It's normal to get a kaleidoscope as a first deposit of six yuan, right?

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

Naruto, who had chased after Sara from under the tower, heard her scream and rushed into the crowd, pulling her out of the puppet horde.

Stepping outside the crowd, Sarah plopped down on the ground, feeling a chill run down her spine as she recalled the puppet's eerie face and its cold, hard texture.

"This...what is going on?"

"Hey, it's not safe here, let's get out of here quickly." Naruto glanced at the combat puppet weapon that was about to approach in the distance, then grabbed her hand and ran into the surrounding buildings.

Lie…

Sara and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the puppets patrolling in the distance, their backs against the wall. When Sara peeked out to look at the welcoming ceremony, she discovered that, at some point, a terracotta marionette dressed in a queen's gown and surrounded by soldiers had arrived on the platform, waving to the many puppet civilians below.

Upon seeing this, Sarah also felt an indescribable sense of desolation.

When exactly did Loulan become like this?

"Oh, it seems you're quite confused?" Just as Naruto and Sara were still wary of the puppet soldiers, a voice suddenly appeared from behind them, startling them both.

"Hey, who are you!" Naruto, shielding Sara behind him in this narrow space, drew his chakra blade and pointed it at Shiseido.

"Oh dear, don't be so impulsive. I'm a kind-hearted person who travels all over the world and often helps villages solve their problems," Zhixue said, leaning against the wall while wearing a fox mask.

"There's no problem here for you to solve. You should leave," Sarah said, shaking her head as she looked at Zhixue, who was dressed in a black robe.

Wearing such an outfit, he looks like a rather suspicious and dangerous guy.

"Don't rush to refuse. Although I do have a tiny bit of an ulterior motive, it can help you achieve your goals, which is a very worthwhile thing." Zhi Xue took out a few photos and threw them into Naruto's hand.

"This is..." Naruto was also surprised as he looked at the huge mechanical factory in his hands and the people inside who were wearing tattered clothes and pushing the machines.

“This place… could it be underground?” Sarah’s pupils suddenly dilated as she looked at the scenery in the photo.

This place seems to be the site of the plan An Lushan proposed to his mother a few years ago after her death—to use large-scale underground equipment to drive the development of Loulan. But unexpectedly, it has now been turned into an arsenal for manufacturing those puppets, and so many Loulan people have been enslaved to maintain its operation. Could it be that An Lushan…?

"Oh dear, oh dear, it seems our Queen knows about this place. It seems that only you can control the dragon vein array mechanism here."

Upon hearing Zhixue's words, Sara understood what was going on, then pushed Naruto away and ran outside.

"Hey, can't you at least look at the situation before you speak?!" Naruto's face darkened as he watched Sara run off without a care for the puppet soldiers. After thanking Zhixue, he chased after her.

Looking at the photos that had fallen to the ground, Zhixue picked them up and put them in her pocket.

The story seems to have deviated somewhat from the original path, but there's no rush. Let's take our time playing it. The system debugging will take some time anyway.

Sensing the puppets gathering in the underground factory in the distance, Zhi Xue used her Instantaneous Movement Technique to disappear from the spot.

……

Inside the underground arsenal, Naruto and Sara were shocked as they walked up the iron staircase and looked at the huge workshop with its constantly running machines and assembled puppet parts.

Listening to the roar of machinery in her ears and feeling the scorching heat of nearly 40 degrees Celsius in the air, Sarah also felt a sense of grief and helplessness.

"Are all of this... are they really true? What have I been watching all these years...?" Sarah knelt on the iron plate, and looked at the Loulan people who were constantly doing hard labor under the threat of puppet soldiers, and also knelt on the ground in grief.

"Alright, now that you know you made a mistake, get up and make amends. Being sad won't help. You must show your queenly aura!" Naruto helped Sara up and said firmly to her.

“You’re right. As the Queen of Loulan, I can’t turn a blind eye to this. I’ll go and shut down the energy supply array for the dragon vein right away.”

Sara steadied herself, sensing the faint connection between herself and the Dragon Vein Chakra, and stealthily made her way towards the source with Naruto.

However, just as the two were about to enter the power supply room, a familiar voice made Sarah's expression change drastically.

"My dearest Queen, you should be resting in your palace right now. What are you doing here in this place filled with exhaust fumes and the smell of industry?"

Turning her head to look at An Lushan, who was standing on the high platform with a smirking expression, Sara gritted her teeth and pointed at his ugly face, saying, "An Lushan, what do you want to do! I don't recall giving any orders to make puppet weapons, nor did I order the people of Loulan to work in this high-temperature, high-pressure place all day long!"

