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

Sara froze, unable to find a reason to refute Naruto. Her tone gradually calmed down: "Was it my mother and I who were wrong? Should we obediently hand over control of the Dragon Vein..."

Naruto shook his head slightly and said, "The Dragon Vein has chosen you, so you are the masters of the Dragon Vein. However, you do not have the strength to protect the Dragon Vein or utilize this power. Even if you defeat An Lushan, there will be others who covet this power."

Seeing that the client was almost in tears, Minato Namikaze quickly took out the letter and handed it to Sara.

He couldn't understand why a strong ninja like Menma would make things difficult for a weak little girl. Did he have some kind of special fetish for bullying children?

Seemingly guessing Minato's thoughts, Naruto murmured softly; he simply disliked arrogant brats.

Sasuke from the Uchiha clan and Sara, the little queen in front of us, are both of this type.

Upon receiving the scroll and letter with the mission instructions, Sarah recognized her mother's handwriting and, after understanding the truth behind her mother's death, her eyes gradually hardened.

Since An Lushan killed her mother for the sake of the dragon vein, she naturally wanted to avenge her mother.

But now, she has nothing but the title of queen, and is completely unable to avenge herself against An Lushan. She can only seek help from these few Konoha ninjas who are protecting her.

When Sara asked for help, Minato Namikaze did not immediately agree, but instead looked at Naruto who was standing to the side.

An Lushan was a rogue ninja from another village, so Naruto must have the means to deal with this powerful minister of Loulan.

Seeing this, Sara bit her lip and came to Naruto's side, saying, "If you are willing to help me avenge myself, I am willing to hand over the power of the Dragon Vein for your use."

Upon hearing this, not only Kakashi and the others, but even Minato Namikaze frowned.

The Dragon Vein is indeed a treasure of the Loulan lineage, but with this power in the hands of others, it is bound to become an unstable factor within the Land of Wind, and may even threaten the interests of Konoha.

Naruto distanced himself: "I'm not very interested in the Dragon Vein. Let's talk more about An Lushan's information."

Sara nodded and then began to tell the story of the former queen and An Lushan. When Sara mentioned that An Lushan's personality had recently changed, Naruto frowned.

Whenever his personality undergoes a drastic change, he always thinks of the Kaleidoscope Eye Technique and Kotoamatsukami.

Although Danzo's Kotoamatsukami Sharingan had long entered its ten-year cooldown period, Danzo had transplanted Hashirama cells, which greatly reduced the cooldown time.

In other words, there is a considerable probability that An Lushan is now under the control of Kotoamatsukami and has become Danzo's puppet.

If Danzo were to begin utilizing the power of the Dragon Veins and become a Dragon Vein Jinchūriki, he would become a formidable enemy for Danzo.

However, Naruto was more concerned about Nagato's whereabouts. Was Nagato hiding in the city of Loulan, or had he been transferred to another place?

The former is still within acceptable limits, but the latter has a much greater impact on the past.

He currently has no idea whether this is a past timeline or a completely unrelated parallel world.

Sara noticed Naruto's frown and, upon learning his name, cautiously asked, "Even Lord Menma can't deal with An Lushan?"

Naruto shook his head slightly: "If the enemy is only An Lushan, the Yellow Flash can easily take care of them. But the enemy is far more than just An Lushan. I'm worried that there might be a Five Kage-level enemy behind the scenes."

"A ninja of the Five Kage level..."

Kakashi gasped. Was the small city of Loulan worth the attention of ninjas like that?

However, Minato, a strong contender for the Fourth Hokage position, highly praised Menma's strength, so it's not surprising that Menma would face an enemy of Kage-level strength...

At this moment, Minato Namikaze spoke up, "Leaving aside who An Lushan and the person behind him are, their goal shouldn't be killing the Queen, but rather seizing the power of the Dragon Vein. Does Lady Sara have a way to stop them from obtaining the power of the Dragon Vein?"

Sarah nodded: "As long as we can get close to the core of the dragon vein, I have a way to sever their connection with the dragon vein."

"However, Loulan's prosperity is built on the dragon vein. If I sever my connection with the dragon vein, everything Loulan has now will probably... vanish into nothingness."

