As the morning light pierced through the thin mist, Shun was already standing in the center of the training ground. Between his slender fingers, a kunai with the Flying Thunder God Mark spun.
The training ground guard brought a note.
Shun raised his hand to catch it. On it was Minato's distinctive rounded handwriting.
[Urgent mission out, we'll fight another day. — Minato ]
He narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold smirk on his lips. "Ran away?"
The note ignited in his palm with an orange-red flame, eventually disappearing.
"Heh heh, out on a mission, interesting. I've been a bit bored recently anyway."
...
The wooden door of the mission dispatch office let out a harsh creaking sound.
The two Chunin on duty jolted awake, one of them even knocking over a teacup.
"Shun-sama!"
The young Chunin fumbled to straighten his forehead protector, as tea spread across the table, soaking several mission scrolls.
Shun ignored their panic, his fingers tapped on the sandalwood counter, producing a crisp "dong, dong, dong" sound.
The Chunin on duty's adam's apple bobbed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Tell me the details of Minato's mission. This isn't a request, it's an order."
One of the Chunin on duty hesitated, saying, "According to regulations, this requires Hokage-sama's approval."
Shun's Mangekyo Sharingan rotated slightly, and the Chunin's gaze immediately became unfocused, his lips trembling uncontrollably. "Ro... Rōran Ancient Kingdom... S-rank mission... members include Choza, Aburame Shibi..."
"Let me see Queen Sāra of Rōran's mission request."
Another young Chunin frantically pulled out a piece of parchment with golden edges.
With the scroll in hand, Body Flicker Technique activated. After he left, the parchment he unfolded contained a passage of text.
[Anrokuzan is actually the Sunagakure rogue ninja Mukade, who has poisoned me. Request Konoha to quickly send ninja to slay this fiend and save my daughter Sāra.]
Shun looked at the rising sun, narrowing his eyes slightly.
'They've already departed. At their usual pace, Minato's squad will need at least 24 hours to reach Rōran. If I fly there in Seraph form, it will only take a maximum of 2 hours, so there's still time.'
He quickly returned to the Military Police Force office and formed hand signs.
Shadow Clone Technique!
A Shadow Clone emerged from the smoke, meeting his gaze and singing unwillingly, "Working man, working soul, working is above all..."
Listening to the Shadow Clone's complaints, Shun smiled slightly. He infused a large amount of Chakra, so this Shadow Clone, used for work, could last at least 48 hours.
Immediately after, with the Flying Thunder God Technique, he appeared outside Konoha.
Seraph, activate!
In an instant, the air behind him twisted, and three pairs of blazing white flame wings burst forth from his body. Each wing was composed of highly concentrated Chakra, with golden-yellow flames flickering at the edges. The three pairs of flame wings vibrated simultaneously, creating a visible sonic boom cloud.
Several ninjas who were doing morning exercises looked up in terror, only seeing a white light pierce through the clouds, leaving a long-lasting trail in the azure sky.
"What was that?"
"Who could be flying so fast?"
The murmurs were quickly left behind.
Shun ascended continuously until the clouds were beneath his feet, spread out like cotton.
"Mach 3."
He adjusted his angle, and his entire body shot southward like an arrow.
The intense G-force would be enough to crush an ordinary person's internal organs, but for him, possessing the Uzumaki Sage Sage, it was merely a slight discomfort.
Soon, the outline of the Ancient Kingdom Rōran gradually appeared on the horizon.
He landed on the outskirts of the city, and his flame wings transformed into countless specks of light, dissipating into the air.
"It is said that Princess Sāra is only 18 years old, young and beautiful."
Divine Eye!
The patterns of the Mangekyo Sharingan glowed with an eerie red light in the darkness.
Through layers of walls, he quickly pinpointed the location of the princess's bedchamber.
Shun's figure moved through the corridor like a ghost, without triggering any mechanisms.
Inside the bedchamber, the eighteen-year-old Sāra was sound asleep, her long red hair spread across the silk pillow.
Shun gently pressed her shoulder. "Your Highness."
Seeing a strange man sitting by her bedside, Sāra immediately screamed, but a hand covered her mouth, turning it into a whimper. Her black eyes were filled with terror, and her slender fingers clutched the silk bedding tightly.
Shun released her, stepping back half a step to show sincerity. "Don't be afraid, I'm here to save you."
"Save... me?"
Sāra's voice was like a startled fawn.
She curled up in the corner of the bed, her red hair disheveled over her thin nightgown.
Moonlight filtered through the gauze curtain, casting fragmented light spots on her pale face.
Shun noticed her right hand secretly reaching under the pillow, where a jewel-encrusted dagger was hidden. He pretended not to notice this small movement, simply placing the parchment on the brocade quilt.
"Your mother's handwriting, you should recognize it."
Sāra's trembling fingers traced the parchment, and she suddenly froze upon seeing a particular mark.
[Anrokuzan is actually the Sunagakure rogue ninja Mukade, who has poisoned me. Request Konoha to quickly send ninja to slay this fiend and save my daughter Sāra.]
That was a secret mark unique to the royal family, a tiny wavy pattern hidden in the last stroke of the character "Ran."
"This mark..."
"Only successive queens of Rōran knew about it? Did mother encrypt this information before her death?"
A tear fell onto the parchment.
Sāra grabbed Shun's wrist and said, "Take me to see the truth now!"
This seemingly delicate princess possessed an astonishing stubbornness at her core.
...
In the gloomy underground factory, Sāra's pearl slippers were already stained with oil.
When she saw the hunched old craftsman, she suddenly broke free from Shun's hand and rushed over. She supported the old man, tears washing away the coal dust on her face.
"Grandpa Kuzuha, weren't you home recovering?"
Tears welled up in the old man's cloudy eyes. "Princess... I was... by Anrokuzan..."
Before he finished speaking, the entire underground space shook violently.
Shun wrapped an arm around Sāra's waist and leaped backward, as a huge rock crashed down where they had just stood.
"Hide!"
He pushed Sāra towards the clone protection circle, while he himself faced the puppet giant emerging from the dust.
However, Sāra broke free from the protection and pressed a mechanism, causing a passage to suddenly open in the ground.
She shouted to the fleeing workers, "Everyone, go this way, run towards the west passage! It leads to the old palace!"
Shun's main body, in the midst of the fierce battle, glimpsed this scene, his pupils constricting slightly. This princess was far more interesting than he had imagined.