Chapter 46 - The Location of Rouran

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Sakumo Hatake and the others quietly exited the forest created by the Wood Release technique. Fortunately for them, they did not encounter Madara Uchiha.

Of course, Madara had been fully aware of their presence, but he held no interest in pursuing them. Bullying younger generations was something he'd already done once—there was no need to do it again.

The four Konoha shinobi let out a collective sigh of relief as they hastily returned to their camp. Once there, they quickly began organizing the retreat of their ninja forces. Their goal was clear: to return to Konoha as swiftly as possible and report everything they had witnessed regarding Madara Uchiha.

Meanwhile, after extracting the location of Rouran from the Third Kazekage's memories, Madara took to the skies, flying directly toward his destination.

From what Madara had learned, Rouran was one of the birthplaces of Sunagakure's puppetry techniques. However, the city had long remained hidden from the outside world, which explained why it was so little known.

Regardless, now that he knew where it was, everything would fall into place.

Using the Third Kazekage's memories as a guide, Madara flew thousands of kilometers in one go. He then navigated through a series of barren, rocky mountains, weaving through winding paths until he finally arrived at the location of Rouran!

Standing atop a desolate, grassless mountaintop, Madara surveyed the city before him.

Unlike its depiction in the original movie, Rouran at this time was far from being a bustling metropolis. Nevertheless, its towering buildings stood side by side, and its prosperity rivaled that of Konoha. Combined with its secluded nature, the city truly resembled a utopia hidden from the rest of the world.

Upon closer inspection, Madara noted that the people of Rouran, though hurried in their movements, wore expressions of contentment. Clearly, life here was comfortable.

His dark eyes shifted into the Rinnegan as Madara scrutinized the city more carefully.

Sure enough, beneath the surface of this city, a terrifying power stirred silently. This, undoubtedly, was the chakra leyline—the Dragon Pulse.

Madara's body rose into the air, and with a whoosh, he soared toward Rouran.

Landing atop a tall clock tower, his black robe billowed dramatically in the wind. Combined with his tall, muscular frame and stern features, Madara exuded an imposing aura.

He wasn't standing so high to show off—he was searching for something. Specifically, he was looking for the tower from the original movie—the one that led to the underground chakra leyline.

Suddenly, Madara mentally berated himself.

How foolish of him! This was many years before the events of the movie. There wouldn't be a tower like that here. Instead, there would likely only be a deep well leading underground and an altar used to control the Dragon Pulse.

From his vantage point, however, he couldn't spot any such well. Where exactly should he look for the Dragon Pulse? If all else failed, he could always blast a deep hole into the ground himself!

Ah, yes! The only person capable of controlling the Dragon Pulse—the Queen of Rouran—would surely know.

If this timeline aligned with the movie's, then the current Queen of Rouran would be the mother of Sara, the protagonist of the film.

But where exactly could he find this queen?

As Madara stood there, contemplating, several figures darted up from below, surrounding him from different directions.

Upon closer inspection, these individuals were dressed as shinobi. So this city had its own unique brand of ninja, it seemed.

Given that this was the birthplace of puppetry, these shinobi were likely...

One of the black-clad shinobi had chakra strings wrapped around his fingers, working in tandem with the others to control several puppets. They surrounded Madara, their gazes hostile.

"Unknown intruder! Come with us quietly, or we'll resort to force!"

So these shinobi were puppeteers!

Madara's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Before we proceed," he said mockingly, "I'd like to ask you something. How do you typically handle strangers like me who unintentionally enter Rouran?"

"Uh... how do we handle them? Rouran is isolated from the outside world to avoid disturbances. For outsiders, we imprison them indefinitely!"

"I see. So you plan to lock me up too, correct?"

"Exactly!"

Madara stood atop the clock tower, his black robe fluttering in the wind as a sardonic smile spread across his face.

"I had intended to speak to you politely and ask nicely. But since this is how you've decided to welcome me, very well."

With a flick of his wrist, crackling blue lightning erupted from his hand. Before the puppeteers could react, Madara casually swung his arm, unleashing a fierce bolt of Chidori. The lightning tore through the puppets, reducing them to splinters, and electrocuted the puppeteers, leaving their charred bodies to plummet to the ground.

The shinobi who had spoken to Madara was spared—for now. Trembling in fear, he watched as Madara effortlessly destroyed his puppets and comrades. Without hesitation, he turned to flee.

"Universal Pull!"

Madara's Rinnegan flared as he yanked the fleeing shinobi into his grasp. Gripping the man's scalp, he instantly extracted his soul and began sifting through his memories.

In moments, Madara learned the location of the queen.

Casually tossing aside the limp, unconscious body, Madara turned his gaze toward a large palace in the distance.

With a swift leap, he soared to the entrance of the palace. As the guards stationed there looked on in shock, a bolt of Chidori blasted open the palace gates.

Madara strode inside, entering a grand hall.

The hall was lavishly decorated and vast in size. At the far end, on a raised platform, sat a throne resembling golden snowflakes.

Upon the throne sat a regal and beautiful woman, flanked by several ministers. All eyes turned to Madara in astonishment as he entered unbidden.

From the shadows, over a dozen puppeteers emerged, each controlling their own puppets. They surrounded Madara, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.