Chapter 101: The Tower of Loss

All the people of Loulan had been turned into puppets, and by now, those within her own kingdom had likely been replaced as well.

Otherwise, Baizu would not have been bold enough to try replacing even her, the queen herself.

Under such circumstances, Loulan could be said to be completely under Baizu's control. Who knew how many puppets had already been manufactured.

Therefore, relying on her own strength alone, there was simply no way to resolve this situation.

So the only hope now lay with the ninja of Konohagakure, and that mysterious organization—Terra.

"Please help me. I am willing to give anything, as long as I and Loulan can afford it..."

Hearing Sara's words, Uchiha ri spoke up: "Don't worry. That bastard Baizu is our target anyway, so we'll definitely help with this. However..."

Sara grew anxious and instinctively grabbed hold of Uchiha ri's cloak: "However what? As for payment, please rest assured—Loulan will certainly be able to offer the two of you satisfactory compensation!"

Before the power of the Dragon Vein had been developed, Loulan was merely a poor little nation.

But ever since the Dragon Vein's power was harnessed, Loulan had erected thousands upon thousands of towers.

Although it lacked in certain other aspects—such as military strength and defense—when it came to money, Loulan truly never wanted for it.

Uchiha ri shook his head and said, "It's not a matter of money."

Thanks to the release of "The Legends of Terra," he was not particularly short on funds at the moment.

Even though the first volume had nearly saturated its sales and his income was now declining, that still wasn't a problem—he still had the second and third volumes to sell.

After all, his goal had always been the power of the Dragon Vein, nothing else.

On her end, Sara heard Hyūga Gen's words and was momentarily stunned, then seemed to think of something, and her face flushed red.

At that thought, she hastily released Uchiha ri's cloak, her expression turning wary as she shielded her chest with both hands: "I never imagined you would be that kind of person!"

Seeing Sara's reaction, the corner of Uchiha ri's mouth twitched.

He truly had not expected Sara's imagination to be so vivid. He hadn't even made any kind of request, yet she had already concocted an entire drama in her head.

Kakashi, too, had caught on by now, and watched the scene unfold with keen interest.

He couldn't wait to see Uchiha ri get himself into trouble, and maybe even take a beating for once.

"You've misunderstood."

Uchiha ri looked at Sara, who was growing more and more wary, and spoke:

"What I meant was, the root of all this is Baizu—the An Lushan you spoke of. Only by defeating him can Loulan's tragedy come to an end."

"So, if you want our help, then take me directly to the location of the Dragon Vein. Baizu is certain to be there."

Hearing Uchiha ri's explanation, Sara remained hesitant: "Is that really all?"

She watched him cautiously, looking as if she might bolt at any moment.

Uchiha ri found it somewhat amusing: "Really. Why would I lie to you?"

He paused briefly, then said seriously, "Don't worry. I'm not interested in you."

"Fine—wait a moment." Sara was rather displeased at his words, puffing out her cheeks indignantly. "What do you mean by that?"

"..."

...

In the central tower district of Loulan, a vast flight of stone steps descended straight into the earth.

This was where the Dragon Vein lay. In later years, when Loulan fell, these towers would come to be known as the "Lost Tower."

At this moment, Uchiha ri walked at the head of the group, with Sara in the middle, and Kakashi bringing up the rear.

Whatever strange logic Sara's mind worked on, he had spent considerable effort to smooth things over and finally convince her to lead him to the Dragon Vein.

Upon entering the underground tower, the surging fluctuations of chakra in the air grew ever heavier, making it somewhat hard for him to breathe.

Yet this was merely the chakra emitted unconsciously while the Dragon Vein lay dormant. Were it to be fully activated, it would shake heaven and earth.

Sara gripped the railing beside her, her expression solemn: "The power of the Dragon Vein lies below. Once we reach the altar, I can use the incantation to seal it away."

The rulers of Loulan had, for generations, held the means to control the Dragon Vein.

Now, as they drew closer and closer to it, her perception of the Dragon Vein grew increasingly acute.

Furrowing her brow, she glanced at Uchiha ri ahead of her, then turned back to look at Kakashi.

Finally, she halted her steps, no longer descending further.

Uchiha ri turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

As he spoke, both he and Kakashi tensed into wary stances, suspecting some danger nearby.

But Sara wore a complicated expression, and her tone turned somewhat cold: "The two of you seem to carry the power of the Dragon Vein upon you. The problem is—that power does not seem to belong to our Loulan."

Hearing this, Kakashi shot a glance at Uchiha ri, his right hand quietly moving toward the ninja pouch at his waist.

"You're right. We do carry the power of the Dragon Vein." Uchiha ri gently shook his head, signaling for Kakashi to stay calm, then looked at Sara with a smile. "But there's one thing you've misunderstood. The residual Dragon Vein power on us does come from Loulan."

At this, Sara immediately refuted: "Impossible. The Dragon Vein power of Loulan is slightly different from what's on you—though the difference is small, it cannot escape my notice."

"That's because the Dragon Vein power attached to us comes from the Loulan of the future..."

Seeing Sara looking as though she was prepared to die standing her ground, Uchiha ri stopped being cryptic and explained directly.

Sara listened to the explanation and fell into silence. It was a long while before she finally responded:

"Mother once told me a strange legend about the Dragon Vein when I was little. I never imagined it was actually true."

"But... An Lushan doesn't carry that aura, and he appeared out of nowhere."

Uchiha ri pondered for a moment, then explained: "Baizu has likely been scheming over the Dragon Vein for a very long time. It's no surprise he has ways to conceal that aura."

He was about to continue explaining when, at that moment, a rhythmic sound of "thud, thud, thud" rang out in unison.

Looking up toward the corridor above, Uchiha ri showed no surprise: "I was wondering how long he could hold out. Seems he couldn't contain himself after all."

There, thousands upon thousands of puppet soldiers were marching in formation through the corridor, and commanding them was a centipede dozens of meters tall.

The front two limbs of the centipede gleamed with a cold, dark light, and atop its head was not a centipede's head, but the enormous head of a centipede-like creature.

Clearly, Baizu had used the Dragon Vein's power to transform himself into a puppet, just like Sasori.

Though Sasori, at the very least, had preserved something resembling a human form in his modifications.

But Baizu—whether due to faulty thinking or questionable aesthetics—had turned himself into some half-man, half-centipede abomination, utterly revolting.

Still, there was no denying that this appearance, coupled with an army of such scale, was overwhelming in its pressure.

Taking in the scene before him, Uchiha ri thought for a moment, then spoke: "Kakashi, stay here and protect Sara."

Kakashi opened his mouth to object, but then he suddenly caught sight of Uchiha ri's eyes.

Those crimson, eerie Sharingan were completely different from any he had ever seen—they were by no means a three-tomoe Sharingan.

At that moment, Kakashi recalled what he had bought, and combined with the news that Terra seemed to possess two Mangekyō wielders, he seemed to understand something.

The words on the tip of Kakashi's tongue changed entirely: "Then... you take care of yourself."