuses to speak, then use genjutsu…"
After speaking, Kaoru formed hand seals. The Ice Crystal Phoenix appeared beside him. Then, standing on the Ice Crystal Phoenix, he ascended into the sky.
...
High above the entire city of Rōran.
Kaoru stood on the Ice Crystal Phoenix, carefully searching for the location of the Rōran Dragon Vein below.
However, to Kaoru's frustration, no matter how hard he searched, he still couldn't find the location of the Dragon Vein or Mukade's whereabouts.
"It seems… Mukade might have transferred the entire Dragon Vein elsewhere…"
Kaoru mused uncertainly. After all, six years was a long time, and any change could have occurred.
____________________
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