"As long as I absorb the Dragon Vein's power, I'll definitely be able to defeat even Kai Mitarashi!" Centipede roared madly in his heart.
Kai watched Centipede calmly, showing no intention of stopping him.
Kai wasn't certain whether interfering with Centipede would prevent the Dragon Vein's time-traversing ability from activating. To be safe, he let Centipede absorb the Dragon Vein's power.
"How fascinating though. I remember very clearly—I searched this exact location before, and there were absolutely none of these ancient ruins here then. Could this be the power of time?"
Kai's eyes were filled with intense curiosity, clearly fascinated by this phenomenon.
Suddenly, a pillar of violet light erupted from the Dragon Vein's center!
It expanded rapidly, completely engulfing Centipede.
"Hinata, hold onto me! Kimimaro, Haku, you two stay here and guard this place. If I don't appear within three days, return to Konoha and tell Tsunade that I'll be back soon. While I'm gone, protect Tsunade and Kurenai!" Kai said gravely, then embraced Hinata and leaped into the light pillar.
Kai felt a moment of disorientation, and the next instant found himself in a place filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. An elegant woman holding a harp was teaching a seven or eight-year-old girl to sing.
Seeing Kai's sudden appearance, both were startled. The elegant woman hugged the little girl protectively, looking at Kai with caution as she asked: "Judging by your attire, you must be a traveler from afar. I am the queen of this place. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Looking at the two before him, Kai couldn't help thinking:
This little girl must be Queen Sara from the storyline, and this elegant woman appears to be the previous queen—she hasn't died yet, so it seems Centipede and I arrived at roughly the same time.
Seeing the elegant woman's inquiry, Kai smiled slightly: "Greetings, Your Majesty. I apologize for the intrusion. I am Kai Mitarashi from the Land of Fire. May I ask Your Majesty about a certain person?"
Seeing Kai's respectful attitude and the twelve or thirteen-year-old girl (Hinata) behind him, the elegant woman felt Kai probably wasn't a bad person.
She relaxed and smiled: "Please speak, visitor from the Land of Fire."
"Your Majesty, do you happen to know of a ninja named Centipede?" Kai asked.
But seeing the elegant woman's puzzled expression, Kai awkwardly slapped his forehead and said apologetically: "Ah, he should have changed his name to An Lushan by now."
Hearing Kai's words, the elegant woman's gaze showed a hint of wariness. But little Sara beside her exclaimed excitedly: "Minister An Lushan! I know him! I know him!"
The elegant woman wanted to stop little Sara but it was too late. She could only look at Kai warily and ask: "What business do you have with Minister An Lushan?"
It seemed this current queen had already discovered Centipede's conspiracy—this made things much simpler, Kai thought.
He replied: "Your Majesty, this An Lushan is a rogue ninja from our shinobi world, extremely dangerous. My purpose in coming here is to eliminate him, so Your Majesty need not worry."
Only then did the queen's wariness begin to fade, though her fear of Centipede seemed deeply ingrained. She couldn't help asking: "Visitor from the Land of Fire, An Lushan is very powerful. I wonder if you..."
The queen didn't finish her words, but Kai understood her meaning.
Without taking offense, Kai smiled: "Your Majesty, I pursued An Lushan all the way here. If he weren't afraid of me, why would he change his name to An Lushan? So you can rest assured."
The queen thought about it and realized this logic made sense. Looking at Kai, her eyes grew misty as she pleaded: "Please, visitor from the Land of Fire, save our kingdom of Rōran."
"In that case, let's settle this today," Kai said.
"Yes." The queen nodded eagerly.
Inside Rōran's Royal Palace
The time difference between Kai and Centipede's arrival in this timeline was roughly a year. In just this one year, Centipede had already eaten himself into a ball—clearly Rōran's food was excellent.
Draped in a deep purple robe, Centipede looked at the queen and said: "Your Majesty, please once again activate the Dragon Vein's power to complete the remaining buildings of Rōran."
"No, I refuse!" The queen looked down at Centipede and said firmly.
"Refuse?" Centipede was stunned, then smiled contemptuously. Straightening up, he looked at the queen: "Your Majesty, do you know what consequences refusing me will bring?"
The Rōran queen didn't speak, only quietly stared at Centipede.
Seeing today's queen seemed somewhat different, Centipede frowned and was about to speak when a nightmarish voice reached his ears:
"What consequences? I'd be very interested to know."
Hearing this voice, Centipede's pupils slowly dilated, his body stiffened, and he slowly turned his head toward one side behind the queen. Then his pupils contracted sharply!
Kai Mitarashi!
The very terrifying existence he feared day and night!
"Centipede, for you, we haven't seen each other in quite a while," Kai said with a smile.
"Kai Mitarashi! How... how did you get here?!" Centipede's expression showed panic.
Kai's previously smiling face suddenly turned cold as he said icily: "Of course I came here to kill you!"
"You... go die!" Centipede's face twisted viciously. The puppets behind him all lunged toward Kai, while Centipede himself fled toward the rear without hesitation.
"Run? Can you still... escape?"
Kai's voice echoed countless times in the spacious palace, resounding from all directions around Centipede.
Centipede, who was sprinting outward, suddenly froze completely. Only despair remained in his eyes. The next moment, Centipede had become a mass of crimson flesh.
"Can't let you defile such a magnificent palace," Kai said indifferently.
Thus, under Kai's repulsive force control, the flesh that had been Centipede flew far into space.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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