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Two months later.

The Rōran Ancient Kingdom of old had now become a vast, beautiful oasis. Flowers bloomed everywhere, lush trees surrounded it, and at its center lay a lovely crescent-shaped lake.

The residents who had once left Rōran had all returned. Though the Dragon Vein’s energy was gone, the wind and sand could no longer erode Rōran in such an environment.

At that moment, a fierce battle was underway at the edge of Rōran.

"Wood Release—Hell Chaos!"

"Wood Release—Thorn Kill!"

Sara and Nagato Uzumaki were constantly clashing with Wood Release. Come to think of it, neither of them had much combat experience using Wood Release. Queen Sara went without saying—she had never even been a ninja before. Nagato Uzumaki had also relied entirely on the power of the Rinnegan in the past.

So, not only was Queen Sara learning how to fight, Nagato Uzumaki was also considering how to improve his fighting style.

Forget the two of them—even Yota rarely fought using Wood Release, since it did not fit his previous combat system at all.

Thus, the three of them were still constantly adjusting and refining their abilities.

Yota hoped to fuse the Rinnegan, Wood Release, and the Dark-Dark Fruit into one. Nagato Uzumaki wanted to combine the Uzumaki Clan’s Adamantine Sealing Chains with Wood Release. As for Queen Sara, it was still too early to talk about such things. She was currently in the process of learning Wood Release.

Of the three, Yota’s progress was the fastest. Compared to the rigorous precision of ninjutsu, developing a Devil Fruit was far more freeform. Yota might not have had much of a way to improve his Wood Release, but extending the Dark-Dark Fruit’s power into Wood Release was extremely easy, and fusing it with the Rinnegan was easier still.

As for Nagato Uzumaki, he had only just begun to grasp the basics. On top of that, he was serving as Queen Sara’s teacher, training her in Wood Release. This battle was a teaching match between the two.

At the same time, their training also served to green Rōran. After their battles, the places where they had used Wood Release became the source of Rōran’s forests.

In the end, Sara’s lack of experience got the better of her. She was tricked by one of Nagato Uzumaki’s Wood Clones, then captured with Wood Release.

"Alright, the battle is over." Watching the result, Yota clapped his hands. "Sara, you’ve improved incredibly fast over these past two months. You’re already a true Kage-level expert. Looks like we can rest easy now."

Of course, lacking experience in life-and-death battles and having never undergone basic training, Queen Sara was an extremely lopsided Kage-level expert. Still, she could only make up for those shortcomings gradually in the future.

Hearing Yota’s words, Queen Sara frowned slightly. "You’re leaving?"

"That’s right. I’ve already absorbed enough Dragon Vein energy. Why stay in this godforsaken place?" Yota said indifferently.

Queen Sara shot him an angry glare. What did he mean by a godforsaken place? Rōran was renowned as the pearl of the desert!

Nagato Uzumaki nodded as well. Now that he had cast off all his burdens, he did not care where he went. After staying in Rōran for over two months, he had indeed grown tired of desert scenery.

"If you leave, what am I supposed to do? What if those ninjas covet Wood Release? Won’t they tie me up and drag me into a laboratory?" Queen Sara asked Yota, her voice lacking confidence. She was still so young—she did not want those terrifying ninjas cutting her into slices!

Seeing Sara’s slight panic, Yota smiled. "It’s fine. The modifications I performed are no different from a Bloodline Limit awakened naturally by one’s body. They won’t be able to discover my modification methods from you."

"So that’s how it is… Wait, no! Doesn’t that mean I’d still end up on an operating table?!" Queen Sara first sighed in relief, then realized what he meant and cried out in frustration.

"Damn it, I really fell for your trick. Now I’m completely aboard your pirate ship."

In the desert, Queen Sara, who had already left Rōran, wore an angry expression as she grumbled nonstop.

Yota smiled, turning a deaf ear to Queen Sara’s complaints. If Sara truly had not wanted to go, she would have long since asked Yota to undo his modifications.

Though Sara had been forced to leave her homeland and join a terrifying organization this time, Rōran had at least truly been saved.

With so much vegetation to retain water and block sand, Rōran’s environment would not worsen for decades as long as there was no large-scale deforestation.

Whether Rōran still had Sara as its Queen no longer mattered. In fact, because of Queen Sara, Rōran might even be implicated. That was also why Sara had decisively chosen to leave.

"Alright, stop complaining." Yota glanced at Sara. "You may look angry, but you’re not really upset at all, are you?"

"Could it be because this is the first time you’ve ever left Rōran and truly felt freedom?"

Yota’s words struck right at Sara’s heart. Though she had been called Queen in Rōran, it had actually been little different from being imprisoned, except the prison was larger.

Just consider An Lushan’s scheme. He had replaced all the citizens with puppets, yet the Queen had not even known. That showed just how completely isolated she had been from the outside world.

After An Lushan’s conspiracy fell apart, the Queen had needed to work for the survival of all Rōran’s people. In all her life, Sara had actually never felt as relaxed as she did at this very moment.

Of course, with her slightly tsundere personality, Sara would never admit it.

Underground Exchange.

Kakuzu pushed open a hidden door and walked out carrying a suitcase.

Only a few minutes after leaving, he saw someone blocking the road ahead—a man wearing a black cloak patterned with red clouds and a swirl mask.

Looking at the hostile-looking man before him, Kakuzu frowned. "Could you take off your mask and let me see your face?"

Hearing this, Obito Uchiha immediately recalled the Black Shadow Ninja who had left him in such a sorry state. He spoke coldly, "What? Does my mask make you afraid?"

"Of course not." Kakuzu shook his head. "If I can’t see your face, I won’t know how much your bounty is. What if your bounty is extremely high, but I smash your head to pieces? Wouldn’t that be a huge loss for me?"

"And if you don’t have much of a bounty, then getting tangled up with you would just waste time I could spend making money. Either way, it’s a losing deal for me."

Obito Uchiha nearly choked on his own breath. Though White Zetsu’s intelligence had already told him that this strongest Bounty Hunter Ninja, who was as famous as the Black Shadow Ninja, valued money as much as his life, he had not expected him to be this confident and greedy.

Obito Uchiha no longer wanted to waste words on Kakuzu. He formed hand seals with both hands. "Fire Release—Storm Dance!"