The Dragon Vein's golden light surged into the sky with tremendous force, then vanished just as quickly.
As the pillar of light connecting heaven and earth gradually dimmed and contracted, finally sinking like a wounded beast beneath the most devastated ruins in the center of Rōran Ancient City, it left behind only the wreckage of the energy storm and a deathly silence.
The dust had yet to settle. The air smelled of scorching and something strange, like ozone.
Supported by Sakura Haruno and Yamato, Naruto Uzumaki coughed violently. Distinct purple fingerprints still marked his neck. His gaze toward the dark gray figure nearby was filled with alarm, anger, and a lingering trace of bewilderment.
Toyotomi Yinglang stood on a relatively intact boulder, his back to the gradually subsiding center of the Dragon Vein's energy. His hands hung naturally at his sides, as though the overwhelming battle and the upheaval it had unleashed had nothing to do with him.
His eyes were slightly closed, and he appeared to be regulating his breathing. In truth, he was using the Dragon Vein Power fused within his body as a guide, acting like a greedy yet precise pump as he silently drew in, channeled, and refined the incomparably pure primordial energy spilling from the rampaging Rōran Dragon Vein of Shinobi World No. 1.
With every bit he absorbed, his "anchoring" to this parallel world grew firmer, and his understanding of Dragon Vein Power deepened. As for the depletion and possible consequences? What did those have to do with him?
"...Cough! Who-who the hell are you?!" Naruto finally caught his breath and shouted hoarsely, trying to pull away from Sakura's support, though his legs were still weak. "Those eyes... Sharingan with a different pattern! The Uchiha Clan clearly-clearly only has..." He stopped halfway through, his