From undercover in Konoha, to I am the Hokage!

Chapter 159: Tower of Thousands (5k)

"Dragon Veins?"

In the Hokage's office, Tsunade sat at her desk, looking at the task application form in her hand. Her slender eyebrows couldn't help but frowned. She raised her head in confusion and looked at the young man in front of her, wondering:

"Why do you suddenly want to investigate this kind of thing?"

"Just to test some of my guesses."

Sahara Kiri said calmly, "If my research is correct, there may be a substance I urgently need near the Kingdom of Loulan, which is located in the center of this dragon vein."

"However, this is just my guess and cannot be confirmed for the time being."

Tsunade was startled when she heard this, and subconsciously said, "Urgent need? Something like a dragon vein."

Halfway through her speech, she seemed to remember something, and said with a serious expression: "You don't want to use this thing to increase the total amount of chakra, do you? Didn't Jiraiya tell you before that this is a kind of energy that cannot be directly absorbed?"

"Even so, it must have other uses."

Sahara Kiri looked confident: "At least, we have to explore it first to understand it."

Looking at his determined look, Tsunade put down the application form in her hand, her expression softened a bit, and she said in a gentle tone: "Wig, you should know very well that with your current strength, even in the era of my grandfather, you would be considered a strong man."

"At least, in this era, there is nothing that can threaten us, right?"

"Why are you still so obsessed with becoming stronger?"

This is actually not just Tsunade's concern, but also the concern of many people.

Since ancient times, they have known more than one or two geniuses who have embarked on evil paths in order to become stronger, but the bottleneck of most of them has not reached the level of Sawara Kiri.

Tsunade's concern is not without reason, and she is also afraid that Kiri will do something radical because of this desire.

He is now the true pillar of Konoha and is no longer alone as he used to be. Whether out of a sense of responsibility to the village or personal wishes, Tsunade does not want anything to happen to Sawara Kiri.

Upon hearing this, Sawara Kiri sighed inwardly. He must have known that he would not make any radical choices, but how could others know?

He thought about it, and finally put on a heavy look and said softly: "In fact, it was some words of Uchiha Madara before his death that made me alert."

"Ok?"

Hearing this, Tsunade was also stunned. She didn't expect this to be the answer.

But thinking about it carefully, when Uchiha Madara was stabbed to death by Sawara Kiri, he seemed to have said something in his ear, but they, the people outside, didn't hear it. His expression became more serious:
"Did he leave any tricks behind?"

“It’s not just a backhand.”

Sahara Kiri's expression became more solemn, and he slowly lowered his voice and whispered, "All things in the universe are one." He said that this was the last sentence written on the stone tablet left by their Uchiha clan.

"Rumor has it that it involves the secret of becoming the Sage of Six Paths."

"After waking up, I also asked Yayoi and the others, and there is indeed such a family heirloom that can read different levels of content according to the power of the Sharingan."

"I think he must have gotten some great secret from it."

"Moreover, this kind of secret is what even strong men of his level are constantly pursuing."

"I dare not easily ignore this level of power."

"In practical terms, my current strength is still much lower than that of the former Shura of the Ninja World."

After hearing his nonsense, Tsunade's expression suddenly became extremely solemn.

This was not groundless talk, but was the result of the last threat from an extremely powerful person before his death, so she had no choice but to be cautious.

"But what does this have to do with the dragon vein?"

“No power can be gained out of thin air.”

Sahara Kiri's tone became increasingly gentle, but his expression was very solemn: "I pondered for a long time during the time I was in the hospital, but I couldn't come up with an explanation for this prophecy, so I changed my way of thinking."

"If you want to obtain the strength of me and Uchiha Madara, you have to rely on the energy of this world anyway."

"In my personal opinion, there are only two things that can generate this kind of intense energy."

"One is the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki hidden in each village."

"Second, it is the terrifying power hidden beneath this world."

"The solution to the myriad phenomena can be used to make endless and complicated methods, and it can also be used to make all things in the world."

"So, I began to explore the greatest source of energy that could be tapped in this world - and finally, I found dragon veins and natural energy."

Hearing this, Tsunade couldn't help but nod.

There is nothing wrong with his thinking and logic. The power of all things in the universe must be integrated into one, which naturally means that all power in this world should be attributed to one person as a direct interpretation.

If we think in this way, the ubiquitous natural energy and even the power held by the three holy places must be the first suspect options.

The only question is, why did Uchiha Madara tell Sawara Kiri this?

Is there any trap in this matter?
Tsunade thought this in her heart, and looked up at Sawara Kiri with a serious expression. Then she suddenly understood his intention of submitting this application form to her - it was precisely because it was very dangerous that he had to apply to their Hokage's office.

If not, he would just go there himself.

So, there is only one problem left now.

"Are you sure enough?"

Tsunade looked at him solemnly, "Is there anything else that Konoha needs to provide you with?"

Seeing her attitude, Sahara Kiri suddenly felt relieved: "Of course, at least there is still a chance of survival - it shouldn't be likely that anything dangerous will happen."

