233. Puppets
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Naruto stood in front of Sara, pointing toward the cheering crowd below. "Don't you think something was weird about them earlier? You fell, and they were still cheering. What's up with that?"
Sara hesitated, her voice shaky. "Maybe… maybe they just didn't notice…" But even she didn't believe her own words. When she was on the balcony, the crowd had been watching her every move. Something about it was undeniably wrong.
Naruto sighed. "Hold on a second. I'll go grab someone to ask." He disappeared into the crowd with practised stealth, his ninja skills keeping him unnoticed.
Minato, watching from above, couldn't help but smile in approval. Naruto's movements were smooth and professional he clearly had solid training.
As Naruto moved closer to the crowd, he immediately noticed something strange. The "people" in the square weren't people at all.
They were puppets, controlled by chakra strings. Not a single one was real. The entire scene had been manufactured to deceive Sara.
Naruto frowned. "This… is creepy." He raised a finger, gathering chakra at the tip. With a quick flick, he released a tiny, controlled attack: "Miniature Rasenshuriken!"
The small Rasenshuriken zipped through the air, cutting several chakra threads in an instant.
The affected puppets collapsed mid-cheer, some crashing into others before falling into a heap on the ground.
Naruto grabbed one of the disabled puppets and returned to Sara and the others, dropping it at her feet. "Here. This is one of your loyal 'subjects.' The square's full of them."
Sara gasped, covering her mouth in disbelief. "This… can't be…"
Minato knelt beside the puppet and examined its design. "Sara," he said gently, "think about it. Who in Rōran could create something like this without your knowledge?"
Sara clenched her fists as the truth began to sink in. Only one person could be responsible. "Anrokuzan… no, Mukade." Her voice trembled with a mix of anger and betrayal.
"I need to ask him myself," she declared. "Why would he do something like this?"
Naruto stepped forward, raising his hand to stop her. "Wait. Don't you think it'd be better to hear what your real people have to say first?" He pointed in two directions. "I can sense actual people gathering in those spots. They might know what's going on."
Sara hesitated, clearly torn.
"You're the queen, aren't you?" Naruto pressed. "If they're imprisoned or suffering, shouldn't you care about them?"
The guilt in Sara's eyes was obvious. She finally nodded. "Alright. Let's go."
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Naruto led them to a small, inconspicuous door hidden in an alleyway. He knocked, but there was no response.
"I'll handle it," Shibi said, stepping forward. A swarm of his kikaichū insects flowed through the cracks in the door. Moments later, the bolt clicked, and Shibi pushed the door open to reveal a room filled with old men, women, and children clutching wooden sticks and farming tools.
The group looked up in fear at the sudden intrusion. A strong-willed woman stepped forward, holding a makeshift weapon. "Are you… Queen Sara?"
Sara stepped inside, her voice soft but clear. "What's going on here?"
The woman, Mako, bowed deeply. "Your Majesty, please… return our families to us!" Others followed her lead, pleading tearfully for Sara's help.
Mako explained how, one day, armed puppets had come to their homes and taken away all the adult men.
The soldiers claimed it was under the queen's orders. Since then, no one has seen or heard from their loved ones.
"I… I never gave such an order!" Sara's voice shook with guilt as she looked at the frightened faces around her. "This is all my fault… I wasn't paying attention…"
Minato placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. Mukade likely used your name to carry out his plans. You can still make this right."
Naruto nodded toward the door. "Let's head to the other gathering point. That's probably where he's keeping them."
Before leaving, Sara turned back to the room and placed a hand on her chest. "I swear on my name as queen I will bring your loved ones back safely."
Her sincerity lit a spark of hope in the room. The people bowed as Sara and her group left.
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Naruto led them to the base of a massive tower. Pointing to a vent near the ground, he said, "The real people are under here. What's this place for?"
Sara inspected the vent and thought for a moment. "This is part of the power grid for the Dragon Vein. It distributes chakra throughout the city… but I didn't know there were underground facilities here."
Minato frowned. "Then this must be where Mukade is manufacturing his puppets."
Sara's expression hardened. She was finally ready to accept the truth about Mukade.
Naruto pried the vent open and climbed down first, with Sara and the others following. As they descended into the dimly lit underground, Naruto glanced up briefly, then quickly looked down, muttering under his breath. I shouldn't have looked. I definitely shouldn't have looked.
At the bottom, the group found themselves in a massive factory filled with puppets in various stages of construction. Dozens of men shackled and gaunt, were being forced to operate the machinery under the watchful eyes of armed puppets.
Sara gasped in horror. "This… this is what he's been doing?"
Naruto scowled. "I don't get it. He's got all these puppets. Why bother forcing people to do manual labour?"
Minato inspected the machinery. "It's likely the puppets lack the fine motor skills needed for this work. Mukade still needs human hands to complete certain tasks."
Sara's eyes narrowed as she spotted the factory's power source. "Take me there. I can cut off the Dragon Vein's power to this place."
The group surrounded Sara as they moved toward the glowing sigil at the heart of the factory. As they approached, the puppets detected their presence and attacked.
Naruto, Minato, Choza, and Shibi quickly engaged, holding off the puppets while Sara knelt before the sigil.
Placing her hands on her chest, she began chanting an incantation to sever the factory's connection to the Dragon Vein.
Naruto glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and muttered to himself, "What's next? 'Demons, ghosts, and monsters leave'?" He smirked but kept his focus on the battle.
With Sara's incantation complete, the sigil dimmed, and the factory powered down. The Dragon Vein's influence was temporarily contained, but the group knew this was only the first step in stopping Mukade for good.
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