Chiyo's wrist flicked, and a drop of tea flew out, landing on Rasa's forehead as he peered in.
Rasa had been hiding in a corner since their conversation began, afraid Chiyo's blood pressure would spike and she'd lose her temper and kill someone.
After all, Kakashi was a close friend and relative of Linto's. If anything happened to him, how would Rasa explain it to Linto?
Chiyo snorted.
"Carry him away."
Rasa came over and lifted Kakashi's stiff body. He listened to the strong heartbeat and breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Chiyo just wanted to vent her anger.
Rasa carried Kakashi back to the camp and laid him on a blanket.
No matter how he positioned him, Kakashi would end up with his head tilted and his backside sticking up. Rasa scratched his head, deciding to just leave him like that.
After doing that, he was about to go rest when he suddenly felt eyes on him. He turned and met Gaara's gaze from behind a camel.
Without a word, Rasa walked over and kicked Gaara in the rear.
"What time is it? Go to sleep."
"Okay."
Gaara burrowed into the blanket, closed his eyes, and the fatigue from a day of walking washed over him. Soon, he was fast asleep.
In his sleep, he vaguely heard Rasa, sitting beside him, saying many things to him, telling him to behave when they went to Kirigakure, and admitting he'd been too strict.
Gaara couldn't remember the last time his father had spoken to him so gently. He blinked his eyes open groggily and saw Rasa tucking him in.
"Dad… Dad…"
Before Gaara could finish speaking, a palm slapped his forehead.
"I knew you were faking sleep, you brat!"
The slap jolted Gaara awake.
So… what he heard just now was just a dream, right?
On this peaceful night, everyone was lost in their own thoughts, thinking about what they cared about.
Often, people are like fish, pulled along by what they hold dear in their hearts.
Linto sat cross-legged, practicing Ripple breathing to relieve his physical fatigue.
As the stars shifted, the first hint of dawn appeared at the eastern edge of the desert.
Linto's eyes snapped open. His steady breathing wavered slightly.
Everyone present was either a ninja or a Ripple user, all with sharp senses. They immediately noticed the change in Linto's aura and opened their eyes, looking his way.
Linto raised a finger and gently tapped the ground.
The action was like a pebble dropped into a calm lake. Ripples spread outwards from the spot where his finger touched the desert.
After a few seconds of stillness, more ripples appeared, moving from the outside in. These two sets of opposite ripples intersected, forming intricate patterns.
"What is this?" Kakashi asked, tilting his head.
Linto replied, "There's a special power underground."
The power of Daichi he usually sensed was like omnipresent air. But now, as the sun rose, the flowing power from beneath the earth was like highly concentrated pure oxygen.
This power flowed along specific paths, vibrating slightly…
"It's like Daichi's pulse."
Shizima slapped his thigh. "Holy crap! A dragon vein?"
"What's a dragon vein?" Kakashi asked, tilting his head again.
Shizima explained, "I've traveled far and wide and heard others talk about it.
A dragon vein is the power buried beneath the ancient land of Roran. Simply put, it's nature's 'Limitless Chakra'. But…"
Shizima turned, his blank eyes staring at Kakashi.
"Why do you young whippersnapper keep tilting your head when you look at me? Do you look down on me? Or do you think I can't see?!"
Kakashi looked dumbfounded at Chiyo.
Anyone who slept with their head tilted and their backside sticking up would end up like this.
Chiyo raised her fist and slowly gave him the middle finger.
Linto brushed the sand off his legs and stood up.
Daichi itself contained infinite natural power. The so-called dragon vein must have been transformed from this part of natural power, only much more concentrated and potent.
"If White Snake Sage had built Ryuuchi Cave on a dragon vein, it's hard to say who would win."
Linto said, "We still have time. Let's go have a look."
The group set off again on their journey to find the dragon vein.
It took them a day and a night.
At noon on the second day, they found ruins of ancient Roran buried in the sand.
As Linto walked through the ruins, the architectural style allowed him to glimpse the former grandeur of Roran.
