They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 198 The Dragon Vein of the Ancient Kingdom of Loulan - Naruto the Uzumaki

As it turned out, Hozuki Shingetsu's considerations were correct.

Because while the five of them were on their way to the ancient kingdom of Loulan, four other people were also heading to the ancient kingdom of Loulan from another direction.

"Kakashi, can you still hold on?"

As the four walked, a handsome young man with blond hair turned to look at another child with silver-white hair and half of his face covered by a black mask, and asked with concern.

"This is nothing to me, Minato-sensei."

Kakashi Hatake shook his head, indicating that he was fine.

"In that case, let's give it our all! According to our calculations, we should reach our destination in half a day. This is a rare opportunity given the passing of the Kazekage of Sunagakure and the village's current turmoil and closure, allowing us to infiltrate the Land of Wind's mission. We must complete this mission flawlessly!"

-

"So this is the Loulan Kingdom... It's truly incredible that they were able to build such a city in the desert!"

The sudden appearance of a fortified city in the middle of an endless desert is quite visually striking.

However, it was clear that Hozuki Shingetsu and his group were not here for tourism. So after pausing briefly to confirm that this was Loulan, the group rushed towards the city.

-

"Lord Centipede, where has Lord Renji gone?"

In the city of Loulan, in a magnificent golden palace, the current Queen Sara, seated on her throne, looked at the ministers standing bowing before her and asked a question.

"Lord Jinji? He said it's a major matter concerning the country's development, and he needs to go to Sunagakure to discuss it. He should be back in a few days!"

Sarah was clearly not satisfied with the bespectacled, obese minister's answer. Logically speaking, such a matter of a high-ranking official going out to negotiate should have been discussed with her, the Queen.

However, Baizu happened to be the "regent minister" appointed by her mother before her death, so she couldn't explain it and could only wave her hand helplessly to indicate that she understood.

"Alright then, tell him to contact me as soon as he gets back!"

"Yes, sir."

Centipede responded respectfully, then slowly turned and left the hall.

"See him? You will indeed be able to see him soon!"

As the palace gates slowly closed, a sinister glint flashed in Centipede's eyes.

His plan is about to be fully realized, at which point he will no longer need Sarah, this puppet in the open, to put on a show.

Although the current situation in the ninja world is very different from what he remembers, as long as he relies on the underground dragon vein and the massive puppet army, he will definitely have a place in the ninja world!

"All that's left is to wait for that madman Sasori to kill the Third Kazekage, causing chaos in the Sunagakure army and forcing them to start the Third Shinobi World War. When that chaos arrives, with this massive puppet army, I might just be able to take over the Sunagakure!"

Just as Centipede was lost in endless fantasies, he suddenly heard a series of piercing alarms sounding in the city.

"Oh no, the dragon vein!"

His expression changed, and he immediately ran frantically towards the ground.

-

At this moment, the people of Kirigakure had already quietly arrived underground in Loulan City, and naturally saw a large number of former Loulan citizens, dressed in tattered clothes, working.

Hozuki Shingetsu didn't come here with a selfless intention to save people. After a casual glance, the group bypassed the guard puppet's detection and went straight to the core of the dragon vein.

"Zongren, give it a try."

At Hozuki Shingetsu's prompting, Uzumaki Muneto arrived at the stone platform that was shimmering with fluorescent light.

"Sealing Technique: Eight Trigrams Sealing!"

As the whirlpool sect member formed hand seals, countless dense sealing runes began to move in all directions along the position of his palm, quickly enveloping the entire stone platform.

At the same time, the ground began to rumble, and the stone platform began to emit a flashing blue glow.

Seeing this scene, Uzumaki Muneto quickly took out a sealing jar he had prepared in advance, attempting to guide the dragon vein chakra into the jar.

Since the decision has been made to subdue this dragon vein, the container must be prepared in advance.

Although this jar is not as good as the amber bottle left by the Sage of Six Paths in Kumogakure, it is still an ancient clan artifact passed down from the Uzumaki clan, and it is more than enough to seal the dragon vein chakra.

However, just when Hozuki Shingetsu thought that the operation to subdue the dragon vein chakra was progressing smoothly, he suddenly heard a rapid alarm sound, followed by the stone platform flashing a blinding red light in short, powerful bursts.

"Something's wrong... Clan member, retreat!"

Hozuki Shingetsu immediately realized that the dragon vein chakra was in an extremely unstable state. If a chakra aggregate of this size were to explode, the power would be unimaginable.

Without saying a word, he immediately entered tailed beast form, his tails encircling Mei Terumi and the other two children. He then activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and fled the area as if escaping.

Uzumaki Munen naturally noticed the change in events, so he immediately used a sealing technique to temporarily seal the dragon vein chakra. Then he grabbed Hozuki Shingetsu's outstretched chakra tail and followed him away from the spot.

Less than five seconds after they left, the sealing technique temporarily left behind by Uzumaki Muneto finally succumbed to the impact of the surging dragon vein chakra and dissipated.

Immediately afterwards, the surging chakra, carrying a powerful aura, shot up from the stone platform exit, shattering layers of rock walls with overwhelming force, forming a pale blue pillar of light that shot straight into the sky from the ground.

Its beam of light was so bright that even Namikaze Minato and others, who were dozens of kilometers away in Loulan, could see it clearly.

"This is bad; something may have happened in the Loulan Kingdom."

Minato Namikaze's expression changed as he gazed at the blue pillar of light in the distance.

As his first mission since being promoted to Jonin, and as the first time a local force from the Land of Wind had made a request to Konoha, this mission could not fail, whether from the perspective of the village or from his personal perspective.

So after a brief moment of thought, he decided to set off first to investigate the situation.

"I'll go ahead and check the situation. You all keep your formation and follow me quickly!"

After saying that, he transformed into a yellow lightning bolt and fled towards the distant Loulan Kingdom.

-

Even the distant Minato Namikaze, dozens of kilometers away, could see this pillar of light, so those within Loulan City could naturally sense the astonishing power contained within it even more clearly.

"This is... the power of the dragon vein. Who disturbed the dragon vein?"

Sarah looked at the pillar of light not far away and sensed the source of its power through her bloodline, her face showing surprise.

"Dragon vein? What's that?"

Beside her, a young Konoha ninja with blond hair and a fox beard asked with a puzzled expression.

(End of this chapter)