Chapter 73: The Throbbing Dragon Vein
"Brother!"
"Father!"
"Mother!"
In the ancient city of Loulan's main square, Sarah stood amidst the citizens she had just freed. All around her, tearful reunions unfolded as families found each other.
"Queen Sarah, what's wrong?"
Minato had just handed Chōza a ration pill. Noticing the sudden shift in the young queen's expression, he asked immediately.
"I feel it… the Dragon Vein's power is… throbbing." As the heir to the royal bloodline, Sarah could perceive the chakra fluctuations of the Vein. Even though Anrokuzan had altered her mother's sealing key, he couldn't sever her innate connection to the energy itself. "The Dragon Vein's power is immense. If its energy is allowed to spill out unchecked like this, it won't just affect Loulan… the entire desert could be transformed, or destroyed."
As she spoke, Sarah produced a chakra-conductive dagger from within her robes, gripping it tightly.
"What are you planning to do?" Minato's tone was cautious.
Sarah nodded, her youthful face set with grim determination. "The royal blood can activate the sealing formula, calming the Dragon Vein. Anrokuzan removed the key. I must re-forge that connection before the catastrophe arrives."
With that, she turned her back on her celebrating people and sprinted back toward the entrance of the ruined puppet factory.
"What do we do?" Chōza asked Minato, his voice weak but urgent. Sarah was the focal point of their mission; her safety was paramount. The royal blood was the key, but no one knew the exact method she intended to use. And the key itself was now shrouded in a tempest of volatile Dragon Vein energy. Sarah, in her mortal body, would never be able to approach it.
Minato pondered for only a second. "No matter what, you and Shibi get the people of Loulan to evacuate to a safe distance. The rest…" He looked toward the cavernous entrance, a flicker of gold already gathering at his feet. "…will be left to fate."
Liumu watched the last motes of Anrokuzan's existence fade into nothingness within the Time Room and slowly lowered his fist. If not for this isolated dimension, he couldn't imagine the cataclysmic shockwaves his "Serious Consecutive Punches" would have unleashed upon the real world.
Exiting the Time Room, he emerged near the cavern's entrance just in time to see Sarah, small and resolute, holding her dagger as she stared at the sealing key, now encased in a violent, swirling cocoon of emerald energy. Hesitation warred with duty on her face.
A blur of yellow. Minato appeared beside her in a Shunshin, scooped her up without a word, and flashed toward the heart of the storm. The Hiraishin's speed allowed him to navigate the turbulent energy streams, depositing them both perilously close to the central key.
Sarah gave Minato a grateful, shaky nod. She raised the dagger and, without flinching, drew its edge deeply across her palm. Blood welled forth, rich and crimson. She let it flow over the blade, chanting under her breath—ancient words passed down through her lineage.
Holding the now blood-glowing dagger in both hands, she plunged it into the stone "eyeball" at the center of the key mechanism.
"By the covenant of blood, I command thee: Return to slumber!"
The sealing formula erupted with light, enveloping both Sarah and Minato. A zipping sound filled the air as the stone eye, recognizing its sovereign, began to greedily drink Sarah's blood. Her face drained of color, becoming ashen. Beads of cold sweat poured from her brow, soaking her royal garments in moments. Her body swayed.
Minato steadied her from behind. "You're almost there," he said, his voice calm and firm.
The light from the eye pulsed erratically, then began to dim, contracting inward. With a final surge of will, Sarah forced the last of her royal decree through the connection. The eye closed with a definitive click.
The rampant energy aura dissipated, leaving the key mechanism a dull, inert gray. Minato spotted Liumu watching from a short distance and gave a brief, tired smile. He pulled Sarah's dagger from the stone and, in one fluid motion, drove one of his own specially-marked Three-Pronged Kunai into the key's core. Swiftly, he wove a series of hand seals—Konoha's own sealing arts, layering a new, stable barrier over the ancient one. The Dragon Vein's direct torrent was finally corked.
"Is she okay?" Liumu asked, approaching.
"She'll need a long rest," Minato replied, gently lowering the unconscious queen. He then looked at Liumu. "And Anrokuzan?"
