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Dragon Vein
"Boom!"
Shirō emerged from the swirling dust, the aftermath announcing the complete annihilation of yet another band of Mountain Thieves. If not for the mask covering his face, the scene might have appeared heroic—but there was no such if.
It had been a full month since Shirō last wiped out a group of Mountain Thieves. After finishing up, he wasted no time and swiftly departed the area.
This time, having learned from past mistakes, Shirō continued using the Mountain Thieves as practical training targets—but he deliberately avoided large groups, focusing instead on smaller, scattered bands.
Last time, he had been fortunate not to run into those responsible for the handover. Otherwise, his training would have ended far too abruptly.
Over the past month, Shirō's Wind Release: Pressure Damage had improved significantly. His hand seals were faster and smoother, and he no longer needed to look down at his hands to perform them.
While he couldn't yet claim mastery, his proficiency had increased by leaps and bounds. His other Wind Release techniques had also improved noticeably, though his Wind Release condensation still left room for refinement.
Thus, the next Wind Release technique Shirō planned to cultivate was the advanced form of Vacuum Sphere—the Great Vacuum Sphere.
In truth, Shirō had an even more ambitious goal for condensation training: Sunagakure's A-rank technique, Wind Blade, renowned for its extreme compression and cutting power.
Unfortunately, Wind Blade was practically an exclusive jutsu of Sunagakure. Konoha did not possess it, and with ANBU and Root still keeping him under surveillance, acquiring it was unrealistic for now.
So, he could only settle for the Great Vacuum Sphere.
Fortunately, he had already laid a solid foundation with Vacuum Sphere. Half a month should be more than enough to fully master its advanced form.
And so, Shirō once again immersed himself in training, utterly absorbed.
As a result, the Mountain Thieves in the surrounding region suffered miserably. Nearly every group that crossed his path was crushed without mercy.
At the same time, Shirō occasionally rescued innocent travelers and captives. Slowly, a name began to spread among them—
The Smiling Devil.
Fear rippled through the Mountain Thieves. Some even considered pooling their money to place a bounty on him. But before they could act, they discovered that the Smiling Devil had vanished without a trace.
After mastering the Great Vacuum Sphere, Shirō judged that the time was right. He boarded a flying bird and departed openly, without leaving behind any misleading traces for the ANBU.
He trusted that the Third Hokage would understand.
After all, if he truly intended to defect, he could have fled the moment he left the village. Waiting until now made his intentions clear.
After watching the direction of his departure, the ANBU and Root operatives returned to Konoha.
Chasing him was pointless.
The flying bird was a creation born of human ingenuity—could they really expect their own summons or tools to surpass it? Moreover, the flight offered no concealment at all. It was blatant and impossible to disguise.
So they left the matter to the Third Hokage.
Once Shirō ascended into the sky, his first action was to Project the Invisibility Cloth. Then, without hesitation, he turned the flying bird around and headed straight for the Land of Wind.
Previously, he had deliberately traveled toward the Land of Grass. Whether anyone was truly watching or not, caution was always wise. Lying low and steadily growing stronger—that was the correct path.
Now that he had shaken off pursuit, Shirō could finally head toward his real objective.
The destination was obvious.
Rōran.
And beneath it—the Dragon Vein.
The Dragon Vein had left a deep impression on Shirō, largely thanks to countless fan novels. In those stories, it was treated as an inexhaustible energy source—a treasure refined and exploited by generations of transmigrators.
If those accounts were even partially accurate, its chakra reserves were unimaginably vast—perhaps even comparable to a Spirit Vein.
Shirō wanted to see it with his own eyes.
If possible, he even planned to establish a Workshop there.
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Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage smiled faintly after listening to the ANBU's report.
"This child…" he sighed. "Let him be. There's no need to follow him any longer. He shouldn't pose any problems."
He paused before continuing, "Go and invite the Elders. There are matters we need to discuss."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Danzo issued a similar order on his side.
Shirō's choice to depart only now made one thing clear—he had no intention of betraying Konoha. Otherwise, he would have fled long ago.
Those two months had been a test.
Shirō knew he was under surveillance after the Mountain Thieves incident, yet he still allowed the ANBU to observe him openly. That alone spoke volumes.
Rather than worrying about Shirō, whose loyalty seemed secure, it was far more worthwhile to investigate the Mountain Thieves incident itself.
None of this concerned Shirō.
At that moment, he was seated atop the flying bird, racing toward the Land of Wind.
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A week later, Shirō hovered above the desert, scanning the endless sea of sand.
Half a month later, he was still searching.
A month later… still nothing.
Only then did Shirō realize that he had severely underestimated Rōran's concealment.
The desert itself was vast, and the ever-shifting yellow sands made hiding remarkably easy. As a nation that had survived for generations, Rōran undoubtedly possessed its own specialized methods of concealment.
After more than a month of fruitless searching, Shirō finally admitted defeat.
He had assumed that Rōran, being a "country," would be easy to locate—especially since those so-called transmigrator seniors in novels always found it effortlessly.
That assumption was his mistake.
Rōran was a country in name only. It possessed an independent government, but in terms of scale, it was little more than a moderately sized city.
Finding it by blindly searching the desert was sheer fantasy.
Realizing this, Shirō descended into a nearby village to gather information.
Unfortunately, after visiting several villages—and even focusing on larger towns—he found that very few people had even heard of Rōran.
Left with no alternatives, Shirō turned to Konoha's intelligence network stationed in the region.
There, the results were immediate.
What had eluded him for over a month was easily obtained through collective intelligence. Though the information was rough—Konoha wasn't paying much attention to the area—it was enough.
In return, Shirō accepted a small task to help gather additional intelligence. It wasn't an official mission, but information within the network was often exchanged this way.
After obtaining what he needed, Shirō departed at once.
This time, the search was entirely different.
With a confirmed target, it didn't take long before he spotted traces of human activity in the desert.
Shirō's eyes lit up.
He guided the flying bird downward.
Once clues appeared, the rest was simple. Following trails and patterns was well within Shirō's capabilities.
Before long, he found it.
The Dragon Vein—or rather, one of its fulcrums.
Rōran itself remained hidden, but that no longer mattered.
For Shirō, as long as he could make contact with the Dragon Vein, it was enough.
After observing the area for a while, he crouched down and placed his hand against the ground.
"Synchronization… commence."
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