"Teacher Minato, haven't we reached the mission site yet?"
Uchiha Obito sat wearily on the ground. Although the past two days of travel had been exhausting for him, seeing Nohara Rin almost unable to carry on, he spoke up on her behalf.
"Don't worry, we're almost there."
Minato glanced at his students. Because of the long route they took, they had been marching for a long time; now, besides Kakashi, who could still persevere, Nohara Rin was almost at her limit.
"Let's rest for a while, replenish your energy as soon as possible, and then continue on our way."
Minato surveyed the surrounding area, finding no signs of people around, so he instructed the team to stop and rest.
After replenishing some food and water, the six continued on their journey.
Upon reaching Loulan, Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin were both surprised. They had not expected to find such a bustling city in the desert, an oasis even rarer.
"First, gather information. Try to avoid encountering puppets; Obito, Rin, both of you follow me."
Namikaze Minato arranged the team, allowing them to spread out.
Though Kakashi was the same age as Obito, he was already a Chunin and had experienced several high-difficulty missions. Gathering intelligence was not difficult for him.
As for Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin, they had only recently graduated from Ninja School, and participating in such a mission was already against regulations, except Namikaze Minato believed he could protect them, allowing them to join the task.
The intelligence was not hard to gather; Namikaze Minato quickly discovered peculiarities and found the people of the Land of Loulan in a hidden basement.
Actually, six years ago, Loulan did not have puppets or Minister An Lushan; back then, Loulan was a beautiful oasis city amidst the desert.
The puppets and Minister An Lushan only appeared six years ago, not long before the previous Queen of Loulan passed away.
However, Princess Sarah was not yet of age at the time, so An Lushan controlled all affairs of Loulan.
Recently, they were holding a celebration for Princess Sarah, but this celebration was a trap, and anyone who attended would be captured.
After gathering this intelligence, Namikaze Minato returned to the meeting point.
Shortly after, Inuzuka Gaku, Aburame Shibi, and Kakashi also returned.
"There are indeed many puppets here; even the civilians are almost all puppets. I initially wanted to place a bug on every puppet I encountered, but now I've run out of bugs."
Aburame Shibi had a bug on his hand that kept moving, conveying information that only members of the Aburame Family could understand.
Inuzuka Gaku also spoke up, "No trace of the Hidden Sand Ninja was found. It seems like only An Lushan is causing this commotion, but controlling so many puppets, not even the strongest Puppet Master of the Hidden Sand Village could manage that, right?"
"It seems this is the power of the Dragon Vein..."
Namikaze Minato frowned slightly; Lord Hokage's concerns were valid. If the Hidden Sand Village learns about this power, they will undoubtedly stop at nothing to seize Loulan, then harness the power of the Dragon Vein to develop puppets.
Kakashi suddenly spoke, "Teacher Minato, I think I encountered other Konoha Ninja. Did Lord Hokage send other squads?"
Upon hearing this, Namikaze Minato frowned and asked, "No, did you encounter Anbu?"
"They didn't look like Anbu; they openly wore Konoha Headbands. There was one with black hair, one with pink hair, and one with blonde hair... Hmm, the black-haired one was from the Uchiha Race; he had the Uchiha Race's Round Fan on his back."
Kakashi described the features of the three he encountered. Not understanding the situation, he didn't approach to greet them.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Obito immediately said, "Uchiha? Teacher Minato, shall I go and take a look? I know most of the ninja in the clan."
Namikaze Minato shook his head and said, "No hurry; confirm their identities first. Kakashi, where are they?"
Kakashi thought for a moment and said, "Near the Royal Palace; they seem to be preparing to break into Queen Sarah's quarters... They've observed the terrain there several times and might act soon."
Upon hearing this, Namikaze Minato pondered briefly, then ordered, "Let's go over there too! When we encounter them, don't act immediately; follow my lead."
The other five, upon hearing the order, immediately followed Namikaze Minato, heading towards the vicinity of the Royal Palace.
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A day later.
Uchiha Yoichi prepared to absorb the Star Stone's power a second time. This time, he planned to operate the equipment himself; however, upon seeing him heading towards the basement, Uzumaki Minami asked and then followed him.
"Lord Yoichi, when absorbing the Star Stone's power, you'll lose consciousness. At that time, I'll need to awaken you..."
Uzumaki Minami lowered her head and said, then followed him into the basement and activated the equipment.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you, but this time, wake me with the Vajra Chain; don't touch my body."
Uchiha Yoichi instructed, fearing Uzumaki Minami might wet herself in the same spot for the third time; even the strongest sense of shame might not withstand it, so he warned her in advance.
The Star Stone's power seems capable of enhancing the Chakra of the Sharingan. During the last absorption, although he was dazed, the data in his brain was extremely active, and upon awakening, he felt his Pupil Power had slightly increased.
This made Uchiha Yoichi suspect that the Star Stone's power originated from the Ten-tailed.
Only the Ten-tailed's power could affect the Sharingan, as the Sharingan originates from the Divine Tree.
After connecting the equipment, Uzumaki Minami also carefully monitored the surveillance equipment. Having previously set a boundary, once it surpassed this value, she would immediately awaken Lord Yoichi.