Minato Namikaze rested his chin on his hand, silently gazing at Sara: "This is quite a problem..."

Naruto pressed his palm against the ground and, after understanding the situation of the dragon vein, said, "Don't overthink it. The power of the dragon vein is also limited. If you over-consume the power of the dragon vein like this, it will be exhausted in just a few decades."

"Will the power of the dragon vein be completely exhausted?" This was the first time Sarah had heard this question.

Naruto stared at Sara and asked in return, "If the Dragon Vein is not completely exhausted, what makes your ancestors sign a contract with it? The current prosperity of Loulan is built on the premise that the Dragon Vein has been nurtured for thousands of years."

"Instead of worrying about whether we can take down An Lushan's gang, you should think more about how the people of Loulan will survive in the barren desert after losing the protection of the dragon vein. I hope you haven't forgotten how to survive in the desert."

After hearing these words, Sarah became much more sincere: "What Lord Mianma said makes a lot of sense, but if Loulan really declines, how can it regain its current glory?"

Naruto glanced at Sara and said expressionlessly, "Lie low. When faced with a powerful force, temporary forbearance is nothing. As long as the clan continues, there is still hope for a resurgence."

……

Several tens of minutes later, Naruto led Sara out of the secret room and to the top of a tall tower.

Standing here, the two could easily overlook the entire landscape of Loulan and also perceive the omnipresent dragon veins within the city. This was also the first time that Chakras had come to such a high place and seen the entire view of Loulan for the first time.

The thought that such a magnificent city would collapse in the future as the power of the dragon vein dissipates fills me with an indescribable sense of loss.

However, Loulan's prosperity was not built on the efforts of the Loulan people, but on the energy provided by the dragon vein.

After losing the resources of the dragon vein, Loulan will fall back to square one. This is the future that all Loulan people must accept. As the queen, she must be stronger than others.

With the prosperity of Loulan etched in her mind, Sarah returned to the secret chamber and began discussing how to stop An Lushan's gang's conspiracy.

Closing the dragon vein's core is not difficult; the difficulty lies in getting close to it. Besides the dozens of puppet guards active in Loulan City, An Lushan must have secretly created even more puppets.

While Naruto and Sara chatted, Minato's team also began a discussion.

They could confirm that Mianma would not harm the Loulan Queen, but they could not confirm whether Mianma had any designs on the Dragon Vein, since even they had taken some action regarding the power of the Dragon Vein.

Finally, the members of Minato's team all looked at Minato Namikaze, waiting for his opinion.

Minato took a deep breath and said, "I sensed the aura of Sage Art from Menma. He might really look down on the power of the Dragon Vein. I'm willing to trust him this once."

"Trusting a stranger so easily is not like you."

"Who knows? But I just can't bring myself to dislike him. Maybe it's fate." Minato's lips curled into a confident smile, as always.

"Let's set off on our mission. I'll bring you all back to the village safely."

……

After nightfall, Naruto and Minato's team set off for the Lost Tower.

Because Naruto left behind a shadow clone that resembled Sara in the palace, Loulan did not fall into chaos due to the queen's disappearance. However, a shadow clone is still a shadow clone, and it was only a matter of time before it was seen through.

They must get close to the Lost Tower as soon as possible and regain control of the Dragon Vein.

When they were only 100 meters away from the Lost Tower, the Dragon Vein Chakra rendered the Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation ineffective, forcing Naruto to reveal himself and emerge from the depths of the earth, triggering the Lost Tower's alarm.

With a loud alarm, puppet guards appeared from all directions, locking onto the intruders led by Naruto.

These thick-skinned puppets were completely impervious to ordinary ninjutsu and taijutsu. After his kunai failed to cut through the metal, Kakashi quickly created distance, landed on the ground, and formed hand seals:

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall Technique!"

The earthen wall carved with a dog's head rose up, blocking the dragon vein puppet's bombardment, but cracks also appeared on its surface.

Ding Zuo and Zhi Wei, who were entangled by the dragon vein puppets, also used the flesh bomb impact technique and parasitic insects. Under the impact of tens of tons, most of the dragon vein puppets were directly crushed, and the remaining dragon vein puppets were also bitten by the parasitic insects.

