"The emotional reunion can wait until you return."
Roshi's voice cut cleanly through the thick silence.
"The information regarding your appearance in Nonō's memory has already been altered."
Kabuto's face flickered with restrained turmoil—relief, disbelief, anger, longing—each emotion threatening to surface at once.
Roshi continued calmly, pointing toward the young man standing before Nonō.
"This is Yakushi Kabuto."
It was not a tragic deathbed farewell.
Nonō had been deceived for years through fabricated photographs and manipulated information—but she was not blind. Given time, she would notice inconsistencies.
Nor was Kabuto so fragile that he would crumble at the first shock.
They simply needed clarity.
Someone to dispel the illusion.
Roshi had done exactly that.
His attention shifted to the red-haired mother and daughter.
The similarity in hair color was striking—but in temperament, they were different.
Sara's presence was steady. Resolute.
She stood not merely as a mother, but as someone who had once ruled.
Rōran had flourished under the Dragon Vein—and declined once its power was sealed by the Fourth Hokage. What had been built upon borrowed strength inevitably crumbled when that strength was removed.
Sara met Roshi's gaze directly.
"We cooperated exactly as instructed," she said, one hand gently resting against her daughter's back. "What does Konoha demand now?"
"To be precise," Roshi corrected evenly, "there were no 'Konoha demands' before I arrived."
"What you and your daughter experienced was the result of an individual's plan—carried out under Konoha's name."
Sara's eyes sharpened.
"Then the people of Rōran?"
Roshi did not hesitate.
"Konoha has located them."
"Considering the consequences already set in motion—and the fact that your cooperation remains necessary—the promise to resettle the Rōran people within the Land of Fire still stands."
His words were cold.
Pragmatic.
Measured entirely in terms of value and stability.
Yet strangely, it was that very bluntness that steadied Sara's heart.
Rōran's remaining people were few. Their political value negligible.
Compared to the Dragon Vein—Sheltering them was not a difficult price for Konoha to pay.
"Yakushi Nonō," Roshi said, turning back to her, "if you've regained your composure, report the current situation in Rōran."
"And… is there another person present?"
Nonō's gaze lingered briefly on Kabuto's face. Something in his features tugged at her memory.
A faint hesitation passed through her eyes.
Then she offered him a small, reassuring smile.
She turned and pointed toward a concealed passage at the back of the chamber.
"Kyū is inside. He went silent the moment Orochimaru appeared."
"He is one of Danzo's trusted subordinates."
She had heard of Roshi before—the jōnin who once stabilized relations with Sunagakure. She knew little of his recent movements; she had remained in Rōran the entire time.
But anyone who could force Orochimaru to withdraw was not someone to doubt.
Nonō shifted into the disciplined posture of a subordinate reporting to a field commander.
Roshi glanced at Kabuto.
"You handle it."
Kabuto nodded immediately.
Without another word, he slipped into the hidden passage.
Minutes later, he returned, dragging an unconscious shinobi by the collar. No additional restraints had been applied.
"He fainted," Kabuto reported calmly, though his eyes still flickered occasionally toward Nonō. "I've severed the tendons in his hands and feet using a Chakra Scalpel."
Roshi gave a small nod.
Efficient. Cautious. Precise.
Just as expected of Kabuto.
"Rōran has been partially rebuilt by Sunagakure," Nonō reported steadily. "The exterior remains in ruins, but the internal pipeline system connected to the Dragon Vein has been restored."
"To what extent has the Dragon Vein been unsealed?" Roshi asked.
"Orochimaru first opened a narrow passage. After that, Sunagakure's Sealing Team gradually expanded it. However… the core seal remains intact."
Sara stepped forward, her voice calm but firm.
"Because the Dragon Vein's power has been continuously drawn upon, I've begun to regain my ability to influence it."
Roshi's gaze sharpened.
So it had progressed this far already.
If they allowed it to continue even a little longer, the situation would grow far more dangerous.
"Yakushi Nonō," he said, "you must have prepared an infiltration route to the Dragon Vein's core."
"Yes. There is an abandoned ancient pipeline. It bypasses the main guard lines and leads directly into the core chamber."
She hesitated.
"I only surveyed it yesterday. But since Orochimaru discovered our location… I cannot guarantee it hasn't been compromised."
Roshi considered briefly.
"Lead the way."
He stepped forward without hesitation.
"If Orochimaru already knew everything, then paradoxically, now is safer. If he decides to change his mind later, that will be another matter."
"Even if he left behind traps or temporary defenses, they wouldn't be sufficient."
His tone carried quiet certainty.
Deep beneath the ruins of Rōran—
Sunagakure's puppet units moved methodically through the dim corridors.
Rasa stood before a newly assembled Dragon Vein puppet, its frame still gleaming with fresh adjustments.
"How long until production scales up?" he asked.
"If the power flow remains stable and materials are sufficient, by next month we could—"
The words were cut short.
The entire underground chamber trembled violently.
Deep violet light surged through the energy pipelines, flickering erratically like a heartbeat gone mad.
"What's happening?!"
"Energy flow destabilizing! Abnormal fluctuations from the core!"
Rasa's expression darkened instantly.
"Activate the defensive system."
He didn't wait for confirmation.
His figure vanished toward the Dragon Vein's core.
By the time Rasa arrived—
The Sealing Team lay unconscious beside the formation array.
The guardian puppets were shattered, their components scattered across the ground.
And beside the Flying Thunder God kunai—the anchor point of Minato Namikaze's seal—a black-haired young man crouched calmly, violet Dragon Vein energy spiraling around him.
Four figures stood at his side.
