The desert stretched out endlessly, its golden dunes shimmering beneath the blazing sun. Uchiha Shigure squinted ahead, raising his hand to point at a massive shadow that loomed faintly in the haze.
"There," he said, his voice calm but tinged with awe. A colossal building rose gradually from the curtain of dust, its spires stabbing toward the sky.
A harsh wind ripped through the desert, scouring away the veil of sand. The sight that emerged made even the battle-hardened shinobi pause. Before them stood an ancient city, a forest of towering structures gleaming like mirages in the heat.
"It's… incredible," Hatake Kakashi muttered, eyes wide. "Is this… the ancient kingdom of Loulan?"
Beside him, Namikaze Minato merely nodded, his golden hair stirring in the desert wind. "We've arrived."
Shigure studied the scene with sharp eyes. "Because the desert around it kept expanding, their towers grew taller and taller to adapt. Layer upon layer, year after year, until it became this." His voice carried a faint edge of admiration—and caution.
But missions had no time for lingering awe. Minato's expression hardened. "We proceed as planned. We'll split into two groups. Kakashi, provide support. Shigure and I will infiltrate the city."
Kakashi gave a grave nod. "Be careful, sensei. You too, Shigure."
The two shinobi disappeared in twin flashes of Flying Thunder God, leaving Kakashi staring at the colossal cityscape from the edge of the sands.
Shigure's boots sank into the desert as he traveled beside Minato, his mind racing. The flow of chakra beneath the ground pulsed like the heartbeat of some sleeping beast.
"The chakra is overflowing down there…" he thought grimly. "If the story plays out like I suspect… then this is where I'll meet Naruto…"
"Minato," Shigure suddenly said aloud.
"Hm?"
"Your mask."
Minato blinked, then gave a sheepish smile. "You're right. I should know better." With a flick of his hand, he adjusted the porcelain mask over his face, its features hiding the identity of the young man who would one day be called the Fourth Hokage.
The two ninja slipped into the maze of towers. Loulan was breathtaking: bridges crisscrossed the sky between spires, reliefs were carved into walls with painstaking detail, and rays of sunlight gleamed off obsidian glass. It was a city seemingly lost to time, yet pulsing with a strange vitality.
"This place…" Minato murmured. "Konoha itself can't compare. It feels so alive and yet…" His brow furrowed. "Empty. Like something's missing."
Shigure's Sharingan flickered faintly to life. "You've noticed it too. For such a vast city… there are almost no living people."
The words had barely escaped his lips when he stiffened. "Minato—prepare for battle."
From above, three towering puppet soldiers descended on mechanical wings, their arms spiraling into humming drills of lightning-infused steel.
"Rasengan!" Minato's chakra whirled into a glowing sphere as he flickered forward with Flying Thunder God. The first puppet shattered beneath his strike.
Shigure's kunai gleamed in midair, marked by the Flying Thunder God seal. He teleported to its side, his hand already lashing out. "Wind Chakra: Shuriken!" Razor-thin blades of air screamed forth, slicing through the chakra strings above. The remaining two puppets crumpled instantly, collapsing like dead insects.
"Just as I thought," Shigure muttered. "Puppets."
Minato frowned. "That means their leadership is compromised. If we were attacked the moment we entered, then someone already knows we're here."
"Which means reinforcements." Shigure's lips curved into a smirk. "Perfect."
"Shigure—" Minato began.
"Trust me. Hide yourself for now." His crimson eyes glittered.
Minato hesitated for only a fraction of a second, then nodded sharply. With a shimmer, he vanished.
Shigure turned toward the puppet husks, chakra surging through his body. He gripped one of the severed strings, funneling his own energy directly along its path. In that instant, his senses exploded outward. He felt the vast reservoir beneath—the Dragon Vein itself—its monstrous chakra roaring like an ocean. And beyond it… a presence.
"Hmph!?" A distant cry of alarm echoed through the invisible tether.
"Impossible! You traced me through the chakra line?! Who are you?!"
Shigure's grin sharpened. "So it is you… Centipede. Or should I call you An Lushan? Doesn't matter."
The response came in the form of a barrage. Puppet soldiers burst forth from the shadows, unleashing beams of searing light. Shigure blurred aside, his robe snapping in the gust.
"Since this place is deserted…" His voice was cold as steel. "I can let loose."
The puppet warriors lunged, drills whirring and hidden compartments spilling deadly projectiles. Shigure's hair writhed, chakra flaring.
"Random Lion's Mane Technique!"
His black locks elongated into monstrous serpentine heads, exploding outward like a hydra. One by one, the puppets were smashed to fragments, their metal frames screeching under the blow.
But more poured in.
Shigure pivoted sharply, chakra surging through his scalp again. "Dance of the Jizō!"
His mane hardened, fusing with a lattice of sharpened bone spurs. They shot outward like the fangs of a beast, piercing through the nearest puppets and ripping them apart in a storm of splinters and strings.
"Pathetic." With a snap, the spurs retracted. He flicked a kunai, its seal flashing before he vanished and reappeared above two more puppets. Twin Rasengan swirled in his palms, detonating the soldiers into smoke and iron shards.
"Vacuum Wave!" A storm of wind chakra burst from his mouth, severing control lines in every direction. Puppets collapsed like marionettes with cut strings.
Missile-like projectiles screamed toward him from the next wave, chaos erupting across the tower's upper spires.
Shigure's hands blurred. Shadow clones flickered into existence, each hurling shuriken laced with explosive tags.
"Multiple Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
The air filled with whirling blades, a storm carrying death in every angle. The resulting explosions detonated in a storm of roaring fire, shredding puppet after puppet, tearing strings, and filling the sky with smoke.
The battlefield fell silent save for the crackle of flames and the crunch of metal debris raining down onto the ancient stone.
Shigure exhaled slowly, Sharingan fading. "Enough. If I keep cutting puppets, I'll be here all day. It's time I met Loulan's so-called queen."
He vanished with a whirl of the Body Flicker, leaving only ruins in his wake.
Far beneath the towers, a cloaked man slammed a fist against his control panel, veins bulging with fury.
"Damn it! Over a hundred puppet soldiers—destroyed in under three minutes! Who dares possess such strength?!" His voice shook with rage. "Could it be… one of the Five Kage themselves?!"
He hunched forward, glaring at the glowing reservoir before him—the Dragon Vein itself, pulsing with infinite chakra. The madness in his eyes deepened.
"No matter. I possess this power. With the Dragon Vein at my command, I am invincible! Let them send their shadows—the world itself will kneel!" His laughter echoed in the chamber. "With my puppet army, with my ultimate weapon, I will shatter the Five Great Nations!"
His eyes narrowed in murderous resolve.
"As for that puppet of a queen… she can die now."
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