Hearing what Uchiha Shin said about Sasha, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Sasha, her face still slightly red from earlier, bowed deeply and sincerely.
"Shin-kun, on behalf of the people of Rōran, I thank you for your protection."
"If there is anything I can do to help in the future, please let me know, Shin-kun."
She knew very well that Uchiha Shin had no obligation to protect the people of Rōran. He sought gratitude and repayment for his efforts.
As the princess of Rōran, she understood this reality, having learned it from her parents. But for now, the only price she could offer was a verbal promise.
After all, she was a penniless princess, not yet officially crowned as queen. Even when she did ascend the throne, she would face many challenges.
With the sealing of the Ryūmyaku, she had already fallen out with Sunagakure.
Rōran, isolated in the middle of the desert, was defenseless. Sasha knew she might need Uchiha Shin's help to survive future crises.
Uchiha Shin did not reject Sasha's goodwill. To him, Rōran held extraordinary value. The Ryūmyaku alone was reason enough to invest in its survival.
For now, he hoped Sasha would become queen, which in turn would give him indirect control over Rōran.
He lacked the ability to manipulate the Ryūmyaku at present, but he would not let such a powerful resource slip from his grasp in the future.
Returning to the surface, Uchiha Shin retracted the vines that had spread across the battlefield.
He spared no Sand shinobi, incinerating them all and absorbing their remains as fuel for his body.
Sunagakure had been monitoring Rōran closely. Nearly one-third of their front-line forces had been stationed here.
With thousands of their shinobi reduced to nothing, Uchiha Shin's previously depleted dōjutsu reserves had nearly recovered. His physical strength and chakra levels had also surged.
If he only relied on his Lightning Chakra Mode and the Six Powers, Uchiha Shin believed he was not inferior to the Raikage of Kumogakure.
While he lacked the years of physical conditioning that made the Raikage an absolute brute in raw durability, the gap was not insurmountable.
Ordinary kunai and shuriken were useless against his reinforced body.
Short of thousands or tens of thousands of explosive tags detonating in unison, attacks that weren't enhanced by chakra were simply not a threat to his life.
Uchiha Shin estimated that his total chakra reserves had at least doubled since before the battle.
"If we go by the standard shinobi ranking system, I should already be at the Super-Kage level in terms of chakra alone."
"Even if it's only at the entry level, it's still leagues above an average Kage."
"If I enter Sage Mode, my chakra level should be second only to Senju Hashirama."
The main limitation was his age. If he were just a few years older, Uchiha Shin was confident his chakra reserves would surpass Hashirama's.
For now, he couldn't wield colossal-scale Sage Art techniques like True Several Thousand Hands.
While assessing his gains, Sasha extended an invitation for him, Mikoto, Kanako, and the others to stay in Rōran for two days.
"No matter what, please allow me to be a proper host to Shin-kun, Mikoto, and Kanako."
Her voice was gentle and sincere as she invited them to remain.
After returning to the Rōran palace, Sasha retired to her chambers and changed into her ceremonial princess attire. The elegant robes, adorned with the intricate designs of Rōran's unique culture, accentuated her regal presence.
Her delicate features suited the outfit well. Her slender brows arched slightly, and her lips, lightly touched with makeup, were full and rosy, giving her a soft yet noble allure.
Her long, silky hair cascaded over her shoulders like a black waterfall, exuding an air of refined grace.
Despite being sixteen, her figure was anything but childlike.
Even the loose royal garments she wore were subtly shaped by her curves, forming gentle arcs that could not be ignored.
Simply standing there, she exuded an aura of elegance and dignity.
Upon seeing the transformed Sasha, Mikoto and Kanako displayed a visible shift in their demeanor.
Unlike Uchiha Shin, who held no particular reverence for nobility, Mikoto and Kanako had been raised in an environment where aristocracy commanded respect.
"Princess Sasha, how could we refuse your request?"
Seeing such a breathtaking Sasha, Uchiha Shin had no reason to decline.
He had already intended to stay for a couple of days to deal with the remnants of Sunagakure's underground research facilities.
Though he had no use for puppetry or other unconventional techniques, the knowledge stored in those laboratories held undeniable value.
Noticing his acceptance, Sasha smiled sweetly, her warm gaze lingering on Uchiha Shin.
In two days, she would officially ascend the throne, and she wanted Uchiha Shin and his companions to witness the moment.
It would be the perfect opportunity to publicly recognize Uchiha Shin's contributions to Rōran.
As Sasha dined, her mind was already calculating ways to strengthen their bond.
Then, a thought surfaced.
Marriage.
Despite Rōran's isolation, it was not completely disconnected from the outside world. Trade routes and historical records proved its interactions with foreign lands.
In Rōran's history, there were accounts of marriages with outsiders.
However, for the past few decades, Rōran had remained secluded from the world.
There was also something peculiar about the royal lineage of Rōran. Perhaps due to the influence of the Ryūmyaku, every heir born into the royal bloodline had been female.
As a result, Rōran had always been ruled by queens.
While they did not arrange political marriages with foreign rulers, they did accept husbands from outside their own kingdom.
Sasha's own father had been the son of a merchant from another land, who had settled in Rōran and married her mother.
Considering this, Sasha unconsciously toyed with the hem of her robe, her mind racing.
After sitting at the dining table, she found herself stealing glances at Uchiha Shin.
Leaving aside everything else, based on his appearance alone, she had no objections.
But he was only twelve!
Just realizing his age, Sasha wanted to slap herself.
As a princess, she knew how inappropriate this was.
But… was he really that young?
Her mind unwillingly flashed back to the morning when she had… seen something.
Though she had never witnessed a man's anatomy before, her instincts as a woman screamed that what she had seen was beyond ordinary.
"...?"
Uchiha Shin noticed Sasha's flushed face, her occasional stolen glances.
He knew that look all too well—he had seen it before on Tsunade.
What the hell was going on?
Was this princess checking him out?
"I haven't even made a move yet, so why am I already being targeted?"
"Is this her political instinct at work, or is it something else entirely...?"
Uchiha Shin decided to play it cool.
After all, they were still at the dinner table.
And suddenly shifting the atmosphere into something ambiguous wouldn't be ideal...
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Bonus Chapter - 150 Power Stones