"That's right."
Seeing that Mirai Uchiha had no intention of attacking, Yako and Salei gained confidence.
Salei stared at Sāra and said, "You know nothing about anything. You're like a puppet with someone else pulling its strings. Everyone calls you the Puppet Princess."
Upon hearing this remark, Sāra's expression turned sour. She couldn't help but retort, "Who says you are manipulating me? Who says I know nothing?"
Seeing Sāra getting angry, Yako whispered, "Like how Anlushan captured our families, and you didn't even know about it."
"Everyone despises you."
Yako's words pierced through Sāra's composure.
Everyone despises me?
That's ridiculous!
Sāra pointed outward and shouted, "Can't you hear them? There are so many people cheering to celebrate my becoming the new queen! How can you say everyone hates me?"
Hearing that, Yako and Salei exchanged glances before all giving slightly awkward smiles. "Your Majesty Sāra, come with us and you'll understand."
With that, the group quickly walked out of the room.
Sāra glanced at Mirai Uchiha, and seeing him nod in agreement, she followed closely behind them.
She wanted to see exactly where these guys were taking her!
————
In a dark alleyway.
Sāra pointed toward the crowds still cheering loudly, "Listen to them—they're still cheering for me!"
Salei coldly replied, "Those aren't even real people."
Sāra opened her mouth in shock, "What did you say?"
Mirai Uchiha slightly raised his arm. [Universal Pull]!
A "person" was pulled forward by an invisible force.
Looking at the "person" who was still cheering, Sāra couldn't help but inhale sharply.
This definitely wasn't human—it was just a puppet wearing clothes!
Could it be…?
Were all these people cheering for her just puppets too?
At that moment, the puppet crowd cheered even more fervently.
Sāra looked up and saw a puppet wearing exactly the same outfit as hers stepping out from a windowsill, waving stiffly and lifelessly at the crowd below.
Seeing this scene, Sāra felt a chill run through her entire body.
What the hell was going on here?!
Salei solemnly said, "Now do you believe me? Seems like you really have become the Puppet Princess."
Anlushan!!!
Sāra gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly.
Everything before her was perfectly clear—the one who had deceived her was none other than Anlushan!
"Damn it!"
"I'm gonna go after Anlushan right now and force him to release your families!"
"Upon hearing Sāra's words, Yako couldn't help but sneer: 'You're so naive, Queen Sāra.'"
"Anlushan has already replaced you with puppets. Do you really think he'll obey you?"
"Besides, Anlushan now controls the power of the Dragon Veins. Going to him would be suicide."
Sāra hesitated for a moment, finding Mirai Uchiha's words quite convincing.
She couldn't help glancing toward Mirai Uchiha. "Mirai Uchiha, I misunderstood you earlier today. Please forgive me."
"What should I do now?"
Mirai Uchiha considered for a moment before calmly saying, "I've heard that the Loulan queen's bloodline has the power to control the Dragon Veins. We should cut off Anlushan's connection to the Dragon Veins first before making further plans."
Seeing the composed expression on Mirai Uchiha's face, Sāra felt as though she'd found her backbone and nodded. "I'll follow your lead!"
"Yako, Salei, you two wait here first."
Seeing Sāra willing to risk everything to save their families, Salei and others all showed expressions of excitement. "Understood, Queen Sāra."
Sāra closed her eyes and sensed the flow of the Dragon Veins before saying to Mirai Uchiha, "I'll take you there."
"That would be too slow."
In front of Sāra's disbelieving gaze, Mirai Uchiha suddenly scooped her into his arms. "You just tell me where to go."
Sāra lowered her head, slightly embarrassed to look at Mirai Uchiha. Mumbling, she said, "In Loulan, disrespecting the queen or princess is a punishable offense..."
Mirai Uchiha pinched Sāra's butt playfully. "In the ninja world, disrespecting a ninja means you'll get your ass smacked."
Sāra's face instantly turned red, as if it could drip blood, and she dared not say anything else.
Guided by her, the two quickly arrived at the source of the Dragon Veins.
This was a massive underground factory where hundreds of people were imprisoned, continuously turning massive valves without rest.
Beside them, puppet soldiers constantly watched over the laborers, immediately whipping anyone who slowed down.
Seeing this scene, Sāra's expression turned furious.
Who knew Anlushan had turned into such a ruthless monster!
Mirai Uchiha, however, let out a somewhat speechless chuckle.
The work could easily be done by puppets, yet he insists on forcing civilians into hard labor.
Looks like this guy has some serious anti-social tendencies.
Noticing the intruders, the puppet soldiers immediately charged toward Mirai Uchiha and Sāra.
[Shinra Tensei!]
The powerful repulsive force instantly scattered the puppet soldiers, but the scattered pieces quickly reassembled into new ones.
Witnessing this, Mirai Uchiha merely gave a light snort.
[Ice Release – Towering Hexagonal Ice Pillar!]
All the Puppet soldiers were instantly sealed within transparent ice crystals.
The next moment, Mirai Uchiha extended her finger and commanded: [Shatter!]
Crash!
The ice pillars along with the Puppet soldiers turned into dust and vanished into thin air.
"S-so powerful..."
Sāra, though capable of controlling the power of the Dragon Veins, was ultimately just an untrained civilian.
After witnessing Mirai's strength, she stood there stunned, agape.
Mirai glanced at the shocked citizens of Loulan who remained frozen in place and spoke calmly: "Hurry up and leave. Your families are waiting for you outside."
Upon hearing that, everyone finally snapped out of their trance, hurriedly bowed deeply to Mirai and Sāra, then rushed out one after another.
Sāra turned to Mirai and said, "Mirai, I'll go cut off the connection between the Dragon Veins and Anlushan first."
Mirai shrugged indifferently. "Fine."
"Hahahaha..." A loud, arrogant laughter suddenly rang out. "You think you can go anywhere?"
Seeing Anlushan appear, Sāra couldn't help but confront him angrily: "Anlushan, how dare you do such a thing behind my back and Mother's! How can you betray our trust?!"
Anlushan let out a soft snort in response: "Don't talk to me about your mother."
"I was the one who built Loulan into what it is today, enabling you to settle down in this desert."
"But when all I ever wanted was to borrow some power from the Dragon Veins, your mother began suspecting me."
"She even secretly sent people to Konoha seeking help, trying to drive me out of Loulan!"
"Fortunately, I uncovered it in time and took care of her before it was too late."
"Otherwise, all my efforts over these years would have been wasted."
Sāra's eyes widened in disbelief.
Could it be… that Mother… was actually murdered by Anlushan?!
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