"Ancient ruins exploration is not even considered a high-level task in Konoha's task list."

"However, I need someone who is good at contacting natural energy and sealing techniques to go with me so that I can study the nature of dragon vein energy."

"We don't need too many people. One or two teams will be enough."

Tsunade nodded when she heard this, and it was obvious that Sawara Kiri had a plan in mind.

In this case, she was relieved.

"As long as you know what's going on."

"However, this matter concerns the safety of all villagers, and cannot be handled by just your team."

"Since we are going to study the nature of the dragon vein core, it would be best to add a scientific research candidate in addition to the natural energy inspector."

Sahara Kiri was startled when he heard this.

Then, Tsunade signed a few names on the list quickly with a big stroke of her pen.

"Leaded by the Sawara Kiri team, and assisted by Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Hatake Sakumo's team, we will head to Loulan to explore the core intersection of the dragon veins."

Sawara Kiri's eyes suddenly widened.

Is it such a big deal?!
Five days later, Loulan Kingdom.

The two teams led by Sawara Kiri have already entered the territory of Loulan.

However, although the so-called Loulan Kingdom is a country, it is actually just a small dot on the map. Not to mention compared with big countries like the Fire Kingdom and the Wind Kingdom, even compared with a small country like the Rain Kingdom, it seems extremely small.

At the same time, the country's level of civilization is quite backward. Except for the capital of Loulan, the vast majority of the country's citizens make a living by nomadism and trade, and the border lines are quite vague.

Also because of this national characteristic, most of the borders within the entire Loulan Kingdom are the same as those of the Kingdom of Wind, with large-scale desertification occurring and serious environmental problems.

The group of six walked along the way and their mouths were full of sand and dust.

It was not until we entered the capital that the desolate scenery gradually faded away. There were many more caravans and horsemen around, using this city located in the center of the desert oasis as a relay point to travel between the two countries of Wind and Fire.

Look around.

A city standing in the middle of the desert, covered with tall towers, lies there like a giant.

The process of entering the city is not difficult, and the scenery is completely new. Even the wind and sand are blocked by the high towers on the periphery. The streets are crowded with people, and you can see pedestrians from all over the world coming and going. Stalls and shops are scattered throughout the streets.

In order to avoid being spotted, Sawara Kiri and his group of six, under Jiraiya's instruction, rode on horses, put on robes, and pretended to be wandering travelers.

"Jiraiya-sama, why don't we just go to the palace?"

Sahara Kiri looked at him in confusion and asked, "With Konoha's warrant, you should be able to see the Queen of Loulan directly, right?"

"Eh."

Jiraiya waved his hand: "Don't underestimate my intelligence network."

"According to my informants, although the Loulan Kingdom has a long history and has been passed down for thousands of years, the power of the current queen has been completely taken away by her ministers." "The matter we are here to investigate this time concerns the safety of the entire ninja world. If any information is accidentally leaked, it will be spread all over the street."

"Instead of doing this, it's better to change the way."

Namikaze Minato was also puzzled: "Teacher, do you have any acquaintances here?"

"Of course, who do you think I am, teacher?"

Jiraiya was full of confidence: "However, before we start the research, we still need to solve some minor problems."

However, even the pale-faced Orochimaru did not make any mockery in this regard.

Although Jiraiya looked like just an ordinary old pervert, even he had to admit that this last-place guy's ability in intelligence made him the best choice in Konoha today.

really.

After just a few turns, the group left their horses and, led by Jiraiya, turned into a remote alley, knocking on a wooden door three times and twice with a special technique.

After a while, they saw an old woman with a haggard look push open the door and welcome them in.

Finally, he glanced outside the door twice to make sure that no one was following him, then slowly closed the door.

After the door was closed, a figure rushed out of the room and said anxiously:
"You are the ninjas of Konoha, right?"

"Excuse me, are you here at the Queen's invitation to help us get rid of that fellow An Lushan?"

Sawara Kiri and others were all stunned when they heard this.

However, Jiraiya tore off his disguise and said calmly: "That's right, when can we see the Queen? And who are you?"

Hearing this, the girl seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief: "Excuse me, I am Queen Luya's personal maid, Sarah."

"I just received the Queen's order yesterday and came to greet you all."

"Right now, Her Majesty the Queen is summoning ministers in the palace. Please follow me through the secret passage into the Thousand Towers."

Hearing the maid's name, Sahara Kiri subconsciously glanced at her long crimson hair and seemed to have some impression of her.

If I remember correctly, she should be the daughter of the current queen.

This country only appeared in the theatrical version of "The Lost Tower" in the original world line. It tells the story of Naruto and others traveling to this point in time, cooperating with Minato Namikaze and others who came to carry out the mission, to defeat An Lushan, the powerful minister who killed the queen, and save Sara and the country of Loulan. The plot is short and the content is simple, but there is a dragon vein that allows ninjas to travel through time and space stably.

