Night.
The brilliance of the myriad stars could not be overshadowed even by the moonlight.
Numerous citizens of Rouran were methodically placing puppets into a spacious underground chamber.
After negotiations with Minato Namikaze, Seramu had agreed to seal away Rouran's existing puppets, to be kept until the end of the Third Great Shinobi World War.
Once the last puppet was placed in the underground chamber, Kakashi Hatake and Choza Akimichi slowly closed the stone door.
Minato Namikaze stepped forward and inserted a Flying Thunder God kunai into the seam of the door. Countless sealing formulas instantly crawled across the massive door.
After completing all this, Minato Namikaze nodded slightly to Seramu and vanished from the spot using the Body Flicker Technique.
After the crowd dispersed, Seramu stared blankly at the closed stone door. Even now, she found it hard to accept that the puppets, meant for Rouran's development, had been sealed away just like that…
Rouran's hope for further development had been handed over to outsiders…
Tap, tap…
Naruto's figure slowly emerged from the darkness, walking to her side and handing her a scroll.
"What is this?" Seramu looked at him, puzzled.
"The formula to release the seal." Naruto glanced at the formulas on the stone door—a combination of a Two Rites Seal and a Four Symbols Seal.
Perhaps for others, releasing such a combination seal would be extremely difficult, but for him, it would merely take a little more time.
After all, both he and Minato had learned from the same lineage.
"If Rouran ever encounters danger, you can break this seal and distribute the weapons inside to your people."
"Thank you." Seramu accepted the scroll with both hands. "But the people of Rouran will never use puppet techniques for war!"
Hearing this, Naruto couldn't help but turn his head to look at her. Seeing the earnestness in her eyes, he said, "The original meaning of weapons, in fact, is self-defense."
"Only by appropriately baring your fangs can you secure a peaceful environment for development."
Seramu was taken aback. This was the first time she had heard such a notion.
Although it differed from the education she had received, judging from her recent experiences, these words were correct.
"Could I hire you to be Rouran's security advisor?" Seramu asked.
"To this world, I am merely a passerby." Naruto shook his head, declining.
He tilted his head up, gazing at the star-studded night sky above. He could already clearly feel the pull from his original world.
"If you have the chance, you can try to establish contact with Amegakure. There's a group of people there willing to dedicate themselves to peace…"
Before he could finish speaking, an irresistible pulling force acted directly upon him.
Naruto's vision went black, and his head throbbed as if someone had struck him hard from behind.
Land of Wind, Rouran Ruins.
At the Dragon Vein sealing altar, Naruto's figure suddenly appeared.
He turned his head to survey his surroundings. Besides him, there was no one else around the altar.
"It seems the energy on Anrokuzan is still enough for him to stay for a while," Naruto thought to himself.
He looked down at the Dragon Vein energy in the abyss, which had become active due to the seal's release.
He remembered that the Rouran royal bloodline still had descendants.
The revived Dragon Vein energy might perhaps grant new life to this barren land.
Naruto glanced up at the domed building that had been destroyed by the sudden eruption of Dragon Vein energy and vanished from the spot.
Sāi was carefully climbing the domed building. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she actually sensed the Dragon Vein her mother had spoken of.
Originally, she had wanted to go directly to the sealing altar to check, but for some reason, the passage leading to the altar had bizarrely collapsed.
With no other way, she could only observe the Dragon Vein from a high place to see what changes had occurred.
Fortunately, the moon was very bright tonight, and no clouds obscured its light.
"The Dragon Vein… has revived?!!"
Gazing at the hazy purple energy below, Sāi was overjoyed and didn't notice the stone beneath her feet beginning to crack further under her weight.
Crack!
"Ahhh!!!"
Losing her support, Sāi's figure, pulled by gravity, fell straight towards the abyss below.
The height was sufficient to turn her into splattered flesh and blood upon impact.
"Is my life going to end just like this…?" Sāi watched the rapidly approaching altar and closed her eyes slightly. Whoosh!
A golden figure leaped from the walls on either side and caught her securely.
"It doesn't seem to hurt." Sāi's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She gently opened her eyes, and a golden light instantly filled her vision.
"Is this… heaven?" she thought.
Naruto's pupils moved slightly. Finding a foothold, his feet, clinging to the wall, pushed off lightly. He leaped up, and after landing, he placed the girl on the sealing altar.
"Who are you?" Sāi, having regained her senses, couldn't help but ask, looking at his retreating back.
Naruto glanced at her but didn't answer. His connection to the Rouran lineage was in another world.
Forcing his way through the collapsed passage, his figure disappeared into the darkness.
Staring at his vanishing back, Sāi took a long while to come to her senses. She quickly went to the edge of the altar, looking down at the hazy purple Dragon Vein energy.
Tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably.
"Mother, Rouran's hope has returned…"
Outside the Rouran ruins.
Several masked ninja stood in a staggered formation. Seven of them wore black robes, while only one wore a white robe.
Terai's attire was distinctly different from the others in the team; the unique white robe seemed to symbolize his transcendent status.
"According to Lord Danzo's instructions, the capture of the Jinchuriki is primarily to be a live capture. If resistance is encountered, he can be eliminated on the spot." Terai's tone was utterly indifferent, as if he weren't discussing a person's life or death.
"What if the Nine-Tails goes berserk?" Inuki, leaning against a rock, asked.
"You should know that the lives of a Tailed Beast and its Jinchuriki are bound together. In a life-or-death crisis, the Jinchuriki's will becomes exceptionally weak, and the Tailed Beast often takes advantage of this opening."
"Hideki will handle that problem," Terai replied.
A Root ninja with a snake-patterned mask raised a hand. "Please leave it to me, senpai."
"A newcomer?" Inuki's tone was full of doubt. "I don't trust my life to a newcomer!"
Although the others didn't speak, it was clear from their eyes that they too were unwilling to entrust their lives to a newcomer.
The ostracism from his comrades was palpable, but neither Captain Terai nor Hideki, the one being ostracized, showed much emotional change, as if everything happening was perfectly normal.
And indeed, it was.
From the first day they joined Root, the ideology instilled in them was: the mission is everything; Lord Danzo's orders are always correct.
Therefore, Inuki and the other Root ninjas' suspicion of Hideki was, in their perception, necessary and essential for completing the mission.
And although Hideki was only a temporary member of Root, due to his background, he had some knowledge of Root's situation, so he had no other thoughts about the current circumstances.
Doubt should be answered with a firm fist.
"Is this acceptable, Inuki-senpai?"
Another Hideki suddenly appeared behind Inuki, whispering softly in his ear.
"Shadow Clone Technique?" Inuki's tone remained unchanged, as if he had long since detected his presence. "This alone is not enough."
Saying that, he launched a vicious spinning kick at the shadow clone behind him.
Poof!
The shadow clone directly vanished in a puff of smoke.
"As expected of Inuki-senpai," Hideki nodded slightly.
"Let me see your true strength!" Inuki said, dissatisfied. He didn't believe someone acknowledged by Terai would only have this much skill.
"You've already seen it."
"Hmm?" Inuki's expression changed. He actually couldn't sense his own chakra anymore.
"A sealing jutsu? When?"
"While we were talking just now." As soon as Hideki's voice fell, a snake-like shadow slowly detached itself from Inuki's body.
The surrounding ninja watching the battle looked at this scene with strange expressions. Although they weren't sure exactly what had happened, from the exchange between the two, Inuki had been defeated.
It was important to know that Inuki was, among them, the one whose strength was closest to Captain Terai's.
Just as the two were conversing, the sensor-nin who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground suddenly opened his eyes.
"Captain Terai, he has appeared!"