"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Hiding in Mist Technique."
Water Release was much more effective here than in the desert. Even if it couldn't reach the level it had in the Land of Water, its power wouldn't decrease due to the scarcity of moisture in the air.
The rising dense fog played a decisive role in the young woman's escape. The Sunagakure ninja had no experience fighting in fog. In all the past Great Ninja Wars, the Land of Sand and the Land of Water had clashed the least.
With unequal intelligence, the Sunagakure ninja couldn't discern directions in the fog, allowing the enemy to escape.
"Useless fools, chase them! Are they with those rogue ninja?"
"I don't know. I only saw he was very fast, and that woman is skilled in Water Release. Does Sunagakure have any Water Release experts?"
The Sunagakure rogue ninja, who had been secretly watching, quickly launched an offensive amidst the chaos. Several plain-clothed rogue ninja leaped out from among the panicking, fleeing commoners and engaged the Sunagakure ninja.
Unwittingly aiding Kakashi and Mei Terumi's escape, the rogue ninja hadn't forgotten the presence of these two. Four rogue ninja with decent speed followed Kakashi, their target locked on the queen on his back.
"Hold on tight."
The silver-haired youth abruptly turned his head, his left eye, glinting with a mechanical light, fixed on one of the rogue ninja. That rogue ninja's mind wavered, and he immediately crashed into a wall due to his distraction.
Having grasped some techniques for using his left eye, Kakashi was just testing its abilities. The deterrent effect was quite good; it seemed it could also prevent the enemy from focusing their attention on him.
Similar to an active ability like "Target Lost."
As agreed beforehand, Mei Terumi, unable to keep up with the youth's speed, took a shortcut to rendezvous with him.
With lightning speed, the youth swiftly swept Mei Terumi into his arms. Even with the added weight of the young queen on his back, his speed wasn't affected; instead, it further increased. In less than half a minute, he had completely lost the pursuing rogue ninja.
"Where is it safe?"
The queen on his back, uncomfortable from the high-speed jolting, didn't completely trust these two who had suddenly appeared and rescued her. It was possible that Sunagakure was staging this themselves to trick her into revealing the barrier's core.
A trace of fear lingered in the queen's heart. Powerless, she had become a puppet manipulated by others. This fear wasn't of power itself, but of the possible consequences. The vow she made to her mother before she died, to manage this country well, had to be fulfilled.
Kakashi asked again.
"Is there any safe place left in this country?"
"Yes."
Even if they were another group intending her harm, she accepted it. The Queen of Rouran removed the ribbon tying her hair; a very small key was rolled up in it.
"After three intersections, turn left when you see a red house. There's a hidden door in the alley. Inside is a place my mother often took me to when I was little. No one knows about it."
"Understood."
As the queen said, after turning the corner, they saw the small alley squeezed between two tall buildings; no Sunagakure ninja were present. Using the small key to enter the hidden door and go down the stairs, the space inside was large enough to fit a football field.
"This is an underground space."
"And so many reserve supplies. This is a warehouse, right?"
"Yes, this is Rouran's emergency wartime reserve warehouse. Besides me, no one has the key to this place."
The Queen of Rouran climbed down from Kakashi's back. Only then did she get a clear look at this youth. Although he was taller than her, he looked two or three years younger. The orange-haired young woman was the same.
While she was observing the two, they were also observing her.
Long red hair, darker than Mei Terumi's, close to the hair color of Kakashi's former teacher's wife, Kushina. Her features were delicate and haggard, yet even so, she was no less beautiful than any mỹ nhân (beautiful woman). She didn't look older than eighteen. To become a queen at such a young age, she must have inherited the family business like the daimyos of the Five Great Nations.
"Insolent fellows!"
Her cool voice masked her inner unease. Uncomfortable under their gazes, the Queen of Rouran composed herself, using her fledgling queenly aura to stop their observation.
"What's your name, Queen of Rouran?"
"Sara."
"Salad?"
"It's Sa-ra, not Sha-la."
"Mm, Salad."
Mei Terumi couldn't help but chuckle. Kakashi's occasional dark humor and deliberate teasing weren't funny when directed at herself, but it was a different story when it was someone else.
To tease a country's queen with such an attitude, he really had the nerve.
"Alright, Sara, no more joking. That was just to ease your mood. We don't know the specific timing or situation right now, but that doesn't stop us from making guesses. You're in a state where your power has been usurped. I didn't sense any other ordinary people in the royal palace, so the ministers must have fled. It seems the subjects of this country don't know you've been hijacked; at least, I didn't see them looking panicked or scared."
"Mm," Sara nodded, amazed at the youth's analytical ability. "I was kidnapped by them half a month ago. They threatened me to hand over the map of the barrier. Most of the ministers were bribed; I was hijacked so easily because they betrayed me."
"Was the army eliminated by them?"
Mei Terumi asked curiously. The entire country's armed forces had made no move; even a small country wouldn't be this fragile.
"Our country's defense relies on mechanical puppets. The technology was taught to my country by Sunagakure puppet masters long ago. They clearly knew the puppets' weaknesses. These puppets were all destroyed before they could be effective."
"Puppet Technique. How many puppet masters were among those who kidnapped you?"
"I don't know…"
Sara clutched her head. The methods Sunagakure used to torture her into revealing the Dragon Vein's entrance were extremely mentally stimulating. Every night, they placed her by her mother's grave. She was given only one meal a day, and her hands and feet were shackled twenty-four hours a day.
These past fifteen days were simply hell for the queen, who had previously lived a normal life.
Every night, she was awakened by her mother's questioning, awakened by hunger and thirst. The dual blow to her body and spirit made her head throb with pain whenever she recalled those Sand ninja.
The only fortunate thing was that she hadn't fallen into the hands of the rogue ninja. The official Sand ninja had maintained basic restraint and hadn't physically violated her.
Even so, this was enough to bring Sara close to despair and collapse.
The silver-haired youth exchanged a look with Mei Terumi. The latter came to Sara's side, massaged her temples to relieve the pain, and used water-nature chakra in her hands to soothe Sara's fatigue.
Kakashi took out a water bottle from his ninja pouch, some dry rations, and the few remaining cans of food that still tasted decent.
He held the water bottle to Sara's lips. She grabbed it and drank greedily, disregarding her image, then immediately choked. Kakashi noticed that her hands holding the water bottle were constantly trembling. The wounds from the chains on her wrists had festered, and her right hand was so severe that bone was visible.
"You are very strong."
Without hesitation, Kakashi took out a bottle of recovery potion, poured it into the water bottle to mix, and fed it to Sara.
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 30 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin