Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

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Naruto suddenly stood up from the bed, his eyes burning with raging fury in Sage Mode.

He couldn't wait any longer!

Every extra second that Sara lives in a false dream, every extra second that the residents of Loulan are in danger without realizing it!

Orochimaru's conspiracy may have reached its final stage!

He must act!

This must be exposed immediately!

Target—Deep within the palace, the queen who was resurrected through Edo Tensei!

And, lurking behind her, that damned viper!

The night raid plan was instantly upgraded.

Chapter 316 The Truth That Devastated Sarah

As night deepened, most of the Loulan palace complex fell into silence.

Only the soft glow emanating from the patrolling puppets moved rhythmically through the corridors like will-o'-the-wisps.

Naruto, like a cheetah blending into the shadows, relied on the route recorded in the White Diary and his own senses.

They perfectly evaded all guards and surveillance, and arrived silently at the side hall where Sarah lived.

His heart felt heavy, as if a huge rock was pressing down on it.

What he was about to do was incredibly cruel, but he had no other choice.

Allowing Sara to continue living in false happiness would be a greater harm to her and would also condone Orochimaru's conspiracy.

He gently pried open the window, which was not locked from the inside, and fell into Sarah's bedroom like a feather.

The room was filled with a faint fragrance and decorated in a warm and girlish style.

The dim light from the puppet lights outside the window shone through.

He could see behind the gauze curtains that Sarah was curled up in bed, fast asleep, her red hair spread like clouds on the pillow, her breathing even.

Naruto walked to the bedside and hesitated for a moment.

It feels awful to awaken a young girl's beautiful dream and then shatter it with your own hands.

But he finally took a deep breath and gently nudged Sarah's shoulder.

"Sarah...Sarah, wake up."

Sarah groaned softly, her long eyelashes fluttering as she slowly opened her eyes.

When she could see in the dim light who was standing by the bed.

She was stunned for a moment, then her fair cheeks flushed red.

She instinctively clutched the blanket tighter around herself, her voice hoarse from just waking up and tinged with disbelief and shyness:

"Naruto... Naruto? How... how is it you? How... how did you get in?"

Her heart suddenly raced, and countless images from shoujo manga flashed through her mind.

In the dead of night, a boy sneaks into a girl's room... Could it be... could it be that Naruto... came to...

Seeing her shy yet expectant expression, Naruto felt even more guilty.

He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to harden his heart, and said in a low, serious voice, "Sarah, I'm sorry to have woken you up."

“But I have something very important and urgent that I must tell you right away. It concerns Loulan, it concerns… your mother.”

The blush on Sarah's face faded slightly, replaced by confusion.

She sat up and looked at Naruto's unusually solemn expression in the shadows.

Most of the romantic thoughts in her mind dissipated, replaced by a faint sense of unease: "What happened? Is Mother... feeling unwell?"

Naruto shook his head and took a deep breath.

Organizing her thoughts, she tried to tell the truth in the least cruel way possible: "Sarah, listen to me."

"What I'm about to say may be unbelievable, or even sound terrifying, but please believe me, every word I say is true."

He paused for a moment, observing Sarah's reaction.

Sarah opened her eyes wide, looking at him with confusion, waiting for him to continue.

"Your mother, Her Majesty the Queen of Loulan..."

Naruto's voice was dry and strained: "She...maybe...is not the same person she used to be."

Sara frowned slightly: "Naruto, what are you talking about? A mother is a mother..."

Naruto interrupted her, his eyes filled with pain yet unwavering resolve: "The current Queen is a body of the dead, summoned back by some evil forbidden technique and controlled by others!"

"Her Majesty the Queen may have been murdered as early as three years ago."

A deathly silence fell over the palace.

Sarah's expression froze.

She blinked, as if she hadn't heard clearly, or as if she had heard an extremely bad joke.

A few seconds later, she suddenly burst out laughing and waved her hand, "Naruto, you stayed up all night just to tell me this kind of scary story? It's not funny at all!"

"My mother was perfectly fine, handling official business every day. How could she be a dead person? Forbidden magic? This is outrageous!"

