In an instant, an irresistible aroma drifted through the air.
It wasn't that food pills were too expensive—it was just that roast lamb was better value.
A little while later, Shisui swallowed as he watched Yuzuru, Obito, and Kakashi eating until their mouths gleamed with grease.
Whatever. I'm eating.
So good.
Yuzuru led the team with one guiding principle: do whatever he felt like, whenever he felt like it.
It gave Obito and the others the strange illusion that they weren't carrying out an A-rank mission at all—they were on a trip.
Another week passed like that before the four of them finally found the Kingdom of Loulan in the desert.
Staring at the forest of towering spires that thrust into the sky, Obito and the others stood there with their mouths hanging open in shock.
What bizarre architecture... so this was Loulan?
Even from a distance, they could feel a pulse of energy that set their hearts trembling.
"Stay close once we go in," Yuzuru said, expression hard. "We'll gather intel first."
"Yes!"
Seeing how serious he was, Kakashi and the others instinctively sobered up as well.
Under Yuzuru's lead, they slipped into Loulan with ease.
Tower after tower rose overhead, and countless pipes linked them together in every direction like veins inside a living body.
There wasn't anyone on the streets. All of Loulan looked like a dead city.
Obito frowned, baffled. "Why is it so quiet? This is weird..."
Kakashi and Shisui held their short blades at the ready, every nerve taut as they guarded against anything that might happen.
After they headed toward the city's center for a while, Yuzuru caught the sound of a mournful song.
He turned with a frown. It was coming from an abandoned tower off to the side.
"Let's check it out."
Obito rushed in first, with Shisui and Kakashi right behind him.
Inside, they found a long-haired woman sitting amid the ruins, singing.
The moment she noticed them, she whipped her head around. After one glance, she spun and fled into a passageway.
"Hey, wait!"
Obito lunged to chase her, but two puppets burst out of the passage and charged straight at him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito formed hand seals, and a massive fireball swallowed the puppets whole, scattering parts across the floor.
"Hmph. Pathetic."
He gave a smug snort, but not far away Kakashi and Shisui's faces tightened.
"Obito, watch out!"
Obito turned—and the puppet parts on the ground had already pulled themselves back together, blades flashing as they slashed for him.
Obito stumbled back in panic. He tripped and hit the ground hard.
Just as he thought he was finished, the two puppets suddenly went limp, as if their power had been cut, and collapsed outside the passage.
"That was close..." Obito patted his chest, shaken.
He'd nearly died.
"Brother Obito, are you okay?" Shisui dashed over, staring at him anxiously.
Obito felt his face burn with embarrassment. He forced himself to save face anyway. "I was testing them on purpose. I saw through their weakness a long time ago."
Obito froze, scrambling for something to say, when Kakashi spoke in a low voice beside him. "Looks like this place can block the power controlling those two puppets."
"This isn't as simple as we thought. From here on out, we need to be careful."
Obito jabbed a finger at him. "Kakashi, you just love showing off. I was about to say that."
Kakashi rolled his eyes and headed back the way they'd come.
"Brother Yuzuru, we saw a woman, but she got away."
"And two puppets attacked us. Could this be Sunagakure shinobi behind it?"
In the shinobi world, only Sunagakure's shinobi were known for controlling puppets.
Opportunities like this didn't come often. Letting Kakashi, Obito, and Shisui get some experience was a good thing.
He could spoil his clansmen into having fragile egos, but he could never raise them into idiots who understood nothing.
As the three of them spoke, another three puppets with blades rushed at them.
Yuzuru's brow furrowed. He retreated a step, placing himself behind them, letting the three take point.
Kakashi drew his short blade and charged first. Obito was right behind him, and Shisui activated his Sharingan.
The puppets weren't fast; the only troublesome thing was that they could keep reviving.
So the three of them handled it without much trouble.
"Brother Obito, Kakashi-senior—these puppets are being controlled by chakra threads. We need to cut the threads and finish this quickly."
Through his Sharingan, Shisui could see several chakra threads on each puppet, connecting into the crisscrossing pipes overhead.
As soon as he spoke, Shisui lifted a hand and unleashed Fire Release.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The fireball engulfed the puppets instantly.
After hearing him, Kakashi and Obito each used their own techniques.
"Lightning Release: Chidori!"
"Rasengan!"
Once they'd smashed the three puppets to pieces, Kakashi followed Shisui's direction, channeling Chakra into the Fuma Shuriken before hurling it into the air.
This time, the shattered pieces didn't move again.
"Hah... hah..." Obito and the others panted hard.
On their very first mission, they'd run into puppets that could revive again and again. No wonder they'd overreacted.
"Kakashi, Obito, Shisui—when you're dealing with things like this, try not to waste your Chakra."
"And..." Yuzuru added, summing up their fight, "when you're fighting puppets, the first thing you should think about is cutting the chakra threads connecting them."
"Got it."
Just then, a wave of cheering rose in the distance.
Kakashi, Obito, and Shisui exchanged a look and sprinted toward the sound.
"So that's why we couldn't find anyone—they're all here?" Hidden in the shadows, Obito stared at the crowd in surprise.
Ceremonial cannons boomed. Floats rolled through the streets. Banners and streamers snapped in the wind.
Thousands of people stood in neat clothes along the road.
Heads tilted back, arms raised, they cheered with feverish enthusiasm.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
"..."
Following their gaze, Obito and the others looked up.
On a balcony jutting from the tallest, largest tower, a woman stepped out, crowned and dressed in a splendid gown, flanked by two puppets.
The moment the woman appeared, the crowd's cheers swelled even louder.
Smiling, she waved down at the people.
"So she's the queen..."
"She must know exactly what's going on in Loulan, right?"
Shisui and Kakashi nodded at the same time, agreeing with Obito.
Then, without warning, the woman on the tower let out a sharp cry. The balcony shattered, and she plunged straight down from nearly 100 m in the air.
"Something's wrong!"
Obito sprang up, ready to catch her—
Only for Yuzuru to press a hand to his shoulder and push him back down.
"Obito, you're still a kid. This is the kind of thing you can't handle. Leave it to me."
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, Yuzuru vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already in midair, cradling the Queen of Loulan in his arms.
He landed smoothly. Looking down at the woman, he asked, "Are you hurt?"
At his voice, the woman opened her eyes—and her mouth fell open. "S-so handsome..."
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"Huh?" Yuzuru hadn't expected that to be her first line. All he could do was sigh. "Honestly, if you spend enough time around me, you'll realize being handsome is the least remarkable thing about me."
That seemed to snap her back to reality. Realizing she was being carried in a bridal hold by a complete stranger—on top of what she'd blurted out—she flushed and lifted a hand to strike him.
"You insolent man!"
Yuzuru caught her smooth, pale wrist in one hand, displeased. "Is this how you repay someone who saved your life?"
"Wha—?!"
Only then did she remember she'd fallen from the tower. She'd almost died.
"Then... I should thank you first." She spoke with a faintly airheaded sincerity. "Thank you for saving me."
Yuzuru waved it off, feigning casual curiosity. "No problem. What's your name?"
"Sara." Faced with his handsome face so close, Sara ducked her head shyly. "C-could you put me down first?"
"This... isn't really appropriate."
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