I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Upon hearing this, Minato and the others fell into deep thought, then extended an invitation to Naruto: "It seems our missions have some similarities, how about we cooperate?"

After thinking for a moment, Naruto nodded slightly.

……

Inside the Loulan Royal Palace, the newly appointed Queen Sara is learning the proper etiquette for a queen under the tutelage of An Lushan.

Since her mother died a month ago, the young girl has succeeded to the throne as queen and become the supreme ruler of Loulan. However, before she can officially take over the government, she must become a qualified queen.

An Lushan was a minister who was extremely loyal to his mother. Under his assistance, Loulan became the most dazzling gem in the desert.

Both the people of Loulan and the mother treated An Lushan with utmost respect, and she regarded An Lushan as her father, entrusting him with all military and political affairs.

However, recently An Lushan has become much colder towards me, always asking me to take control of the dragon vein, seemingly using it for other purposes, but I don't care anymore.

As long as An Lushan governs, Loulan will continue to prosper.

Inside the secret chamber separated by a wall, An Lushan, who was once invincible in Loulan, was kneeling before an old man wrapped in bandages. This man was none other than Shimura Danzo, who had traveled through time.

Upon arriving in Loulan, he did not hesitate to use the Kotoamatsukami to control An Lushan, who held absolute power in Loulan.

An Lushan was just a Chunin before. Even though he could use the power of the Dragon Vein, he couldn't resist the Kotoamatsukami genjutsu.

Danzo asked in a low voice, "An Lushan, what just happened? How did I sense something amiss with the dragon vein?"

An Lushan raised his head and said with a fanatical expression, "A strange ninja just broke into the Lost Tower, but was driven away by the puppet guards."

"An unfamiliar ninja?" Danzo seemed thoughtful upon hearing this.

Chapter 201 Encounter with People from the Past (Part Two)

Looking at An Lushan kneeling on the ground, Danzo fell into deep thought.

After the Akatsuki leader violently broke the seal on the Dragon Vein, he was swept away by the energy of the Dragon Vein and returned to the ninja world more than ten years ago, arriving at Loulan City, which had not yet been buried in the yellow sand. Several weeks have passed since then.

Going back to the past is a good thing. It gives me more time to plan for the Hokage position, to deal with enemies who haven't yet grown up, and to deal with Orochimaru who betrayed my whereabouts.

However, according to the information he came across back then, the Dragon Vein did not seem to have the ability to travel through time and space. It was merely a source of enormous chakra comparable to that of a Tailed Beast, and was a choice made out of desperation.

But now it seems that the power of the dragon vein is even greater than he imagined.

An Lushan, the ninja, was originally from Sunagakure, who had been lurking near the Lost Tower.

After being drawn into the dragon vein vortex, he arrived in Loulan a few years ahead of schedule and persuaded the former queen to create a puppet army.

This puppet army exceeded the control limits of ordinary puppeteers, and its strength was no less than that of Chikamatsu Ten, the advisor of Sunagakure.

This is because An Lushan's vision was only at the level of a Chunin; replacing him would only make him stronger.

However, while being able to go back to the past and change the future is certainly a good thing, the ninja who traveled through time with him, as well as the leader of the Akatsuki organization, the ninja with the Rinnegan, the leader of Uzushio Village, and Shisui, were also nearby.

These people may have all traveled back in time, and they are much stronger than I am now.

He would never reveal himself easily before he possessed the power to confront them, but would act in the name of An Lushan. Only after merging with the power of the Dragon Vein would he proceed with the next step of his plan.

However, integrating the dragon vein is not an easy task and requires a lot of time for preparation.

Therefore, he specifically sent someone to contact himself in Konoha Village, but for some reason, no definite news came from there, which made him very puzzled and confused.

However, An Lushan had made preparations several years in advance, and the final integration was just one step away.

It doesn't really need any external assistance; it just needs to establish a connection with the core of the dragon vein and quietly wait for time to pass.