However, there were simply too many Dragon Vein puppets. Kakashi, the weakest of them all, was targeted by several puppets, who launched a coordinated sneak attack.

At the critical moment, Minato Namikaze vanished from his spot, severed the chakra threads connecting the puppet with a kunai, saved Kakashi who couldn't dodge in time, and then teleported dozens of meters away.

"Thank you, Minato-sensei..." Kakashi said, panting heavily.

"You're welcome..." Minato Namikaze replied casually, then looked toward the Lost Tower. While they were distracting the Dragon Vein Golem, Menma had already led Sara inside the Lost Tower.

We hope that our actions will draw away more enemies for them.

Chapter 203 Naruto vs. Danzo

After entering the Lost Tower, Naruto and Sara slowly made their way through the passageway.

This was Sarah's first time entering the Lost Tower, and she was very curious about everything around her. Her eyes scanned the crisscrossing pipes, and she occasionally showed a puzzled expression.

"As a queen, is this your first time visiting the Lost Tower? You are not a good queen."

Hearing this, Sarah stamped her foot and said helplessly, "My mother never allows me to approach the Lost Tower. After becoming queen, I was busy learning etiquette and had no time to inspect this place."

"I see. No wonder our Queen didn't even know that her people had become slaves producing dragon puppets."

As he spoke, Naruto pointed to the ragged slaves not far away, his tone full of amusement.

Sarah frowned and leaned closer to take a look. Judging from their attire, the group of slaves being whipped by the dragon puppets were indeed subjects of Loulan.

Thinking of the news of her subjects disappearing in recent years, her face gradually turned cold.

She roughly guessed the real reason for her mother's death: besides An Lushan's desire to seize the dragon vein, she also discovered An Lushan's behavior of treating the people as slaves.

Continuing downwards, Naruto led Sara past most of the guards and finally stopped in front of a large gate.

Once you pass through this gate, you will reach the location where the core of the dragon vein is placed.

Absorbing natural energy and using brute force to push open the door weighing tens of tons, Naruto and Sara heard a flurry of footsteps behind them the instant the door opened.

A large number of dragon vein puppets surged in, surrounding Naruto and Sara.

Immediately, a gaunt middle-aged man emerged from the group of puppets and said anxiously, "An Lushan is late in coming to the rescue. Please forgive him, Your Highness Sara."

Sarah stepped forward, staring intently into An Lushan's eyes: "An Lushan, can you explain to me why the people of Loulan appeared underground in the Lost Tower?"

"Everything was for the prosperity of Loulan; they all did it voluntarily."

Sarah snorted coldly, her face grim, and said, "How did Mother die? Did she know you were using the power of the dragon vein for your own personal gain?"

Upon hearing this, An Lushan withdrew his worried gaze, gave Sarah a deep look, and said, "Knowing too much is not a good thing. Why can't you just obediently become a puppet on a string?"

"Come back with me now, and you will still be the Queen of Loulan. Nothing will change."

"Don't even think about it... I'd rather die than submit..." After a pause, Sara said to Naruto beside her, "Lord Menma, the situation is critical, you should escape as soon as possible."

An Lushan stopped talking nonsense, took a step back, and the dragon vein puppet shot out a series of sharp needles.

These senbon needles are imbued with dragon vein chakra, their power enough to leave marks on refined iron, which a ninja's physical body simply cannot withstand.

Naruto raised his palm, and the whirlpool shuriken had already taken shape. The rapidly spinning wind blades blocked the senbon needles along the way.

Then it dragged the dragon vein puppet into it, tearing it into a pile of broken copper and scrap iron.

An Lushan was stunned by this scene. He had originally planned to use the puppet army to rule the world, but these dragon vein puppets were no match for Naruto.

Is the Dragon Vein Puppet too weak?

No, these puppets are much stronger than those rubbish puppets from Sunagakure. The only possibility is that Naruto is too strong, even stronger than the elders and Kazekage of Sunagakure.

Why would such a monster appear in Loulan? Could it also be from the future?

But in his memory, there had never been such a powerful ninja in the ninja world!

Before he could think too much, Naruto appeared in front of An Lushan, grabbed the latter by the neck, and slammed him into the ground, spitting out blood.