Revitalizing the Uchiha clan starts with becoming a Kage.

"Danger!"

In the front position.

Minato's expression changed.

His original intention was to get close enough to protect Sara.

Unexpectedly, Sara took this opportunity to pull with one hand, causing the purple chakra threads to bloom and another cloud of dust to rise!

"Um!?"

The billowing smoke temporarily obscured the view.

Sarah immediately turned and fled in the opposite direction.

"Your Highness Sara!?"

This caused Minato's expression to change once again.

Shoji and Naruto, who were a little further away, also noticed Sara's actions at almost the same time.

"Whoosh!"

Naruto unleashed a burst of chakra from the soles of his feet, swiftly dodging the falling boulders and sprinting towards Sara's departing location. Shoji had originally intended to give chase, but upon witnessing Naruto's immediate actions, he seemed to remember something and stopped in his tracks.

'Forget it, let Naruto handle this girl. He's an 'old hand' at this anyway.'

A faint, bright light flickered in Jiang Si's pupils, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he silently pondered something deep within his heart.

Then he turned around and faced the oncoming puppet soldiers.

"Namikaze-kun, let's leave Princess Sara to Naruto. Let's deal with these puppet soldiers first!"

While easily dodging the attacks of the first few puppets, Shoji spoke to Minato Namikaze, who was not far away.

"Yes, I understand!"

"Ding Zuo, Zhiwei!"

"Ok!"

Watergate responded loudly.

They, along with Dingza and Zhiwei, formed a line and blocked the direction where Naruto and Sara had left, stopping the puppet soldiers one by one.

Jiang Si immediately drew his katana from behind him, imbued with lightning chakra, and charged towards the puppet soldiers with bursts of electricity!

Of course, what the commander was unaware of was...

When Sara left, Minato's first thought wasn't about Sara, but about Shoji. If Shoji had also been chasing after Sara, Minato would have left Choza and Shiki behind to cover their retreat while he followed. Although that sounds a bit far-fetched, Minato genuinely believed in Naruto, but he still harbored considerable suspicion towards Shoji.

Without any direct evidence, it's just a personal feeling that Shoji's mysterious aura is too strong, and Minato has a vague sense of familiarity with him. Since he can't be completely sure, Minato still needs to be on guard!

He would never let Jiang Si out of his sight easily.

These were thoughts that flashed through Minato's mind in less than a second. Of course, Shoji had no idea that he hadn't shown any hostility at all, yet he was still suspected by the Fourth Hokage. If Shoji had known, he would probably have been both amused and exasperated. It can only be said that Minato's intuition in this area was truly remarkable!

"Shh!"

"boom!"

"Secret Technique—Insect Devouring Technique!"

"Multiply Technique!"

"Lightning Release - False Darkness Technique!"

"Crack!"

These puppet soldiers, empowered by the Dragon Vein, may not be particularly strong, but by the standards of a typical ninja village, their overall strength is comparable to that of an ordinary Chunin!

Moreover, given the strength of its defense and the attributes it carries, if it were to fight an ordinary Chunin one-on-one, the puppet would definitely have the advantage. After all, puppets don't have the concept of being injured; they are either completely destroyed or they can fight until their energy is completely depleted!

"Boom!"

However, when facing the four individuals—Shoji, Minato, Choza, and Shimi—the strength of these puppets proved extremely fragile.

While ordinary Chunin might be qualified to spar with Jonin, these four were either Kage-level or top-tier Jonin. Choza and Shiki both possessed incredibly powerful clan secret techniques. In their eyes, these puppets were merely slightly stronger toys. Even though Shoji didn't use his Sharingan to ensure his Uchiha identity wasn't exposed, these puppets were still easy prey for Shoji to kill with a single strike!

"boom!"

Lightning-attribute chakra attached.

This was a chilling yet powerful beam of lightning.

Shoji didn't need to use any other means. With his Lightning Armor enhanced by Lightning Release chakra and the katana he wielded, he was enough to crush most elite Jonin. Shoji deliberately used this method to try and manipulate Minato's thinking, making them believe that they were ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning!

"Boom!"

"Crack!"

