Morkel asked casually, "Have the dragon veins here always existed?"
Sarah replied, "I don't know. But the dragon vein has been here since I can remember."
"It's just that in the early years, my mother never used its power—until the man named An Lushan arrived in Loulan…"
Morkel frowned. "Isn't An Lushan a native of Loulan?"
Sarah shook her head. "No. Actually, he was like you—he suddenly appeared in Loulan six years ago."
"Later, because of his talent, my mother favored him. It was he who proposed using the dragon vein's power to build Loulan. Thanks to his idea, Loulan became the prosperous city it is today…"
"Six years ago…" Morkel silently repeated Sarah's words, lost in thought.
Could An Lushan, the cunning minister of Loulan, be the same rebellious Ninja Centipede who traveled through time with him?
But if so, why did An Lushan arrive before him?
Morkel grew increasingly suspicious of An Lushan's true identity—and resolved to investigate further.
They continued descending and soon reached the sewers.
"This is too slow," Morkel said. "Why not just go straight through?"
Sarah responded, "But… damaging the sewer is hard to repair…"
Morkel chuckled. "You're worried about a hole in the pipe, but not about your people vanishing?"
He patted the pipe wall. "Fine. I'll fix it later."
With that, he punched through the pipe, creating a large opening. Then, he quickly formed hand seals. "Earth Style: Splitting Earth Tunnel!"
Clatter…
The hardened soil below parted, forming a dark, round tunnel.
"Let's go," he said, and without waiting, shoved Sarah inside.
"Ahh~!"
Following her scream, Morkel jumped in behind. Before descending, he sealed the gap in the pipe with mud.
They slid down the tunnel like a chute. A few minutes later, light appeared ahead, and both Sarah and Morkel shot out of the tunnel—
—and found themselves in front of a massive underground factory.
Chakra pipes crisscrossed everywhere. Various puppet parts sat on a moving conveyor belt, gradually assembling into gigantic puppets.
As the belt moved, the final step was connecting Chakra threads through channels to complete them—ready for manipulation.
The entire system was powered by a massive device that resembled a millstone. And the one pushing the millstone—was a person.
No, not just one. Dozens of pale, malnourished people in coarse clothes, chained, all clearly forced into labor.
Morkel said emotionlessly, "Now that you've seen it with your own eyes, do you believe me?"
Sarah stood frozen, not answering.
Since her mother's death, An Lushan had acted like a father to her, helping rule the nation…
But now…
She needed time to accept that he had betrayed her.
While Sarah scanned the area, Morkel silently handed her a Flying Thunder God kunai.
Sarah looked confused. Morkel explained, "Things are going to get chaotic. Hold this. I'll be able to find you no matter where you are."
She took the kunai, her eyes flickering with emotion.
Though she knew Morkel only did this because of her request, she couldn't help but tremble when she looked into his eyes.
"I'll save them all, uncover the truth, and lead this country properly," Sarah said, her voice resolute.
Morkel didn't respond.
In a few decades, regardless of what Sarah did, Loulan would still become ruins buried beneath the sand.
"You don't believe me…" Sarah's voice carried a hint of sadness.
"We'll talk after this is all over," Morkel said casually, forming seals with his hands.
Suddenly, Sarah exclaimed, "The whole factory is powered by the dragon vein's Chakra!"
Morkel turned. She was pointing to a distant stone platform with strange markings.
He frowned. It looked familiar—but now wasn't the time to think about it.
"Isn't that obvious?" he asked.
"We, the royal family, can shut down the dragon vein," Sarah said, walking toward it.
Morkel followed closely, blocking attacking puppets along the way.
As they neared the platform, Morkel noticed the peculiar carvings. It was the same stone platform he'd seen in Loulan's ruins years in the future.
Something felt off.
Suddenly, another puppet attacked. Morkel casually sliced it in two.
Meanwhile, Sarah lay flat on the platform. Purple light emerged from its markings.
"In the name of the Queen, I command you—cut off the dragon vein's power!" she declared.
The purple light dimmed. The markings shrank, then vanished.
The factory came to a halt. The Chakra pipeline shut down completely.
Sarah turned toward Morkel, eager to celebrate, but found him deep in thought.
This mysterious, powerful boy clearly had deeper concerns.
Sarah didn't press him and instead approached the millstone.
The enslaved workers, recognizing her, cried out in joy:
"It's Queen Sarah!"
"She saved us!"
"She wasn't the one who betrayed us—it was An Lushan!"