She smiled, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere with a lighthearted tone.

But there was no hint of joking on Naruto's face, only a heavy and sorrowful feeling that made her uneasy.

Sara's smile gradually became forced. She looked closely into Naruto's eyes, where there was no mockery, only sincerity and... pain?

"You...you're serious?" Her voice began to tremble slightly, and unease welled up in her heart like a tide.

"It's true."

Naruto nodded heavily: "That forbidden technique is called 'Impure World Reincarnation,' which can summon the souls of the dead back to the present world, bind them in a body made of dust, and make them completely under the control of the caster."

"Although Her Majesty the Queen looks almost exactly the same as she did when she was alive, she has no real life. Her actions and words may not be her own will!"

"The person who killed and manipulated her is most likely An Lushan, or... a highly dangerous figure named Orochimaru hiding behind him!"

"shut up!!"

Sarah suddenly screamed, her voice sharp and full of anger, shattering the tranquility of the night.

She jumped off the bed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, standing barefoot on the floor, her whole body trembling violently from extreme anger and resistance.

She pointed at Naruto, her beautiful eyes filled with the fury of being insulted and betrayed.

The initial shyness and goodwill vanished: "I will not allow you to slander my mother! I will not allow you to defame Minister An Lushan!"

"They are the benefactors of Loulan! They are the ones who brought all this prosperity and happiness! What makes you think you can? Just based on your inexplicable perceptions?"

"Who knows if what you're saying is true or false?! What exactly is your purpose as an outsider?!"

Her voice was trembling with tears, but she tried to keep her eyes wide open to prevent them from falling.

That is the instinctive defense and anger that arises when faith is challenged and the most cherished things are desecrated.

"Sara, calm down! I was just saying..." Naruto tried to step forward and explain.

Sara abruptly took a step back, grabbed an exquisite vase from the table, and smashed it at Naruto: "I don't want to hear it! Get out! Get out of my room right now! I don't want to see you again! You liar! You villain!"

The vase smashed at Naruto's feet, shattering with a piercing sound.

The patrolling puppets outside seemed to have been alerted, and footsteps began to approach.

Naruto looked at Sara, who was completely out of control and looked like a wounded little animal, and felt a sense of powerlessness and pain in his heart.

He knew that no matter what he said at that moment, she wouldn't listen.

The immense shock led her to choose complete rejection and exclusion.

"Sarah..."

He gave her one last painful look: "...Take care of yourself."

Having said that, he didn't linger. With a flash, he leaped out of the window and disappeared into the night.

Almost as soon as he left, the door to the palace was pushed open.

Several maids and puppets, alerted by the noise, rushed in.

However, all they saw was shards scattered on the floor and the princess standing in the center of the room, trembling, tears streaming down her face, yet still managing to maintain an angry expression.

"Your Highness! Are you alright?" the maid asked in a panic.

Sarah didn't answer, but bit her lip hard until she tasted a hint of blood.

She stared at the window where Naruto had disappeared, her heart filled with a chaotic and painful feeling, as if it had been ripped apart.

The collapse of trust, intertwined with an instinctive fear of her mother's safety, nearly consumed her.

She didn't believe it! She absolutely didn't believe Naruto's nonsense!

But...why...

A faint unease deep in my heart, forcibly suppressed, and the extremely subtle sense of disharmony I've occasionally noticed in my mother over the years.

But now, like the whispers of the devil, it begins to echo quietly.

She shook her head violently, trying to banish those terrible thoughts.

"It's nothing... I had a nightmare and accidentally broke something."

She forced herself to speak in the calmest possible voice to the maids, "Pack up, you can all leave now. I want to be alone."

The maids looked at her worriedly, but still did as she was told, tidied up the broken pieces, and left the room.

When the room fell silent again, Sarah slumped helplessly onto the carpet.

He buried his face deep in his knees, his shoulders convulsing violently.

Silent tears finally broke free.

Naruto, driven away by anger, is now lurking in the cold shadows of the palace rooftop.