Time passed in a blink.
More than a month had passed since Kushina and Minato had been staying in the ancient land of Loulan.
During this time, Konoha had instructed Kushina to return to the village as soon as possible, but the person involved was unwilling to go back, and Konoha did not dare to actually have Minato force her back.
Thus, Minato could only be forced to stay here to protect Kushina's safety.
During this period, Minato, following Ryun's example from years past, began using the power of the Dragon Vein to train in the sage arts of Mount Myoboku.
Over this month, his progress in sage arts was rapid. Training here for one month was equivalent to a whole year of training at Mount Myoboku. His half baked sage arts quickly reached the level of power boost and duration expected of a normal Sage Mode.
"Minato, you really don't need to deliberately stay here to protect me. I am capable of protecting myself. Besides, Ryun is right here. If there's any danger I can't handle, I can wake him up at any time..."
During a meal, Kushina tried to reason with Minato. She felt somewhat bad seeing him follow her around every day.
"Let's wait a bit longer... Based on my perception of Ryun over this past month, the speed at which he absorbs the Dragon Vein energy has clearly increased significantly. I think the day he wakes up is not far off!"
Minato did not refute Kushina's point. He himself also felt that Kushina staying here wasn't dangerous, and he had actually already started considering returning to the village.
Konoha's previous worry about Kushina being taken away by Ryun was unnecessary. If Kushina truly did not want to stay in Konoha, even if the Hokage sent 100 jonin to guard her day and night, they probably still couldn't stop Ryun.
So the decision to stay or leave had always been up to Kushina and Ryun. Outsiders had neither the right nor the ability to interfere with their decision. Minato had always believed this.
"Really? That's great!!!"
Hearing that Ryun showed signs of waking up, Kushina was immediately overjoyed, her face breaking into a happy smile.
Minato understood sage arts. After activating Sage Mode, his perception of natural energy was even more delicate than Sarah's perception of the Dragon Vein, which was how he could detect this situation.
"That guy really has immense patience... To be able to stay hidden in the Dragon Vein day and night for these five years, training without communicating or interacting with anyone, his perseverance is truly somewhat frightening..."
Sarah commented while eating. She originally wanted to say he was a madman, but held back because Kushina was present.
"Him, he's been like this since he was little... once he enters a training state, it's day and night. Aunt Asuka complained to me about this many times back then..."
Mentioning Asuka, Kushina's mood visibly dipped.
"He is always very obsessed with power. He always believed that with sufficient power, one can control their own destiny, change the destinies of others, and even reverse life and death, transcend the cycle of reincarnation..."
After hearing Kushina's words, Minato and Sarah both looked very surprised. They never thought someone could be so fanatical.
His first reaction to his old classmate's extreme thinking was madness, his second was awe.
If anyone else had such thoughts, Minato would definitely think they were insane. But Ryun was the second person after the First Hokage to be deified by the ninja world. If such a person, utterly obsessed with power, said he wanted to reverse life and death and transcend reincarnation, it definitely wouldn't be just empty words.
"Reversing life and death, transcending reincarnation... only a true god should be able to do that..." Sarah subconsciously murmured.
Hearing this, Minato suddenly paused, then immediately looked at Kushina and asked seriously, "Ryun... he couldn't still be holding onto his obsession, wanting to revive Aunt Asuka, could he???"
There was no tombstone for Asuka in Konoha. Ryun didn't erect one, and he didn't allow Kushina to either. Minato heard that the body was taken away by Ryun himself back then...
Reviving the dead would be defying the heavens. Those who touch such taboos usually don't end well.
"I don't know... Ryun has always been very strong willed. No one can stop him from doing what he wants. I just need to stand behind him, supporting and believing in him unconditionally..."
"..."
Minato was silent for a long time before sighing. "The power Ryun possesses is enough to end these troubled times. I hope he does not stray onto a wrong path..."
Minato didn't dare ask Kushina to influence or control Ryun's thoughts. His words weren't solely for the sake of peace in the ninja world; he genuinely hoped Ryun would not become overly obsessed with that forbidden power and 'fall into demonic ways'.
If Ryun one day discovered that life and death cannot be reversed and reincarnation cannot be transcended, once such a person's 'heart of the way' collapses, it becomes very easy for him to go to extremes.
For such an obsessive person, 'doing good brings prosperity to the world, doing evil makes all beings weep'. Whether he becomes a god or a demon rests entirely on a single thought. This was Ryun's terrifying aspect, and what Minato worried about in his heart at this moment.
Kushina did not respond to Minato's words. Whether Ryun walked the righteous path or strayed onto a wrong path didn't matter to Kushina. This was her man. Even if Ryun were to fall into demonic ways in the future, she would not hesitate to jump down with him.
Time flew by, and another three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Minato had left the ancient land of Loulan and returned to Konoha two months ago. Now, only Kushina remained, waiting steadfastly in the core area of the Dragon Vein.
On this day.
The previously calm pool of the Dragon Vein began to show obvious abnormal movement. The thick purple spiritual liquid began to boil continuously, and a large number of bubbles emerged from the spot where Ryun was situated.
"Ryun, are you finally waking up!!!"
Kushina was so excited that tears fell, but she did not dare to shout or make noise at this critical moment.
She was afraid of disturbing Ryun's training, and even more afraid of causing adverse consequences.
Rumble!!!
A distinct vibration suddenly came from deep underground in the ancient land of Loulan. Sarah instantly understood that something was happening with the Dragon Vein. She immediately lifted her long skirt and ran towards the core area of the Dragon Vein.
At this moment, the originally still spiritual liquid of the Dragon Vein was no longer calm. A noticeable depression had formed above where Ryun was located, and the vast spiritual liquid began to slowly rotate and flow around this depression.
As this weak vortex appeared, the overall water level of the Dragon Vein's spiritual liquid also began to gradually drop.
Vast amounts of natural energy surged madly into the Black Dragon's body. This time, the amount of energy 'swallowed like a whale and drunk like an ox' was enormous, quickly exceeding the total amount absorbed over the previous year. This was also the reason why the Dragon Vein was vibrating.
Countless amounts of energy poured into the Black Dragon's body without causing any visible expansion. However, under this high intensity energy infusion, a long, narrow crack suddenly appeared on its curved dragon spine.
A large number of bubbles emerged from the crack, and even more spiritual liquid rushed into the dragon's body through the crack at this time.
The purple liquid rotated faster, and the overall water level of the Dragon Vein dropped rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This situation lasted for a full ten minutes. In these short ten minutes, nearly one tenth of the Dragon Vein was depleted. This scene made the Queen of Loulan watching from the platform feel her heart bleeding.
The Dragon Vein was related to Loulan's national fortune. A reduction in the Dragon Vein's energy would affect the ecological stability of the oasis beneath their feet. If Ryun had not done her a favor, she would never allow anyone to extract the Dragon Vein's energy like this.
Fortunately, the energy contained by the creature in the pool reached a certain limit. The vortex on the surface of the purple spiritual liquid gradually stopped rotating, but more gas continued to bubble up incessantly.
A pair of hands suddenly reached out from the crack on the Black Dragon's spine. The hands pushed left and right with force, and in an instant, a human figure emerged from within the Black Dragon's body.
This bizarre scene was unknown to those outside. After the figure emerged, it looked upward, then grabbed the old body at the bottom of the pool and swiftly swam towards the shadow above.
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