Loulan was a tiny desert nation, caught between the two massive powers of the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
For a very long time, it had been an obscure, unnoticed little existence.
It was only after that puppet master who used the alias Anrokuzan arrived in the country and unearthed the enormous power it had kept hidden all this time that Loulan finally gained a name of its own in the shinobi world—
The City of Miracles.
That magnificent city, pushed to the limits of splendor and beauty, was so grand that it almost seemed to have been built by gods and celestial beings themselves. Even today, and even decades into the future, there would still be no city in the shinobi world capable of surpassing its majesty.
But now, that former City of Miracles had been reduced to ruins that could not even be called broken walls.
And the people of Loulan who had once lived within that miraculous city had, with Loulan's collapse, become displaced remnants wandering over their homeland.
On one hand, they wanted to restore Loulan's former glory.
On the other, they could only accompany a reality that showed no improvement, and even worsened day by day.
They held hope in their hearts.
But all they could see was disappointment.
After Sunagakure's intelligence system finally confirmed that no further information or leads regarding the Root organization could be found, the joint investigation team ultimately reached the point of dissolution.
After leaving behind contact methods that would allow every side to reconnect quickly if anything happened in the future, Rasa and Jiraiya returned to their respective villages.
Nagato and Shisui Uchiha, after putting on the appearance of each returning home separately, silently regrouped once more.
Then, they arrived at the first stop of their secret operation.
The ruins of the former Kingdom of Loulan.
"What a barren and decadent sight… The contrast between its former prosperity and its current desolation must be enough to stab deep into the heart."
Shisui Uchiha stood on Loulan's former territory, looking down at the Gobi desert beneath his feet, where no trace of human settlement or civilization could be seen anymore.
He sighed with emotion.
"Tch. Logically speaking, this place should have been destroyed only shortly before the Third Shinobi World War, right? How did it decline into this state in such a short time…? That doesn't make sense."
The white snake lying on Shisui Uchiha's shoulder flicked its tongue, somewhat unable to understand the scene before it.
"Perhaps it is because the desert environment is too harsh. For those surviving remnants of Loulan, merely staying alive may already require everything they have."
Nagato picked up a fragment of building material from the sand beneath his feet.
It looked as if it had once been dazzling and extraordinarily beautiful.
He shook his head and said,
"Let us go. We should first try to locate Loulan's remnants through the nearby water sources. If they are still living on this land, then water is a problem they cannot avoid no matter what."
"Mm. At a time like this, I really do envy the Rinnegan's abilities, Nagato."
Shisui Uchiha looked at Nagato, who had already begun floating into the air through the power of the Deva Path, and said with a little envy and helplessness,
"I still have to activate the second state of the Cursed Seal of Heaven before I can gain the ability to fly."
"Enough. Looking across the entire shinobi world, shinobi who possess the ability to fly on their own are still a minority among minorities. The fact that you can fly is already enough to surpass over ninety percent of shinobi."
Rei Kaguya, in white snake form, irritably flicked Shisui Uchiha's neck with his tail.
"Don't be too greedy."
"That isn't necessarily true, is it, Lord Fourth?"
Shisui Uchiha spread his black wings. While chasing Nagato's figure up into the sky, he complained to the white snake lying on his shoulder,
"I remember that in my clan's historical records, there was once a village in the shinobi world called the Sky Ninja Village, right? Although all of them could fly, weren't they still destroyed by Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War?"
"Then first think about what kind of lineup Konoha had during the Second Shinobi World War, all right?"
Rei Kaguya showed him a look of contempt in return.
"The Third Hokage in his prime, Danzo Shimura, and the two Hokage advisors. The Sannin, who had already grown up. Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake. They even still had Mito Uzumaki, who retained combat ability. Just what level would the Sky Ninja Village need to be at in order to beat them?"
"…Lord Fourth, why do you seem to understand Konoha from that era even better than I do?"
"Reading more history helps one see reality clearly. The nations of the shinobi world do not pay enough attention to recording and passing down history, which is why they keep repeating the mistakes their predecessors already made again and again…
"Although valuing history does not necessarily mean one will never repeat mistakes, it should still at least delay those mistakes from erupting. Make them come later. Make them come slower."
…
Amid such aimless casual chatter, the two people and one snake soon found a water source near the ruins of Loulan.
Following the water source to search the surrounding area, the remnants of Loulan who still lived here also appeared within their field of view.
However, the first contact between both sides could not be called pleasant.
"You want to visit Queen Sara? No! The queen has been overworked recently. This is precisely the time when she needs to properly recuperate. We cannot let you shinobi, who only bring trouble and conflict, affect her mood!"
The short, chubby little guard gripped the crude weapon in his hand tightly, his eyes wary as he examined Shisui Uchiha, who wore a Kirigakure forehead protector.
"My apologies. The queen's health has indeed been poor lately. After Loulan collapsed overnight, we have not issued any mission commissions to the outside world in a very long time. Please return, both of you. I hope you will not make things difficult for us."
Although the other queen's guard spoke in a more polite tone, the rejection and resistance in his words were equally undisguised.
"We are not…"
Shisui Uchiha opened his mouth, wanting to calmly explain their group's purpose to the two guards.
But before he could finish speaking, the white snake lying on his shoulder spoke to Nagato beside him in a tone that clearly feared the world was not chaotic enough.
"Nagato, use the Rinnegan's genjutsu. Now. Immediately. At once."
"Huh? Uh…"
Nagato was first startled by Rei Kaguya's words.
Then he shook his head with a helpless expression and softly said to the two queen's guards, whose faces had changed abruptly,
"My apologies. Please have a brief dream, you two."
The moment his voice fell, before the two queen's guards, who did not even possess chakra, could shout aloud, their gazes and expressions had already turned docile under the power of the Rinnegan.
After attentively stepping aside, the short, chubby one smiled with a clumsy, charming expression and said to the two of them,
"S-Sorry. We mistook you for the sort of annoying shinobi who only cause trouble… Please, please go in. The queen just drank her medicine. Her condition should have stabilized now."
"We will try our best not to disturb the queen."
Nagato nodded. Then he casually pulled Shisui Uchiha, who seemed like he wanted to say something, into Queen Sara's residence.
After that, he casually set up a soundproofing barrier before turning his gaze toward Shisui Uchiha, whose face was filled with confusion.
"Why did you use genjutsu on them? Did we not come here to negotiate properly with Loulan's queen?"
"Because our time is valuable. There is no need to waste it on meaningless back-and-forth with them, or on the troublesome matter of earning their trust."
Rei Kaguya's lazy voice rang out.
"Besides, a simple genjutsu like this will not even leave any aftereffects. What need is there to hesitate and fear using it?"
"So this is… cough, cough… this is the attitude you bring when you want to negotiate with me?"
A hoarse female voice, constantly broken by coughing, sounded from inside the small house.
Nagato and Shisui Uchiha both turned their gazes toward the direction of the voice.
A woman with long reddish-brown hair, a pretty and youthful face, but a body so thin she did not look like a young girl at all, was leaning beside the bed.
She was panting heavily, her eyes filled with anger as she looked at them.
"Because the business we want to discuss could not have left you with a good first impression anyway. Since that is the case, why waste effort building up an initial reputation that might not even last a minute?"
The white snake on Shisui Uchiha's shoulder yawned.
Its voice was extremely languid.
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