The girl was startled, her face showing panic, and she leapt down from the pillar, turning to run.
"Hey, wait!" Kaguya exclaimed in surprise at the girl's reaction and couldn't help but chase after her.
When she caught up, the girl had already disappeared. Kaguya looked around, her brow furrowed, noticing a strange energy that blocked her perception, even making her Tenseigan a bit blurry.
Following the sunlight streaming in, Kaguya noticed a few skylights at the top of the room, leading directly outside.
With a shattering sound of glass, a figure flipped up through one of the skylights—it was Kaguya.
She was stunned by the scene before her.
Surrounding her were towering buildings, like tall towers, neatly arranged and reaching into the sky. The architecture was heavily influenced by Western styles and even had a somewhat modern feel.
For a moment, Kaguya wondered if she had traveled to another world again.
Suddenly, a hissing sound came from behind her. She turned to see three puppets approaching her.
With a bang, one puppet's hand shot out a sharp triangular blade, aiming at Kaguya. She dodged backward, avoiding the attack, while another puppet's hand glowed and shot a purple beam at her.
Kaguya's eyelid twitched, and she mentally noted how these seemed less like traditional puppets and more like high-tech robots.
The third puppet followed, firing numerous small missile-like projectiles, spreading out like a shower of blossoms towards Kaguya.
Kaguya realized these puppets were similar to the ones outside and that her Tenseigan couldn't control them, as they seemed to be powered by a strange energy that blocked her mental control.
Initially, she had planned to control a few puppets to make her actions easier, but now she had no choice but to destroy them.
She jumped back to avoid their attacks, raised her arm, and chakra surged into her palm. Repulsive force burst forth.
The three puppets in midair were hit as if by a massive blow, their chests caving in and they flew backward, exploding in midair.
Just as Kaguya thought she had dealt with all the puppets, a cacophony of noises reached her from afar. In the sky, several black dots appeared, growing larger as they approached.
As they neared, Kaguya saw they weren't flies but more puppets—dozens of them.
In the blink of an eye, the puppets had reached her.
Suddenly, countless black weapons, resembling kunai, shot out from the puppets, raining down on Kaguya like a steel storm.
Kaguya raised an eyebrow, showing no fear. She raised her delicate hand, ready to use her Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack to deal with the mass of puppets in one go. Their dense formation made it easy to hit them all, which suited her well, saving her the trouble of dealing with them one by one.
Suddenly, a masked figure appeared beside Kaguya, placing a hand on her shoulder. In an instant, the surrounding scenery distorted, and when it stabilized, Kaguya found herself in a distant location.
A series of explosions erupted where Kaguya had just been standing, the ground trembling and dust billowing.
"So fast," Kaguya muttered, her pupils constricting. She had never seen such speed. No, it wasn't speed—it was a space-time jutsu. Only space-time jutsu could achieve such velocity.
At this moment, a companion wearing a similar mask started attacking the puppets.
"Partial Multi-Size Technique!"
A tall, stout man stretched out his arm, chakra surging forth, and his arm instantly grew several times larger. With a sweeping motion, he smashed a puppet into pieces.
Another slender man formed hand seals and extended his hands, releasing countless tiny black dots from his palms, which flew towards the puppets in the sky.
"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"
The swarm of tiny insects covered the puppets like a black cloud. In no time, the puppets were enveloped and immobilized, falling heavily to the ground.
Before long, the puppets in the air were all eliminated by these individuals.
"Thanks for the help earlier," Kaguya said, looking down at the fallen puppets and addressing the three masked individuals. "By the way, what's the deal with these puppets?"
The blonde masked man was momentarily stunned upon seeing Kaguya, seemingly not expecting such a beautiful girl to be there. He then said, "They might have been enhanced by the chakra of the Dragon Veins."
Dragon Veins? Kaguya's expression shifted. It seemed that this place was indeed Roran, the only place known to possess the Dragon Veins, which was likely somewhere around here.
"By the way, who are you?" Kaguya asked, staring at him. "And why are you here?"
"You're a Konoha ninja, aren't you?" The blonde masked man glanced at the forehead protector hanging around Kaguya's neck.
"Yes." Kaguya found wearing the forehead protector on her head unflattering, so she wore it around her neck like Hinata.
"I'm from Konoha too." The blonde masked man slightly lowered his mask but didn't reveal his face. "I'm here on a mission."
Although his face was hidden, Kaguya had a good idea of who he was. After all, there were very few people who could use space-time ninjutsu, and among those, only one used special kunai—Minato Namikaze.
At this time, Minato Namikaze was still alive. Although she couldn't see his face, his figure looked to be in his twenties. If that was the case, Kaguya must have traveled back over twenty years. She wondered if it was due to the Dragon Veins or the seal on it that caused her to end up here.
Since he was Minato Namikaze, the person who used the Multi-Size Technique must be Choza Akimichi, and the one using insects should be Shibi Aburame.
"What are you doing here?" Minato asked, turning to Kaguya. "And why are you alone?"
"I'm also here on a mission," Kaguya replied with a smile. "As for what the mission is, I'm sorry but I can't tell you."
"Understood," Minato nodded. "We have our mission to complete as well. Take care." With that, Minato and his team vanished before Kaguya.
Unexpectedly meeting Namikaze Minato here, Kaguya thought to herself. She just hoped he wouldn't interfere with her plans. After all, her goal was the Dragon Veins, which might conflict with their mission.