After collecting the Third Kazekage puppet and conveniently taking away the wealth Sasori had accumulated over many years, Sora felt very pleased, a stark contrast to Sasori's mood.
He quickly cleaned up the battlefield, disposed of any traces that could expose his identity, and then without delay, swiftly headed towards the southern border of the Land of Wind.
'Tenji, taking Sara, should have already entered the Land of Rivers. With Tenji's vigilance and strength, there should be no problem as long as they don't encounter a Kage level opponent.'
While traveling, Sora faintly sensed Tenji's location and condition through the summoning contract. After confirming that Tenji and Sara were moving steadily, he temporarily set his mind at ease.
He was now going to another place, the Ascension Island base in the Land of Whirlpools.
The main target of this trip, the Dragon Vein, was already obtained. He had even gained the extra "material" of the "Third Kazekage puppet," which held great research value. He needed to find a safe place to digest the gains as soon as possible.
Moreover, the "Star Pattern Iron" weighted equipment he ordered at the blacksmith shop should be completed by now, considering the time.
...
Traveling south, the desert at the border of the Land of Wind was gradually left behind.
Soon, the boundless blue sea appeared before Sora's eyes.
He did not choose the conventional ferry; that was too slow.
Sora came to an uninhabited rocky beach, preparing to directly use the power of the Azure Dragon Fruit to leave from underwater.
But at this moment, Sora frowned.
Buzz.
A heavy, sluggish feeling arose from within his body without any warning.
Sora stopped and looked down at his hands.
He saw a layer of grayish, withered color covering his fingertips. The texture of his skin became rough and hard, as if it were turning into stone.
"The backlash of natural energy… it's here after all."
Sora's eyes sharpened, but he was not overly alarmed.
The essence of the Dragon Vein was highly condensed natural energy mixed with the pulse of the earth. Its energy nature was violent and difficult to control.
If he had not used the artificial tailed beast technique to confine it within a shell made of Sea Dragon Jade, directly absorbing such a massive amount of energy would likely have instantly assimilated him with natural energy, turning him into a stone statue.
With the shell acting as a buffer and filter, the vast natural energy of the Dragon Vein naturally could not affect Sora.
However, he had just used a large amount of Dragon Vein chakra in battle, so this kind of erosion naturally appeared as a result.
"Hmph. If it were someone else, they might really have no way to deal with this natural energy. But for me…"
Sora focused his mind and activated the power hidden deep within his body.
Buzz.
A force brimming with infinite vitality surged from every cell in his body.
The powerful life force brought by the Azure Dragon Fruit, like a warm tide, instantly flowed through his limbs and bones, washing toward the petrified areas.
Sizzle.
Under the cleansing of that vibrant life energy, the gray petrification marks on his fingertips slowly dissolved. The skin regained its original color and elasticity.
Within a few breaths, the signs of petrification had disappeared.
"It's indeed effective."
Sora let out a sigh of relief and carefully sensed the changes in his body.
The Azure Dragon Fruit, as a Mythical Zoan type, brought not only powerful form transformations and elemental manipulation abilities, but more essentially, an absurd level of vitality and recovery.
This power originated from the source of life itself and happened to be the best counter to natural energy erosion.
However, Sora also keenly noticed that this petrification had been very shallow and easy to recover from.
But if he were to use the Dragon Vein for a long time or exceed his limits, causing the petrification area to become too large or too deep, even with the life force of the Azure Dragon Fruit, it would likely require a great deal of time and effort to reverse. It might even expose weaknesses during the recovery period, leaving him vulnerable.
"It seems a safety threshold must be set for the use of the Dragon Vein."
Sora pondered silently. "The level of consumption and output like during the battle with Sasori is probably the current limit. Any higher, and there's a risk of losing control."
Having clarified this, Sora found a spot behind a large rock sheltered from the wind and sat down cross legged.
He prepared to first become more familiar with and comprehend the Dragon Vein in order to better control this power.
His mind sank into his body, and his consciousness arrived near the dantian energy sea.
The small earth yellow dragon formed from condensed Dragon Vein energy quietly hovered there, emitting heavy, gentle, yet faintly primordial energy fluctuations.
Sora's consciousness carefully approached, attempting to communicate with it on a deeper level.
Different from the chakra he cultivated himself, the Dragon Vein's energy was more ancient and primal.
When Sora's mental tendrils truly touched that earth yellow energy core, vast fragments of intent, like dust sealed memories, slowly flowed into his mind.
It was a boundless, vast expanse of earth. An unimaginably enormous yellow dragon coiled and wound among the mountains and earth veins. It breathed together with the land, shared destiny with nature, and was the guardian and symbol of this land.
It was powerful and majestic, a true Earth Dragon.
However, at some unimaginably distant time, an unimaginable disaster descended.
The giant dragon suffered severe damage and was nearly on the brink of death.
To survive, it was forced to completely integrate its remaining origin and will into the earth beneath it. Borrowing the pulse of the entire planet and endless natural energy to nourish itself, it fell into a long slumber, hoping to repair its wounded body and return to its peak.
Its body turned into earth veins, its breath became the tides of natural energy.
And where it slumbered, later known as Loulan, because its energy was most concentrated and manifested there, attracted a group of humans to settle.
Among them, a human with a special bloodline accidentally resonated with this slumbering dragon's will and signed an ancient contract, becoming the guardians and users of the Dragon Vein, namely the royal family of Loulan.
"So that's how it is… Dragon Vein, Dragon Vein, it really is transformed from a dragon."
Sora was inwardly shaken.
His previous guess was confirmed.
This was not merely an aggregate of natural energy, but the remains and place of healing of an ancient, powerful being.
"No wonder… no wonder the status of the Azure Dragon Fruit could exert such strong suppression on Manda and also resonate with the Dragon Vein."
Sora suddenly understood.
The Azure Dragon represented by the Azure Dragon Fruit and the Earth Dragon from the ancient times of the ninja world, although belonging to different world power systems, might share similarities or even commonalities in the status of the dragon life level.
Bearing the power of the Azure Dragon, to some extent, he had inherited part of the qualification of this ancient being.
That was why the Dragon Vein had been so obediently collected by him and even taken the form of a small dragon within the shell.
"Unfortunately, this Earth Dragon ultimately didn't make it through."
Sora sighed inwardly.
From those vague fragments of intent, this dragon's injuries had been too severe. After integrating with the earth for countless ages, its original self consciousness had gradually dissipated under the assimilation of time and nature, leaving only pure energy origin and a trace of residual dragon majesty.
The destruction of Loulan and the severing of the contract perhaps accelerated this process.
In the end, it benefited Sora, who possessed the Azure Dragon Fruit and could bear and activate this power.
"This inheritance, I will accept it."
Sora's consciousness withdrew from his inner vision. He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.
Although, because the era was too distant, Sora did not discover what the source of that disaster had been, he did capture some mysterious fragments regarding the use of natural energy and earth attribute from the residual intent of the Dragon Vein.
These were of immeasurable benefit to him in developing his own abilities, especially when combined with the Azure Dragon Fruit's ability to manipulate weather.
Moreover, the Azure Dragon Fruit possessed the four attributes of wind, fire, water, and lightning from the ninja world's five elements, lacking only the earth attribute, which could now be perfectly supplemented through the Dragon Vein.