Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 275

Some people were scrambling to voice their opinions, others wore extremely grave expressions as they thought deeply, and still others were so frightened that the hoes in their hands trembled and dropped to the ground.

Naruto, however, simply looked at Sāra with a blank expression. Although she often said shocking things, she rarely joked. Still, she often ended conversations with a joking tone.

But this time, he didn't hear her say anything like, "I'm just kidding."

Over ten seconds passed. Sāra kept staring at the group of chattering women before her, but her pupils weren't focused. It was as if she wasn't really looking at any one person or thing in particular, more like she was waiting for something.

Then, a thunderous explosion tore through the night sky.

Boom!

Boom!

The noises echoed between the tall towers of Rōran. Everyone instantly stopped talking, and Naruto rushed to the window to see.

Though a slightly shorter tower blocked part of his view, Naruto could still see the massive cloud of dust rising from the square ahead. The booming sounds were coming from within that dust.

"What's going on? What happened?"

"An earthquake! It's an earthquake!"

With each blast, the tower itself shook violently. The timid Sarai screamed, hugging her head and collapsing to the floor.

But the more level-headed Masako shouted, "Don't panic! This is a desert region, earthquakes don't happen so easily here!"

"Then why is the ground shaking?" someone questioned. Masako couldn't give an answer.

"This..."

At that moment, Sāra spoke: "Now you understand, don't you? This country will be destroyed tonight.

"If you don't leave here, all of you will die."

Sāra repeated the same claim she had made earlier, but now that calamity had struck, no one could doubt her.

After all, the booming and shaking were happening right beneath their feet, who knew what even more terrifying things might follow?

Yet Sāra's words brought no comfort. Instead, they only drove everyone into greater panic.

Just then, the usually quiet Masako suddenly shouted, her sharp voice silencing everyone present.

"Quiet!"

The group immediately hushed, staring blankly at Masako, who stood with clenched fists.

"Although I don't know where you, Lady Sāra, obtained this information about the country being destroyed tonight..."

"...I will not leave until I find my husband!"

Masako's determined declaration gradually stirred agreement among the others.

"That's right! If I can't find my brother, I won't leave either!"

"Me too! If I can't find my family, then I'd rather die here than leave!"

Their sudden resolve in the face of disaster seemed to even startle Sāra. She swept her gaze across them with a look of mild surprise before returning to her usual expressionless state.

"Human society can only continue if both men and women exist together," she said.

"So take your men and leave with you."

Though her words carried a meaning no one fully grasped, her last sentence made everyone burst into joy.

"Wonderful!"

Seeing their relieved faces, Naruto's lips curled into a faint smile.

But when he turned to look at Sāra, expecting her to share in their happiness, she remained cold and expressionless, unmoved by the warmth of the moment.

She instructed two people to carry the black chest filled with treasures from the table, explaining that it contained essential supplies for their escape. Then she led the group down toward the base of the tower.

Throughout the city of Rōran, countless pipelines like cables ran through the streets, all converging on this central tower before disappearing into its foundation.

Sāra, however, seemed very familiar with the area. She quickly located a discreet underground entrance near the tower and led everyone inside.

"I didn't even know there was a passage here..." Masako murmured in awe as she looked at the walls lined with dense, winding pipes.

Meanwhile, Naruto never forgot his duty as a guard, staying close by Sāra's side.

Though he kept running forward, his eyes often darted toward her.

Who exactly is Sāra?

Why does she know so much?

How does she know Rōran will fall tonight?

And what about those words she said?

My father...

Naruto's thoughts returned to the blond-haired Konoha ninja he had encountered in the library.

Was that really my father?

If it was, then how did she know?

Once all of this was over, he would demand answers, about his father, and about Sāra.

Guided by Sāra, the group eventually reached a place filled with steam.

It was a massive assembly-line factory. Enormous machines belched steam while conveyor belts and chains continuously transported parts of puppet soldiers.

At the very bottom of the cavernous factory, dozens of gaunt, raggedly dressed men strained to push huge rotating machinery, their labor powering the entire operation.

"That's..."

Even from a distance, though the men were thin and worn from their toil, their families recognized them at once.

"Darling!"

"Brother!"

Their voices were faint, far too soft to reach those below.

Moreover, puppet soldiers armed with weapons stood watch nearby, making escape impossible.

"Leave this to me," Naruto said.

Now it was his turn to act.

He drew from his waist a chakra blade designed specifically to counter puppet techniques. Infusing it with chakra, the blade immediately flared with blue light, swelling in size.

At that moment, Sāra abruptly turned her head, eyes wide.

To be precise, her gaze locked not on Naruto himself, but on the chakra blade in his hand.

The glowing blue edge reflected brilliantly in her eyes, and she stared at it with the eager intensity of a child gazing at a toy in a shop window.

Naruto, oblivious to her reaction, leapt down with the blade and landed firmly on the lowest beam.

In a flash, he dropped to the ground. Before the puppets could react, Naruto's figure blurred several times, slashing through the chakra threads controlling them.

These were the weakest type of puppets, dangerous enough for ordinary people, but completely ineffective against a ninja like Naruto.