An Lushan chuckled twice upon hearing Sarana's extremely "naive" remarks.

"Your Majesty, you are really foolish, and very naive. Wouldn't it be better to be a puppet and obediently die in front of the parade platform? Why did you have to collude with outsiders to spy on the secrets of our Loulan?" An Lushan said, a cold glint in his eyes as he looked in Naruto's direction.

Naruto, who had been pointed at, suddenly realized what was going on when he saw An Lushan's chubby appearance. He then pointed at An Lushan's location and said, "Ugly guy in a tall hat, don't think I can't tell just because you've gotten fat! Even if you escaped here, you won't escape Konoha's pursuit!"

Hearing Naruto's determined expression, An Lushan realized what was going on and chuckled twice.

"I remember now, you're a brat from Konoha. I never thought you'd also travel back in time. Too bad I'm six years too late. I'm no longer the centipede that you little shrimps chased all over the place. I'm the king who dominates the entire Loulan Kingdom with the help of the dragon vein! Hahahaha!"

Seeing An Lushan finally reveal his true colors, Sarah gritted her teeth and said, "Your plan will not succeed."

Watching Sara leave, intending to shut down the formation, An Lushan snapped his fingers, and instantly two rows of puppets flew up from the armory below, surrounding the two of them.

“Your Highness, this is no longer the time for you to make the decisions. The entire Loulan is under my control. You should go and see your mother who has been dead for many years!” An Lushan’s eyes suddenly widened. He waved the puppet strings in his hand and commanded many puppet soldiers to launch chakra arrows, similar to missiles, towards the two of them.

boom!

The violent explosion at the scene engulfed the two men, while An Lushan's eyes widened as he sensed the iron wall of sand that suddenly appeared in the smoke and dust.

"There are still intruders?"

As the smoke cleared, Zhixue looked at Sara and Naruto behind her, who were unharmed, and slowly put the iron sand into her sleeve.

"Oh dear, oh dear, it seems your weapon isn't very effective, uncle. It's really quite weak."

Seeing Zhixue still mocking him, An Lushan's face darkened.

"You little devils are really annoying, but now that things have come to this, no one can stop my great cause!" An Lushan waved his hands, and with the help of the surrounding pipes, a large number of puppet soldiers began to move and surged towards Zhi Xue's location.

“Didn’t you want to save your country? You can go now.” Zhi Xue said, looking at Sarah behind her.

“But you…” Sarah looked at Zhi Xue’s position with some worry. With so many puppets, could she, a girl, really hold them off?

"Don't worry, I'm here to help you, my friend!" Naruto said with a grin, clapping his hands. But then Zhixue slapped him on the head, extinguishing his enthusiasm.

"You brat, come along too. Leave this to me." (Tactical hands on hips)

Naruto followed Sara in listlessly. Before entering, he glanced cautiously at Zhixue and said with a hint of resentment, "You look so much shorter than me. If anyone should be called a kid, it should be you."

Hearing Zhixue while fighting abroad: ... (annoyed)

Chapter 178, Struggle

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Rain!" Shiki clapped her hands together, and the large amount of iron sand protecting her gradually separated into thin, long senbon needles that shot out. Under Shiki's control of her chakra, they pierced through the puppet's internal parts like spears.

Although her Magnet Release can counter any puppet with iron parts, using it continuously would become too boring. Compared to destroying the enemy with a wave of her hand, Zhi Xue prefers to slowly bring about a sense of despair.

"So it's already too late? If you're old and frail, you should retire early and go home to enjoy your retirement. I'm sure you'll have a very pleasant time in prison." Zhi Xue looked at the puppets she had dismantled and put them to pieces around her, and made a mocking gesture with her hand, saying, "You're only this small."

"Kid, don't be so arrogant!" An Lushan's head was filled with disbelief as he looked at Zhixue, who was still mocking him.

Just wait till I catch you, you little brat! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!

call out!

Seeing the chakra cannon coming from afar, Zhixue reached out and manipulated the sand iron to block in front of her. Then, she raised her finger and made a gun shape to unleash the water iron cannon, shattering the cores of the two puppets. But soon, with the input of dragon vein chakra, the shattered parts suddenly and miraculously reassembled and continued to hit Zhixue.

"It really is like spring breezes blowing and new life growing... The dragon vein chakra that can supply an entire city is indeed well-deserved of its reputation." Reaching out, she used Magnet Release to pierce through several puppets with iron sand like candied hawthorns. Zhi Xue looked at the massive machines around her that were gradually coming to a standstill and the civilians being evacuated by Naruto's shadow clones below. She glanced at An Lushan one last time and found that he didn't seem to care about any of this.

