Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

Chapter 931 Prison 9, buddy, I've come to see you!

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"

Centipede spewed fireballs as it twisted its agile body and fled towards the bottom of the Dragon Vein Tower.

Before long, a circular seal hidden deep at the bottom of the tower appeared before his eyes; it was the Dragon Vein Eye that he desperately wanted.

"Oh!"

"Haha, this is the taste!"

The centipede landed with a thud and took a deep breath. The pure dragon vein energy permeating the air invigorated him, and his eyes were filled with ecstasy and greed.

"despair!"

Minato and the others emerged from the smoke and dust billowing from the fireballs, landing steadily in front of Centipede. They gripped their gleaming weapons tightly, their faces filled with vigilance.

Sara, carried on Naruto's back, looked anxiously at the centipede standing beside the Eye of the Dragon Vein, and patted Naruto's spiky head in a worried tone.

"We must not let him break the seal, or the entire Loulan will cease to exist."

"If it hurts, just say so. Why did you have to hit me?"

Naruto, wincing in pain, grimaced helplessly. "If you have that much strength, why don't you go up and fight Centipede one-on-one?"

No longer exists?

Upon hearing that Centipede's next actions might jeopardize the entire Loulan, Shuimen's expression suddenly froze.

I haven't even received the reward for the task yet!

Kushina has recently taken a fancy to a new bag, and he can buy it for his girlfriend in full if he completes this task.

"Shh!"

Without any hesitation, Minato raised his hand and flung out several shuriken, then transformed into a golden streak, chasing after the Flying Thunder God kunai mixed in with the shuriken.

"Don't even think about hindering my path to godhood!"

As the black dragon opened its massive jaws, the crowd witnessed a chilling scene: An Lushan, whom they had swallowed earlier, had merged with the dragon's mouth, his head perched on the dragon's tongue, staring at them with a grim expression.

"gross."

Naruto and Sara both frowned, clearly disgusted by An Lushan's current appearance.

"Roar!"

An Lushan glared fiercely at the two talkative brats, then turned and spat several scorching fireballs at the kunai that Minato had thrown.

"boom!"

The concealed weapon, crafted from fine iron, was utterly unable to withstand the intense heat of the fireball. Watching the molten iron drip down, An Lushan, inside the dragon's mouth, revealed a smug smile.

"blow!"

Just as he lowered his head, preparing to forcefully break the seal, a golden flash, though late, streaked past. An Lushan felt a chill in his throat, and the smile on his face instantly froze.

"Click."

Minato, having revealed himself, passed by An Lushan, the kunai in his hand leaving a trail of black, oily sheen.

"Don't even think about delaying my grand plan to buy a bag."

Minato glanced at An Lushan, whose neck was splattering with engine oil, and said in a low voice with a cold expression,

"Hmm. Hehe."

However, the next second, An Lushan, in his death throes, suddenly revealed a mocking chuckle. The black dragon lashed out with its tail, slamming the water gate in mid-air into the wall.

"boom!"

"Watergate!"

"Big Brother Golden Retriever!"

Those present gasped in shock at the sight, staring in disbelief at An Lushan, who was still alive and well even after his neck had been severed.

"I have long since transcended the human body and become an immortal being."

An Lushan twisted his neck, and the oil-soaked wound healed completely at a visible speed.

"Cough cough cough, how is that possible?"

Minato, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, landed awkwardly clutching his stomach, his face full of disbelief.

"Since even such a fatal wound can be healed, why can't you?"

His meaning was very clear: you can recover even if your centipede's head is cut off, so why didn't it recover when it was blasted in half by Uchiha Gin?

"Hmph! How can these be the same?"

An Lushan's face darkened upon understanding the meaning behind Minato's words. He also wanted to restore himself to his original state through super-speed regeneration, but Uchiha Gin's attack was too strange, and he could not recover even if he put in all his effort.

"Brother Golden Retriever, are you alright?"

Naruto leaped down beside Minato and helped him up.

"It's alright, just a few ribs are broken."

Minato gently shook his head, raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and the solemnity in his eyes deepened.

Seeing their teammates suffer a setback, Ding Zuo and Zhiwei naturally couldn't just sit idly by.

"Human Bomb Impact"

The two joined forces once more; the gigantic Ding Zuo slammed into the floating black dragon, while Zhiwei controlled a massive swarm of insects to surge forward from the other side.

"You're asking for it!"

An Lushan glanced left and right, his face showing undisguised disdain.

"Dragon Black, unleash your full power!"

At his command, the black dragon spun around, its sharp claws rapidly expanding. Caught off guard, Ding Zuo was struck in the chest, and large chunks of flesh rained down.

At the same time, the black dragon shook its head, and a chilling black light flashed from its enormous mouth.

"boom!"

Before Zhiwei could react, a pillar of black energy surged out, and the parasitic insect turned into dust the moment it came into contact with it.

