Chapter 668: Go Talk to the Kazekage

The only thing he knew was that Kakashi had likely left about three months after his disappearance, and the current Ninja World seemed to believe he was dead.

"I should have left a Sand Ninja behind just now."

Lu Chen stroked his chin.

Located at the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, Loulan was naturally subject to ninja attacks. Previously, it could rely on the power of the Dragon Vein to resist, but now that the Dragon Vein's power was lost, it was inevitable that it could not withstand those ninja attacks.

Having wiped out the entire Sand Ninja squad in one go, he estimated that once the Sand discovered this advance squad had lost contact, they would immediately dispatch other squads.

If he had left one, that one could have gone back to report.

After thinking it over, Lu Chen decided to stay in Loulan for a few more days: on one hand to continue adapting to his newly acquired abilities, and on the other to see the good deed through to the end, ensuring Loulan was defended no matter what.

After all.

He had absorbed Loulan's Dragon Vein energy, causing Loulan to lose the power to deal with external enemies; otherwise, with Sara controlling the Dragon Vein, she would not be someone ordinary ninja could handle.

In the original story, Loulan's destruction was precisely because Minato Namikaze completely sealed the Dragon Vein, rendering Loulan unable to use its power... It seemed like a good deed, but in reality, it led to Loulan's ultimate demise.

It was as if, for the sake of the Ninja World's stability, Loulan was sacrificed.

After making his decision, Lu Chen looked at Sara and said, "The Sand Ninja will likely return. I'll stay a bit longer. Hmm... I'll also take this opportunity to check the progress of your ninjutsu training. Kakashi's ninjutsu is quite average; learning from him probably won't be very effective."

"Are you leaving?"

Sara asked hesitantly.

Lu Chen nodded and said, "I am a ninja; I cannot stay in one place. You need to be clear about that."

He naturally sensed Sara's feelings and had also learned from her that she had been waiting for his return, so he had to respond in some way. However, it was impossible for him to stay in Loulan forever.

There were still many things in the Ninja World he needed to do.

"..."

Sara bit her lip, then took a deep breath, looked at Lu Chen again, smiled sweetly, and said, "I am the Queen of Loulan; I do not need you to stay here forever."

Lu Chen tilted his head to look at Sara. He suddenly became curious about who Sara's father was; it seemed Loulan had always been a matriarchy.

But never mind.

He stopped thinking about those things.

Since Sara's will was so firm, as a man, he certainly should not make any moves unbecoming of a man.

Ten days later.

In the desert outside Loulan.

Lu Chen sliced down one ninja from the Sand squad with a single sword strike, leaving only the last one alive. After casting a cold glance at the survivor, he did not pursue further, allowing the ninja to escape.

"Is this enough?"

Sara approached with some concern.

Watching the ninja disappear into the desert, Lu Chen sheathed the Kusanagi Sword and said, "It's hard to say about those roaming ninja, but for the short term, the Sand Ninja Village should not easily invade here again."

Given his reputation in the Ninja World, his reappearance alone would be enough to make the Sand Ninja Village hesitate to attack Loulan for a while. However, since Loulan lay at the border of two great nations, roaming ninja would inevitably pass through.

Chunin and Genin were not much of a problem.

Sara now possessed strength equivalent to an elite Chunin, and the guards were roughly the same; they could probably handle some roaming ninja, but if they encountered a Jonin, it was uncertain.

Moreover, over time, Loulan would eventually be drawn into war, so further measures were still needed.

"Then..."

Sara looked at Lu Chen with concern.

Lu Chen smiled slightly, patted her shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, I will solve this problem. I just need to go have a talk with the Kazekage."

"Eh?"

Sara was stunned.

Go have a talk with the Kazekage?!

Although she did not know much about the ninja world, she knew the Ninja World had five great nations and five great ninja villages, and the supreme leaders of these five villages were the ninja known as the Kage.

The Kazekage, then, was the leader of the Sand Ninja Village, right?

Sara hesitated and said, "Um, I remember you are a ninja from Konoha. According to Kakashi, your Konoha seems to be at war with the Sand Ninja Village, so how could you..."

"That is indeed the case."

Lu Chen smiled lightly and said, "The war probably hasn't ended yet, but just because the war hasn't ended doesn't mean we can't 'have a talk.' Don't worry, I will solve it."

Sara still found it hard to understand, but Lu Chen's words instinctively made her trust him.

She looked at Lu Chen and asked, "Are you leaving now?"

Lu Chen nodded, then smiled and said, "I will come by often when I have time. However, to defend Loulan, you must also become a powerful ninja."

"Mm!"

Sara nodded vigorously.

One day later.

Lu Chen left Loulan, crossing the desert alone, heading west.

Destination—

The Land of Wind, the Sand Ninja Village!

The Land of Wind.

Temporary Camp.

This was a small temporary camp with over two hundred people stationed there, aiming to conduct some harassment along the border of the Land of Fire and to constantly gather intelligence on Konoha.

Ever since Konoha's Silver Flash disappeared and was replaced by the Golden Flash, shaking the Ninja World, the offensives by the various ninja villages against Konoha had eased significantly, and they almost dared not launch large-scale wars.

Because the leaders of the various ninja villages all understood clearly that a ninja like Minato Namikaze, once on a large-scale battlefield, would unleash terrifying combat power.

A small-scale battle would at least keep the enemy too busy to cope.

Inside a certain tent.

Yuki Kanzaburo, an elite Jonin of the Sand Village and leader of this camp, was now deeply troubled.

A twenty-man reconnaissance squad sent to the Land of Fire had lost contact a month ago; no information had been received since, leading to the guess that they had encountered Konoha ninjas and been crushed by them.

Then.

Half a month ago, another ten-man force he had dispatched to seize Lulan and prepare it as a forward camp had also gone missing.

This left him confused about the situation; he even suspected Konoha had already taken Lulan. After much hesitation, he finally sent a squad of scout ninjas to Lulan to check the situation.

"Why haven't they returned yet..."

Kanzaburo slammed his fist on the table in irritation.

The scout squad he had sent was ordered only to scout, not to fight; their task was to check the situation in Lulan and the status of the earlier squad, then return immediately. By all calculations, they should have been back long ago.

"Damn it!"

After slamming the table, Kanzaburo couldn't help but curse again.

He wasn't cursing the scout squad, but Konoha. The Third Kazekage had been their Sand Village's strongest Kazekage; with his leadership, they feared no village.

Yet the Third Kazekage had mysteriously vanished, suspected to be the work of Konoha. The subsequent war against Konoha also ended in failure after a monster ninja known as the Silver Flash rose up in Konoha.

With great difficulty...