"Sensei, those puppets just now..."
"They're connected to some massive chakra source. Until that chakra is completely depleted, no matter how many we destroy, the puppets will regenerate," Namikaze Minato said seriously.
"Massive chakra? Could it be the Dragon Vein?"
Minato shook his head. "I'm not sure either. I've never seen the Dragon Vein's power myself, but since this is Rōran, there's a good chance that's what it is."
After hearing Minato's words, Kakashi's expression became much more serious.
Previously, Kakashi had thought the so-called Dragon Vein was just a huge mass of chakra, similar to a tailed beast—nothing too special.
He'd seen tailed beasts on the battlefield several times already, so he had underestimated this mission a bit.
But after the encounter just now, Kakashi realized he was wrong. The power of the Dragon Vein wasn't just massive chakra—it was something else entirely.
If nothing else, the fact that it could endlessly regenerate puppets made it extremely troublesome.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Yuan and Shibi Aburame also encountered some puppets while exploring further ahead.
Although Uchiha Yuan already knew about their properties, Shibi didn't.
So Uchiha Yuan destroyed a few of them in front of him, showing how quickly they regenerated.
Then Yuan said, "Sensei, these puppets are just like the ones on the street—they're all connected to the building at the center of the town. If we can sever their chakra link, we should be able to stop them."
Shibi nodded and directed his kikaichū to consume the chakra connecting the puppets to the Dragon Vein, easily disabling them.
"Thanks to you, Sensei. If I were alone, I probably would've had to just run away."
"These regenerating puppets are indeed a pain," Shibi replied.
"Judging by the number and placement of the puppets, I'd bet Minato-senpai and Kakashi have also run into them. They don't have kikaichū, so they probably couldn't handle it. Let's go regroup with them—"
Before Yuan could finish his sentence, a clear singing voice echoed from a ruined area in the distance.
"Singing? Why would someone be singing in a place like this?" Shibi frowned.
Yuan turned toward the source of the voice. That part of the ruins was clearly beyond the range of the Dragon Vein's influence and closely matched the location where Sāra had appeared in the original story.
So Yuan said, "Sensei, the singer might be a Rōran native. Let's go check it out."
Shibi hesitated briefly but nodded. They had a way to deal with the puppets—if it was a trap, they could still protect themselves.
The two made their way toward the ruins.
"The singing seems to be coming from that broken tower," Shibi said, pointing at the structure.
Yuan nodded and created a shadow clone to scout ahead, while he and Shibi followed closely behind, entering from underneath the building.
Inside the tower, they saw a red-haired girl singing toward a bright spot high above.
"She's human. Judging by her outfit, she's likely a native of Rōran," Yuan said after glancing at her with his Sharingan.
"Should we approach her directly?" Shibi asked.
Before Yuan could answer, a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy with three whisker marks on each cheek, wearing a Konoha headband and an orange tracksuit appeared.
This boy was, of course, the true protagonist of Naruto: Uzumaki Naruto.
Just like in the original, Sāra was startled by Naruto's sudden appearance and turned to run.
Naruto chased after her.
Sāra entered a door just ahead of Naruto, who followed her inside.
Puppet soldiers within the room immediately attacked him. Naruto quickly retreated outside, but the puppets continued to pursue him.
However, they were now outside the Dragon Vein's chakra field—so the puppets immediately fell apart upon passing through the door.
Naruto finally sighed in relief, only to discover that Sāra had vanished.
Yuan activated his Sharingan slowly as he watched Naruto.
With both the Sharingan and Mind's Eye active, Yuan thoroughly analyzed Naruto inside and out.
In the original story, Naruto's massive chakra reserves had been emphasized repeatedly, but it had always been hard for Yuan to imagine just how massive.
Now he understood.
His own chakra stat was currently 326—but compared to Naruto, that was only about 1/25 of what Naruto had.
Which meant Naruto's chakra was somewhere around 10,000—insanely huge.
Of course, this number included both Naruto's own chakra and that of the tailed beast sealed inside him.
Thinking of the beast, Yuan furrowed his brows. Was the tailed beast inside Naruto really the Nine-Tails?
It certainly looked like a fox, but… something felt off.
"Yuan, that guy's wearing a Konoha forehead protector," Shibi suddenly said, snapping Yuan out of his thoughts.
"Sensei, did the village assign other shinobi to this mission?" Yuan asked, feigning confusion.
"No, and they wouldn't. With Minato handling this, the Hokage wouldn't have sent anyone else. Besides… I don't recall anyone like him from the village."
"You remember every shinobi in the village?"
"Not all of them. But someone with that much chakra? If I'd seen him before, I'd definitely remember."
Yuan nodded internally. True enough—Naruto's chakra was far too distinctive. Anyone would remember it after a single encounter.
"Let's not interact with him. We should regroup with Minato and Kakashi," Shibi suggested.
Yuan nodded, and the two turned and left.
Back at the rendezvous point, they shared the intel they had gathered with Minato and Kakashi.
When the two learned that the "people" in town were actually puppets, their expressions darkened.
"So there really is something wrong with Rōran. No wonder the Hokage was so eager to send you, Minato-sensei," Kakashi said.
"Exactly. The entire town is made of puppets. The people on the streets are just disguised ones too. This nation has very likely been taken over by someone—and that someone is probably our mission target: An Lushan," Shibi said.
(To Be Continued...)