"Splash!"

One puppet after another was easily destroyed.

None of them could hold out for even a little while longer. In just a few minutes, the thirty or forty puppet soldiers were easily wiped out by the four men, including Jiang Si and Shui Men!

'The power of the dragon vein can only be used to this extent? It's truly pathetic! This traitorous ninja called Centipede!'

Looking at the remnants of these puppets, Jiang Si couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. Although the strength of these puppets was quite good, and they were mass-produced, to be fair, they were things infused with the power of the Dragon Vein. In Jiang Si's opinion, if it were the other two true puppet masters from Sunagakure—Chiyo and Sasori—they would definitely not have made such crudely made puppets.

In particular, Sasori, who pursues the eternal art of puppetry, would absolutely not approve of the puppet created by this traitorous centipede.

To put it bluntly, the only commendable thing about this rogue ninja from Sunagakure is that he thought of using his own body as a medium to forcibly devour the seal set up by the Fourth Hokage. After all, even if it was a seal set up by the Fourth Hokage in his youth, it was not something that an ordinary person could break!

"Alright, this place is all cleaned up now. Let's catch up with Naruto and Princess Sara. Namikaze-kun, find An Lushan as soon as possible and deal with that guy!"

As he drew his sword and put it back on his back, he was about to turn around and head towards the spot where Naruto had left.

"whoosh"

"whoosh"

"Whoosh!"

In a seat to the side.

Dingza and Shimi, with perfect understanding, spread out on both sides, forming a triangular formation with Minato in the center, subtly surrounding Shoji. Upon seeing this, Shoji showed no panic, only raising an eyebrow slightly and looking at Minato with a half-smile, saying, "Minato-kun, what does this mean? Are you treating me as an enemy? Are you going to capture me here?"

"No, Mr. Jiang Shi misunderstands. Calling us enemies is a bit of an exaggeration. I just want to learn more and confirm some things from you. Naruto seems to be a rather simple and straightforward person, but Mr. Jiang Shi is different. If I'm not mistaken, you should be from Kumogakure. Although there's no reason to interfere in future events, it does involve the safety of our Konoha ninjas. So I really want to ask, Mr. Jiang Shi, is your presence in the future Rouran Kingdom on the orders of the Raikage, for the power of the Dragon Vein?"

Minato's face still held a gentle expression. Even in this situation, his words still revealed a warm and gentle nature, which made people admire Minato's high level of personal charm.

"Does it matter whether he's a ninja from Kumogakure or not? Namikaze-kun has already shown that he doesn't trust me, so in this situation, no matter what I say, he probably won't believe me. What's the point of saying anything or not saying anything?"

Jiang Si narrowed his eyes slightly, and a hint of coldness seemed to emanate from his entire body, causing Zhiwei and Dingza to tense up even more. Although it was only a brief exchange of blows, both Zhiwei and Dingza were experienced Jonin and could clearly judge how dangerous this young man, who was highly suspected to be a Jonin from Kumogakure, was!

Although they didn't have direct senses, Dingza and Zhiwei, with their keen sense of smell that only those who had experienced war could possess, could vaguely judge that Jiangsi's strength was definitely above theirs. They were even bolder, and if it weren't for Minato, they would most likely have died at the hands of this 'Cloud Ninja' youth!

They might not even have a chance to escape!

It must be said that Dingza and Zhiwei are indeed among the most elite members of their clan. However, what they did not know was that they underestimated Jiangsi. Not to mention the two of them, even with the seventeen-year-old Minato, Jiangsi was no match for him. In most cases, Dingza and Zhiwei would die on the spot, and Minato would be forced to flee and retreat, meaning they would gain nothing. Otherwise, Jiangsi might actually have made a move here.

Minato's heart tightened slightly at that moment.

At that moment, he felt as if he were facing an enemy he could not possibly defeat, causing a slight bead of sweat to appear on Minato's forehead.

The atmosphere around them seemed to be about to become even more dangerous at that moment.

"Well, all I can tell you is that I am not a Cloud Ninja. As for my identity, Namikaze-kun, you can guess for yourself. My goal is very simple: I just want to get rid of An Lushan and return to my own era as soon as possible. What you think is your freedom, but please don't interfere with me. Of course, you can also try to see if you can keep me here!"

