Walking on the soft desert sand, facing the howling wind...
After traveling for some time through the harsh desert, Byakuya finally caught sight of remnants of a city in the distance.
"Is that... Loulan?"
He narrowed his eyes at the silhouette rising against the sun-scorched horizon.
"I didn't expect such a large city to exist in the middle of a desert. This must be the power of the Dragon Vein…"
As he stepped into the town, the contrast was striking—lush greenery thrived around the ancient buildings, sustained by the mysterious chakra flowing beneath the city. Byakuya silently walked forward, senses alert.
Suddenly, a black shadow darted from the alleyway toward him.
"What now…?"
With lightning reflexes, he flicked a kunai.
"Whoosh—CLANG!"
The weapon struck true. A puppet crumpled before him in a clatter of wood and metal.
"A puppet? Is this a trap laid by the remnants of Suna?"
He stepped forward to inspect it, but before he could take another breath, the shattered parts began to reform, driven by a strange chakra. The puppet surged back to life, lunging at him again.
"Hmph… you think that trick will work twice?"
With a swift kick enhanced by chakra, Byakuya shattered the puppet completely. This time, the force of the impact splintered it beyond repair.
He crouched beside the remains, his fingers grazing the residue of potent chakra.
"This chakra... It's the Dragon Vein's power. Someone is channeling it to animate these puppets."
Byakuya stood and looked toward the city's core—a massive palace that stood out even among the ancient stone structures.
"The source must be there."
Without hesitation, he blurred forward.
Inside the central palace, Mukade, known in this time as Baizu, frowned as he watched one of his surveillance puppets blink out of existence.
"Another one destroyed? Is it a Suna patrol again?... No. This chakra signature is different—too precise... too refined."
Mukade, a rogue shinobi from the future who had been chased by the Konoha Anbu, had used the Dragon Vein to flee into the past. Now, he was attempting to harness the Dragon Vein's temporal energy to rewrite history in his favor. Using its chakra, he had created an army of self-repairing puppets—deadly and unrelenting.
He turned back toward the containment chamber of the Dragon Vein when a cold voice echoed from behind him.
"You're Mukade, aren't you?"
"The man who tried to rewrite time… using the Dragon Vein."
"W-who—!?"
Startled, Mukade jumped back, his eyes wide. Byakuya was already inside the chamber, standing calmly, his gaze fixed on the swirling purple-blue energy of the Dragon Vein.
"Is this the legendary Dragon Vein?... I can feel the distortion in time around it. Such concentrated chakra could easily destabilize reality."
"You—what are you planning to do?!"
Mukade snapped, summoning his largest puppet—a massive centipede infused with the Dragon Vein's chakra.
"You came for the Dragon Vein too, didn't you!? Then die!"
The centipede lunged.
Byakuya didn't even look at it.
"I have no interest in you."
With one motion, he turned and punched the centipede mid-air.
"CRACK—BOOM!"
The puppet exploded into wooden shrapnel.
"You bastard! You think that's enough?! Watch—recover!"
Mukade howled as he directed a surge of the Dragon Vein's chakra into the fragments. The centipede instantly regenerated, reassembling its parts and standing taller than before.
"Hahahaha! Did you see that?! My puppet is invincible!"
Byakuya remained unimpressed.
"You mistake regeneration for immortality. All energy has limits—and yours… is borrowed."
Without even drawing his sword, Byakuya flicked a kunai toward Mukade with pinpoint accuracy.
"Swoosh—"
The kunai was like an arrow shot from a bow, instantly piercing the laughing centipede's core.
"Pfft... How is this possible!?..."
Blood splattered everywhere as the massive puppet collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
"What a fool," Byakuya said with cold disdain, "He connected the puppet directly to the power of the Dragon Vein and neglected to defend his real body..."
Just then, a red-haired girl rushed over. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the crumpled form of the mechanical centipede and Byakuya standing beside it.
"Ah… Who are you!?..." she gasped. "You... you killed An Lushan!"
This girl was none other than Sarah, the reigning Queen of Loulan.
The truth was now evident—Baizu, a puppeteer from Sunagakure, had secretly infiltrated Loulan under the alias An Lushan. Using lies and flattery, he gained Queen Sarah's trust and manipulated her into giving him access to the sacred Dragon Vein. With it, he powered his forbidden puppet creations and aimed to reshape the world.
Earlier, Sarah had sensed a violent surge in the Dragon Vein's energy and rushed to the underground chamber. But what greeted her was not Baizu—but his death at the hands of a stranger.
"You're Queen Sarah, aren't you?" Byakuya asked calmly, walking toward her.
"Can you control the flow of the Dragon Vein's power?"
"W-What are you trying to do!? Don't come any closer!" Sarah backed away, her voice trembling. "Someone help me!"
To her, Byakuya looked no different from another invader. He had just killed her minister—regardless of whether An Lushan had been a traitor—and his ominous demeanor made her instincts scream.
Byakuya smirked slightly, his tone dripping with irony.
"Go ahead, scream. Even if you shout until your throat bleeds..."
Before he could finish, a sudden shout echoed through the chamber:
"Let her go, you bastard!!"
A blur of yellow flashed past—
"Rasengan!"
A blond-haired youth appeared out of nowhere, his blue eyes burning with resolve, a spiraling sphere of chakra spinning in his hand.
It was Uzumaki Naruto, charging in to protect Sarah.
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