He cut down all the puppets, and at that moment, Sāra and a group of women from Rōran came down from the upper level of the factory by the stairs.

"Father! Brother!"

"Darling!"

The cries of family members echoed throughout the cold, merciless factory. Men and women embraced, tears of happiness flowing down their faces. Watching from the side, Naruto felt deeply comforted by the sight.

Yet, even though the scene was heartwarming enough for Naruto as an outsider to feel it, Sāra remained expressionless, her gaze occasionally drifting deeper into the factory pipes.

After a while, Sāra finally spoke, "This place is dangerous. It's time to leave."

At her reminder, everyone began heading back the way they came.

But strangely, the passageway that had been fairly quiet on their way in suddenly began to tremble. Dust continuously fell from the ceiling, as if the entire underground factory were about to collapse.

At last, everyone crawled out of the passage entrance, only to witness an unbelievable sight.

On the plaza in front of the Lost Tower, two enormous figures were locked in battle.

One was a gigantic puppet, similar in shape to the puppet soldiers, but its face bore a faint resemblance to Anrokuzan.

The other was a plump giant, a blown-up version of the chubby ninja who had earlier appeared alongside the yellow-haired ninja.

"This is..."

Naruto looked at the round-faced, red-haired giant. Something about his chubby cheeks and striking red hair reminded him of Chōji.

Not only were their appearances similar, but their fighting styles resembled each other as well.

The difference was that Chōji could only partially enlarge parts of his body, whereas this man could transform his entire body into an immense size.

The enlarged Konoha ninja was grappling furiously with the puppet, and their colossal struggle shook the ground around the plaza as if an earthquake were underway.

Meanwhile, another ninja on the ground raised his hands, releasing countless small black insects from the gourd on his back. They swarmed toward the puppet like a tide of darkness.

This jutsu looked familiar to Naruto, it was Shino's kikaichū. But the sheer number of insects controlled by this ninja was many times greater than Shino's.

The swarm clung tightly to the puppet's joints, making them harder and harder to move until the puppet collapsed completely. With no chakra threads to bind it, its parts scattered across the ground.

"Nice!"

Naruto shouted excitedly, overjoyed both at the Konoha ninjas' victory and amazed by the coordination of their techniques.

But the good moment didn't last long. Just as Naruto's cheer faded, the giant puppet began to reassemble. Invisible chakra threads pulled its pieces back together until it stood whole once again.

At that moment, Minato landed gracefully beside Naruto. Still masked, the only visible feature was his bright blond hair.

"Mukade is inside that giant puppet," Minato calmly analyzed, "but its defenses are extremely strong. As long as the Ryūmyaku remains open, he can endlessly draw power from it to recover."

"As long as the Ryūmyaku isn't sealed, he's nearly invincible."

Though he spoke with composure, Minato's eyes kept darting toward Sāra, carefully observing her reaction.

Only the Queen of Rōran could control the Ryūmyaku, its opening and sealing had been passed down through the royal line. Minato's analysis was really a veiled attempt to push Sāra into volunteering to shut it down herself.

But Sāra showed no reaction to Minato's hint. She stared at the battle in the plaza for a while, then turned to her people and said, "Alright, men and women, we can leave now."

Leave?

Her words made Minato panic for a moment. He quickly stepped forward.

"Where do you plan to go?"

"Of course, to leave this country," Sāra answered, though her face remained with that wide-eyed, blank expression.

"To leave? You are the Queen of Rōran, are you abandoning your own country?"

"Yes." Sāra nodded stiffly. "There is no more knowledge to be gained here. Besides, this country will be destroyed tonight. There's no reason to stay and be destroyed with it. I advise you as well, if you remain here, misfortune will also befall you."

Destroyed?

Destroyed by what? By Mukade?

Minato grew uneasy at her words, but Sāra had already begun leading the people of Rōran away into the darkness of the distant streets.

At last, Minato couldn't hold back. He voiced his true concern.

"Once you leave... how will the Ryūmyaku be shut down?"

Sāra's figure froze for a moment. After two seconds, she turned back with the most unexpected reply.

"That kind of thing... I don't remember."

Her face bore a playful, joking expression, though stiff, it was her usual style of speaking.

But given the situation, it felt like an extremely ill-timed joke.

Still, her meaning was clear. This Sāra was the Sāra who had lost her memories four years ago. Ever since she stopped hiding her amnesia, she had accepted it fully, no longer chasing after the past.

In other words, this "Sāra" had never learned the royal techniques to control the Ryūmyaku at all. Minato's plan had completely fallen apart.

Led by Sāra, the people of Rōran departed. Only a few turned back reluctantly, but in the end their figures faded, swallowed by the darkness of the ruined streets.

Throughout it all, Minato kept staring at Sāra's back as she left.

For some reason, watching her walk away sent chills coursing down his spine.

Thinking back on their conversation, he realized it hadn't felt like speaking with a normal human being at all, but rather with something... else.

If it weren't for the urgent matter of Mukade and the Ryūmyaku, he would have chased after her to uncover the truth of what sort of being he had just spoken with.

Unlike Minato, who kept staring at Sāra's departing figure, Naruto hadn't moved. He stood still, silently watching Minato instead.

Is this man really... my father?