Just as Minato was about to say something from the opposite position.

Jiang Si chuckled softly again and spoke his words aloud.

"Whoosh!"

Then, without hesitation, he turned around and sped off after Naruto and Sara!

"No profit without action" is Jiang Si's guiding principle when dealing with external affairs. He only shows warmth to his family; the rest is just cold, hard calculation of pros and cons, deciding what can and cannot be done.

The standard for generals has never been whether something is just or not, but whether it aligns with their own interests!

Only someone with a screw loose would do something that harms others without benefiting themselves, or something that harms themselves to benefit others. Even things that benefit both oneself and others are things that Jiang Si might not do, because in Jiang Si's view, unless it's purely one of his own, according to Jiang Si's version of relativity, if others also benefit, doesn't that mean his own benefits aren't that great?

Therefore, when dealing with external affairs, the general will only ever do things that harm others for his own benefit!

Seeing that Jiang Si seemed completely unconcerned and left without any guard up, they watched as Jiang Si turned and left.

Minato's hands, which had clenched tightly for a moment, slowly relaxed in the next instant.

"Watergate?"

In the seats to the side, Dingza and Zhiwei also looked at Namikaze Minato with a questioning look on their faces.

"Forget it. Although there are certain risks, it's not a wise thing to do to take action here. Let's deal with Minister An Lushan and Prince Sara first!"

Minato shook his head slightly and said.

Intuition told Minato that he must not make a move; if he did, they would be the ones who regretted it!

Although Dingzuo and Zhiwei felt that doing so was not entirely appropriate, they did indeed feel that the risk factor was too high.

At that moment, the two nodded slightly.

Then.

The three of them leaped forward and followed closely to the side.

396. A synonym for stupidity

Loulan Kingdom, in the central tower.

A slightly short and stout figure appeared in the most luxurious room in the upper echelons, a room originally reserved for the Queen. He gazed in the direction of the battle that had taken place. Although he couldn't see it, he could sense the aftershocks of the battle. As the puppet soldiers were completely annihilated, an extremely sinister and ruthless look appeared on the face of this short and stout man.

This figure was none other than An Lushan, the minister of Loulan Kingdom whose current status was second only to the queen. He was also the rogue ninja from Sunagakure Village who came from the same timeline as Naruto, whom Shoji and Naruto were determined to find. Because he had gained the trust of the previous queen, An Lushan was able to initially control and use the power of the Dragon Vein. Unless the current queen, Sara, used her bloodline and the matching jutsu imprint to shut down the operation of the Dragon Vein, the Dragon Vein would serve as an inexhaustible energy supply machine for An Lushan!

Over the past few years, Centipede has spread his tentacles throughout the entire Loulan Kingdom. Initially, he had to keep it a secret from the previous queen and relied on some of Loulan's talented people and a large number of civilians as laborers to greatly facilitate the mass production of his puppet soldiers. However, as his plans were perfected step by step, he was able not only to decisively eliminate the previous queen when she discovered something amiss, but also to gradually develop a puppet military-industrial complex that required no artificial intelligence. He was already capable of independently mass-producing those puppet soldiers based on his rudimentary puppet military-industrial system!

It was precisely because of this that Baizu's confidence and desire swelled infinitely at this moment. He truly believed that the power he now possessed was comparable to, or even stronger than, the Five Great Nations. He thought that the only person he needed to be wary of was Sara. As long as he completely eliminated this queen who had the ability to control and shut down the power of the Dragon Vein, Baizu truly believed that he could dominate the ninja world with the power of the Dragon Vein and his perfect puppetry!

"Hmph, that brat from Konoha really did come along, but he's still five or six years slower than me. The plan has been successfully completed. In this world, I am invincible! The Five Great Nations, the Tailed Beasts, the Kage—all of them are destined to submit to the feet of Lord An Lushan! This time, I'll start with you fools! This is the most solid first step I, Lord An Lushan, have taken on my path to ninja world domination!"

On top of the tower.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"