Amidst the towering structures, a golden figure flashed past in an instant.
Neither the puppets working in mid-air nor the people of Rouran walking between the buildings noticed anything amiss.
So many puppets? Naruto was inwardly alarmed. Just the number of puppets he had seen on his way here was enough for a small-scale battle.
Although most of these puppets were engaged in production, their war potential was undeniable…
He remembered that when he first arrived in Rouran, there weren't nearly this many puppets; production relied on simple manpower.
In just one short year, had Rouran completed an industrial revolution…
However, this otherworldy version of a 'mechanical revolution' further confirmed his suspicions.
Ninja were not merely killing machines; they definitely possessed extraordinary potential in production.
Sensing the Queen of Rouran's chakra, Naruto temporarily set aside his thoughts. His body, already in Kurama Mode, instantly vanished from the spot.
To be honest, even he didn't have an accurate measure of just how fast he became after entering Kurama Mode.
A vague concept was that using the Body Flicker Technique in his normal state was completely incomparable to his high-speed movement in Kurama Mode.
Under the sky full of puppets, Naruto didn't immediately reveal himself.
Since the Queen of Rouran had lit the keepsake he left, it meant she had encountered difficulties. But what kind of difficulties, he wasn't clear on yet. He could only proceed with caution.
If those puppets filling the sky were an enemy's doing…
But the Dragon Vein energy had been sealed by the Fourth Hokage, his father…
Sensing the chakra just beyond the wall, Naruto stopped pondering who the enemy might be. The mystery would be unveiled soon enough anyway.
"Better to hear what the Queen of Rouran has to say first."
"Your Majesty, to ensure the smooth construction of public facilities and to better defend against external enemies, I request a further expansion of puppet production scale," Anrokuzan suggested, looking at the woman on the throne.
He had thought it through. This external enemy wasn't just a risk; it was accompanied by an unprecedented opportunity.
Just like the usage rights to the Dragon Vein energy—if not for the pressure from external enemies, he didn't know how much effort it would have taken for him to advance further.
"I will consider it." Seramu did not agree immediately.
The external enemy was a danger, but Anrokuzan was also not someone who could be completely trusted.
She needed to accurately grasp the balance point between the two.
"Your Majesty…" Anrokuzan was about to say more.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the hall, right beside him.
Sensing that familiar chakra, Anrokuzan's expression changed. Although a year had passed, he would never forget that inhuman chakra, even now that he had mastered a portion of the Dragon Vein energy.
He still felt a shiver of fear towards the bastard who had suddenly appeared and coerced him into unsealing the Dragon Vein.
Naruto looked at the portly man beside him with puzzlement.
If not for that bizarre chakra, he would never have recognized this overweight man as the once rail-thin Suna ninja.
"Your Majesty, please apprehend him immediately! His danger level absolutely exceeds those few ninja from before!"
Anrokuzan, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, leaped to the side and quickly advised the woman on the throne.
He couldn't handle that bastard, but someone else could.
Seeing Naruto, Seramu's face lit up with joy. This was especially true when she saw Anrokuzan's expression, which was like a mouse seeing a cat; the smile on her face grew even brighter.
"Lady Seramu." Naruto withdrew his gaze from Mukade. Although this fellow's chakra had become even stranger, his weak state hadn't changed. He was not a cause for concern.
"I have come for the promise I once made."
"Thank you for your trouble." Seramu descended from the throne, secretly observing the boy before her. After a year's separation, their height difference had shifted from her looking down to them being eye-to-eye.
But what startled her more was the boy's aura—it was the kind of presence one only acquired from holding a high position for a long time, just like hers.
Though still faint, there was no doubt that the boy from before had grown into a powerful figure wielding authority.
Seeing the two enter a state of conversation, Anrokuzan's heart couldn't stop sinking.
The woman clearly knew that bastard. That sense of closeness was something even he, a minister who had poured his heart and soul into Rouran, had never experienced. Undoubtedly, when it came to playing the sentiment card, he was inherently at a disadvantage…
He couldn't win in a fight; he didn't have the foundation to pressure them with authority…
"Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered I have some puppet research and development unfinished. You two chat…" Anrokuzan said hastily.
With this bastard around, his proposal to expand puppet production probably had no soil to grow in.
Though he was very puzzled why this fellow hadn't dealt with him immediately, being able to stay alive was always a good thing.
"Lord Anrokuzan, please wait a moment." Seramu, however, stopped him.
The ninja invasion was just an accident. Her initial purpose in inviting Lord Naruto was to curb the growth of Anrokuzan's power.
"I have little understanding of the ninja world, and I'm somewhat undecided on whether to expand puppet production. So, I invited Lord Uzumaki to help me make a judgment," Seramu said with a smile. "Lord Anrokuzan, what do you think, is that acceptable?"
"Ahaha… Is that so…" Anrokuzan laughed, but the smile looked forced no matter how one looked at it.
"He is indeed suitable, very suitable…"
"You two know each other?" Seramu asked in surprise.
Naruto watched this scene with a blank expression. Though he didn't know what this woman's purpose was, it was best to just watch quietly.
"Know him? Of course, I know him." Seeing the matter settled, Anrokuzan's heart surprisingly calmed down.
Worst comes to worst, it's just death. Who's afraid of whom?
"Right, Lord Uzumaki?" Anrokuzan looked at the bastard before him. This was the first time he had learned this bastard's name.
"…" Naruto was speechless. Didn't I just coerce him that one time? Is it necessary to hold such a big grudge? "If you have something to say, please say it clearly," he said to Seramu.
He hadn't come here to play political games.
"The current situation is tense. Wasting too much time benefits no one."
Seramu was taken aback by his words. Did he not understand her meaning?That's not right. Such a simple, almost transparent political maneuver should be understood by anyone in power, right?
After all, Anrokuzan was a minister of Rouran. If she directly stated her intention to limit his authority, it wouldn't be appropriate…
"…" Seeing this, Naruto sighed inwardly. This was why he hated dealing with politicians.
If you want to restrain someone, just restrain them. Why all the convoluted detours…
"Briefly explain the situation to me."
Hearing this, Seramu abandoned any thought of beating around the bush and directly stated the predicament she faced.
After understanding the cause of the matter, Naruto turned his head to look at Anrokuzan beside him.
He finally understood why this fellow's chakra had become even more bizarre than before. So, he had fused with a portion of the Dragon Vein energy.
As a Jinchuriki himself, Naruto immediately understood Anrokuzan's intentions.
"Turning yourself into a Pseudo-Jinchuriki to bypass Seramu and directly control the Dragon Vein energy. A genius idea, Anrokuzan," Naruto praised.
The Dragon Vein energy, whether in scale or quality, was not much weaker than a Tailed Beast. More importantly, it lacked sentience.
A significant portion of the risk in being a Jinchuriki, a high-risk profession, came from the sentience of the Tailed Beasts.
Even a pig could become sentient if it lived long enough.
Let alone the Tailed Beasts, who had been taught by the Sage of Six Paths.
Take Gaara at the beginning, why was he afraid to sleep? Wasn't it because Shukaku would exploit the opening when his will weakened during sleep?
And Kurama at the start wasn't any different. To make him lower his guard, he constantly used words to entice and seduce him, offering power in exchange for his body. If it had been any other Jinchuriki whose mind hadn't yet matured, they might have been completely fooled by him.
Perhaps compared to Tailed Beasts, a non-sentient energy body like the Dragon Vein was more suitable for the Jinchuriki system.