Pulling his wandering thoughts back, Danzo looked at An Lushan ahead, his figure gradually disappearing into the darkness.

……

After reaching a temporary cooperation agreement with Minato's team, Naruto led the group to a nearby restaurant.

Sitting down in a private room at the restaurant, Naruto ordered a huge selection of desert specialties and addressed Minato's team:

"Relax, relax. We're partners now, not hostile ninjas. After we've eaten and drunk our fill, we can exchange information and see how to complete each other's missions."

Naruto's overly familiar manner left Minato and the others somewhat helpless. They extended an invitation to cooperate, but only to avoid a violent conflict.

If Naruto had shown any less strength, they would have already taken down this mysterious ninja. After all, his furtive attire and furtive behavior made him seem like an unstable element.

Moreover, the mission to assassinate An Lushan is too strange. How can we be sure that we won't kill the Queen of Loulan in the process?

Not long after, the desert delicacies Naruto ordered were delivered to the private room, including hand-pulled mutton, naan bread, dates, and more.

Naruto grabbed a date and popped it into his mouth. Apart from being a bit too sweet, the taste was pretty good. He then began to enjoy it immensely.

Tempted by the aroma of the food, Akimichi Choza joined the ranks of those eating dry rice, while Minato, after a few sniffs, finally took out his soldier rations to stave off hunger, saying he couldn't get used to the desert cuisine.

Naruto smiled but didn't say anything, too lazy to expose Minato's thoughts, and silently waited for the last member of Minato's team.

As the knock sounded, a small ninja entered the private room; it was none other than a young version of Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi leaned closer to Minato, whispered a few words in his ear, then looked at Naruto beside him and frowned: "Captain, who is this ninja?"

"This is our partner for this mission, his name is..."

Minato Namikaze scratched his head; he didn't know Naruto's name either.

"Just call me Mianma, my name is just a code."

Naruto glanced at Kakashi and Minato Namikaze, then said in a low voice, "Everyone's almost here. We can exchange information now, Konoha ninjas."

"My mission objective has been stated before: to kill An Lushan, the minister of Loulan. An Lushan is very likely a traitorous ninja from our village, and we must find him to confirm his identity."

After pondering for a moment, Minato Namikaze looked at Naruto and said, "Our mission is to protect Queen Sara and eliminate any ninjas who may threaten her, including you. Your appearance is highly suspicious."

Minato's frankness surprised the others, but this confidence was one of Minato's charms.

“My identity is indeed suspicious, but if I wanted to assassinate the Queen, you absolutely couldn’t stop me…”

Naruto calmly stated the facts, and before Minato and the others could turn pale, he continued, "However, I have a small question about the mission you were carrying out."

"Was the commission issued by Queen Sarah, or by the former Queen?"

“If it’s Sarah, how would a little girl who hasn’t even reached adulthood know that someone wants to assassinate him? If it’s the former queen, she died of illness a month ago, and An Lushan became Sarah’s guardian.”

Upon hearing this information, Minato Namikaze and the others fell into deep thought.

They were newcomers and hadn't yet begun gathering intelligence. If what Mianma said was true, their mission involved a power struggle between the Loulan minister and the queen.

What about the traitorous ninja mentioned by Menma?

What kind of traitor was An Lushan? How come they knew nothing about him?

After using the information gap to launch a devastating attack, Naruto continued, "Regarding your mission, I have a good suggestion. Instead of passively preventing ambitious individuals from attacking Queen Sara, why not take the initiative and kidnap Sara ahead of time?"

"..." Kakashi gave a deadpan look, speechless.

Their mission was to protect the Loulan Queen. What's so bad about kidnapping her? They should strike first to prevent the assassins hiding in the shadows from making their move, right?

Minato Namikaze glanced thoughtfully at Naruto without leaving a trace.

The suggestion to abduct the person being protected in advance may seem absurd, but it would give them the upper hand and force the ninjas who were plotting against the Queen to show themselves, which is far better than the current passive protection.

