The ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran.
Mirai stood in the middle of that newly grown forest, looking up at the sky overhead.
The desert's hot wind blew in from afar, whipping grains of sand against the leaves with a rustling sound.
Thick roots stretched out beneath the sand, driving deep underground like an invisible net.
He closed his eyes and sent his senses downward.
Deep underground, that river of Chakra flowed slowly.
The Dragon Vein—the former core of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran, a river of Chakra gathered by the earth itself.
Its reserves were even more staggering than Mirai had anticipated. If fully unleashed, it would be enough to turn the entire Land of Wind upside down.
"Found it."
Mirai opened his eyes and formed hand seals.
Wood Release Chakra surged from his palms, and a withered yellow branch slowly emerged from his hand.
"Go."
The dead branch detached from his palm and burrowed into the sand in winding curves like a desert snake.
It passed through thick layers of sand, rock, and underground waterways, finally touching the Dragon Vein flowing beneath the earth.
The instant the branch's tip came into contact with the Dragon Vein's Chakra current, it swelled violently, transforming into countless fine roots that plunged into the Dragon Vein from every direction, like a net parched for a thousand years finally finding water.
Then—"Start sucking!"
The Dragon Vein's Chakra suddenly erupted into chaos.
A muffled rumble came from deep underground, like the roar of an enraged giant beast.
The sandy ground began to quake, broken stones in the ruins bounced up, and the sea of trees swayed.
A terrifying torrent of Chakra rushed wildly into Mirai's body through the dead branch's passage—scalding, violent, and endless.
"Ah—this feeling is truly wonderful!" A trace of fervor