"Brother Obito, are you alright?"
Shisui Uchiha ran over, looking at Obito Uchiha with some concern.
Obito Uchiha felt a bit embarrassed and tried to save face, saying, "Actually, I was just testing them. I saw through the weaknesses of these puppets a long time ago."
Shisui Uchiha asked in surprise, "What weaknesses?"
Obito Uchiha paused, wondering how to answer, when Kakashi Hatake, who was beside him, said in a deep voice, "It seems this place can isolate the power controlling these two puppets."
"This place is not as simple as we imagined. We must be careful in the future."
Obito Uchiha pointed at Kakashi, "Kakashi, you just love to show off. I was just about to say those exact words."
Kakashi Hatake rolled his eyes and walked back in the direction they came from.
"Brother Yuzuru, we found a woman, but she got away."
"And two puppets attacked us. Could this be the work of Sand Village ninjas?"
Throughout the ninja world, only the ninjas of Sand Village were known for controlling puppets.
Yuzuru Uchiha nodded, "It's very possible."
Such opportunities were rare, and it was good to let Kakashi, Obito, and Shisui get some experience.
He could pamper his clansmen, but he would never raise them to be idiots who knew nothing.
As the three spoke, three more puppets holding sharp blades rushed towards them.
Yuzuru Uchiha frowned, silently stepping back and shielding the three in front of him.
Kakashi Hatake was the first to draw his short sword and charge forward, followed closely by Obito Uchiha, while Shisui Uchiha also activated his Sharingan.
The puppets were not fast; their only troublesome aspect was their ability to constantly revive.
So, it was relatively easy for Kakashi and the other two to deal with them.
"Brother Obito, Senior Kakashi, these puppets are controlled by chakra threads. We need to cut those threads to finish this quickly."
In his Sharingan, each puppet had several chakra threads connected to the intricate network of pipes in the air.
After Shisui Uchiha finished speaking, he immediately unleashed a Fire Style jutsu.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The fireball instantly engulfed the puppets.
Hearing his words, Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha also used their respective techniques.
"Lightning Style: Chidori!"
"Rasengan!"
After quickly smashing the three puppets in front of them, Kakashi Hatake, under Shisui Uchiha's guidance, imbued a Fuma Shuriken with chakra and threw it into the air.
This time, the three puppet fragments remained still.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Obito Uchiha and the other two were a little out of breath.
Encountering such constantly reviving puppets on their first mission had made them somewhat overreact.
"Kakashi, Obito, Shisui, try not to deplete your chakra when dealing with these things."
"Also…" Yuzuru Uchiha summarized their recent battle, "When fighting puppets, the first thing you should think of is cutting the chakra threads connected to them."
"Understood."
Just then, cheers erupted from not far away.
Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and the other two exchanged glances and immediately rushed towards the sound.
— — — —
— — — —
"I was wondering why I couldn't see anyone. So, they're all here?"
Looking at the crowd gathered not far away, Obito Uchiha, hiding in the shadows, couldn't help but feel surprised.
Cannons boomed, and floats paraded through the streets.
Various banners and ribbons fluttered in the wind.
Thousands of people in neat clothes stood on the street.
They looked up, raising their hands and cheering enthusiastically.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
"..."
Following the gaze of the crowd, Obito Uchiha and the others looked up and saw a woman, wearing a crown and a magnificent long dress, emerge from a projecting balcony of the tallest and largest tower, accompanied by two puppets.
Upon seeing the woman, the crowd's cheers grew even more fervent.
The woman smiled and waved to the people below.
"So she's the Queen…"
"She must know a lot about the Land of Loulan, right?"
Obito Uchiha suggested, "Let's go ask her first."
Shisui Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake both nodded, agreeing with Obito Uchiha's idea.
Just then, the woman high up in the tower suddenly let out a cry of surprise, and then the balcony shattered, sending the woman plummeting from a hundred meters in the air.
"Oh no!"
Obito Uchiha immediately stood up, ready to go and save the woman.
However, he was pressed down by Yuzuru Uchiha, who placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Obito, you're still young. You can't handle something like this. Leave it to me."
No sooner had Yuzuru Uchiha spoken than his body vanished from its original spot.
When he reappeared, he was already in mid-air, holding the Queen of Loulan in his arms.
After landing safely, Yuzuru Uchiha looked at the woman in his arms and asked, "Are you hurt?"
Hearing his voice, the woman opened her eyes, and then her mouth involuntarily dropped open, "So… so handsome…"
"Huh?" Yuzuru Uchiha hadn't expected the woman's first words to be that, so he could only say helplessly, "Actually, if you spend enough time with me, you'll realize that being handsome is just the least remarkable thing about me."
The woman then regained her senses. Seeing herself being held in a princess carry by a strange man, coupled with her instinctive words, she raised her hand to strike in embarrassment and anger.
"You rude fellow!"
Yuzuru Uchiha immediately grabbed the woman's smooth, fair wrist and said displeased, "Is this how you repay your savior?"
"Eh?!"
Only then did the woman remember that she had just fallen from the tower and almost lost her life.
"Then I should thank you first." The woman said with a touch of naivety, "Thank you for saving me."
Yuzuru Uchiha shook his head indifferently and asked, feigning curiosity, "It's nothing. What's your name?"
"Sara." Faced with Yuzuru Uchiha's handsome face so close, Sara shyly lowered her head, "C-can you please put me down first?"
"This… is a-a bit improper."
"Oh, you should have said so earlier." Yuzuru Uchiha said, pretending to have just realized, and placed Sara on the ground.
Sara snorted in annoyance.
Who would believe you!
While the two were talking, Obito Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake also arrived.
Seeing Yuzuru Uchiha save Sara, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"This is not the place to talk. Follow me."
Amidst Sara's exclamations, Yuzuru Uchiha picked her up again and headed towards the dilapidated tower where they had first spotted Sara.
That place could isolate the power of the Dragon Veins, so they wouldn't be disturbed by Mukade while discussing things there.