"Hang the traitors from the lampposts!"
Tears welled in Sarah's eyes. "I promise to find the truth and deliver justice."
"Alright, come with—"
BOOM!
A loud crash sounded above!
Morkel looked up, alert.
More rumbles echoed. Louder. Closer.
BOOM!
BOOM!!
The ground shook violently.
Seeing the danger, Morkel clapped his hands. "Wood Style: Vine Field!"
Oink ooink!
Countless thick vines burst from the ground, twisting and weaving into an impenetrable dome, shielding everyone.
Then the ceiling cracked—and a massive creature burst through!
A monstrous form loomed outside the vine shield.
"Where… where did that thing come from?!"
"Is that An Lushan's secret weapon?"
"Will we die here?"
Sarah stood tall, clutching her short blade. "No. We'll survive. I swear it."
Though she tried to act regal, Morkel didn't believe she could handle that monster.
Still, her resolve was admirable.
The monster spoke in a deep, hoarse voice. "Damn Konoha shinobi… I'll make sure you die without a corpse!"
Then another voice answered: "An Lushan! You've oppressed the people and brought ruin to Loulan. We're here to stop you!"
Morkel recognized it—it was Namikaze Minato!
And the monster?
It was An Lushan himself—transformed into a giant spider.
How had he become like this?
Morkel recalled the Red Sand Scorpion, who turned himself into a living puppet.
Perhaps An Lushan had done something similar…
Outside, Minato and his team stared at the vine shield in disbelief.
Ding Zuo asked, "What the hell is that?"
Aburame Shibi added, "It's Wood Style. Could that boy have cast it?"
Minato gripped his kunai. "Someone's inside."
An Lushan saw the barrier too. "Who's in my factory? Who cut off the Chakra?! Princess Sarah, are you in there?!"
Inside, Sarah trembled.
That gentle, polite minister… was now a grotesque beast!
Still, she stood tall. "Minister An Lushan! I command you, surrender!"
An Lushan laughed. "Queen? Hah! Do you know why no one searched for you? I replaced you with a puppet! A puppet queen is much easier to control!"
Sarah shouted, "An Lushan! You killed my mother!"
An Lushan sneered. "She opposed me. She didn't want to use the dragon vein's power. So I removed her. And now I'm invincible!"
He smashed the vine shield with his claws. BOOM!
It trembled—but held firm.
"Is that you in there, Morkel?!"
"Konoha's young genius, traveling through time with me! But I arrived earlier! I've spent six years absorbing the dragon vein!"
"Even the 'Ninja God' won't defeat me now!"
The barrier shook with repeated strikes.
Sarah turned to Morkel. "You're Morkel, right?"
Morkel raised his hand, stopping her. "What will you do after this?"
Sarah answered hesitantly, "Close the dragon vein, govern properly, restore peace… if I survive…"
Morkel nodded. "Don't seal it completely. That kind of Chakra shouldn't be buried."
"You want the dragon vein's power?" she asked.
"You could say that."
Sarah looked serious. "If you defeat An Lushan, the dragon vein can be your reward."
"But you must win."
"I will."
The vines parted.
Morkel stepped out.
Ding Zuo shouted, "It's him! The red-haired boy!"
"He built this whole thing with Wood Style?!"
"Shh," Minato warned, eyes locked on Morkel. "He's not done yet."
Morkel's eyes turned crimson—Sharingan!
Ding Zuo gasped. "Sharingan?!"
"He has Wood Style and Sharingan?"
Minato's jaw dropped. "Who is this kid?!"
Green Chakra surged around Morkel, condensing into form—
—meridians, bones, flesh—
Half of Susanoo emerged!
Minato could hardly believe his eyes.
"A man with Wood Style and Susanoo…"
"No Uchiha knows him," said Shibi.
"No Senju either," added Ding Zuo.
Minato concluded, "He's really from the future…"
Ding Zuo muttered, "I need to ask him what my future son's like…"
Morkel, now wielding a spiral sword within Susanoo, ignored them all.
"Centipede—surrender now, and I might let you live," he said.
"I am An Lushan now!" the spider roared.
Morkel sneered. "Whatever. You die today."
He drove the spiral sword straight into An Lushan's head.
CRUNCH!
The spider skull shattered.
But moments later—regeneration.
An Lushan laughed. "Is that Susanoo? Disappointing!"
But Morkel's Chakra perception had already revealed the secret behind his regeneration...