Sara watched the father and son talking in the distance for a long moment before finally speaking.
"I heard what you said earlier. Namikaze Jonin came here to deal with Mukade. Once this is over, he'll definitely bring Mukade back to Konoha for interrogation. At that point, Konoha may not kill him immediately…" Her eyes darkened. "But I don't want him taken back alive. I want him dead."
Kaede Kitahara remained silent.
Sara continued calmly, analyzing the situation one step at a time.
"To preserve the future, Namikaze Jonin will probably seal the memories of everyone involved. But you're different. You're from another timeline. Your existence won't be affected by changes in this world… and you're not afraid of this timeline being altered, right?"
She looked directly into his eyes.
"So I'm asking you to help me take revenge."
Kaede fell into thought.
In the original storyline, Mukade had indeed died. Afterward, Namikaze Minato sealed everyone's memories and completed the mission.
But what if something unexpected happened?
If Mukade survived, there was a very high chance he would be captured and taken back to Konoha. The village would decide whether to execute him after extracting enough intelligence.
After all, a ninja from the future was extremely valuable.
As for Minato's desire to preserve the future exactly as it was, that was ultimately Minato's personal wish. He wanted Naruto to be born safely, even if the cost was his own death.
But would everyone in Konoha think the same way?
Not necessarily.
Kaede considered it carefully.
Originally, Mukade was supposed to die anyway. And Kaede believed Minato himself likely intended the same outcome. The Fourth Hokage would never allow Mukade to become a variable that could alter the future.
In that case, even if Kaede did nothing, the ending probably would not change.
If he chose to act, he would merely be adding one final layer of insurance.
"So this counts as a mission request then?" Kaede suddenly said seriously. "You want me to eliminate Mukade. What can you offer in exchange?"
His expression remained calm.
"Mukade fused with the Dragon Vein's chakra. His destructive power is already comparable to a Kage of one of the Five Great Nations. What exactly are you willing to pay for me to kill him?"
This definitely did not count as deceiving an innocent girl.
"The Dragon Vein."
Sara answered without hesitation.
"I want to entrust the Dragon Vein to you."
Kaede's eyes narrowed slightly.
"For ordinary people like us, the Dragon Vein only brings disaster. But for ninja… perhaps it can become a source of strength."
There was no attachment in Sara's voice when she spoke of the Dragon Vein, the treasure passed down through Loulan's royal line for generations.
Only pain.
If not for the Dragon Vein, Mukade would never have targeted Loulan.
Her mother would never have died so young.
Even if their lives had been poorer, it would still have been better than living in an empty city where almost no one remained alive beside her.
Especially after hearing Kaede mention earlier that in the future she would have a beautiful daughter.
Sara herself had already suffered enough.
Even though she had never become a mother, she instinctively understood one thing:
This cycle had to end.
A man is innocent until he possesses a treasure others covet.
That was the true reason she had made up her mind.
"For us ninja, the Dragon Vein absolutely is a tremendous source of power," Kaede admitted. "But how exactly are you planning to give it to me?"
He looked at her carefully.
"Can the people of Loulan actually control the Dragon Vein?"
"I can't," Sara replied honestly. "But I can teach you the sealing formula unique to Loulan's royal line. With it, you'll be able to control the Dragon Vein and seal it properly."
She paused before continuing.
"And if you really return to your own era like you said, then you can take the Dragon Vein with you."
There was still a trace of guilt in her eyes.
After all, she was essentially giving away the Dragon Vein that belonged to the Loulan of Kaede's timeline.
Even if she believed it was ultimately better for the surviving people of Loulan, it still weighed on her heart.
"When you return," she added softly, "if you have the ability… I hope you'll help support Loulan's merchant caravans."
"Agreed."
Kaede nodded immediately.
Then he took out a scroll from his ninja pouch and carefully wrote the mission request onto it.
After confirming the contents, Sara signed her name, bit her finger, and pressed a bloody fingerprint onto the scroll.
Just like that, the commission was complete.
If the Dragon Vein was ever exposed in the future, Kaede would have legitimate justification for possessing it.
After all, it had been formally entrusted to him by the final queen of Loulan herself.
As for which Queen of Loulan?
That was none of anyone's business.
A signature was a signature.
A blood seal was a blood seal.
And by the time anyone might question him about it…
There probably would not be anyone left qualified to do so.
After all, the Dragon Vein was a colossal source of chakra comparable to a Tailed Beast.
If he could seal that chakra into his own body the same way a Jinchuriki housed a Tailed Beast, he would possess nearly endless reserves of chakra.
For a ninja, chakra was everything.