But all the prosperity and abundance had faded under the relentless march of time, leaving only broken walls and remnants.
Linto knelt on one knee, his right hand on the ground, sensing carefully. "The source of the dragon vein is here."
He frowned slightly.
Before, he couldn't sense it clearly from afar. Upon arriving at the ancient Roran ruins, Linto's perception of the dragon vein became much clearer—it was intermittent, with no beginning or end, as if its "root" had been severed.
After listening to Linto's description, Shizima scratched his face. "So, after all that, it's just a broken dragon."
Chiyo said, "When I was young, I visited ancient Roran. They boasted of having endless energy. But 'endless' either meant false Limitless or one that came with many risks. They prospered because of the dragon vein, and they were destroyed because of it."
As they discussed, Amber spoke up.
"Someone's coming."
Amber, who had been silently on guard, turned towards the outside of the ruins. Her hand already gripped the large sword on her back as she warily watched the direction of the footsteps.
A girl of eleven or twelve came into view.
With so many eyes on her, the girl became a little embarrassed and forgot what she had planned to say.
Several adults followed behind her, appearing to be ordinary farmers by their posture and demeanor.
Chiyo suddenly asked, "What is your relationship with Sara?"
"Granny, do you know my mother?"
Chiyo's face showed faint reminiscing, and she nodded slightly. Decades ago, she had indeed met Princess Sara once.
They introduced themselves. Linto learned that they were descendants of ancient Roran, living in a small oasis nearby. Besides their daily lives, their most important mission was to check if the dragon vein's seal was stable.
The group had come because the descendants had detected fluctuations in the dragon vein and wanted to investigate.
"We've inquired."
Kakashi walked over, tilting his head. "After the wars decades ago, the dragon vein became damaged and dangerous. Once the seal is broken, it can no longer be used as an energy source."
Rather than a "seal," it was more like "maintenance" for the dragon vein.
After waiting a century or two for the dragon vein to heal on its own, it could be used as a natural energy source again.
Linto sighed, feeling it was bad timing.
If the dragon vein were still intact, combined with the power of the Dragon-Snake Orb, Linto could absorb an immense amount of natural energy in a short time, perhaps enough to break through his physical limits further.
He shook his head.
Wishing for everything to go smoothly was an unrealistic hope.
Linto checked the time. After lunch, they planned to head to Wash City.
Since they had met locals, the group didn't want to bother starting a fire to cook. Shizima volunteered to trade with the Roran descendants.
He bought the food and haggled with the locals, also purchasing a bunch of small gifts.
"Boss Linto always sleeps sitting up. He needs a thicker cushion. Otherwise, when he gets old, he'll suffer from hemorrhoids…"
"That kid Kakashi has a stiff neck. Get him a bolster pillow too…"
"Gaara is a bit withdrawn, buy him some toys…"
Shizima picked items one by one.
He truly cherished his current life. A group of interesting teammates, embarking on a meaningful mission—this was like the last train of his life at his age, a blind sensory ninja.
Therefore, Shizima deeply treasured the time he spent with Linto's group.
Finally, he chose a brass hairpin.
"Your wife is very lucky," said Sara's daughter.
Shizima chuckled. "That old woman was threatening to divorce me a few days ago. When I go back with a bunch of gifts, let's see if she still dares to say those words."
Sara's daughter smiled, covering her mouth.
Boom—
The explosion's fire blinded their eyes, and the roar vibrated their eardrums.
In an instant, everyone was reduced to charcoal.
It happened so suddenly.
So sudden that Linto didn't even have time to mentally shout "Star Platinum: The World" before the explosion was over.
Obito looked at the charred corpses on the ground and then at Linto, a dozen meters away.
"The targeting was a bit off. The first shot missed. Oh well, consider it clearing the stage in advance."
As he spoke, he took a step.
Suddenly, something sharp poked his foot. He lifted his foot to look.
It was a charred hairpin.
"Heh—"
Obito sneered.
He crushed it with his foot.