"Shinno?"
Gazing at the man who had perished under his blade, Kakashi's expression remained cold.
Naming himself after a legendary deity?
It seemed his fate wasn't strong enough to carry such a title after all.
Kakashi's dark eyes lingered only briefly on the bisected corpse slumped beside the main cannon before shifting his focus to the surrounding Sky Ninja. Now that their leader was dead, they had lost their backbone. One by one, they looked at the man standing with his blade drawn and subconsciously swallowed hard, their feet instinctively retreating.
Survival is the primal instinct of any living being, and humans are no exception.
Once they clearly understood the massive gap in strength, whatever hatred they had harbored before vanished. The moment a sliver of fear entered their hearts, it was like the first crack in a breaking dam. Once it appeared, it could no longer be stopped.
"No, no... it's impossible to win..."
"I—I have to leave..."
With the emergence of the first deserter, the group collapsed like dominoes. One after another, they scrambled to jump into the sea, swimming desperately toward the mainland.
Kakashi did nothing to stop them, merely watching with cold indifference as they plunged into the water. Once the enemies had retreated, he sheathed his blade and walked over to Might Guy's side.
"Kakashi, I'm truly sorry. I couldn't fulfill what I promised you. I really thought we could handle this as a duo."
"Now, it seems..."
Might Guy sat on the ground, leaning against a railing, speaking with a heavy sense of disappointment.
"Captain, don't say that. Everyone saw what you're capable of."
Raido Namiashi, standing nearby, couldn't help but interject upon hearing Guy belittle himself. But as soon as he spoke, Genma Shiranui gave his sleeve a tug, signaling him not to overstep.
Kakashi didn't respond to Guy's words immediately. He first checked his friend's injuries. Finding nothing life-threatening that wouldn't heal with rest, he felt relieved and finally looked Guy in the eye.
"Who was the one constantly asking me for duels every single day?"
"Why the weak look now?"
Kakashi knelt in front of Guy, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"I..." Guy hesitated, words failing him.
"Guy, if there is anyone in the current Hidden Leaf who can stand beside me—someone I can entrust my life to without reservation—it is you."
"By belittling yourself, aren't you suggesting I've misjudged your character?"
"Besides, I've failed far more times than you have."
Kakashi placed a hand on Guy's shoulder, looking at him with absolute sincerity.
"Kakashi..."
Looking at the white-haired man before him, Guy was moved beyond words.
"You... just wait for me. I—I definitely will... Waaaaah!"
Guy's nose twitched, and he burst into a flood of hot tears. Ignoring his injuries, he lunged forward and pulled Kakashi into a crushing embrace, wailing loudly.
"Hey, hey, watch it! Don't wipe your tears and snot on my clothes."
Kakashi chuckled and patted Guy's back. He understood exactly why someone as indomitable as Guy would act this way.
Raised under his father's example, Guy had made it his life's mission to surpass Kakashi, and through that pursuit, they had become best friends. Now that Kakashi was Hokage, Guy felt the weight of that responsibility. Having failed the first mission his best friend had personally assigned him—to the point where Kakashi had to come clean up the mess—he felt he had failed Kakashi's expectations.
"Go back to the Leaf first, Guy. Your injuries are the priority."
Kakashi gently pushed Guy back.
"Sob... I'll do whatever Kakashi says! My youth won't allow me to be stubborn while I'm injured!" Guy blubbered, still weeping.
"Genma, the three of you compile the mission report and hand it to me. Then, take Guy back. When you return, bring Inoichi to me, along with two others."
Upon hearing this, Genma Shiranui's face turned slightly pale, but he nodded and agreed nonetheless.
Using the Flying Raijin Jutsu to transport Kakashi thousands of miles from the Leaf had already drained most of their chakra. According to the Hokage, they now had to make two more round trips...
He was treating the three of them like pack mules.
"Good work. Off you go."
Kakashi took the mission documents they had recorded and patted Genma on the shoulder.
"Understood, Lord Hokage," Genma replied helplessly.
With the Flying Raijin squad departing with the injured Guy, Kakashi was left alone. Aside from him, there wasn't a soul left alive on the iron warship—only a deck strewn with corpses.
With a casual gust of Wind Style, he swept the bodies into the sea, then sat on the edge of the deck to flip through the mission logs.
Searching, infiltrating, intelligence gathering, and targeted ambushes—it was all there. Aside from these three remaining iron warships, Guy's team had discovered the existence of the so-called "Ancor Vantian," an aerial carrier. Currently, the Ancor Vantian was docked at a small island due to a lack of power.
Kakashi fell into thought.
Power...
Many technologies in this world were quite absurd, such as the Hidden Cloud's Chakra Cannon. With only Killer Bee's chakra, it could easily strike a cluster of meteorites in space from the ground. Without that cannon, even the Eight-Tails would likely struggle to produce such overwhelming firepower.
