"Brother Obito, are you okay?"
Shisui ran over, looking at Obito nervously.
Obito, feeling that his pride had taken a hit, puffed up his chest and said, "Actually, I was just testing them on purpose. I already saw through those puppets' weaknesses."
Shisui blinked in surprise. "What weaknesses?"
Obito froze, clearly not having thought that far ahead. Before he could make something up, Kakashi said seriously, "It seems this place can cut off whatever's controlling those two puppets. Things here aren't as simple as we thought. We'll have to stay cautious."
Obito pointed at Kakashi. "You just love stealing the spotlight. I was about to say that myself."
Kakashi rolled his eyes and walked ahead toward the direction they came from.
"Brother Yuzuru," Kakashi reported, "we found a woman, but she escaped. Two puppets also attacked us. Could this be the work of Sunagakure?"
After all, in the entire shinobi world, only the ninja of Sunagakure were known for using puppets.
Uchiha Yuzuru nodded. "Very possible."
It wasn't often such chances arose — letting Kakashi, Obito, and Shisui get some live combat experience wasn't a bad thing. He could afford to raise his clansmen in comfort, but he would never let them grow into naïve fools.
As they spoke, three more puppets armed with blades charged at them.
Yuzuru frowned slightly and stepped back, shielding the three boys behind him.
Kakashi was the first to draw his short blade and rush forward. Obito followed, and Shisui's Sharingan lit up.
The puppets weren't particularly fast; the real problem was that they could continually reassemble themselves. Still, the three of them had no trouble managing.
"Brother Obito, Kakashi-senpai — these puppets are being controlled by chakra threads. We need to cut those threads to finish this quickly!"
Through his Sharingan, Shisui could see several chakra lines running from each puppet's body into the overhead pipes.
As soon as he spoke, Shisui raised his hand.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The fireball engulfed the puppet instantly.
Hearing him, Kakashi and Obito also unleashed their own jutsu.
"Lightning Style: Chidori!"
"Rasengan!"
The three puppets shattered under their combined assault. Following Shisui's direction, Kakashi infused chakra into a Fūma Shuriken and hurled it into the air, slicing through the last of the chakra lines.
This time, the puppets' remains stayed motionless.
"Huff… huff…"
The three boys were panting hard. For a first mission, facing endlessly regenerating puppets was more than a little intense.
"Kakashi, Obito, Shisui," Yuzuru said as he assessed their fight, "when dealing with puppets, don't waste too much chakra. And remember — the first thing you should always think about is cutting the chakra threads controlling them."
"Understood."
Just then, cheers erupted from somewhere in the distance.
Kakashi, Obito, and Shisui exchanged glances and immediately ran toward the sound.
——
——
"So that's where everyone went."
Hidden in the shadows, Obito looked out at the large crowd gathered ahead. He was a little stunned.
Fireworks burst. Parade floats rolled through the streets.
Banners and ribbons fluttered in the wind. Thousands of neatly dressed citizens stood along the road, faces bright with excitement, hands raised in fervent cheers.
"Long live the Queen!"
"Queen!"
"Our Queen!"
Following their gaze, the group looked up. On the balcony of the tallest tower, a woman wearing a crown and an ornate gown stepped out, flanked by two puppets.
The cheers grew even louder. The woman smiled and waved graciously at the crowd below.
"So she's the queen, huh?"
"Then she must know everything about this place — the Land of Rōran," Kakashi mused.
Obito nodded eagerly. "Let's go talk to her."
Shisui and Kakashi both agreed.
Just as they prepared to approach, the woman suddenly gasped. The balcony beneath her shattered, and she plummeted from hundreds of meters above.
"Oh no!"
Obito jumped up instantly, ready to catch her — but Yuzuru's hand pressed firmly on his shoulder, forcing him back down.
"Obito, you're still too young. You can't handle this kind of thing. Leave it to me."
The moment he finished speaking, Yuzuru vanished.
When he reappeared, he was in midair, the Queen of Rōran safely in his arms.
They landed gracefully on the ground. Yuzuru looked down at her. "Are you hurt?"
The woman blinked her eyes open and, upon seeing his face, gasped, "S-so handsome..."
"Huh?" Yuzuru hadn't expected that to be her first response. He sighed helplessly. "Spend some time with me and you'll realize — being handsome is actually the least impressive thing about me."
The woman blinked, suddenly realizing she was being carried princess-style in a stranger's arms. Embarrassed and flustered, she raised a hand to strike him. "You insolent man!"
Yuzuru easily caught her smooth, pale wrist. "Is this how you repay your savior?" he said, clearly unimpressed.
"Eh?!"
Only then did the woman remember — she had fallen from that high tower, and this man had just saved her life.
"I suppose I should thank you first," she said awkwardly. "Thank you for saving me."
Yuzuru waved it off. "It's fine. What's your name?"
"Sara," she said, lowering her head shyly under his handsome gaze. "C-could you please put me down first? This… this isn't proper."
"You could've said that sooner." Yuzuru looked as if he'd only just realized, setting her gently on the ground.
Sara puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Like I'd believe that!
By then, Obito, Shisui, and Kakashi had caught up. Seeing that Yuzuru had safely rescued the Queen, they all let out a breath of relief.
"This isn't the place to talk," Yuzuru said.
Before Sara could protest, Yuzuru scooped her back into his arms, drawing a startled yelp from her, and leapt toward the ruined tower where they had first found her — a place shielded from the Ryūmyaku Vein's power, where they could speak freely without interference from Mukade.