Uchiha Yue didn't even blink; he even mimicked the unquestionable authority of an Anbu Captain in his tone as he pointed toward the Puppets surging forward like a tide.
"There are too many enemies, and they have the infinite power supply of the Ryunmyaku. My handsome comrade, can you help me hold them off for a while! I need to cover the Queen's retreat!"
Hearing "handsome comrade," Yamato didn't have time to think twice.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
Yamato slammed his hands together, and a massive amount of Chakra erupted instantly.
Rows of hard, giant semi-circular wooden pillars rose from the ground, blocking the path in front of Yue and Sara like a city wall.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Countless purple lasers slammed into the wooden wall, causing violent tremors, but they were stubbornly withstood by Yamato's powerful Wood Release.
Watching Yamato work hard at the front, single-handedly blocking half of the Puppet army, the corners of Uchiha Yue's mouth curled up wildly beneath his mask.
"He's so useful, Captain Yamato. Konoha Ninjas are sometimes truly adorable in their simplicity."
With Yamato, the super meat shield, tying down the most troublesome sea of Puppets, Yue immediately led Sara toward the Ryunmyaku control hub.
While Yamato struggled to maintain the Wood Release, he shouted, "Senior, Naruto... that is, that blonde kid, have you seen him..."
"Whoosh—!"
A dazzling golden flash suddenly pierced the dark underground space, accompanied by several Ninjas abruptly appearing on the platform behind Yamato.
It was Minato Namikaze, Akimichi Choza, and Aburame Shibi, who had tracked them down with great effort, along with Uzumaki Naruto, whom Minato had forcibly removed from the danger zone!
"Captain Yamato!!!"
Seeing that familiar figure, Naruto cried out in excitement.
Yamato turned his head amidst the chaos. Seeing Naruto safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great, Naruto, you're okay! Quick, come help me! I'm assisting this Senior in protecting the Queen..."
"Get away from him! He's no Senior!"
Hearing Yamato's words, Minato Namikaze's expression changed drastically. A rare trace of anxiety and anger flashed in his deep blue eyes.
"What?" Yamato was stunned.
The specialized Kunai in Minato's hand instantly locked onto Uchiha Yue, who was about to leave with Sara. His cold, stern voice echoed throughout the underground space:
"He isn't on a Konoha mission at all! He's an extremely dangerous individual who stole secrets and betrayed the Village—the A-Rank Rogue Ninja, Uchiha Yue! He's using you!"
"Rogue... Rogue Ninja?!"
Yamato's eyes widened suddenly, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head.
He turned his head, looking in disbelief at the black-robed youth who had seemed so well-intentioned.
Hearing Minato's exposure, Uchiha Yue didn't show the slightest panic. Instead, he stopped in his tracks.
He slowly turned around. His black eyes swept playfully across Yamato's shocked face, then toward Minato's team, who were on high alert, and finally landed on the Puppet army below, still frantically attacking the Wood Locking Wall.
"Minato, you arrived a bit faster than I expected. However, the timing is just right."
Yue chuckled softly and formed a hand seal with one hand.
"Bang!"
In the spot where Yue had just been standing, a cloud of smoke from Explosive Tags erupted, directly destroying the only metal bridge connecting their platform to Yamato's area.
With that, the battlefield was completely divided.
"Thanks to your Wood Release for keeping these annoying toys busy, Captain Yamato."
Across the abyss, Yue bowed slightly to Yamato in a mockingly gentlemanly gesture. "Now, I'll leave these Puppets for you Konoha elites to play with slowly. As for Her Majesty the Queen and the Ryunmyaku, I'll be taking them."
"Bastard! How dare you play me!"
Yamato was trembling with rage, nearly losing his grip on the Wood Release.
How dare he treat him like a fool? He was Captain Yamato!
"Don't let him get away!"
Naruto shared the sentiment, roaring as he prepared to rush over, only to be stopped by Minato.
"Don't be impulsive, Naruto!" Minato's expression was grave to the extreme.
