The Ancient Kingdom of Loulan.
In terms of architectural refinement, it was no inferior to the capital of the Land of Fire—and in some aspects, it was even more extravagant.
With the Slime Shallow Protection Layer successfully blocking chakra detection, Kaito and his group officially entered the city.
Almost immediately, Kaito began sightseeing.
Just as the caravan merchants had said, Loulan was small in area, yet astonishingly luxurious.
This kind of modern, Western-style architecture normally only appeared much later—something closer to the era of Shippuden, like the church used for Naruto and Hinata's wedding.
"Impressive,"
Nawaki muttered from Kaito's right, wearing his horned mask.
"This minister Anrokuzan… he's got real ability. To single-handedly build peace and prosperity in a city like this."
On Kaito's left, Guren, wearing her sheep mask, walked forward quietly, her surprise clearly visible beneath it.
"Capable, yes," Kaito replied calmly.
"But it also means his ambition runs deep. What he wants won't stop at just one city."
They entered a well-decorated fruit shop.
Kaito noticed that the fruit here was cheaper and fresher than in Wind Capital—likely the result of trade routes connected to smaller nations in the Land of Rivers.
The shopkeeper muttered bitterly as he sorted his goods.
"The Queen hasn't appeared in ages… and that Anrokuzan suddenly wants to cut off foreign trade? What are we supposed to live on?"
Kaito picked up a crimson fruit.
"Boss, how much for this?"
The shopkeeper glanced at the masked trio and hesitated, then waved his hand.
"Forget it. Take it. One fruit isn't worth much."
Sweetfruit—about the size of a small plum, juicy and intensely sweet.
"Then give us three," Kaito said lightly.
"We're travelers, just tasting."
"Hey, wait—"
Kaito placed a 100-ryō Wind Coin on the counter.
"1,000 ryō per jin. Three fruits for a hundred. Fair."
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up immediately.
"Fair! Very fair!"
As Kaito ate, he casually asked:
"So… what's really going on in Loulan?
I heard a lot of trade's been cut off."
The shopkeeper sighed, finally finding someone willing to listen.
"At first, we thought Minister Anrokuzan was doing this for the country.
But business keeps falling, and the nobles don't care."
"And we can't even see the Queen anymore."
Crunch.
"I see," Kaito said, lowering his mask slightly as he bit into the fruit.
"Have you never thought about resisting? Or asking Sunagakure for help?"
The shopkeeper reacted instantly.
"Impossible! Our puppet exports to Sand Village are still active!
That's why their puppets are so cheap—Loulan craftsmanship!"
"We're just commoners. We obey. Resistance only gets you erased."
"Erased by…?" Kaito prompted.
The shopkeeper hesitated, then continued after seeing Kaito pay again.
"Several ministers loyal to the former Queen… after she fell ill, Anrokuzan started removing them one by one."
That was enough.
Kaito understood.
Anrokuzan—originally the rogue Sand ninja Mukade—had used advanced puppet technology and future knowledge to build Loulan's prosperity.
But just like in fate itself, Loulan's power source—the Dragon Vein—had already been sealed in the future by the Fourth Hokage.
Without infinite chakra, sustaining such a city was impossible.
The glowing buildings weren't powered by simple electricity.
They were using chakra converted into energy.
"Infinite chakra… time-traveling power…"
Kaito's voice dropped to a whisper beneath his mask.
"To use that just to become the strongest… that dream is far too small."
Nawaki stiffened.
So this is it… his true ambition…
"Of course," Kaito continued softly,
"the real use of the Dragon Vein… is creating a path between worlds."
Nawaki fell silent.
Kaito activated his Chakra Eyes.
Many of the pedestrians… weren't people at all.
They were puppets.
This 'prosperity' was a stage.
Soon, the Queen would die.
Sara would take the throne as a puppet ruler.
Patrolling puppet soldiers had already begun appearing.
When one passed Kaito, its eyes lingered for a second—then moved on.
"Surveillance," Kaito mused.
"Clever. But only workable in a single city."
The eyes of the puppets were monitoring devices—mobile cameras.
Anyone trying to seek outside help would be discovered instantly.
Suddenly—
"Wow—so tall!"
Kaito turned.
Two familiar figures stood nearby, backpacks marked with the Akatsuki emblem.
"Isn't that Brother Nagato and Brother Yahiko?" Guren whispered.
"They're here on business," Nawaki guessed.
Nagato's Rinnegan caught sight of them immediately.
"That's the Director… and Nawaki-jōnin!"
"Let's go say hi!"
"Don't," Kaito said flatly.
He grabbed Guren, veered down an alley, and leapt onto the rooftops, avoiding pursuit.
Below, Yahiko and Nagato stopped.
"They don't want to see us," Nagato said quietly.
"There's something wrong with this city."
Yahiko nodded.
"This city took five years to rise from nothing."
"One day… we'll change Rain Country too."
From above, Kaito watched them leave, then looked toward the inner palace.
"Noticed already, huh…"
His lips curved into a smile.
"So—who's our opponent?"
Almost immediately—
BOOM!
The rooftop exploded.
"Kaito! Already?!" Nawaki shouted.
"Of course," Kaito replied calmly.
"We jumped rooftops in a surveillance city."
Puppet constructs descended.
Kaito caught Guren instinctively.
She patted his hand.
"Teacher. I'm not a child anymore."
He looked down at her, then at the towering earthen puppet.
"…You're six now," he said.
"It's time for real combat."
Nawaki stared in disbelief.
"You're letting her fight that?!"
"Kids grow by getting hit," Kaito smiled, handing Guren a kunai.
"Go on."
Guren stepped forward confidently.
From afar, Anrokuzan watched through surveillance, chuckling.
"Sending a child to die… cruel."
The earthen puppet swung.
BOOM.
The wall cracked.
Guren slipped between its legs, her kunai extending into a pink crystal blade.
Crack.
The blade shattered—but it was enough.
The puppet grabbed her—
Only to freeze.
Crystalline spikes erupted from its core.
"Crystal Release: Crystal Thorn Technique!"
The 'Guren' it grabbed shattered—only a crystal clone.
The real Guren rose behind it, sealing the kill.
The puppet collapsed.
Anrokuzan's voice echoed in rage.
"Come to the Dragon Vein if you dare!"
Kaito laughed.
"Gladly."
He had already located everything:
The Queen — underground
Sara — upper palace
The Dragon Vein — deepest level
Anrokuzan — second floor
He patted Guren's head.
"Well done."
Then he turned.
"Let's meet the real one."
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito