The scorching sun baked the desert of the Land of Wind.
The dry wind whipped up fine sand, weaving it into a golden veil in the air.
Occasionally, a few tenacious cacti dot the landscape, adding a touch of life to this desolate land.
In the heart of this desolate land, the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran lie dormant.
The crumbling city walls are half-buried under the yellow sand, and the broken stone pillars resemble the fingers of a giant pointing to the sky.
The once magnificent palace is now reduced to a few mottled walls, and the exquisite reliefs have long been worn smooth by the wind and sand.
The entire ruins were shrouded in an eerie tranquility, as if time had stood still.
Suddenly, the air above the desert began to distort.
A gray-white figure appeared on the sand dune without warning, breaking the silence of many years.
Hoshino stood barefoot on the scorching sand, her long, gray hair fluttering in the hot wind, the four-colored mark between her brows shimmering with an eerie light, completely out of place with her surroundings.
The pupil-less 'eyes' slowly swept across the ruins before them.
In Hoshino's perception, this seemingly lifeless ancient kingdom was radiating intense energy fluctuations.
Especially the half-collapsed tower in the center,
To the average person it was nothing more than a pile of ruins, but in Hoshino's eyes it shone like a torch in the night.
"Is this coordinate system Dragon Vein?"
Based on Hoshino's understanding of the Dragon Vein, combined with the ancient records of Sunagakure, he made the following inferences.
Dragon Vein are similar to special Natural Energy nodes, containing the power to change time and space, but the current situation clearly exceeds what is recorded in the literature.
The Dragon Vein seemed to have developed its own consciousness and was actively summoning him.
What's even more intriguing is that Hoshino sensed a certain urgency in the Dragon Vein's summons, like a distress signal.
Hoshino walked slowly toward the central tower.
As they closed the distance, a peculiar energy fluctuation began to permeate the air, as if some long-dormant power was awakening.
Pushing open the half-closed stone door, the interior of the tower was more complete than I had imagined.
Sunlight streamed through the dilapidated dome, casting dappled shadows on the dusty ground.
At the very center of the ground, nine stone pillars engraved with sealing runes surround the altar, firmly locking the Dragon Vein.
Hoshino crouched down, his fingertips lightly touching the ground. He could feel the intricacy of the Sealing Jutsu; layers upon layers of runes formed a dense network.
But at this moment, tiny cracks have appeared on these runes.
The moment the fingertips touched those cracks, an unusual Chakra fluctuation emanated from them.
Hoshino frowned slightly. These cracks were not formed naturally, but were the result of some kind of external interference.
What's even stranger is that this force doesn't originate from this world; it's more like some distant spacetime shockwave that has reached here.
"Is it because of the movements in other dimensions that the Dragon Vein seal of this world has been affected?"
Hoshino closed his eyes, the four-colored mark between his brows flickering slightly as he sensed the source of this power.
At that moment, a gentle and ancient power took the initiative to connect with him.
The Dragon Vein's consciousness, like a gentle breeze, sent an image directly into his mind.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages were engulfed in flames, the Kage Rock of Konoha collapsed, the Kazekage Building of Sunagakure was razed to the ground, and the Raikage Peak of Kumogakure was cleaved in two by a massive black slash.
On the battlefield, what is most shocking is not the strength of the invaders, but their identities.
Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Tobirama Senju... and so on, are basically all powerful figures who are both familiar and unfamiliar.
Hoshino even saw the presence of the Ōtsutsuki.
Although there were only a few figures, those white-clad figures floating in the air were particularly eye-catching, with pale panels, snow-white long hair, and a pair of indifferent horns on their foreheads.
Meanwhile, in the direction of the Dragon Vein of the Land of Wind, a massive spatial rift is continuously expanding.
Countless unfamiliar ninjas are pouring out of the world and fighting against the ninjas of this world. Many of them are actually the 'selves' of the ninjas of this world in other dimensions.
"Is this... someone invading other Shinobi World through the Dragon Vein?"
Upon seeing these images, Hoshino frowned slightly, realizing the seriousness of the situation.
Two, or even more, parallel universes are engaged in a full-scale war, and this war seems to have been going on for a very long time, long enough for irreversible damage to the spacetime barrier.
Just as Hoshino's consciousness was preparing to continue exploring and reach deeper into the Dragon Vein, a strange feeling suddenly arose.
In an instant, his thoughts froze.
In the chaotic rift of spacetime, a pair of pure eyes silently watched him.
Without a facial outline, without a physical form, only a pair of cold pupils float in the void, like unchanging stars from ancient times.
What's even more unsettling is that what's revealed in those eyes isn't just simple observation, but a focused concentration bordering on research.
While images from other timelines flashed by like fleeting shadows, an unusual interest was shown only in the timeline where Hoshino resided.
Hoshino severed his spiritual connection with the Dragon Vein without hesitation.
The chaotic images receded like a tide, and the pair of eyes in the spatial rift also disappeared.
Silence returned to the tower, with only sunlight filtering through cracks in the dome and casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Hoshino stood before the Dragon Vein Altar, sensing the cracks spreading across the sealed stone pillar and the icy gaze that seeped in from the rift in spacetime.
Those eyes have already taken notice of this world.
boom--
With a deafening explosion, the seal shattered completely.
The energy of the Dragon Vein surged forth like a flood bursting its banks, and a purple pillar of light shot into the sky, enveloping the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran.
Hoshino's figure stood firm amidst the raging energy storm, five forces flowing within him, resisting the tearing force of the spacetime turbulence.
Just as he was considering whether to forcibly reseal the dragon Dragon Vein, a faint fluctuation of consciousness came.
The feeling was like that of a newborn baby, innocent and pure, yet carrying a certain urgent plea.
"Go... to the new world... become stronger... come back... to save... us..."
The message about the Dragon Vein came in fragments, but Hoshino still roughly understood what it was trying to convey.
It hoped to enter the Dragon Vein and travel to a completely new world, a place entirely different from the Shinobi World.
There, perhaps he can find even greater power, thus giving back to the Shinobi World in the future, and even saving several timelines on the verge of collapse.
"The situation is worse than we thought!"
Although the seal set up by Minato Namikaze has been broken, the collapse of the spacetime barrier will still take time, not to mention that the distance between worlds is extremely vast.
Through calculations of the fragility of the spacetime barrier, and the conscious obstruction of the Dragon Vein.
The owner of those eyes would need at least three to five years to travel across countless worlds to reach this place.
The time was still too short!