Rasa's gaze locked onto the red-haired mother and daughter.
"So the royal line of Rōran still lives…"
"Akatsuki claimed ignorance and reported no trace of the tribe was found…"
"And yet—here they are."
Around Rasa, Dragon Vein puppets rose one after another, drawn by the energy coursing through the pipelines. Even scattered parts rattled and lifted, pulled by shimmering energy threads, attempting to reassemble midair.
A brilliant blue Chakra Scalpel flared to life in Kabuto's hand.
He moved swiftly, slicing through the energy threads before they could connect, kicking away reassembling components.
The puppets were too durable to destroy outright—but he could disrupt them.
Rasa's feet lifted slightly as golden sand began to swirl beneath him.
"Are you overestimating yourself, Roshi," he said coldly, "to handle the Dragon Vein alone?"
Roshi finally withdrew his attention from Minato's seal.
The Dragon Vein.
This ancient subterranean energy was surprisingly compliant—far more docile than natural energy. With Sara's presence guiding it, its power flowed willingly.
It did not resist being drawn upon.
Whether Sunagakure consumed it—or he did—seemed irrelevant to the Dragon Vein itself.
Purple light flickered around him.
"During this time," Roshi said evenly, "I've been considering a question, Kazekage-dono."
"How should the Sunagakure incident be concluded?"
Golden sand surged higher around Rasa, gathering like a rising tide.
"Originally, I intended to resolve the Dragon Vein first… and discuss the rest later."
Roshi rose slowly to his feet.
The energy behind him pulsed.
"But since you've come personally…"
A faint smile touched his lips.
"It seems we can simplify matters considerably."
Rasa did not answer Roshi with words.
He answered with a rising sea of gold dust.
The sand beneath his feet surged violently, lifting him into the air like a golden throne borne by a tidal wave.
His gaze swept across the remaining four figures.
The Rōran royal bloodline—irrelevant in combat. Whatever strange resonance they possessed with the Dragon Vein, it meant nothing in a direct confrontation. If the opportunity arose, he could capture them… or eliminate them outright.
As for the other two—
They had struggled even to destroy the Dragon Vein puppets' shells. Their strength could not be extraordinary.
They were burdens.
Roshi had brought burdens onto a battlefield.
Rasa made his judgment instantly.
The advantage… was his.
"Kazekage-dono," Roshi said calmly, violet energy still coiling faintly around him, "you've witnessed Deep Forest Emergence."
"But you haven't yet seen what lies beyond the forest."
The air around Roshi grew heavy.
Energy overflowed from him—not the balanced serenity of Sage Mode, but something richer, denser. Every breath, every muscle fiber radiated a strange, almost intoxicating vitality.
Rasa's pupils contracted.
The gold dust lifted him higher at once, and he barked a command.
The surrounding Dragon Vein puppets activated.
Dozens of puppet eyes flared purple. Their joints shrieked with metallic friction as they lunged from every direction, converging on Roshi like a mechanized swarm.
Roshi brought his hands together.
Fingers interlocked.
The earth groaned.
The entire foundation of Rōran convulsed.
Rock split. Sand ruptured. Ancient stone corridors cracked apart.
From beneath the desert, colossal vines erupted—thick as fortress towers—shattering stone and pulverizing earth in their ascent.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Bloom"
The ruins did not fall—they were devoured.
Buildings crumbled like sand sculptures before a rising tide. The Dragon Vein puppets, sustained by their chakra pipelines, were seized and crushed mid-motion. Violet conduits snapped and burst, energy sparking wildly before being swallowed by the overwhelming surge of green.
Within breaths—
The barren wasteland transformed.
Where desert once stretched, an endless, writhing forest unfurled.
Vines spiraled skyward in layered waves. Massive trunks twisted together like ancient serpents. The ground itself disappeared beneath a living canopy of wood.
From the thickest branches, enormous buds swelled.
They pulsed.
Then bloomed.
Golden pollen erupted outward like rolling fog.
Dense.
Suffocating.
Beneath Roshi's feet, a colossal tree speared into the sky, lifting him—and Yakushi Nonō, Kabuto, Sara, and her daughter—high above the spreading mist.
They rose beyond the reach of the drifting pollen sea.
Rasa reacted instantly.
The moment the forest erupted, he had already wrapped himself in layered gold dust and ascended. When the pollen appeared, he sealed his mouth and nose with sand—but it was too late.
He inhaled.
Only a trace.
But it was enough.
Dizziness slammed into him.
His chakra flow faltered.
The gold dust beneath his feet trembled violently, its cohesion unraveling.
His vision blurred.
The world tilted.
"Gh—"
He forced himself upright, kneeling upon the unstable platform of sand. He tried to command it—tried to pull himself away from the expanding forest—
But above him, the air twisted.
Wind pressure roared.
Chaotic currents tore at the gold dust and at his body.
That Wind Release…
Through his fading sight, Rasa found Roshi.
High upon the towering tree, hands forming seals once more.
The gold dust finally collapsed.
It scattered like broken sunlight.
Rasa fell.
Mid-descent—
A vine shot upward.
It pierced through his chest.
"Agh—!"
Pain exploded through him, white-hot and blinding. For a brief instant, the agony cleared his mind.
He looked down.
The wooden spike protruded from his chest, stained red.
Blood bubbled at his lips, splattering across drifting flecks of gold dust.
Below him—
An endless sea of green.
A color the desert rarely knew.
A color he had longed to bring to the Land of Wind.
And yet… it was upon this foreign green that his life would end.
His breathing grew shallow.
"What… will become of Sunagakure…?"
The wind carried no answer.
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