The sensation of passing through the Dragon Pulse barrier wasn't particularly novel or special. The force, which could hardly be called resistance, even reminded Hii Kōri of the wind wall he used to condense with Wind Release techniques to dry himself after bathing, back before he had mastered Scorch Release.
Of course, this was also due to the pseudo-natural energy covering his body surface. Without using such means, even if one could perceive the barrier's existence from another layer of reality, crack or invade would be extremely difficult.
Standing at the edge of the dune, Hii Kōri gazed at the scene before him—a sight as if heaven and earth had overturned—and gently tapped the mask on his face.
It was an extremely prosperous town. Judging by its size, it was about twice the size of Amegakure.
Although in terms of scale, it sounded out of proportion with the word "country," in this world, examples of even a single small city calling itself a country were not uncommon.
Moreover, if one considered vertical height as well, the actual usable area of Rōlan would be far larger than its base land area.
Hundreds upon thousands of tall towers stood like a dense stone forest, towering into the clouds under the desert's scorching sunlight. The tall towers were connected by numerous bridges. If viewed from above, one might see a highly aesthetically pleasing geometric pattern.
Judging from a technical standpoint, building these tall towers was far more difficult than Amegakure's ossuary towers.
Although, with sufficient energy, many factors limiting technological development could be forcibly overcome with greater output, precisely utilizing such an immense energy source as the Dragon Pulse was also a troublesome task.
This point also proved that Rōran had mastered technology beyond its era.
However, as Hii Kōri drew closer to this oasis city, aside from the Dragon Pulse power within the barrier and more clarity as its foundation, he did not sense even a trace of "ninja"—systematically cultivated and refined chakra—within this city.
The residents here seemed to be merely ordinary people.
Mastering the ability to utilize the Dragon Pulse to a certain extent, developing more advanced technology, yet almost completely isolated from the ninja world... Hmm, this could be considered a manifestation of isolation theory?
Thinking thus, Hii Kōri inevitably recalled similar examples.
As a country within a country, enclosed and hidden by the Dragon Pulse barrier, Rōran's existence might, to a certain extent, resemble Australia in his previous life.
Australia was physically isolated by the ocean into an independent environment, thus preserving a fairly unique path of species evolution. The platypus was a representative example, and the distribution of marsupials was also quite restricted.
The same situation was even more common in the gaming realm.
Isn't that right, arcane trolls and the relatives of arcane trolls?
Considering that the cultivation method for chakra was actually brought by the Ōtsutsuki clan, perhaps the Rōran before him was what this planet might have evolved into had it never encountered extraterrestrial raiders.
But such a divergence point, determined over a thousand years ago, was difficult to truly comprehend. Hii Kōri had no interest in delving into it.
Having come for the Dragon Pulse, he did not intend to linger or become entangled in this "country." Even if communication were necessary, it would be better to directly meet with Rōlan's ruler.
Presumably, Rōran wouldn't have a custom similar to the Country of Rain's, using towers as ossuaries.
His gaze fell upon the tallest tower in the city center. With a flicker of his form, he traversed several Shunshin and stepped into Rōran.
A figure draped in a sand-brown cloak should have been extremely conspicuous in Rōran's streets. However, under the effect of the Perception Obstruction Mask, even if Hii Kōri brushed past passersby at his speed, they would merely feel as if a sudden gust of wind had blown by.
Compared to the height of the numerous towers, Rōlan's streets appeared quite narrow and dim. But considering that even with the nourishment and protection of the Dragon Pulse, this land still lay in the heart of the Great Sand Sea, this narrow layout might have originally served a protective function.
Hii Kōri silently passed through numerous streets, then lightly leaped onto the outer wall of a tall tower, mid-air, and flew toward the most majestic tower in the city center—its design clearly distinct from the others.
Effortlessly climbing over a bracketing arch and into the tower, he could clearly sense that his course of action had not been mistaken.
Whether this was the ruler's palace or not, this tall tower contained guards wearing standardized armor and holding long spears, unseen elsewhere.
But probably due to the domestic atmosphere, even these guards on alert seemed to Hii Kōri merely symbolic.
Armed, spear-wielding guards could certainly exert a certain degree of deterrence against ordinary citizens. But even a fledgling genin would have little difficulty escaping from them.
Moreover, judging by their mental state, these guards had practically no actual combat experience. Even the defensive layout was far from infallible.
For an infiltrator of his level, force was unnecessary. He could easily pass through the loophole left by these guards and penetrate deeper into the core area of the palace.
At this moment, he felt somewhat fortunate that Rōran's architecture was entirely of this straightforward style, rather than resembling European-style classical castles.
Architecture was an important component of feng shui, but Hii Kōri apparently lacked extensive knowledge on the subject.
If this place were like those labyrinthine castles, he might have had to blast through the outer wall.
With this lighthearted mentality, Hii Kōri's footsteps halted outside a rather spacious and elegant door.
Beyond this lay the office where Rōran's queen usually handled official business.
He had just knocked out a few guards, sending them into a peaceful sleep like infants, then used genjutsu to extract intelligence from the openings they left.
Although his conventional genjutsu skills were still unusable in actual combat, hypnotizing ordinary people for a few questions was sufficient.
Sounds pretty pathetic.
I feel like I'm destined to be insulated from normal genjutsu in this life...
Thinking thus, Hii Kōri propped the sleeping guards against the wall near his feet, then raised a hand to straighten his collar and unhurriedly knocked on the door before him.
"Enter."
After a few short seconds, this peaceful voice came from behind the door as a response.
Hii Kōri then pushed the door open and entered. What met his eyes was an office with a subtly familiar feel.
The decor and furnishings were not luxurious, but they harmonized quite well with the warm lighting—an interior style that made one feel very comfortable.