The situation had now evolved into an extremely tricky three-way free-for-all.
On one hand, the Roran mechanical Puppet army led by Anrokuzan, relying on the infinite Chakra of the Ryunmyaku, was frantically attacking everyone like zombies that felt no pain.
On the other hand, Uchiha Yue, an A-Rank Rogue Ninja with high intelligence and terrifying strength, had already taken the Queen Sara—the only "key" to controlling the Ryunmyaku—hostage and was approaching the core control room.
As for the Konoha side, they had to protect themselves and fend off the tide of Puppets while also finding a way to stop Uchiha Yue's plot and Mukade's rampage without harming Sara.
"Senior Choza, Senior Shibi, I'll leave the task of coordinating with Yamato to hold off this massive number of Puppets to you!"
Minato made a tactical decision in an instant, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Naruto, that Uchiha Yue is extremely dangerous. Not only is he powerful, but he's also incredibly skilled at manipulating people's hearts. We must join forces to intercept him and the Queen before Mukade does!"
"Alright! I'm definitely going to give that lying old man a good thrashing!"
Naruto clenched his fists, a burning fighting spirit igniting in his blue eyes.
If he could stop that Uchiha here, could he do the same for Sasuke?
Watching Minato and Naruto start their move from below, Uchiha Yue, standing in the shadows above, curled his lips into a cold arc.
"This is getting more and more interesting!"
With a flick of his black robe, Yue led Sara and vanished completely into the deepest darkness leading to the Ryunmyaku's core.
In the dark and deep underground passage, only the purple light of the Ryunmyaku Chakra flickered intermittently within the pipes.
"Let me go..."
During their rapid transit, Sara suddenly broke free from Uchiha Yue's grip.
Her emerald-green eyes were filled with struggle and wariness as she stared fixedly at the black-robed youth before her.
"Is what that blonde Anbu said true? Are you... are you really an extremely dangerous individual who betrayed the Village?" Sara's voice trembled slightly.
She might be naive, but she wasn't stupid. Would an "A-Rank Rogue Ninja" who could betray the Village he grew up in really be kind enough to save her country?
Facing Sara's questioning, Uchiha Yue stopped.
He slowly turned around. In the dim light, those crimson Sharingan eyes didn't flicker at all; instead, they held a suffocating frankness.
"Yes. I am not only a Rogue Ninja, but in the eyes of the Konoha higher-ups, I am an extremely dangerous, cold-blooded thug."
Yue answered cleanly and concisely, without a single word of excuse.
This instead left Sara stunned; she had expected him to use flowery words to deceive her.
"In that case, why should I believe you? Are you just like Anrokuzan, only wanting to use me to control the Ryunmyaku?!"
Sara took a step back, like a startled hedgehog.
"Your Majesty, it seems you haven't grasped the situation yet."
Uchiha Yue took a step forward, and a sense of oppression instantly enveloped Sara.
"In your eyes, what is a good person? And what is a bad person? That Anrokuzan, whom you hold dear and is praised by all of Roran, is secretly treating your people like slaves and livestock. Meanwhile, I, this 'Rogue Ninja' beyond redemption, have split open the illusion and brought you to see the bloody truth."
Yue reached out and pointed toward the direction of the Underground Weapons Factory.
Vaguely, the desperate wails of those laborers could still be heard.
"Konoha's Anbu are indeed 'righteous,' but their justice belongs to Konoha. If it's to complete a mission, they would sacrifice this city without hesitation. But I am different."
Yue lowered his head slightly, his crimson eyes staring directly into Sara's Soul, his voice low and full of allure:
"I don't need to pledge loyalty to anyone. I only follow my own will. My goal is to completely destroy Mukade and seize control of this power; your goal is to save your citizens who are being tortured in a living hell and to avenge your mother. From this perspective, our interests are perfectly aligned."
"Do you want to be a Puppet queen who clings to hypocritical justice and watches her country perish, or do you choose to make a deal with the devil and personally take back the smiles that belong to your people?"