Although Danzo's death sent ripples through the village, the final outcome left Tsunade deeply satisfied.
She walked toward Might Guy, laughter spilling from her lips as she clapped him firmly on the shoulder.
"Hahaha! Guy, that was beautifully done!"
Her tone carried both relief and pride. Tsunade hadn't expected Guy's mastery over Taijutsu to reach such astonishing levels.
After everything she had witnessed — the strength of the Eight Gates, the resolve behind each strike — she no longer looked down on Taijutsu as she once had.
The "baptism of martial arts," as she thought of it, had changed her perspective.
Taijutsu, though far harder to cultivate than Ninjutsu, could reach heights just as magnificent — perhaps even greater when tempered by sheer willpower.
Turning to the Copy Ninja, she smiled.
"Kakashi, you did well too."
The crisis had been resolved — not through politics or words, but through the teamwork of Konoha's finest shinobi.
Tsunade felt both gratitude and admiration.
Yet, something else caught her attention — the change in Kakashi's eye.
He had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
It was a near-impossible feat. By all logic, without the Uchiha bloodline, Kakashi should never have been able to advance Obito's Sharingan to that level.
And still, he had.
Even more remarkable was the fact that the eye hadn't consumed him outright. Normally, the Sharingan drained enormous amounts of chakra, especially for someone without Uchiha heritage. It was the reason Kakashi had always struggled with chakra exhaustion.
Could the eye itself have mutated after all these years?
The thought intrigued her. If she ever had the time, Tsunade wanted to study it — perhaps even find clues that could help with the fusion serum Naruto had mentioned before.
But for now, there were more pressing matters.
The Explosive Tags scattered throughout Konoha had to be neutralized.
Tsunade immediately organized several squads of sealing experts and sensory ninja to begin the delicate removal process. The earlier confrontation with Danzo had made it impossible to act before — but now, with the immediate threat gone, she could finally address the danger hanging over the village.
The Explosive Tags were everywhere — embedded deep within the walls and foundations of Konoha's buildings. Together, they formed a vast, interconnected web.
It was almost suffocating to realize just how close the entire village had come to annihilation.
The source of the crisis traced back decades — to a man named Genno, a spy from the Hidden Haze Village. Disguised as a construction worker, he had infiltrated Konoha during the rebuilding period and planted the Explosive Tags, intending to destroy the village in coordination with his comrades.
But fate had other plans. His village was wiped out before they could act. He waited for allies who would never come — until time itself buried his ambitions.
Only now, through Danzo's schemes and Naruto's interference with the flow of events, had the old plot been unearthed. The butterfly effect of Naruto's presence was beginning to reshape history.
After several days of tireless work, the last of the Explosive Tags were safely removed.
Only then did Tsunade finally exhale — her heart no longer suspended in tension.
She summoned the Konoha Council for an emergency meeting.
"Something like this must never happen again," she said coldly, slamming her palm on the table. The shockwave rattled the scrolls and caused more than a few of the advisors to flinch.
Though her leadership differed from the Third Hokage's, Tsunade's authority was unquestionable. Her power was absolute — her will, iron.
The old guard had suffered under her rule in their own way. The families of Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu had declined in status, while many from the Sarutobi and Shimura clans were dispatched to distant posts — guarding the Land of Fire's borders or handling hazardous missions.
The work was not glamorous, but it kept them away from Konoha's core, where Tsunade's influence was strongest.
For now, peace — however fragile — had been restored.
Elsewhere, Naruto was hosting Orochimaru at his facility.
When the pale Sannin first laid eyes on the aircraft parked in the hangar, even he couldn't conceal his astonishment. The blend of chakra and modern engineering was beyond anything Konoha — or any other village — had achieved.
It made him even more determined to continue his collaboration with Naruto.
As they spoke, Naruto's phone buzzed. It was a message from Tsunade.
She wrote that she would remain in Konoha for several more days to handle post-crisis matters, leaving Orochimaru to proceed with his research independently for the time being.
Naruto looked up from the message and said calmly, "Orochimaru, I just received word from Tsunade. She'll be tied up in Konoha for a while. In the meantime, I'd like you to oversee the next phase of the project."
Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, curiosity gleaming in his serpentine eyes.
Naruto smiled faintly and continued, "I've begun developing a new initiative — the Sky City Project. Are you interested in taking part?"
The name alone made Orochimaru's curiosity sharpen. Sky City? It had the ring of something monumental — perhaps even divine.
"Oh?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed with intrigue. "Such a grand project… Are you certain this is wise?"
Naruto met his gaze, the corner of his mouth curving upward.
"Don't worry. I won't force you to join Umbrella," he said with a light chuckle. "But you can still contribute to the plan."
He leaned back, his tone calm yet filled with quiet ambition.
"This will be one of our most ambitious undertakings. I expect it'll take three years to complete the initial structure — a prototype within the first year, and full completion in five."
Naruto poured tea for both of them, the fragrance curling through the air like a promise of the future.
The surface of the tea rippled slightly — calm yet deep, reflecting the two men who gazed into it.
Both were smiling.
Both were already imagining the sky.
It had to be said — Naruto had completely captured Orochimaru's curiosity.
A plan measured not in days or months, but years, could only mean one thing: ambition on a grand scale.
The pale Sannin's golden eyes shimmered with intrigue as a faint smile crept across his face.
"I'd like to hear more," Orochimaru said, his tongue brushing briefly against his lips.
Naruto calmly took a sip of tea before replying, "I call this project — Sky City."
Orochimaru's brows arched.
Naruto continued, his tone steady, deliberate.
"As the name suggests, it's a city that will exist in the sky. A self-sustaining stronghold above the clouds — one that will serve as our primary base in the future."
For a moment, silence filled the room. Then, Orochimaru's pupils widened, genuine astonishment flickering in his serpentine eyes.
A city… floating above the world?
In a world where even sustained flight was rare, such a notion bordered on fantasy.
Even for someone like him, who had witnessed countless forbidden techniques and impossible creations, this sounded utterly unbelievable.
Naruto chuckled, easily reading Orochimaru's thoughts.
"I know what you're thinking. But if I can create flying vehicles, then building a floating city shouldn't sound so impossible."
His words were neither arrogant nor boastful — just calm, confident, and dangerously convincing.
"I've already solved the core problem of levitation — and even the energy source that will keep the city aloft shows promising results. Once completed, the Sky City will hover above the Ninja World, beyond the reach of any army or jutsu. It will be the ultimate sanctuary — and our strongest fortress."
Orochimaru's smile slowly widened.
"Naruto-kun… have you truly considered every factor? The materials, the chakra balance, the environmental strain… even for you, such a project borders on madness."
Naruto set his teacup down gently.
"Of course I've considered it. It may seem impossible, but not to me."
He leaned forward slightly, his blue eyes glinting with the light of determination.
"We captured several Sky Ninja during one of our missions. They possessed large aerial warships — primitive, but functional. I plan to use their technology as a foundation. By combining it with modern science and chakra-based propulsion, I can expand it — turning those warships into a vast, self-sustaining city."
"Sky Ninja…" Orochimaru muttered, recalling the lost village that had once attempted to rule from above.
Naruto nodded.
"Exactly. The Hidden Sky Village may have failed, but their research was decades ahead of its time. I'll refine their methods, perfect their technology, and power it using chakra — drawn through bio-reactors and natural energy. In the future, I even intend to build more than one Sky City."
He paused briefly before adding, "And I'm not stopping there. I've already begun developing fixed-point spatial teleportation technology. Once perfected, it'll allow instant travel between the Sky City and any location in the Ninja World. With such a network, distance will cease to matter."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
"Spatial teleportation… You're merging the principles of the Flying Thunder God Technique with scientific transmission arrays, aren't you?"
Naruto smirked.
"You catch on quickly. Yes, it's based on the same principle. I've already achieved short-range stability. Long-distance synchronization is next."
He leaned back, eyes drifting toward the ceiling — as if already gazing through it, toward the endless blue beyond.
"I know what's coming, Orochimaru. The balance of the Five Great Nations won't last forever. Conflict is inevitable. And when that war begins…"
His voice hardened, every word laced with conviction.
"Sky City will place me in an invincible position — above them all."
For the first time in a long while, Orochimaru felt something stir deep within him — a strange mix of awe, curiosity, and unease.
He had seen ambition before.
But this… this was something else entirely.
To build a fortress above the heavens.
To challenge the Five Great Nations — no, the entire world.
It wasn't just arrogance. It was the will of someone who had stopped seeing limits altogether.
Orochimaru's grin widened. "Heh… Naruto-kun, you truly are fascinating. To think, you aim not to rule the world — but to rise above it."
Naruto's gaze was calm, yet sharp as a blade.
"I don't want to rule the world," he said quietly. "I just don't intend to be bound by it."
And with that, silence once again filled the room — a silence heavy with realization.
For the first time, Orochimaru truly understood what kind of man Naruto had become.
A man no longer content to walk on the earth.
A man who sought to command the sky.
...
TN:
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