Even though Sara kept muttering to herself inside her heart, 'Hmph! They clearly don't understand Anrokuzan all. Whether it's Uchiha Rengoku or those Konoha ninjas, they're all just talking nonsense.'
Yet, for some reason, deep down inside her, there was always a faint, indescribable sense of unease lingering.
Especially when she recalled that earlier scene. The person they had captured had actually looked exactly like a puppet. That uneasy feeling grew even stronger.
"Could it be… that there really is some huge conspiracy hidden behind all this?"
Sara frowned tightly, falling into deep thought.
'I have to know the truth.'
Her mind was in chaos, all kinds of messy thoughts tangled together.
At that moment, the words Rengoku had used to scold her suddenly flashed through her mind like lightning.
She could no longer suppress the anger in her heart and shouted indignantly, "I'm not an idiot!"
"Say you are one and you really are one. I already told you Anrokuzan is a bad guy, and you still insist on going to your death yourself."
Before the words had even fully fallen, that all too familiar voice suddenly rang out beside her.
Like a clap of thunder, it startled the completely unprepared Sara so badly that her whole body jolted.
"Who's there?"
Sara looked around in panic, but inside this small elevator, there was clearly only her, all alone.
You had to know, the place they were in right now was hundreds of meters up in the air.
"I'm right here."
As that sentence came, Sara abruptly turned her head and saw Rengoku steadily flying alongside the elevator from outside.
Seeing this, Sara's eyes went wide, her face full of disbelief and envy as she stammered, "Y-you can actually fly?"
Rengoku rolled his eyes, "Otherwise, how do you think I saved you when you fell off the balcony?"
As he spoke, the elevator had already arrived. Rengoku flew straight in from the corridor.
Unhurried, he pointed toward the passage outside the elevator.
"You're here already. Hurry up and go. Go throw yourself into the net, deliver yourself right into the tiger's mouth."
Sara looked toward the corridor outside the door. The long passageway, lit by dim yellow lights, looked especially eerie and frightening.
As if it had truly turned into the gaping jaws of some giant beast, ready to devour everything.
"Hmph! Fine, I'll go! I'll prove it to you, I'm not some idiot!"
Sara stomped her foot hard, as if mustering courage for herself, then stormed stubbornly toward the depths of the corridor without looking back.
Meanwhile, Rengoku folded his arms and followed leisurely behind her.
To be honest, even he himself could no longer clearly remember the exact plot details of this place.
But since things had already come to this point, he might as well accompany Sara and see it through.
Just then, the tightly shut door beside them suddenly flew open without any warning. A powerful force instantly yanked Sara inside.
Caught completely off guard, Sara only felt her vision blur, and she found herself in an unfamiliar room.
When she steadied herself, she was shocked to discover that more than a dozen people were gathered inside.
All of their faces were tightly covered with black cloth, making it impossible to see their true appearances, let alone know what they intended to do.
For a moment, fear and doubt rose in Sara's heart, and she could not help thinking to herself, "Could it be that someone really wants to take my life?"
Just as Sara was full of suspicion, she saw someone slowly walk out from the opposite side.
That person's steps were steady as they came straight up to her and carefully examined her from head to toe.
At the same time, a woman's voice filled with doubt came from beneath the covering, "Are you truly Her Majesty, Queen Sara?"
Faced with this question, Sara's expression hardened. She straightened her body and answered firmly, without backing down, "That's right. I am Queen Sara!"
Immediately after, she shouted righteously, "If you really intend to harm me, then come at me openly and honestly!"
However, what Sara did not expect was that after she personally confirmed her identity, the people opposite her all raised the various "weapons" in their hands in unison.
But upon closer inspection, these so-called "weapons" were nothing more than common farm tools like rakes and pitchforks.
At this moment, the woman who seemed to be their leader did not immediately attack as Sara had imagined. Instead, she said in a firm voice, "Hurry up and hand them over. Give them back to us…"
"Huh?"
Sara looked completely confused, clearly baffled by what the other party meant.
She subconsciously asked, "Give back? Give back what?"
Seeing that Sara was still utterly confused, the woman could only explain further, "If you don't return them, we don't know what we might end up doing."
The people behind her also raised their farm tools and shouted, "Give them back! Give them back!"
Just as Sara was gripped by fear, her body trembling uncontrollably, a powerful hand suddenly reached out, tightly grabbed her arm, and yanked her sharply behind.
Sara looked up and saw that it was Rengoku, arriving just in time.
In an instant, Rengoku moved and easily snatched the weapon from one person's hands.
Immediately after, he effortlessly lifted that person up, shaking them back and forth in the air like a toy.
"Ahhh! Let me go! Please, I beg you, spare me!"
The person being lifted was terrified, letting out childish, shrill cries for mercy.
Hearing that voice, Rengoku and Sara were both surprised to realize that this person was actually just a young child.
Rengoku frowned, then loosened his grip, letting the child fall back to the ground.
Seeing this, the others opposite them all let out a sigh of relief, and the tense atmosphere eased a little.
At the same time, one of them cautiously reached back and fumbled for something.
With a crisp "pa" sound, the lights in the room suddenly turned on.
The bright light instantly drove away the darkness, and everyone's faces were clearly revealed.
At this moment, the woman who had spoken earlier pulled off the black cloth covering her face, revealing a delicate, gentle-looking face, and softly said, "My name is Mako. Thank you for showing mercy just now and letting Sale go."
Clearly, Mako could tell that Rengoku had held back earlier, and so she bowed deeply to him in gratitude.
However, faced with Mako's thanks, Rengoku merely waved his hand lightly and did not say anything.
Then, Rengoku turned to look at Sara, who was still hiding behind him, somewhat shaken, and explained, "These people are your real citizens. But all the men in their families were forcibly taken away by Anrokuzan to serve as labor."
At this point, Rengoku paused, then added, "And Anrokuzan acted under your banner, falsely claiming that he was acting on your orders when he took those people away."
"That's why they came looking for you so aggressively, to demand their loved ones back."
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