An Lushan arrived in the grand hall wearing his official ministerial robes, the same polite smile he always wore fixed on his face.
He bowed slightly, just like he had done countless times before. "Your Majesty, you don't look well today. Shall we still discuss the missing persons case?"
His voice was calm, his gaze drifting naturally across the queen before landing on the two figures standing at her sides—Kakashi and Rin.
The moment his eyes caught the unmistakable Konoha forehead protectors on their brows, the gentle, trustworthy expression he had worn for four years cracked.
A tiny fracture appeared in his smile. His pupils shrank to pinpoints. A surge of raw panic exploded in the depths of his eyes.
Konoha shinobi?! How are they here already? So fast?! The queen—when did she contact Konoha?
And they sent shinobi who slipped into the palace without a sound… and now they're standing right beside her.
What does that mean?
It means the queen has already told them everything.
It means his plan—four years of careful work, so close to success—is falling apart at the last moment.
Cold dread seized An Lushan's heart. He forced his expression back under control through sheer will.
No. He couldn't afford to panic. He still had a trump card. The Dragon Veins. If he could reach the center, he still had a chance to turn this around.
"An Lushan," Queen Seramu said, her voice tired but steady. "You've been investigating the disappearances for nearly two weeks. Have you found any solid leads? The people of Roran can't keep vanishing like this."
An Lushan snapped back to the present. He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, speaking faster than usual. "Your Majesty, we have leads! We're pursuing them with everything we have. There are… complications that still need verification. I'll personally oversee the investigation. I swear I'll bring you answers soon!"
His eyes darted away. He couldn't bring himself to look at Kakashi or Rin again. He couldn't stay here any longer.
He bowed quickly—too quickly—and turned to leave. "Your Majesty, please excuse me. This matter is urgent. I must go at once!"
Before Seramu could reply, An Lushan hurried out of the hall like something was chasing him, his figure disappearing through the doors.
Queen Seramu watched his retreating back with a frown. An Lushan's behavior today had been completely off. Suspicion stirred in her chest.
But her body was still weak. She didn't have the strength to dig deeper right now. All she wanted was rest.
Kakashi had watched the entire exchange. As an outsider, he could clearly see that An Lushan's reaction was wrong. He filed the man away as a priority target to report to Taiichi the moment he returned.
Rin's expression was grim. "Your Majesty, you need to rest. Leave the rest to us."
While An Lushan fled toward the Dragon Veins, Taiichi was already moving through the city.
He wasn't wandering aimlessly. Last night, while treating the queen, he had felt a strange fluctuation from the Dragon Veins. At first he thought An Lushan had noticed their presence and activated some kind of failsafe. But the man's behavior during the audience didn't match that theory.
So the fluctuation had to mean something else.
With the queen's permission, Taiichi could now move openly. He walked the streets, placing Flying Thunder God markers in hidden spots while observing how many citizens had already been replaced. The situation was better than he'd feared—most people were still real. The full-scale replacement from the original timeline hadn't happened yet.
That was good news. It meant he didn't have to fight an entire city of puppets.
Just as he was about to head toward the Dragon Veins, his senses picked up violent chakra fluctuations from another part of the city.
He stopped and spread his perception.
On the far side of Roran, the sounds of battle echoed between the towers. Metal clashed. Chakra exploded. Two figures in standard Konoha vests were fighting desperately against a swarm of puppets.
One had bright blond spiky hair and blue eyes full of stubborn fire—Naruto Uzumaki. The other was a calm, composed man with a wooden expression—Yamato.
They were surrounded by over a dozen high-grade puppet soldiers. These weren't the crude fakes walking the streets. These moved with lethal precision and coordinated attacks.
"Damn it! How many more are there?!" Naruto shouted, slamming a Rasengan into one puppet only for two more to take its place.
"Save your strength, Naruto!" Yamato warned, raising another Wood Release barrier. "These are stronger than the last ones!"
They were being worn down.
Taiichi's eyes narrowed.
So that's what caused the Dragon Veins fluctuation earlier. They came through.
But the timing is off. This isn't the same as the original timeline. My presence really has changed things—more than I thought.
He didn't hesitate. His body flickered and vanished.
A split second later he appeared right in the middle of the battlefield.
He didn't bother with hand seals. He simply moved—fast, brutal, and precise.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Every punch landed like a hammer. Every strike shattered a puppet's core. Metal and chakra constructs crumpled like paper in his hands. Within seconds, the entire squad of elite puppets was reduced to smoking wreckage scattered across the street.
Naruto's Rasengan fizzled out in his hand. His mouth hung open.
Yamato lowered his guard slightly, eyes wide with shock. He had already noticed the Konoha forehead protector on Taiichi's head, but the sheer power and the absurdly young face made his caution spike.
"Who the hell—?!" Naruto blurted.
Taiichi looked at the two of them, expression unreadable.
Time travel. Dragon Veins. So it really happened.
He spoke calmly. "Come with me. This isn't a good place to talk."
Without waiting for an answer, he flickered away again.
Naruto looked at Yamato. "Captain…?"
Yamato gave a short nod. "Follow him. We need answers."
They chased after Taiichi's vanishing figure.
Taiichi led them through the city at high speed, adjusting his pace when he noticed Naruto struggling to keep up. Eventually they stopped in the shadow of several tall towers, hidden from the main streets.
Naruto was the first to speak, panting. "Hey! I told you my name, but you still haven't told me yours!"
Taiichi turned to face them. "Matsushita Taiichi."
Yamato's eyes sharpened. The name meant nothing to him, but the way this man carried himself screamed high-level shinobi. And he was far too young.
"You don't know me?" Taiichi asked, watching their reactions carefully.
Naruto shook his head. "Should I?"
Taiichi's gaze grew heavier. He activated his Soul Vision. Two soul signatures appeared before him—one of them burning with the unmistakable, violent red of the Nine-Tails.
Interesting. So it really is him.
He tossed Naruto's forehead protector back to him. "You two suddenly appeared here, didn't you? Swept through by some kind of force and dropped straight into this city?"
The question hung in the air between them.