"My little bug!"

"Hmph! Easily defeated."

After easily defeating the two, An Lushan, who was inside the dragon's mouth, suddenly opened his mouth wide, and a dark red, blood-like teardrop-shaped crystal slowly floated out.

"That's...my life essence!"

Sarah's eyes widened, sensing something amiss; her unease quickly spread.

"Oh no! He's planning to use the bloodline of the Loulan royal family to break the seal!"

Seeing this, Minato endured the pain in his ribs and took a step forward, but Naruto quickly pulled him back.

"Leave it to me, Golden Retriever!"

Naruto gave Minato a thumbs-up, a gesture symbolizing youth, then set Sara down from his back. He crossed his arms and summoned dozens of shadow clones, each holding a bright blue dango (a type of magical dumpling), which shone brightly in the dimly lit tower.

"Om~Om~Om~"

"Spiral pills!"

Dozens of Narutos leaped into the air, raising their Rasengans and hurling them at the black dragon in mid-air.

"Kid, is this the only move you know how to use in your fights?"

An Lushan abruptly shifted his infatuated gaze from the crystallized essence blood before him, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

It really is true that one trick can make you successful in everything.

"Roar!"

With a flick of its tail, the black dragon shattered Naruto's menacing shadow clone upon contact, sending plumes of white smoke exploding.

"Aha!"

Just when An Lushan thought he had dealt with all the clones, Naruto's main body, wielding a giant Rasengan, descended from the sky. It turned out the clones were merely feints.

"Otama Rasengan!"

The dumpling, brimming with terrifying chakra, was poured directly into the black dragon's wide-open mouth.

We won!

Sarah's face lit up with joy as she looked at the black dragon with a gag in his mouth.

"Ok?"

However, Naruto, who was forcefully pressing the dumpling into the dragon's mouth, felt something was wrong. Why was his chakra draining away so quickly?

"Phew~ Kid, your chakra tastes pretty good."

Before Naruto could voice his doubts, An Lushan, who should have been torn apart by the Giant Rasengan, spoke first with a smile. Naruto then realized that not only had his Giant Rasengan not caused any damage, but An Lushan had also absorbed all the chakra it contained.

"How can that be?"

"Oh!"

Naruto, feeling a sudden emptiness within him, instinctively widened his eyes, but before he could finish speaking, he was slapped away by the black dragon and sent flying, crashing heavily in front of Minato.

"Naruto!"

Sara rushed forward to check on him. Seeing the blood gushing from his mouth, the girl, who had thought Naruto was about to die, completely panicked, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.

"Don't you dare die! You haven't finished what you promised me!"

Yamato appeared beside Naruto in a flash, his expression serious as he checked on him. Finding Naruto unharmed, he frowned in confusion.

"Don't worry, he's fine."

"How is this possible? So much blood has been lost!"

"Uh, I accidentally bit my tongue just now."

Naruto, regaining consciousness from his dizziness, scratched his head, opened his mouth, and stuck out his tongue, revealing a very noticeable tooth mark embedded in his flesh.

"idiot!"

Seeing that Naruto was unharmed, Sara was so angry her neck almost turned red. That idiot had wasted several of her precious tears.

"The power of the dragon vein, heed my command! So be it!"

Meanwhile, after dealing with the troublesome minions, An Lushan sent the essence blood crystal into the eye of the dragon vein, while simultaneously shouting the incantation to unseal the dragon vein.

"No, stop him quickly!"

Sensing the dragon vein beneath her feet beginning to throb violently, Sarah cried out in terror.

"Heh, trying to stop me? Too late!"

Watching the purple energy continuously overflowing from the Dragon Vein Eye, An Lushan laughed and controlled the black dragon to plunge into the purple sea of ​​chakra.

"Let's leave here first."

Excessively pure chakra is more like a poison; even a small amount could be fatal to an ordinary ninja. Minato made a decisive move, ordering everyone to retreat upwards.

"Waaaaah, I messed it all up, I messed everything up."

Standing on the edge of the tower's staircase and looking down, Sarah's pale face was eerily reflected in the sea of ​​purple chakra. She knelt on the ground, covering her face, her eyes filled with remorse.

If she hadn't listened to Lao An's slander and released the dragon vein, things wouldn't have escalated to such an irreversible point.

"Brother Golden Retriever, is there really no way to fix this?"

Naruto stood beside Sara, looking at the crying girl, his fist clenching slightly.

"If the Dragon Vein Eye can be resealed, there might still be a chance for things to turn around."

Minato frowned and pondered for a moment before calmly analyzing the situation.

"But."

Zhiwei, standing to the side, stiffened upon hearing this, and everyone else instinctively looked at the giant black dragon churning in the sea of ​​purple chakra.

To get close to the Eye of the Dragon Vein, you must first get past this hurdle.

