"Dragon Vein? That's impossible!"
Seramu pushed away the medicine in front of her.
"The Dragon Vein is the foundation of Roran's nation-building. It will absolutely never be handed over to outsiders!"
As soon as the words fell, purple chakra once again began to rise from her body.
Aoba appeared beside her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
In just an instant, Seramu felt her connection with the Dragon Vein cut off by something. This feeling of being unable to use her power so easily made her fall into extreme panic.
Aoba could clearly see the terror in this queen's heart.
But even though she was afraid deep down, she still kept her emotions under control.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to have mercy. The residents of Roran are already giving their all just to survive. If we lose the Dragon Vein…"
"We… we won't be able to live anymore!"
All around was sand.
Even the only oasis had long since been divided up completely by the people of the Land of Wind.
She didn't know how her people could go on living if the Dragon Vein was gone.
"I never said I was going to take the Dragon Vein away. I only want to research and develop the chakra of the Dragon Vein a little," Aoba patiently explained.
Not to mention the method of returning home for now.
The chakra of the Dragon Vein could even achieve the inconceivable, traveling through time and space.
And since he himself had abilities related to sealing and cutting off things tied closely to time and space, maybe the two could be combined.
He also thought of that incident Temari had mentioned, about the centipede suddenly dying of old age. Maybe that was a power derived from the Dragon Vein.
"R-really?", At this moment, the Queen of Roran no longer had the majesty of before. Realizing that the person before her was someone she could not resist no matter what, her attitude immediately softened.
Aoba recalled that old saying, "Those who recognize the times are true heroes."
It seemed this Queen of Roran, though a woman, was also quite the remarkable hero indeed.
"Of course. Besides, developing the Dragon Vein will benefit you as well. It might even improve Roran's living environment further and raise your productivity."
"I understand. As long as your words hold true, no matter what the situation, I will do my best to cooperate with you," Seramu agreed with a bitter face.
"Mother…", At this time, a little girl's voice sounded at the doorway.
The two looked over together. It was Sara, rubbing her eyes.
It seemed she had been awakened either by their conversation or by the surge of chakra from Seramu.
When Sara saw her mother sitting up on the bed, she immediately perked up and ran over.
"Mother, you finally woke up!"
Sara threw herself into Seramu's arms, crying uncontrollably.
"Really now, Mother just took a nap. Why are you crying again?"
Seramu helplessly stroked her daughter's head, "You're the princess of Roran, the one who will become queen. You can't just cry so easily."
"But… but, just now Aoba said that Mother's body is in very bad shape, and maybe in just a few years you'll die!", Sara sobbed as she spoke.
"This…", Seramu turned to look at Aoba.
He made an innocent face, as if to say "not my problem", "I thought you had told her already. The chakra of the Dragon Vein constantly erodes your body. If it isn't treated in time, your body will only last another two or three years at most."
Seramu's expression also grew bitter, "I… I thought I could at least hold on until the day Sara grows up. I didn't expect that day to come faster than I imagined."
"Mother, I'll definitely learn properly how to control the Dragon Vein from now on. Then you'll be able to relax a bit, right?"
Sara's voice was tinged with sobs. She finally understood why her mother had suddenly become strict with her these days.
Before, she had thought her mother had changed, and she would often hide away in the forbidden grounds to secretly wipe her tears.
Hearing such understanding words from Sara, Seramu couldn't help but shed tears as well.
Aoba looked at the mother and daughter crying together, not knowing what to say for a moment.
He once again held the medicine out in front of Seramu, reminding her, "Didn't I already say it? This medicine can treat the damage to your body."
"Eh?"
The mother and daughter were both stunned.
Seramu, half believing, half doubting, took the medicine Aoba handed over and drank it down. Instantly the bitterness made her whole face wrinkle.
Sticking out her tongue, she said, "So bitter~"
But the next moment, she did feel her body lighten a little. Still, aside from that, there wasn't much other effect.
She blinked, secretly sneaking a glance at Aoba. The meaning in her gaze was very clear.
"The damage to your body has been accumulating for more than ten years. It has to be treated slowly and gradually."
"I see," Seramu nodded, choosing to believe for now.
Right after, as if remembering something, she asked anxiously, "What about those soldiers you controlled?"
"Them? They're still standing there. Since you're awake now, I'll release them from the genjutsu. You just need to help explain."
Seramu nodded again. At this point, she simply said, "I understand. From now on, you'll be Roran's minister."
Aoba had a big question mark over his head, 'What, did I just steal Anrokuzan's spot?'
———
From then on, life was long training and research.
He had thought about leaving Roran to see the outside ninja world, but whenever he headed toward the desert outside, his body seemed to hit an invisible wall of air. Although he didn't suffer any injury, the rebound impact sent him flying back.
Clearly, the view ahead was open, the ground beneath his feet stretched straight to the horizon, yet strangely, there was no road forward.
This left Aoba very confused.
Carefully sensing, he realized it might be a special restriction of the Dragon Vein's chakra. He could only move within the range where the Dragon Vein existed. Once he tried to go beyond it, he would be stopped.
He tried to force his way through, but the space around him instantly became unstable. Worried that he'd be sent off to another time and space again, he chose to give up.
The Dragon Vein might not be the strongest in raw power, but this ability of traveling through time and space was truly terrifying.
No wonder in the future only Roran was affected, while the rest of the world still advanced along its original timeline.
So it turned out this ninja world's singularity was flawed by design.
Once he understood the Dragon Vein's situation, Aoba no longer thought about leaving its range.
He settled down and began studying in earnest.
Chakra in the ninja world was like petroleum, a precious resource.
As he researched the Dragon Vein's unique time-space power, while searching for a way back, he also used it as an energy source. Following some designs for daily necessities from before, he came up with one novel idea after another.
With the development of productivity, Roran's tall buildings gradually rose as well.
He finally understood why the Roran of the future looked so modernized.
It was all because of himself, time had looped closed.
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