If An Lushan died, then Uzumaki Naruto and Yamato would directly return, so Mokgetsu wouldn't let An Lushan die, he would first seal An Lushan.
Currently, Uzumaki Naruto hasn't learned the Breath of Yang, and Jiraiya hasn't been seen, so it's not time to return yet.
Mokgetsu's plan seemed quite reliable and reasonable, and everyone had no objections. As it was almost time for bed, they disbanded and each returned to their room.
...
"Could it be that she finally figured it out and decided to continue cooperating with me?"
This was An Lushan's first thought upon hearing that the Queen of Loulan had invited him to discuss development issues in Western Loulan.
After all, this backwater Loulan had nothing to develop besides the Dragon Vein.
An Lushan was in quite a good mood about this, as he was planning to assassinate the Queen of Loulan and support Princess Sara of Loulan to take the throne.
According to the information he received, Sara also had the same abilities as the Queen of Loulan.
Compared to the cunning Queen of Loulan, the naive Sara would undoubtedly be much easier to control, perhaps even willing to help him count money if he sold her out.
However, An Lushan's ultimate goal was to absorb the Dragon Vein Power, not to control Loulan, so as long as he achieved this goal, nothing else mattered to him.
Western Loulan was the most underdeveloped part of Loulan, with vast open spaces and abandoned buildings.
An Lushan, led by Loulan soldiers, found the Queen conducting an inspection.
An Lushan forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, I have a great development idea, and intelligent as you are, you should be able to guess it."
Because of the need for cooperation, An Lushan didn't directly speak about the Dragon Vein but hinted to the Queen.
"Clearly, all of Loulan, but the environment in Western Loulan is so much worse than elsewhere. We ought to develop this area, even if it requires some sacrifice." An Lushan continued as the Queen remained unresponsive.
Just then, the handkerchief on the Queen suddenly fell.
Swish!
The four Loulan soldiers standing beside An Lushan immediately drew their swords and slashed at him.
But to their surprise, it was as if they weren't slashing at a person but cutting into steel—the blades stopped after slicing through An Lushan's clothing.
An Lushan's expression quickly turned grim; a few ordinary people dared to make a move against him.
To withstand the power of the Dragon Vein, he had long transformed his body into a puppet, and ordinary swords were no more than a tickle to him.
"I guess I'll have to make it seem like the Queen of Loulan was unfortunately assassinated, and then support Princess Sara to take the throne in the chaos," An Lushan decided to kill everyone present and have Sara ascend the throne.
But before he could act, several wooden branches suddenly grew from the ground underneath him, rapidly binding him.
The four Loulan soldiers took this opportunity to rapidly retreat, while Uzumaki Naruto and others hidden nearby rushed out.
Uzumaki Naruto condensed a large amount of Chakra in his hand, compressing and rotating it to form a high-speed rotating Chakra Ball.
Without a moment's hesitation, Uzumaki Naruto raised his Rasengan and smashed it towards An Lushan's chest.
"Flash!"
Kakashi also seized the opportunity to concentrate the Breath of Thunder, enhancing its explosive power, and then swiftly swung his Lightning Blade at An Lushan's legs.
An Lushan frowned, trying to break free from the wooden restraints, but found them sturdier than he had imagined.
Swish!
Kakashi's White Fang Short Blade severed An Lushan's legs.
Boom!!
Naruto's Rasengan tore through part of An Lushan's clothing and body, revealing the puppet parts within.
"This enemy seems surprisingly easy to deal with," Obito thought, seeing An Lushan severely injured and feeling the battle was over.
"Don't be careless until the enemy is completely dealt with," Mokgetsu, standing beside the Queen of Loulan, shook his head and said.
Although the Queen chose to terminate cooperation with An Lushan, An Lushan had absorbed a significant amount of Dragon Vein Power and wouldn't be easily resolved.
While Naruto's Rasengan had inflicted severe damage on An Lushan, it also shattered the wooden restraints, allowing An Lushan to roll out and quickly pull out a Scroll, activating the power of the Dragon Vein Chakra within him.
Inside An Lushan's Scroll was a puppet, which quickly reassembled and repaired An Lushan's body under his control, making him appear even stronger than before.
"Persistent as a ghost, I didn't expect you all to follow," An Lushan cursed while dodging.
Initially, An Lushan thought Uzumaki Naruto and the others had followed, so he acted very cautiously in Loulan, using Transformation Jutsu and aliases. Only much later, when Naruto hadn't appeared for a long time, did An Lushan dare to be sure that he was the only one who had traveled.
He truly didn't expect Naruto to appear at this moment, and with some unfamiliar helpers in tow.
An Lushan quickly took out two more Scrolls, releasing six large puppets.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Obito, concentrating the Breath of Flame, immediately spewed a massive fireball.
Rumble!
A huge explosion occurred, instantly destroying one of An Lushan's puppets.
"Rasengan!"
Uzumaki Naruto used Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu to create numerous Shadow Clones; together with the original, they attacked with Rasengan, quickly destroying two puppets.
"Wood Release: Spear Tree!"
With a calm face, Yamato manipulated the wooden branches extending from his body to pierce and destroy a puppet.
"Lighting Release: Pseudo-Darkness!"
Kakashi finally concentrated a large amount of Lightning Attribute Chakra, then thrust out the Thunder Spear. The Thunder Spear moved quickly and with great penetration power, destroying another puppet.
Nohara Rin wielded the Chakra Short Blade given to her by Naruto, cutting the Chakra Line of a puppet, stripping An Lushan of control over it.
As soon as the battle began, the six puppets An Lushan released were all defeated.
An Lushan's expression turned incredibly dark; those were most of the puppets he carried, with only ten in total. Now he had only three left.
Without hesitation, An Lushan quickly released the remaining three puppets and frantically ran towards his underground base.
Though the puppets he carried were of high quality, the base contained many more, enough to exhaust the ninjas to death.
"As long as I can reach that place, there won't be a problem!" An Lushan seemed to see hope of a comeback.
But the location was chosen by Mokgetsu and the others, and not laying traps would be unworthy of their ninja status.
As An Lushan charged, Kakashi silently detonated dozens of pre-buried Explosive Tags.
Rumble!!!
A thunderous explosion sounded, a blindingly bright explosion occurred, and An Lushan and the three puppets covering his retreat were engulfed in it.
Seeing An Lushan engulfed in such a fierce explosion, the Queen of Loulan finally felt at ease.
Initially, she intended to bring Sara along to broaden her experience and understand the dangers of human nature, but for safety reasons, the Queen eventually abandoned this decision.
Dense smoke from the explosion obscured An Lushan, and Uzumaki Naruto and the others watched it closely, unclear of An Lushan's condition inside.