As expected.
The moment this strange fish appeared, it displayed an insatiable hunger for the Dragon Vein. If Heiyan hadn't been holding the handle, it might have lunged straight at the crystal.
"Uuuuuh."
Samehada opened wide its blood-red maw lined with fangs, letting out a whimper. It wagged its body and begged Heiyan pleadingly. Of course, no matter how hard it tried to act cute in this form, it was anything but adorable.
"Go ahead."
Heiyan thought for a moment, then let go, allowing Samehada to charge toward the crystal like a ravenous demon, greedily devouring the energy of the Dragon Vein.
Heiyan's intention was simple—he intended to use Samehada and the Dragon Vein as puzzle pieces to create an artificial tailed beast that would serve him obediently.
He wasn't worried about Samehada becoming too powerful and slipping out of control—it simply lacked the guts and the strength.
The only thing Heiyan feared was that Samehada's appetite wouldn't be big enough to swallow the entire Dragon Vein whole. That would be awkward.
Reality soon proved just how difficult the Dragon Vein was to digest.
Samehada hungrily devoured the Dragon Vein without restraint, not noticing at all how its belly was swelling and its body expanding.
One meter, two meters, five meters...
Before long, it had grown into a massive creature that nearly filled the entire chamber.
Frowning, Heiyan placed both hands on Samehada and the crystal, activating the [Flying Thunder God Technique] to teleport both to the desert outside the Loulan nation.
Bang!
The enormous Samehada slammed down onto the sand dunes like an overinflated balloon, completely oblivious to how much it had swollen. It continued instead to open its huge mouth wide and gulped down the entire crystal in one bite.
Next second—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out from inside Samehada's body as chaotic waves of energy surged uncontrollably through it. Its strange body swelled unpredictably in every direction, inflating at an even faster pace.
Ten meters, twenty meters, fifty meters...
Before long, its height had nearly reached seventy meters—almost matching the Nine-Tails in stature. And then—
"Roar!"
Letting out a piercing scream, Samehada rolled violently across the sand dunes, its colossal body stirring up massive clouds of dust and sand.
Seeing this, Heiyan frowned tightly. He knew Samehada had absorbed far too much energy all at once—far exceeding its limits. But still unwilling to vomit it up, it stubbornly forced itself to endure.
After hesitating briefly, he chose not to intervene, simply watching silently as it writhed around. He also wanted to see whether this creature could somehow produce a miracle and fully consume the entire Dragon Vein.
If Samehada succeeded, it would be like a fish leaping through the Dragon Gate—transforming into a dragon at last.
It did not disappoint Heiyan.
Just when Heiyan thought Samehada might literally burst from overfilling, it somehow endured, accomplishing what seemed utterly impossible.
Perhaps Samehada itself understood just how precious this opportunity truly was.
Being stuck behind the Three-Tails Isobu, scraping by on scraps of power, or being used as a weapon devouring enemies' chakra—neither was the kind of life Samehada desired.
Its dream was to become a supreme beast rivaling the Tailed Beasts, joyfully wandering through boundless oceans and rising as a sovereign force on this planet.
Now, its master — Uzumaki Heiyan — had finally given it that chance, and naturally, it would give it everything it had.
Under Heiyan's watchful eye, Samehada finished absorbing the Dragon Vein. Its massive body steadily shrunk until it reverted to its original form — a greatsword.
Heiyan approached and lifted Samehada, only to find it already deeply asleep.
It was a simple truth — after eating too much, one would feel drowsy.
For Samehada, though, it had eaten far too much, bringing most of its bodily functions to a complete halt. Now, it needed to focus all efforts on absorbing the Dragon Vein's energy and transforming it into its own strength.
It could be foreseen that this process would take quite some time.
But once Samehada fully absorbed the Dragon Vein's power and woke again, it would undergo an unprecedented transformation.
What would emerge from the combination of this strange fish and the Dragon Vein?
Heiyan felt deeply curious about that.
What he was sure of, however, was that if the evolution succeeded, Samehada would become a creature equal to the Tailed Beasts — among the strongest ranks, possibly even matching the Nine-Tails.
After that, Heiyan might lose a great sword, but he would gain a powerful summoned beast in return.
Furthermore, at that point, Heiyan would also gain access to Samehada's temporal-spatial power, allowing him to safely traverse dimensions and reach parallel worlds.
Thus, Heiyan's journey to Loulan could be considered a complete success.
He put away Samehada and returned to the Queen's palace.
Two days passed.
Nearly a thousand members of the Loulan clan, riding camels loaded with supplies, formed a long procession departing from their ancestral homeland.
As they moved further and further away,
On the sand dunes, the Queen of Loulan turned her head for one last glance. The structures of Loulan became increasingly blurred, appearing as if buried beneath sands — forever vanishing into the vast desert.
She lowered her head, looking somewhat sorrowful. However, that sadness didn't linger long. When she raised her head again, her eyes were full of firm determination and hopeful anticipation for the future.
"Mommy, where are we going? And how much longer will it take?"
Her daughter Sāra tugged gently at her mother's clothes, asking innocently.
"We're going to..."
The Queen smiled, gently stroking her daughter's hair and speaking in a warm, soothing voice. Their voices, accompanied by the crisp, melodious bells of the camels, slowly faded into the gentle breeze.
...
A Parallel World's Konoha.
Hokage Office.
After returning through time and space, Team 7 departed from the Loulan ruins and traveled overnight, finally reaching Konoha.
Under Captain Yamato's leadership, the group of four arrived at the Hokage office to report their unusual experiences during this mission to Tsunade-sama, Fifth Hokage.
Tsunade wore her signature thick ponytail, her well-built frame wrapped in a green coat bearing a large character "gamble" on the back. Though already in her fifties, she appeared surprisingly youthful — as if only in her twenties.
"A parallel world? Another version of *me*?"
Tsunade slapped the table and stood up from her chair, astonishment fully written across her face.
Though she found it incredible what Yamato and the others had said, their earnest expressions made it seem unlikely that they were lying.
When she heard about another Tsunade existing in that world who could use Wood Release and Sage Art, the Fifth sat back down in her chair in shock.
Compared to that Tsunade described by Naruto and the others, she felt kind of useless by comparison.
Tsunade let out a helpless smile at this thought.
"Lady Tsunade!" Naruto waved his Chakra Blade excitedly. "This time I've made a friend! His name is Uzumaki Heiyan; he's from the Uzumaki clan too. We've already promised to have a big fight someday. He said he'll travel through time to find me, and even left a [Flying Thunder God] formula on my Chakra Blade!"
"Really?"
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