An Lushan even used the power of dragon veins to create a puppet army for fighting, in an attempt to conquer the five major countries.

But that little bit of strength is just a "small problem" for their lineup.

However, even though he thought so in his heart, after Orochimaru glanced at him, Sawara Kiri immediately seemed to understand something and had no intention of revealing the girl's identity.

Led by the girl, the group went down and then up along the secret passage, passing through the complex paths between the towers.

By the time we walked out of the last exit, we had already entered the interior of the Thousand Towers.

Seeing the light outside, Sawara Kiri subconsciously raised his head.

As the name suggests, the so-called 'Thousand Towers' is a large cluster of towers made up of countless tall towers, numbering no less than a hundred in total.

Looking from a high place, one can even catch a glimpse of industrial dust floating in the distance. It is a city that is so developed that it doesn't seem like it could be built in such a desert country.

“Is that smoke over there from the factory?”

Sahara Kiri followed Sarah and asked a few questions.

"That's right!"

The hurriedly walking girl couldn't help but puff out her chest when she heard this: "Although our Loulan Kingdom is small, we have the largest puppet manufacturing factory in the entire ninja world. The whole area from south to north is our puppet factory. Even the Wind Kingdom often places military orders with us!"

"Are all of them powered by dragon veins?" Orochimaru asked suddenly.

“Yes, all of them.”

Halfway through her speech, Sarah's voice weakened and she smiled at him angrily.

Orochimaru immediately felt relieved.

It seems that Sawara Kiri's attempt to control the power of the dragon vein and the prophecy that Tsunade told them are indeed not groundless.

Does the royal family of Loulan have the ability to control the dragon veins to a certain extent?

Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato walked at the end of the team. While being ready to fight at any time, they were also secretly memorizing the passage between the tall tower and the secret passage so as not to get lost during the mission.

Sawara Kiri walked quickly while releasing his "Six Eyes" to observe every blind spot around him with his super-wide vision.

From a distance, he had raised his head and was looking towards a tall tower in the north.

He could feel that all the dragon vein energy near the country of Loulan was channeled into a room in that tall tower.

Is that the node for traveling through time and space?

If nothing unexpected happens, it will probably take at least a few more years for the contents of the original movie to happen, right?
Just as he was thinking this in his heart, his eyes froze involuntarily.

In the chakra vision of the "Six Eyes", the spatial nodes where these people were located suddenly began to ripple with strong wave-like ripples.

Although my body didn't feel anything, the entire space seemed to be blocked by some special force.

When Zuo Yuan Wu saw this scene, he seemed to realize something and suddenly said:
"Sarah, in which direction is your mother's palace?"

"Eh?"

Sarah looked at him in confusion after hearing this. She didn't understand how her identity was discovered, but she still subconsciously raised her finger:

"at."

Almost at the moment when the sound fell.

"boom--!"

A bright flame suddenly exploded from the top of a tall tower at the edge of their sight, and half of the tower wall collapsed, with countless bricks, stones and wood blocks flying into the sky.

".That."

The girl's voice fell with inertia, and she stood there in a daze, looking in that direction with an expression of disbelief.

'how come? ! ’

All the ninjas present had already realized the problem in advance.

Sahara Kiri, who was at the front, suddenly grabbed Sarah and jumped up. The whole team seemed to have heard the starting gun and suddenly flew towards the direction where the sound came from.

But at the same time, in the center of the formation that Sawara Kiri had noticed in the distance, bursts of violent dragon vein riots also broke out.

Energy like fire shot up into the sky, like a blazing white pillar descending from nowhere. The violent wind and waves engulfed everything around it, causing some of the surrounding towers to collapse.

"Is this the power of the dragon vein?!"

Jiraiya, who was standing horizontally on the tower wall with his hands against the wind and waves, couldn't help but widen his eyes and looked in the direction where the blazing light beam burst out with an expression of disbelief.

This is completely different from the natural energy he knew.

In contrast to him, the moment Orochimaru sensed the energy, his golden snake eyes suddenly widened and he stared at the beam of light in a daze.

Not only him, Namikaze Minato also looked at that place with an incredible expression, and raised his voice against the wind pressure:

"This is... Space-Time Chakra?!"

"How can there be such a large amount!"

Although he had anticipated that his appearance would inevitably bring about great changes to the world line, it would probably cause many waves in both the future and the past.

But Sawara Kiri still couldn't understand why such a big abnormality occurred at such a critical juncture?
It's like someone is timing them.

However, the current situation did not allow him to think any further.

"Don't worry about that for now!"

Sawara Kiri's expression was tense, and his "six eyes" looked solemnly into the distance.

Almost at the same moment when the explosion sounded, countless dense black spots suddenly shot out from the high tower in the distance.

When Sawara Kiri looked carefully with his "Six Eyes", he could see that those black spots were puppets connected to each other, rushing towards them like a swarm of bees.

It was obvious that the owner of this place had discovered them.

　Sarah in the picture shows what she will look like five years later. She is still a little girl now.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)