After researching for a while and mastering the principles behind the chakra armor, Uchiha Kiyo assigned the continued development and experimentation to one of his shadow clones and set off toward his next destination.
Originally, his plan had been to explore the Land of Snow, the Land of Ghosts, and Loulan in succession. But now, Kiyo found himself disinterested in the Land of Ghosts.
On one hand, hunting for the Sprite felt unnecessary. What was the point of sealing or recovering it? He already possessed access to tailed beasts, and if he wanted jinchūriki-level power, he could just pursue the creation of an artificial tailed beast. The Dragon Vein's chakra promised far greater returns than the Sprite ever could.
On the other hand, his curiosity toward the Dragon Vein itself had become too strong to ignore.
"A little whim, but I'll follow it," he thought. The Land of Ghosts could wait. He'd visit it when another opportunity arose.
"Loulan, an independent city-state within the Land of Wind."
His gaze moved over the map until it fell on Loulan.
At this time, Loulan had not yet fallen to ruin and was still marked clearly.
"However…" Kiyo narrowed his eyes, studying the location carefully. "Why is Loulan so far removed from the center of the shinobi world? It's practically at the very edge of the map."
He had never ventured outside the known borders of the Elemental Nations. Though he had always assumed the shinobi world was a bounded region—especially with so many powerful shinobi capable of reshaping its history—it was only now that he began questioning the map's limitations.
Educated in science in his past life, Kiyo had never once doubted the world map until this moment.
Why would something as important as Loulan and the Dragon Vein lie on the edge?
The Dragon Vein was described as the very lifeblood of the world—an immense flow of chakra lying at the Earth's core. Could it really be hidden in a remote desert at the far reaches of the Land of Wind?
"Well, if the Land of Wind lies west, I should be able to reach Loulan soon enough."
He shook his head and dismissed the thought. "Forget it. I'm not a geographer. I'll explore the Dragon Vein directly. If I uncover answers, good. If not, I'll move on."
From the Land of Snow, Kiyo traveled swiftly, following the coordinates provided by his replacement clones. In no time, he arrived in the Land of Wind, a barren land of scorching deserts and endless dunes.
Consulting his map, he confirmed Loulan's position.
"Loulan… and the Dragon Vein," he murmured, quickening his pace.
The Dragon Vein's near-limitless chakra was alluring in itself, but what truly fascinated Kiyo was its rumored link to space-time.
The Dragon Vein wasn't only the Earth's lifeblood—it was said to connect the past and future.
"The past is certainly accessible. But what about the future?"
His curiosity sharpened. "If time travel is truly possible… what would it mean to glimpse what lies ahead?"
"Well, I'll know soon enough," he said as Loulan's skyline came into view.
The city stretched outward in earthen, loess-colored buildings. Whether they had been shaped by the Dragon Vein or constructed centuries ago, they carried an ancient, enduring presence.
At the heart of the city, a grand palace towered over its surroundings—simple in design, yet majestic in bearing.
Loulan, at this point, still thrived.
Kiyo paused, reflecting on his memory of the timeline. The "Loulan Incident" was one of the few events he remembered vividly, though some details had blurred. He recalled that Minato Namikaze had come here with his team shortly after Hatake Kakashi was promoted to jōnin. That mission had occurred around Konoha's Year 49, when Kakashi was only twelve.
By that reasoning, Loulan's destruction would take place about five years from the present moment.
"All the more reason to focus," Kiyo told himself. "My goal now is the Dragon Vein—not politics."
The citizens of Loulan welcomed him warmly, speaking with pride about their city. Through casual inquiries, he gathered information without drawing suspicion.
He couldn't ask directly about the Dragon Vein—it would raise too many questions—but the people themselves were eager to share news. From them, he learned that the Queen of Loulan had, in recent years, elevated a minister named An Lushan. The queen had placed deep trust in him, and he had quickly taken an interest in harnessing the Dragon Vein.
That single detail was enough.
The Dragon Vein was already a subject of conversation, and Kiyo guided discussions smoothly toward it.
"Ah, the Dragon Vein," one resident told him reverently, eyes shining. "A blessing from the Earth itself, gifted to us here in Loulan."
Kiyo followed the direction of their gaze.
To the west, a winding mountain range stretched across the horizon.
At first, it seemed ordinary. But as he observed closely, the formation radiated a certain majesty, as though the very Earth pulsed beneath it.
"Could that truly be the Dragon Vein?"
The villager smiled proudly. "Magnificent, isn't it? The Dragon Vein is the reason Loulan exists. It is our treasure."
Kiyo nodded, deep in thought.
Now he was beginning to believe it. The Dragon Vein was indeed connected to the heart of the Earth itself.
"So, the West truly does exist," he mused inwardly. "Perhaps I'll need to explore it one day."
The geography of this world, he realized, resembled maps from his past life—mountain ranges spanning east to west, deserts, and shifting terrain.
"Could there be more beyond?" he wondered. "Another world? An empty wasteland? Or was it all shattered long ago during the Sage of Six Paths' battle with Kaguya?"
He considered the possibility that the devastation wrought by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki and his brother Hamura against Kaguya had torn apart parts of the shinobi world. Even the very island he now used as a base might have been shaped by those ancient clashes.
"Could the Sage of Six Paths have truly destroyed half the world in his fight?" he muttered. "No amount of 'atonement' could make up for that level of damage."
He chuckled at the thought and let it drift away.
"The world is far more beautiful than that," he said with a small grin. "No need to drown in conspiracies. There are too many already."
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