"Uncle Minion, your inexhaustible chakra has been cut off, why don't you seem worried at all?"

Seeing Zhixue suddenly stop, An Lushan thought that the brat's chakra was almost depleted, so he wanted to take advantage of the time to talk to recover. However, he would not allow this stubborn brat to continue to stop.

"Kid, do you think I only have one factory? Hmph, so what if you close one down? My puppet factories in other regions are far more powerful than this one. When all the puppets in the city gather here, you'd better think about how to collect your own corpses, hahaha!" An Lushan laughed loudly, waving the puppet strings in his hand like a purple light, reassembling the disassembled terracotta puppets around him.

But just when he thought he had everything under control, a sudden tremor made the entire Loulan seem to shake a few times.

Hearing the continuous explosions around him, An Lushan's expression suddenly turned ugly.

"He even has accomplices? Six years have passed, couldn't he have let me finish my grand scheme before coming back...?"

Just as An Lushan was thinking of a solution, Naruto and Sara walked in and ran to Zhixue's side.

Looking at the scattered parts and fragments around him, Naruto exclaimed excitedly, "I never expected that the little guy in the black robe who looks so short would be so strong! You can't judge a book by its cover... Ahhhhh!"

"If you say I'm short again, I'll beat you into a steamed bun!" Zhi Xue said angrily, her forehead creased with a twitch.

Naruto, clutching his still-smoking head, looked towards Shiseido's location with a mixture of sadness and despair.

Why hit someone when you're supposed to be talking? You're about the same height, but you don't have the gentle temperament of Sister Zhixue at all.

An Lushan's face darkened as he looked at the group of people who seemed to be chatting idly together.

I'm standing right in front of you, and you're making me, your enemy, look like a complete fool? How dare you treat him with such contempt! This is intolerable!

Suddenly, a trident-shaped kunai was stuck into the floor, and Minato Namikaze and Kakashi in his youth suddenly appeared there.

When Naruto saw the iconic silver hair and black mask, it felt as if a thousand Nine-Tails were stampeding through his mind.

Is this Kakashi-sensei as a child? I never expected him to be so short. Even the person next to him is taller than Kakashi-sensei. How did he grow to 8 meters tall?

"Ah, looks like it's quite lively?" Kakashi scratched his head and said, looking at the three unfamiliar guys gathered together.

"Are you Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto ran up from behind with an incredulous look on his face and pointed at the boy Kakashi, who had a pair of dead fish eyes.

"Huh? You actually recognize me?" Kakashi's calm expression suddenly turned a little strange. This guy is wearing a Konoha headband, but how come I've never seen him in the village before?

"enough!"

Just as Naruto was about to continue talking with Kakashi, An Lushan, who was standing on the high platform, suddenly roared, attracting everyone's attention.

"Damn invaders! Loulan is my territory! None of you will leave here alive today!" An Lushan stretched out his hands, dismantled the numerous small puppets, and then used his dragon vein chakra to reassemble them, turning them into super puppet monsters that were 10 meters tall.

The puppet's enormous body was crowded in the factory, and with each step it took, one could clearly feel the ground vibrating.

As the puppet horde approached from all directions, Naruto first created a shadow clone, which formed a Rasengan and charged towards the giant puppet.

"So what if you just stacked blocks and turned them into a giant puppet? Watch me send you all flying one by one!" Minato Namikaze's pupils widened in shock as he watched Naruto charge toward the puppet with a Rasengan in his hand.

"That ninjutsu..."

However, not long after the giant puppet army had gone, it suddenly stopped advancing as if it had been put out of service. Zhi Xue looked up at the sky and saw a dark figure jump down from the iron frame above, holding a bunch of puppet strings in its hand.

"How did you come?"

"Of course it's because you acted on your own, so I followed the commotion all the way here," Scorpion said, taking a scroll from his waist.

boom!

On the other side, Naruto was ready to fight the puppet, but after the puppet stopped moving, he couldn't stop in time and crashed into it. The puppet, whose balance was broken by the sudden force, fell down in all directions, raising clouds of dust.

Seeing Naruto lying dazed among the puppets, everyone felt a bead of cold sweat drip down their foreheads.

An Lushan's face turned pale as he looked at the puppet strings held by Scorpion.

Another one! Why are there so many people from Loulan today? But his grand plan, which he has been scheming for six years, will not end here!

Swish!