An adult woman sat properly behind a spacious desk, buried in a mountain of documents and files, with great concentration revising them.
The woman, with her neat black hair cut to ear length, had a delicate appearance. Her lightly made-up, refined features bore a gentle, intellectual beauty peculiar to mature women.
She wore a gorgeous yet capable robe—the fabric is exquisite, the embroidery is exquisite—sufficient to project authority without hindering movement. A tall crown, designed with a similar concept—simpler in styling but more luxurious in material—sat at the other end of the desk, apparently too heavy and cumbersome for daily work.
Even while handling government affairs, her spine remained straight. Yet upon closer inspection, one could detect a trace of fatigue and worry stasis between her brows, difficult to dissolve.
Ah... looks just like the Third Kazekage working overtime.
Suddenly, Hii Kōri realized the source of that familiarity.
"What business do you... Who are you?!"
Probably having heard the door open but waited quite a while without the expected report, Rōlan's queen looked up to inquire—and saw a cloaked, masked figure standing in the center of the office, arms crossed, "appraising" her.
Her pupils suddenly contracted, her body instantly tensed. Her hand, resting on the desk, smoothly pulled a short blade from beneath it, awkwardly assuming a threatening posture.
Since the other party had entered openly through the door, the guards outside could no longer be relied upon. In such a situation, random shouting would be meaningless and might instead provoke this mysterious stranger.
Thinking thus, Rōran's queen unconsciously broke out in a sweat.
Becoming the ruler of Rōran as a woman, she relied not only on the bloodline that could manipulate the Dragon Pulse to a certain extent, but also on her quite superior intellect and ability.
"Hmm... Although I do appear quite suspicious, Her Majesty need not be so nervous."
Seeing this rather accurate and composed response from the other party, Hii Kōri's mood clearly improved.
He didn't expect everyone in the world to handle affairs rationally and carefully. But communicating with wise people who treat others prudently, or with mediocres who knew their own limitations, was always more pleasant.
"If I harbored any ill intent, you wouldn't have had the chance to notice me."
Hii Kōri spread his hands to demonstrate "sincerity," then added, "Your guards are also in no life-threatening danger—merely knocked unconscious by me."
Rōran's queen remained silent, still gripping the short blade tightly.
Hii Kōri pursed his lips beneath his mask. A spark of flame rose from his fingertip, rapidly expanding into several fist-sized fireballs. Like living creatures, they "swam" from his hand toward Rōlan's queen, circled her a few times, then returned to his hand, where he pinched them into scattered sparks.
Seeing this, Rōlan's queen sighed softly, placed the short blade on the desk, and ceased maintaining the threatening posture she herself was not accustomed to.
As the leader of a country within a country located within the Country of Wind, besides reading accumulated ancient texts, she also dispatched personnel to explore the outside world. She naturally understood the power possessed by ninjas.
Even if this person before her were the most ordinary ninja, he would not be someone she—a woman long confined to the inner chambers—could contend. Moreover, a ninja who could breach the barrier outside Rōlan without warning could hardly be ordinary.
Inheriting the bloodline that manipulated the Dragon Pulse, her clan could, to a certain extent, sense the Dragon Pulse's state—nature including the Dragon Pulse barrier guarding Rōlan. Those travelers who had strayed into Rōlan through various coincidences in the past had mostly been sent away before they could even react.
Yet before this, she had completely not sensed any signs of this person's intrusion.
"What... is your true purpose?"
Biting her lip tightly, the fatigue between the queen's brows grew heavier.
Since he could invade the Dragon Pulse barrier without warning, it was possible he also mastered the Dragon Pulse's power—in fact, highly likely he had come precisely for the Dragon Pulse.
Regardless, this was hardly reassuring news.
The Dragon Pulse's power was not only the esoteric thing upon which Rōlan's existence depended, but also the duty passed down through her clan for generations.
Any large-scale depletion would be an extremely heavy blow to the Dragon Pulse, which was still undergoing an irreversible "evaporation."
The Dragon Pulse was precisely such a power—both immense and fragile.
Although lacking Hii Kōri's ability to analyze such detailed information from that single contact, her ancestor, who had accidentally established a connection with the Dragon Pulse, had also recognized the Dragon Pulse's decline and importance.
And the country of Rōran, from its inception, was merely a town created by her ancestors to protect the Dragon Pulse's power from being abused—a town to guard the Dragon Pulse.
To this day, what Rōran utilized was merely the power evaporated by the Dragon Pulse.
Regarding the Dragon Pulse, Rōran's queen had revealed almost nothing to anyone, relying solely on oral tradition passed down through her lineage, disguising it as a unique ability.
To even avoid the bloat of power giving rise to unrealistic ambition, things like ninjas and chakra had never existed in this country.
This could certainly be called a policy of keeping the people ignorant, but equally, it was to ensure that the country of Rōran—and the Dragon Pulse that brought blessings to this country—could continue to exist.
Because of this idea and the infallible Dragon Pulse barrier, Rōran had indeed enjoyed several hundred years of peaceful and stable existence.
But equally, the lack of freely usable power had led to situations like this—encountering invasion by an outside ninja, with no room for resistance or resolution.
Rōlan's queen could not be unaware of this predicament. But having never experienced a true "invasion," unable to make a decision, all she could do was seek a balance between the duty inherited from her ancestors and the responsibility of a "ruler."
"Hmm... If I said I merely followed the legends of Rōran and stumbled in by chance, you certainly wouldn't believe me~"
Hii Kōri's flippant tone made the honorifics in his speech sound quite sarcastic, and completely sank Rōran's queen's heart.
"The Dragon Pulse. Other than the Dragon Pulse, what else is worth seeking here?"
***
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