At present, Kaede's own chakra reserves had already steadily reached Kage Level standards. Against the enemies appearing in the current era, it was more than enough.
Because at this stage of history, the strongest fighters were merely Kage Level.
But three years later, in the next era, Kage Level would become commonplace.
And in the later stages…
Super Kage Level fighters would appear everywhere.
Even Six Paths Level beings would emerge.
At that point, Kaede's current chakra reserves would be nowhere near enough.
Especially if he wanted to fully develop techniques like Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Right now, he could only use that move as a trump card.
Naruto, meanwhile, could practically spam it as a basic attack.
That difference was enormous.
So Kaede had to find a way to compensate for what was gradually becoming his greatest weakness.
And outside of Tailed Beasts, the Dragon Vein was the best option available.
Sara led Kaede to a secluded corner and began teaching him the sealing formula used to control the Dragon Vein.
Kaede memorized it after hearing it once.
But understanding it was another matter entirely.
He lacked any foundation in sealing techniques.
Among ninja arts, sealing jutsu ranked alongside medical ninjutsu as one of the most advanced and specialized fields. In fact, it was even rarer than medical ninjutsu.
Konoha possessed an entire sealing corps with a complete training system built upon generations of Senju and Uzumaki research.
The Uzumaki Clan, in particular, was renowned throughout the shinobi world for their mastery of sealing arts.
That was why Namikaze Minato had learned so many sealing techniques after becoming close to Uzumaki Kushina.
Whether it was the formula used to seal the Dragon Vein or the Dead Demon Consuming Seal used on the Nine-Tails, they all originated from the Uzumaki Clan's secret arts.
Unfortunately, Kaede had no access to those teachings.
He would have to find another path.
Simply memorizing the formula mentally was not enough.
Kaede immediately took out another small scroll and copied down every detail carefully.
Because he feared Minato might seal away his memories once the mission ended.
This was a second layer of insurance.
Even if his future self lost these memories, discovering the scroll later would allow him to reconstruct most of what had happened.
"Since I accepted your mission," Kaede said calmly after finishing, "I'll make sure Mukade dies."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"Tonight, just watch."
After reassuring Queen Sara, Kaede walked back toward Naruto and Minato.
Naruto, whose eyes were still slightly red from crying earlier, looked confused when he saw him approach.
"Sorry to interrupt your father-son reunion," Kaede said with a grin. "But there's something I want to ask Naruto."
Minato glanced at Kaede but remained silent.
At this point, he already understood the situation clearly.
Kaede belonged to another parallel timeline.
And in that timeline, he seemed to be very close with Naruto.
He had even taught Naruto the Rasengan.
That alone was enough for Minato to lower his guard considerably.
"What is it?" Naruto asked curiously.
He had also realized by now that Kaede was his friend from another timeline.
For someone who had grown up almost completely alone, that meant a lot.
Back then, Naruto truly had not had a single friend.
Knowing that another version of himself did made him unexpectedly happy.
"I've been trying to develop Wind Release: Rasenshuriken recently," Kaede said directly. "But I can't solve the damage it causes to the user's own arm. I wanted to ask how you overcame that problem."
He did not bother hiding his difficulties.
His progress had completely stalled.
Not because he lacked effort, but because the technique itself was fundamentally flawed.
The Wind Release chakra behaved like countless microscopic needles, shredding every muscle fiber and cell inside the user's arm.
It was a move that damaged the enemy by a thousand…
And yourself by eight hundred.
Kaede was effectively stuck because of a bug in the technique itself.
To remove the side effects entirely and throw the Rasenshuriken safely required one hundred percent completion.
Ordinary people simply could not reach that stage.
Even Naruto had only solved the issue later through Sage Mode.
And unlike Naruto, Kaede did not possess monstrous Uzumaki vitality.
An injury Naruto could survive might kill him outright.
"Ah… that problem."
Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.
"To be honest, I haven't completely solved it either."
Kaede immediately understood.
At this point in time, Naruto most likely had not yet gone to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Mode.
Which made sense.
Once Naruto trained at Mount Myoboku, the next major event would be Pain's invasion of Konoha.
That was when Sage Mode Naruto first appeared.
Still, Naruto generously shared his own training insights and development experience.
The more Kaede listened, the brighter his eyes became.
Even if Naruto had not fully completed the technique yet, his mastery had already surpassed fifty percent.
Kaede's own progress was barely ten percent at best.
Naruto could at least forcefully use the incomplete technique despite the damage.
Kaede could not even reach that stage yet.
Just the guidance Naruto casually offered was enough to save him countless detours in the future.