Naruto: Traveling Through Time Starting with Seizing the Dragon Vein

"He is no longer a comrade of Konoha. He is Uchiha Tsuki, an extremely dangerous A-rank rogue ninja wanted by the Konoha leadership."

"Traitor...traitorous ninja?"

Naruto froze, turning to look at Uchiha Tsuki with disbelief in his eyes. "Uncle, is he lying?"

Uchiha Yue shrugged: "He wasn't lying, I am indeed a rogue ninja, but I don't want to talk about the reasons for my defection."

Why, why?

Naruto seemed to have suffered a huge blow. He was extremely sensitive to the words "Uchiha" and "rogue ninja," and his voice trembled. "Everyone is doing well in Konoha, why do they have to become rogue ninjas? Sasuke too..."

Seeing Naruto in disarray, Minato seized the opportunity to step forward: "I am from Konoha's Anbu, and we are carrying out a secret mission assigned by the Third Hokage. No matter where you come from, please step aside and do not disturb our mission."

Naruto gritted his teeth, spreading his arms wide to block the way: "So what if he's from the Anbu? Even if he's the rogue ninja you're talking about, if he hadn't intervened, I would have been cleaved in two by the puppet! How can you kill your own comrades in Konoha without even asking them what happened?"

"Pedantism."

Just then, Uchiha Tsuki's slightly mocking voice came from behind Naruto.

Minato's eyes turned cold; he knew he couldn't let this yellow-haired man of unknown origin further disrupt the situation.

His figure instantly left a golden afterimage in place, forcefully bypassing Naruto's defenses like a whirlwind. The special kunai in his hand carried a sharp killing intent, heading straight for Uchiha Tsuki's throat!

"So fast!" Naruto didn't even have time to turn around; he only felt a blur before his eyes.

"Excuse me, Uchiha Tsuki, as for your reasons for defecting, we'll have plenty of time for you to explain them when we get back to the interrogation room in Konoha!"

"Pfft!"

Minato's movements were fluid and graceful, and his kunai pierced Uchiha Tsuki's shoulder with perfect precision.

However, the expected scene of blood splattering did not appear, and there was not even the slightest resistance from the muscles.

"boom!"

With a burst of blinding white smoke, "Uchiha Tsuki," who had been stabbed by Minato, turned into a ball of chakra with a muffled thud and completely dissipated into the air.

Minato's movements suddenly froze: "Shadow Clone?!"

Not only Minato, but even Naruto, who had just turned around to stop him, was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at the dissipating white smoke: "Uncle... was that a shadow clone?"

Minato quickly straightened up, looked around at the empty ruins, and his expression turned unusually somber.

"Was the hand seal formed the instant that blond boy knocked away my Rasengan and kicked up dust?"

Minato's brain worked at lightning speed, instantly recreating the scene from just now in his mind.

Taking advantage of the blind spot and brief confusion created by Naruto's impact, Uchiha Tsukuyomi not only made a perfect escape but also deliberately left his shadow clones to waste time talking to them, delaying his best opportunity to pursue!

To escape from the Yellow Flash twice in a row—that's a skill level that would rank among the top elite Jonin.

"As expected, no ninja should be underestimated."

Minato gripped the kunai in his hand, glanced at the still bewildered Naruto with a complicated look, and sighed after a long while.

We can't just ignore this simpleton.

……

Meanwhile, in the ancient city of Loulan, there is a complex of buildings hundreds of meters high.

The real Uchiha Tsukuyomi was silently moving through the intricate network of purplish-black metal pipes.

"boom."

A slight thought flashed through his mind, and he instantly received the memories transmitted back after the shadow clone below dissipated.

"Oh? You were found out so quickly? As expected of the future Fourth Hokage, your reflexes and judgment are truly monstrous."

As Yue moved at high speed, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. "However, thanks to Naruto's righteous rescue, those ten-odd seconds of vacuum time were enough."

As a transmigrator with a god-like perspective, Uchiha Tsuki was well aware of his core purpose in risking being hunted down by Namikaze Minato to infiltrate the Land of Wind alone.

"Dragon Vein"!

Chapter 4 The Key to the Dragon Vein

The Dragon Vein is a hidden source of endless chakra beneath Loulan, comparable to, or even surpassing, the Tailed Beasts in some respects.

Only by grasping this immense and unbelievable power can he have the resources to contend with the "world-correcting force" that is capable of crushing everything in the future.

However, to perfectly break the seal and control the dragon vein, the Sharingan and brute force alone are not enough.

He also needs a "key," namely, the bloodline of the Loulan Queen.

"Judging by the time, that Sand Village rogue ninja, who goes by the alias 'An Lushan,' should be itching to make a move against the current queen by now."