Liumu offered a simple, placid smile.
Seeing that expression, Minato understood. He asked no more.
However, the damage was done. A vast quantity of Dragon Vein energy had already been drawn out and dispersed by Anrokuzan. While the source was now sealed, this residual power saturated the entire underground complex and the earth beneath the palace, a volatile geyser waiting to erupt.
"Without the Dragon Vein's energy… and with Sarah in this state… Loulan's future…" Minato began, concern etching his features.
"The Dragon Vein's power was too great for any human to control safely," Liumu said, his tone uncharacteristically solemn. "Sealing it might be the best outcome for Sarah, and for Loulan, in the long run. A village, a kingdom… it shouldn't rely on the fickle favor of a natural disaster. It relies on wise policy, strong hearts, and a leader who loves her people."
He glanced at the pale young queen. She was so young, yet the ordeal had forged a steely core within her—the Sarah who discovered the horrible truth, the Sarah who fought to save her people, the Sarah who was willing to bleed herself dry to seal the threat. That was the queen Loulan needed.
"The residual energy…" Minato gestured to the greenish haze permeating the cavern.
"Leave it to me," Liumu said, nodding.
Crimson flames ignited around him once more. The Taotie's Gluttony activated, not as a violent devouring, but as a controlled, immense suction. The scattered Dragon Vein energy in the air and earth began to flow toward him, forming a visible, swirling vortex of emerald light being drawn into the crimson maw of flame.
Minato lifted Sarah and retreated to a safe distance, watching as Liumu, like a living purification filter, steadily drew every last trace of the wild chakra into himself.
"This is camel meat. It's quite delicious."
In the palace's main hall, now cleared of puppets and restored to a semblance of order, Sarah hosted a farewell meal for the Konoha ninja.
Liumu stared at the platter before him. The roasted haunch was nearly as tall as he was. Camel? He pictured the shambling desert ships. Well, when in Loulan…
"And this is desert hare. They're almost twice the size of the rabbits you'd see elsewhere."
Hare? Liumu poked the generously portioned meat. So fluffy… and now so… grilled.
Sarah's complexion was still pale, but after consuming the soldier pill Minato provided, some vitality had returned to her cheeks.
Halfway through the meal, she set her utensils down and let out a long, steadying breath. "It was really my mother… who posted the request to Konoha?"
Minato nodded. "Yes. Your mother had already begun to suspect Anrokuzan's conspiracy before her passing. But by then, his influence had grown too great for her to counter alone. So, she reached out."
"Then… her sudden illness…" Sarah's voice hitched. Her eyes grew bright.
Minato met her gaze, his expression softening with shared sorrow. He gave a slow, confirming nod.
Tears finally spilled over, tracing clean paths down Sarah's dusty cheeks. Neither Liumu nor Minato moved to stop her. This was a necessary release. She was Loulan's queen now, and this might be the last time she could afford such open vulnerability before others.
Their mission in Loulan lasted only three days in total. After resting and resupplying, Team Minato prepared to depart.
At the palace gates, Sarah stood to see them off. Behind her, a crowd of grateful Loulan citizens waved.
As they walked into the vastness of the desert, Minato glanced at Liumu. "Why didn't you offer to help Sarah, like you did for Haku? She's so young to bear the weight of an entire kingdom alone."
Liumu smiled slightly and shook his head. "That's her path. Or rather, her duty." He looked back at the distant figure of the queen, growing smaller against the grand architecture. "What good would taking her away do? Don't you think the people of Loulan need her to stay more than she needs an escape?"
"You two talked all night last night," Minato stated casually, not missing a step.
Liumu stumbled slightly. So he knew. After a moment, he replied, "She said she would become the guardian of the sealed Dragon Vein. She is the key. Only she can properly monitor and maintain the seal. So… she stays."
He didn't elaborate on the rest of their conversation—the quiet sharing of burdens between two people who, in different ways, carried power that set them apart. Some understandings were best left in the desert night.
The sun beat down on the dunes as the Konoha ninja began their long journey home, leaving a healed kingdom and a queen who had aged years in mere days behind them.
(End of Chapter)
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