The only problem is the stance of the black fox ninja in front of us; who exactly is he?

After a moment's thought, Minato Namikaze accepted Naruto's suggestion, but the biggest problem was what identity to use to break into the palace and take Queen Sara away. If something went wrong, it would inevitably affect the reputation of the Konoha ninja.

After several hours of discussion, Minato's team came up with a specific plan and invited Naruto to go with them.

Naruto knew that Minato and the others did not trust him, but he still agreed to go with them. By infiltrating Minato's team and disguising himself as a Konoha ninja, he could reduce the risk of being exposed.

……

Inside the library, Sarah put down her book and took a sip of strong tea.

Although studying is tiring, as long as she masters all the knowledge in this library, she will surely become a qualified queen like her mother, and then Minister An Lushan can be relieved of his burden.

Just then, Sarah's eyelids twitched, and she heard footsteps behind her.

Turning around, Sara saw Naruto walking towards her and exclaimed in alarm, "Who...who are you? Where did the guards at the gate go? Why aren't they here yet...?"

Before she could finish speaking, Sarah realized that the guards had likely already been dealt with, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to appear openly in front of her, and any resistance she made would have been futile.

Thinking of this, Sarah calmed down and said, "I don't care who you are, but I am the Queen of Loulan. If you attack me, Minister An Lushan and my people will not let you off the hook."

Naruto ignored Sara's warning and said softly, "I have no feelings for you. I just want to take you out for a walk. I'll bring you back in a few days."

"This is kidnapping..." Sarah's words trailed off as she lost consciousness.

When Sarah woke up again, she found herself in a small room, through which she could vaguely see the sky outside and the towering Lost Tower.

Seeing that there were no guards around, Sarah tiptoed to escape, but the door was already locked.

After several unsuccessful attempts to open the door, Sarah collapsed to the ground, staring at the small patch of sky with tears welling up in her eyes.

With a click, the door opened, and Naruto and Minato's team appeared in front of Sara.

Seeing Sara looking helpless, Minato Namikaze smiled brightly and quickly explained, "Queen Sara, we Konoha ninjas have accepted the former queen's request to protect you."

Sarah looked suspicious and sneered, "You call kidnapping me from the palace protection? I was perfectly fine in the palace and wasn't threatened at all."

Naruto never tolerates people's faults and scoffs, "The canary in the cage thinks the same way. Unfortunately, like the previous queen, your only use is to become the key to communicate with the dragon vein."

“Once the thought of resistance is revealed, one will die unexpectedly for various reasons.”

Sara stared intently at Naruto, her expression extremely grave: "You mean, Mother was murdered, but she clearly died from an incurable disease."

"I can also give you an incurable disease, so that you'll die without a trace next month."

"Who is the murderer?" Sarah's eyes turned somewhat frightening. She had long felt that something was wrong with her mother's death. How could her mother, who was so young, die unexpectedly? But her mother never revealed who the murderer was before she died.

Could it be that the murderer who killed her mother was...? Sarah dared not think any further.

Naruto got up from the sofa, walked closer to Sara, and smiled knowingly: "You've already guessed the conclusion, haven't you? An Lushan killed your mother. After all, children are much easier to control than adults."

"The reason we've targeted you is simple: you and your mother are so weak, yet you are the masters of the dragon vein."

Chapter 202 Encounter with People from the Past (Part 3)

"The reason we've set our sights on you is simple: you and your mother are so weak, yet you are the masters of the dragon vein."

“That’s impossible. Minister An Lushan’s power is second only to my mother’s. He’s practically half the master of Loulan.” Sarah vehemently denied it, unwilling to believe that An Lushan was the murderer who killed her mother.

“People’s hearts change. At first, An Lushan’s idea was to cooperate, but as time went on, he gradually felt unwilling. He created the prosperity of Loulan with his own hands, so why should he share it with you and your mother?”

“If you unilaterally terminate the cooperation, he will lose everything overnight, which is very unfair.”