"Roar!"

An Lushan felt incredibly comfortable at this moment. For him, whose body had already been modified, the pure dragon vein power was undoubtedly the best tonic. The power gradually filling his body caused his confidence to swell rapidly.

But one thing puzzled him: despite being bathed in such abundant dragon vein power, why did his body, which had been blasted in half by Uchiha Gin, show no signs of recovery?

"What kind of move did that curly-haired guy use?"

He was unaware that the weapon Uchiha Gin held was a divine artifact created by the Sage of Six Paths using Yin-Yang Release, and he was still trying to use high-speed regeneration to restore his human form.

"Forget it, for a god, appearance and such are not important."

After several unsuccessful attempts, An Lushan simply gave up on reverting to human form and instead set his sights on the dark figure who had worked so hard for him.

"Be truly one with me, Dark Dragon, this will be your greatest honor!"

The black dragon, which had begun to develop intelligence, sensed the malice from its master and subconsciously showed some resistance. However, under An Lushan's powerful control, it could only bow its head and accept its fate.

And so, under An Lushan's control, his remains and the black dragon were completely merged in a vortex of purple chakra.

"Roar!"

With a high-pitched dragon roar, the black dragon's body rapidly shrank until it sank into the sea.

"The bugs told me there's a dangerous creature down there."

Yu Nu Zhiwei looked at the black parasitic worms crawling on her fingertips and spoke in a stiff tone.

"I can tell without you saying it."

Minato nodded with a slightly somber expression, his gaze falling on the black figure slowly rising from the vortex of purple chakra.

"Everyone, prepare for battle."

"Hehehe, this power, I am a god!"

An Lushan slowly opened his eyes, stretched his body covered in dragon-patterned heavy armor, and felt a surge of power within him, giving him the illusion of being invincible.

"This is... a dragon person?"

Naruto stared in astonishment at An Lushan, who was clad in heavy black armor and had a half-dragon, half-human physique. His azure eyes were filled with bewilderment.

"Be careful, that guy is strong."

Sensing the dangerous aura emanating from An Lushan, the Nine-Tailed Fox, trapped in its sealed cage, couldn't help but warn him.

"Lao Jiu? You're awake! Help me!"

"Hehe, I'm busy."

In response to Naruto's plea, Kurama sneered twice, turning its head to look at the strange human who had appeared before it. Its enormous beastly eyes were filled with intense wariness.

"Who are you? How did you get in?"

"I just came to visit you in prison."

The human, many times smaller than the Nine-Tails, raised his head, a familiar smile on his face with dead fish eyes.

"Nine Lama, is this place comfortable?"

He and Kurama were old acquaintances, so it wouldn't be right not to visit. Therefore, when he patted Naruto's head, Uchiha Gin casually sent his chakra in.

"Who exactly are you!?"

Upon hearing its real name, Nine-Tailed Fox instantly bristled and activated its Spinosaurus mode.

"Don't you even remember me?"

Uchiha Gin feigned disappointment and shook his head. His black eyes blinked, revealing a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan that would terrify the Nine-Tails.

"Who are you?"

"Uh?"

Not seeing the scene he expected, Uchiha Gin was slightly taken aback. He reached for a mirror and discovered that the pattern reflected in it was not the pair he had imagined.

"Oh, sorry, I cut the wrong one."

Under Kurama's bewildered gaze, Uchiha Gin closed and opened his eyes again, switching between complex and simple patterns several times before his pupils finally settled on a pair of alluring Mangekyou Sharingan.

"You are... Uchiha Madara!?"

Unlike the previous triangular eyes, windmill eyes, and white-and-red eyes, the pattern on Uchiha's silver eyes is something Kurama (the Nine-Tails) will never forget, even in death.

The man who had humiliated it by crawling between its legs was still alive.

"Oh, so you still remember me?"

Having achieved his goal of proving his identity, Uchiha Gin smiled, the crimson in his eyes fading.

"No wonder you can use the old man's weapon."

The Nine-Tails, huddled in the corner of the cage, nodded thoughtfully. Just now, when Uchiha Gin used the Spear of Ama-no-Sumaki, it had been wondering just who this suddenly appearing human was.

Now that the other party has revealed their identity, everything makes sense.

It makes sense that Indra's reincarnation used his father's weapon.

"Don't be nervous, I have no other purpose than to visit an old friend."

Seeing the Nine-Tails curled up in the corner of the seal, Uchiha Gin immediately revealed what he thought was a kind smile.

Kurama frowned as he sized up the drastically changed "Uchiha Madara," noticing that the latter had indeed lost his former arrogant aura and his smile had become exceptionally friendly. Relieved, Kurama still cautiously asked, "..."

"You're not riding me this time?"

"No way! Riding a dog will rip your crotch, don't you know that?" (End of Chapter)