The moon's footsteps came to a halt on a massive steel cantilever.

The central tower plaza not far below was brightly lit at that moment.

Tens of thousands of Loulan people gathered there, waving their fluorescent lights and chanting a name with fervor.

"Queen Sara!"

"Queen Sara!"

On the dazzlingly high balcony of the tower, a beautiful young woman with bright red hair, delicate features, and a touch of naivety is smiling and waving to the people below.

She is none other than the current Queen of Loulan, Sarah.

“Found it.” Yue looked down at her “key” without making a move.

Because he knew that a well-timed "hero saves the beauty" act would be far more effective than any illusion in getting this brainwashed, naive, and innocent queen to obey.

Just as Sarah was basking in the cheers of the crowd with a smile on her face, a maid with an expressionless face suddenly began to move like a puppet in the shadows behind her.

The maid stepped forward silently, stretched out her hands, and shoved the unsuspecting Sarah hard in the back!

"what--!"

Sarah let out a piercing scream.

She instantly lost her balance, flew over the low railing, and fell directly from the balcony at the top of the tower, hundreds of meters high!

The previously enthusiastic cheers in the plaza below instantly turned into endless screams.

The wind howled wildly in Sarah's ears, and the intense feeling of weightlessness made her mind go blank for a moment.

Looking down at the hard ground below, which seemed to be growing ever larger like the gaping maw of an abyss, tears of despair welled up in her eyes.

"Someone... please save me..."

At that critical moment, when Sarah thought she was about to die, she was on the verge of death!

"Shh!"

A black figure, like a sharp blade tearing through the night sky, plummeted down from the pipe above at a speed that defied the laws of physics!

In mid-air, Uchiha Yue precisely grabbed Sara's slender waist.

"What?!" Sarah opened her eyes in horror, and what came into view was a long black robe fluttering in the wind.

Without any unnecessary movements, Yue flicked her right wrist, and a kunai with an extremely thin, specially made steel wire attached to its tail shot out instantly.

"Ding!"

The kunai was firmly nailed to a thick metal support column dozens of meters away.

“Hold on tight, Your Majesty.” Moon’s deep, magnetic voice rang in Sarah’s ears.

Using the powerful tension of the steel wire, the terrifying inertia of their descent was instantly altered, transforming into a giant pendulum arc.

Amidst the howling night wind and the purple chakra aura below, the black-robed youth, with one arm around the red-haired girl, drew an elegant arc in mid-air before swinging directly towards the building on the other side.

"boom!"

Uchiha Yue landed steadily on a secluded high-rise terrace, far from the hustle and bustle of the plaza.

The immense impact caused several spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the stone slabs beneath his feet, but Sarah, whom he held tightly in his arms, was not injured at all.

A night breeze swept by, lifting the moon-black high-necked robe.

His profile, which appeared somewhat cold in the shadows, and his dark eyes, were deeply imprinted on Sarah's still-shaken eyes.

"Who...who are you?"

Sarah leaned against Yue's chest, feeling his steady heartbeat, and her breathing became rapid.

The Uchiha clan's looks are just too good to pass up.

However, Yue didn't care much about it.

He slowly released his grip and gently placed Sarah on the ground.

"Don't be afraid, I'm just a passing...Konoha ninja."

"Konoha ninja..."

Sarah repeated the word blankly, her heart still pounding.

"Why...why did you save me?"

Sarah finally came to her senses and stepped back half a step from Yue's embrace. Although she tried to maintain the majesty of a queen, the trembling in her voice betrayed her fear and the shyness of a little girl.

"Because I'm a kind person who was just passing by." Uchiha Tsukuyomi casually made up a reason that even Naruto didn't believe, and then got to the point.

"However, Your Majesty, instead of asking why I should save you, shouldn't you first consider who wants to kill you? For example, An Lushan?"

"Kill me?"

Sarah shook her head repeatedly, as if she had heard some absurd joke.

"Impossible! That was just an accident! I accidentally stepped into a hole... Lord An Lushan has governed the country so well, and the people love and respect me. Why would he want to kill me? I must go back to Lord An Lushan immediately. He will definitely find out the truth!"

Looking at the well-protected, naive, and almost foolish puppet in front of him, Uchiha Yue did not, like Naruto in the original story, impatiently shout and try to correct her with weak words such as "An Lushan is a bad person".

For someone who has been deeply brainwashed, directly denying her beliefs will only arouse her instinctive defensiveness and resistance.

Yue deeply understands the weaknesses of human nature.

The most effective way to deal with this situation is not through preaching, but through illusion.

"Surprised?"

Yue chuckled softly, a laugh tinged with three parts pity and seven parts mockery.