"Easy now."
Kaede Kitahara stroked the massive head lowered before him.
Compared to the Fourth Hokage sealing the Nine-Tails, this was almost laughably smooth.
The Dragon Vein had only just developed the faintest hint of awareness. At best, it possessed a hazy, infant-like will. On top of that, the sealing formula refined over generations by the Queen of Loulan worked perfectly.
The Dragon Vein was obedient.
To reach the Nine-Tails' level of full self-awareness would take at least a century, maybe several.
Kaede unfurled the scroll and poured chakra into it. Instantly, countless black sealing markings shot forward, wrapping around the Dragon Vein.
It did not resist.
Little by little, its imnse chakra was drawn inward and sealed into Kaede's body.
The process consud an enormous amount of his stamina and chakra. By the ti it was complete, even with his physique, he was breathing hard.
Then he tried to circulate the Dragon Vein's chakra.
A vast surge erupted from within him.
In an instant, a terrifying chakra cloak enveloped his body, resembling Uzumaki Naruto's Tailed Beast state.
The difference was color.
Kaede's chakra cloak was a deep violet.
And unlike the Nine-Tails' violent nature, the Dragon Vein was calm. There was no need for him to wrestle repeatedly with its will.
"This should be the Jinchuriki's unique Tailed Beast transformation," he thought. "The Dragon Vein isn't technically a Tailed Beast, but its core nature is close enough."
Still, this was not true Tailed Beast Mode.
It was rely borrowing chakra.
At this stage, the user wrapped themselves in a chakra cloak while retaining full consciousness. However, most Jinchuriki would gradually lose reason under the influence of a Tailed Beast's violent power.
If one could reach the level of Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, like Naruto's golden form, then clarity of mind would be completely preserved. The chakra cloak would shift from deep red to radiant gold.
Kaede was roughly at that tier already.
He did not need to resist any ntal intrusion.
The next stage would be Version 2, partial Tailed Beast transformation. At that point, the body would undergo visible changes while remaining humanoid. A darker chakra cloak would form, and the user could even launch Tailed Beast Bombs.
The final stage was full Tailed Beast Mode.
Like Gaara after using the Playing Possum Jutsu, when the One-Tail fully overtook his body.
Kaede began testing himself.
Taijutsu first.
Then ninjutsu.
In this transford state, his speed and strength had increased significantly. The power of his techniques rose as well.
At his will, a mass of chakra surged from his back and ford into a massive chakra arm.
This was the final piece he needed to safely use Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
If he could not approach the explosion point, then he would not.
He would throw it from afar.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
He shouted as the chakra arm ford the spinning technique in its palm.
The violently rotating Rasenshuriken seed capable of tearing the sky itself apart.
With a flick of will, he hurled it.
In the distance, a devastating explosion roared to life. A towering structure within the ruins of Roran was obliterated instantly, reduced to rubble and a smoking crater.
"Yes!"
Kaede burst into laughter.
His thinking had been right.
This technique was originally developed by Uzumaki Naruto. Following the sa progression made perfect sense.
He was not just excited because he had completed an S-rank jutsu.
From beginning to end, he had figured it out himself.
From mastering the Rasengan to evolving it into Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, every step had been the result of his own effort.
He had not relied on the system's shortcuts.
That realization eased a deep anxiety he rarely acknowledged.
What if one day the mysterious system simply disappeared?
Would he really end up hiding in Otsutsuki Ichiraku's ran shop, clinging to the future savior's coattails like a joke in his diary?
He had already lived without dignity once.
Power changed people.
With strength in his grasp, Kaede's mindset had transford completely. He had not thought about relying on a so-called savior in a long ti.
Especially now.
His presence had already created butterfly effects. The future savior might not even remain reliable.
No one was truly dependable.
Mountains collapse. People leave.
Only you remain.
Now, with the Dragon Vein sealed within him and his current arsenal of jutsu, as long as he trained steadily, even Super Kage Level was not an unreachable dream.
That was why he was so happy.
Not because he had learned one powerful technique.
But because he saw a clear path upward, one built by his own hands.
Once the thod was understood, the rest was practice.
"Ti to go."
He had no intention of lingering.
Even after using Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, his chakra had refilled almost instantly thanks to the Dragon Vein.
No wonder Naruto could sustain countless shadow clones and Rasengan.
With a chakra battery of this scale inside you, high-intensity combat beca manageable.
With the Dragon Vein's support, Kaede was no longer rely brushing against Kage Level.
He had truly stepped into it.
That certainty smoothed out much of his lingering anxiety.
In this brutally dangerous world, he finally possessed the power to protect himself.
Super Kage Level was still beyond reach.
But the first true Super Kage Level figure, Nagato, would not make his move for another three years.
Kaede vanished from the ruins.
Not long after he left, two figures clad in black cloaks patterned with red clouds arrived.
One was tall with a grotesque, stitched appearance.
The other had short blue-purple hair adorned with a purple flower.
"Are you sure there was a powerful chakra source here, Kakuzu?" the woman asked calmly.
It was Konan of Akatsuki.
And beside her stood Kakuzu.
"Yes. A chakra source on par with a Tailed Beast."
Kakuzu rubbed his chest unconsciously.
Half a month ago, in that brutal battle, he had lost two hearts.
That brat was far stronger than the Bounty Station's intelligence had suggested.
The loss infuriated him.
Two hearts gone.
Because of faulty information.
The hearts required for his Earth Grudge Fear technique were not ordinary. They had to belong to powerful ninja, and they needed compatible attributes.
The damage to his strength was significant.
Worse, the boy had been swallowed by the Dragon Vein chakra. Not even ashes remained. He could not reclaim a heart from the corpse.
The only consolation had been discovering this imnse chakra source.
A resource worthy of Akatsuki.
He had even neglected to pursue the brat's two teammates.
"Wait… where is it?"
Kakuzu stared at the empty ruins.
The massive chakra source was gone.
"Soone beat us to it."
Konan's brow furrowed as she surveyed the barren remains.
She should have co imdiately when Kakuzu reported it.
Now they were too late.
She extended her senses, feeling the residual chakra in the air.
"Wind Release. The Dragon Vein may have fallen into Sunagakure's hands."
Intelligence records ntioned a legendary energy called the Dragon Vein beneath Roran, guarded by generations of the Queen of Loulan.
But Roran was remote and isolated. Most dismissed the stories as myth.
When Kakuzu ntioned a chakra source rivaling a Tailed Beast, she connected the dots.
Now it was gone.
Judging by the lingering chakra, whoever took it had not left long ago.
The most likely candidates were Sunagakure, due to proximity, or the Konoha ninja Kakuzu had ntioned.
A small Konoha team had traveled here recently. That alone suggested foreknowledge.
Whether Sunagakure or Konoha had taken it, retrieving it would not be easy.
"They can't have gone far. Search."
Konan ford paper wings and soared into the sky.
From above, she scanned the desert.
Nothing.
No footprints.
No tracks.
"How is that possible?"
Even ninja left traces.
After circling the ruins several tis, she could only withdraw.
The Dragon Vein was gone.
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