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In the beginning, this ability appeared on Victor, the strongest warrior. Its effect allowed him to absorb the energy of any living being on Earth, greatly enhancing his own power.
With this ability, Victor was practically invincible. No matter what methods were used against him, he couldn't be killed. The more he fought, the stronger he became, overwhelming the battlefield with ease.
In the end, the protagonist had no choice but to resort to a near-suicidal tactic: dragging Victor to the moon to neutralize him, ultimately preventing further devastation.
Upon seeing this card, Ye Dou immediately thought of the Dragon Veins, which had only appeared in the Naruto movie The Lost Tower.
Chakra in the Naruto world can indeed be classified into several types:
1. Standard Chakra – the most common type, extractable from the body's cells as long as one knows the proper method.
2. Natural Energy – introduced through Sage Mode (Senjutsu), as seen when Jiraiya trained Naruto. It is far more potent than regular chakra but also more volatile. Without proper training to balance it, the user risks turning to stone from natural energy overload.
3. Reanimation Chakra – associated with the Edo Tensei technique, as seen with characters like Uchiha Madara. This chakra is inexhaustible, sourced from reanimated souls, making it impossible to analyze fully due to its link to the afterlife.
4. Six Paths Chakra – formed from the fusion of natural energy and tailed beast chakra, granted by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. Sasuke used this in the later stages of the Fourth Great Ninja War, powered further by the Cursed Seal of Heaven and the chakra of the tailed beasts.
5. Dragon Vein Energy – unique to the underground flows beneath Rōran (Loulan). Technically, it's a form of natural energy, as it's born from the Earth and circulates through its "veins." However, its sheer density makes it almost tangible and capable of bending time and space.
Unfortunately, no one has been able to control this energy—except for Queen Sāra of Rōran.
Based on Ye Dou's understanding of [Energy Absorption], this ability could potentially bypass all restrictions and absorb the chakra of the Dragon Veins.
The only uncertainty was whether the energy absorbed would vanish once the card's effect ended.
Ye Dou looked up at the floating meerkat in front of him.
This equivalent exchange space was eerily silent, offering no answers. They had already bent the rules once for Ye Dou and had no intention of doing it again.
"Can this item card persist after absorbing the chakra of the Dragon Veins?" Ye Dou asked.
The meerkat still said nothing, waiting silently for his decision.
"Answer me! I can offer you half the energy of the Dragon Veins!" Ye Dou said, unbothered by the offer.
The energy of the Dragon Veins was absurdly vast. Even Anrokuzan, using it to mass-produce advanced war puppets capable of threatening the Five Great Nations, couldn't deplete it.
Ye Dou knew he couldn't absorb it all alone. He'd overload and explode before reaching capacity.
His real target was the core of the Dragon Veins.
He reasoned that there couldn't be just one vein. The one beneath Loulan alone couldn't account for such immense power. There had to be a centralized core, like the planet's heart, pulling all the Earth's Dragon Vein energy toward itself.
If he could find and absorb that core, he would become a walking perpetual motion engine—an infinite source of power.
"The core is yours," the mongoose finally spoke, "but 10% of the Dragon Vein's energy belongs to us."
Ye Dou still didn't understand how the equivalent exchange space functioned or why it existed—but one thing was certain: it was ravenous for energy. Otherwise, it wouldn't have invested so much into him on mere verbal agreements.
"Don't haggle with me," Ye Dou replied flatly. "Without me, you won't get even a sliver."
Though calm on the surface, his heart raced.
From the mongoose's words, he now knew the [Energy Absorption] card could retain absorbed energy.
More importantly, the Dragon Vein core did exist—his theory was right. The Loulan expedition had to begin.
The mongoose remained expressionless and said, "Without our help, you can't reach the core. The energy within the Dragon Vein is beyond your comprehension."
"Ten percent," it repeated. "In exchange, we'll give you the route to the core, protect you, and assist in absorbing its energy."
They were confident Ye Dou had no other options.
"The core of the Dragon Vein nourishes cells and chakra pathways," the mongoose added. "With it, your internal energy will grow constantly, and your body will evolve to harmonize with nature."
Ye Dou frowned. He couldn't argue with that.
He didn't fully understand the Dragon Veins—how much energy they held or what dangers lurked within.
Still, their promise of protection gave him pause.
"…Seventy percent," he countered. "That's the most I'll give you."
"At your current pace, even by the time the Fourth Great Ninja War begins, you'd absorb at most 10% of the Dragon Vein's energy. The rest would just go to waste," the mongoose replied.
"But with the core, your chakra will grow to tailed-beast levels within a year. You'll be able to draw energy straight from the earth—endlessly."
"You're a smart man. You know—"
"Then I'm taking 10%," Ye Dou interrupted, cutting through the bargaining.
Without hesitation, he activated Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, casting it into the sky.
He had underestimated the Dragon Vein's energy. Even after years of cultivation, his modified DNA—though not quite on par with the Uzumaki—let him handle more chakra than most. Yet he still couldn't hold more than one full Dragon Vein's worth.
Ye Dou estimated that just 10% of the Dragon Vein could make his chakra reserves rival Hashirama Senju's.
The mongoose showed rare hesitation. Ten percent was still an enormous amount—almost too much to give up.
But in the end, it nodded and placed the [Energy Absorption] item card onto the scale's opposite end.
It understood that Ye Dou was ruthless. If pushed further, the deal would collapse entirely.
"Deal."
As the balance equalized, the space around Ye Dou began to dissolve.
"When you return from Loulan," the mongoose said, "we will negotiate again."
Then it fell to the ground and reverted to its normal form.
It seemed to have been holding back. As soon as it reappeared, it shouted:
"Ye Dou, you're finally leaving the village?! When are you going? Now? Want to say goodbye to Hanabi?"
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