Chapter 76: Join
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Queen Sarah, her face brimming with joy, unleashed a vast wave of water, instantly filling a dried-out lakebed. Then, stuttering slightly as she formed hand seals again, she shouted:
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
In an instant, the once-arid desert transformed. Greenery exploded outward, plants surging from the sand as the uninhabited Gobi Desert turned into a lush oasis.
"Amazing! Becoming a ninja is so easy for me! This way, Roran can be saved!"
Sarah cried out with excitement, turning to Ayaan.
Ayaan remained indifferent on the surface, but there was a flicker of awe in his eyes.
The reason Queen Sarah could learn ninjutsu so quickly—and even possess Wood Style—was because Ayaan had modified her body, integrating her with cells from Hashirama Senju.
Of course, Ayaan didn't do this without benefit. The royal bloodline of Roran resonated with the Dragon Vein, so Ayaan altered his own physiology to incorporate that bloodline. Now, he could draw energy directly from the Dragon Vein.
For generations, the queens of Roran had been weak, barely able to control the Dragon Vein's power, and helpless once it was sealed. But Ayaan was among the top-tier powerhouses of the Naruto world. Even with a temporal seal between him and the Dragon Vein, he could still extract its energy.
Then, he made an unexpected discovery.
"I can't believe Dragon Vein energy can actually recharge my system," Ayaan muttered, sitting at the Dragon Vein's sealing point. Wisps of purple energy rose from below, flowing into him.
Although this energy couldn't completely replace his system's energy, it could offset its consumption. For example, if Ayaan originally used two units of energy to travel between dimensions, the Dragon Vein could now cover half that cost, making it possible to visit more worlds with less system depletion.
"It'll still take one or two months to store enough... But that's nothing. Back when I first arrived in this world, it took me six years to gather enough energy to time travel."
These Dragon Vein energies could now cut that time in half. Ayaan considered it a worthwhile trade.
This method came to him spontaneously. What previous queens of Roran couldn't do, he could, thanks to their shared bloodline. Using the Baku Baku no Mi , Ayaan absorbed and transformed Sarah's bloodline and his own.
The blood of the Roran royal line did seem to have unique properties. Notably, Sarah's compatibility with Hashirama's cells was far higher than any ordinary ninja. After her transformation, she possessed chakra levels close to a Kage, though she lacked actual combat experience.
With Water and Wood Style, Roran no longer needed to rely on the Dragon Vein. Sarah alone could terraform the land into an oasis.
Even her descendants would benefit. Thanks to Ayaan's modifications, they would inherit the Senju bloodline. While it might be rare for them to awaken Wood Style, mastering Water and Earth Style would come naturally.
Later, Ayaan stopped absorbing energy, having reached saturation for the day. Just as he stood up, Queen Sarah and her temporary teacher, Nagato, approached the Dragon Vein.
Now with power close to a Kage, Sarah could truly sense the terrifying might of the Dragon Vein.
"If the queens of old had this perception," she thought, "they would never have founded Roran here. Living beside an energy volcano every day must have been madness."
But the most terrifying force to her was Ayaan. His casual control of the Dragon Vein, siphoning its power through the seal, was like scooping magma out of a volcano to forge weapons. A slight misstep could mean annihilation.
But Ayaan wasn't reckless. With the Baku Baku no Mi, as long as the Dragon Vein didn't completely erupt and cause a space-time storm, it posed no fatal threat to him.
"How are Water and Wood Style feeling so far, Sarah?" Ayaan asked, glancing over.
Sarah couldn't hide her joy. "With this power, Roran won't fear sandstorms or droughts anymore… Are all ninjas this powerful?"
Nagato scoffed from behind. "Of course not. For normal ninjas in the desert, they'd be lucky to summon enough water just to drink."
"The level of your jutsu is top ten in the world. And if we consider chakra volume alone, you might rank top five!"
"It's not that all ninjas are this powerful—it's that the leader's transformation abilities are beyond this era."
Ayaan waved off the praise. "Sarah's talent plays a part too. Still... if you want to keep this power, Queen Sarah, then I suggest you join my team."
Sarah's potential was incredible, and after her transformation, she was already Kage-level. With training, she could become one of the top Kage-tier fighters. Naturally, Ayaan didn't want to let that kind of power go.
"Join your organization? What's it called? And what do you even do?" Sarah asked cautiously, clearly mature beyond her years after everything she'd endured.
The question caught Ayaan slightly off guard.
"Uh... The organization's current name is Akatsuki," he said after a pause. "Our first phase goal is... world domination."
Sarah's face twitched. "...Can I not join?"
"Of course," Ayaan replied with a grin. "But now that you know our secrets, if you want out... you'll need to keep them secret forever."
"I'll stay silent," Sarah replied nervously.
"I'm sorry, but our organization believes only the dead can keep secrets," Ayaan added, deadpan.
Sarah's face paled. "Am I being forced to join a terrorist group!?"
"And another thing…" Ayaan added, "Wood Style is a legendary power now. If anyone finds out you possess it, every major village will try to dissect you."
Sarah went completely quiet.
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