The Ancor Vantian belonged to this category of chakra-based technology. Because his own chakra was insufficient, Shinno had pursued the "Zero-Tails," attempting to create an artificial Tailed Beast to serve as the power source for the carrier. According to the records, that Zero-Tails was an unfinished research project of Tobirama Senju.
The night fell like a curtain. Kakashi sat on the deck, feeling the sea breeze as he gazed at the horizon. Finally, the Flying Raijin squad returned.
"Lord Hokage!"
In addition to Inoichi Yamanaka, they had brought Hayama Shirakumo and Itachi Uchiha. The group stepped forward and bowed to Kakashi.
"No need for that."
Kakashi stood up and pointed toward Shinno's corpse at the main cannon controls. He looked at Inoichi.
"That's the enemy leader. Search his memories to find the location of the Ancor Vantian and find the operating instructions for this warship."
"If possible, extract every bit of scientific knowledge from his brain as well."
Inoichi nodded without a word and walked over to the corpse, beginning his memory extraction.
"Lord Hokage!" Hayama Shirakumo looked at Kakashi with visible excitement.
"I didn't expect you to come along, Hayama. How has your kenjutsu practice been lately?"
Since the memory search would take some time, Kakashi didn't mind asking about Hayama's progress.
"It's going very well! Lord Sakumo is truly worthy of the title 'White Fang of the Leaf'!" Hayama reported that he had encountered no obstacles.
This surprised Kakashi slightly. As a fellow swordsman, he knew exactly how high the barrier of entry was for the White Fang style.
"When we return to the village, I'll test you myself."
At those words, Hayama replied with enthusiastic agreement. A personal evaluation from the Hokage... is this the privilege of the Guard Platoon?
"Lord Hokage, this ship looks like it could be used for large-scale warfare."
On the other side, Itachi was observing the iron fortress on the sea, keenly aware of the implications of such a vessel.
"Exactly. If we can produce these in numbers, the seas of the Land of Fire will no longer face any threats."
Kakashi nodded in approval.
"As expected of Lord Hokage," Itachi remarked with admiration.
Kakashi offered a silent smile.
As time passed, Inoichi's work drew to a close.
"Lord Hokage, the coordinates for the Ancor Vantian have been confirmed. I've also learned how to operate the warships and the carrier. However, Shinno's scientific knowledge is far too vast; I'll need to bring him back to the village for a coordinated search with several others."
"Well done. It was a bit much of me to expect you to do it all alone," Kakashi said, patting Inoichi's shoulder. "In that case, let's move out. We'll find the Ancor Vantian first."
Under Inoichi's guidance, the group quickly mastered the warship's controls. The ship let out a roar and began sailing toward a remote island.
Once the ship docked, the group stepped onto the deserted land. Guided by Inoichi, they soon located the Ancor Vantian. It was hidden inside a massive mountain; from the outside, there was no sign of anything unusual. But after Inoichi manipulated a few mechanisms, a stone door appeared.
Inoichi pressed his palm against the door, flowing his chakra into it at a specific frequency. The door slowly groaned open, revealing the interior to everyone.
"This is the Ancor Vantian. According to Shinno's memories, this aerial fortress has been sitting idle due to a lack of power."
Inoichi led the way as he spoke. Kakashi looked at the mysterious patterns on the stone walls, lost in thought.
Chakra technology... It was quite different from the metallic, high-tech aesthetic he had imagined. They soon arrived at a massive hall engraved with barrier formations.
"This is the control room. Someone needs to feed chakra into it to fully activate the fortress."
The group frowned. Activating a fortress of this size with chakra seemed like an impossible task. Only Tailed Beast-level chakra could suffice.
"And after it's started?" Kakashi asked, unfazed.
"Once it's active, the operator can control it via the console."
After some searching, Inoichi triggered a console to rise from the floor.
"In addition to the controls, this fortress is equipped with various gunpowder and chakra-based weapons. It would require a large crew to maintain full control."
Inoichi explained the details piece by piece. Kakashi nodded. The priority wasn't the weapons, but getting it back to the Leaf.
"I see."
Kakashi stepped up to the console, his gaze sharpening. Suddenly, visible flares of azure chakra erupted around his body!
As Kakashi channeled his chakra into the barrier, the dim environment suddenly brightened as the formations surged with light!
"Lord Hokage!"
The others cried out in shock, watching the scene with disbelief. A ridiculous thought crossed their minds: Is the Hokage planning to power the Ancor Vantian by himself?
They knew Kakashi's chakra capacity was extraordinary, but they hadn't realized it was this immense.
"Inoichi, stay here. The rest of you return to the warship and sail it back to the Land of Fire's port. We'll meet in the village."
Kakashi waved them off casually.
"Yes!" The group replied, their hearts racing with excitement as they quickly departed.
"Lord Hokage, please maintain the chakra input at a steady balance," Inoichi warned.
Kakashi complied, gradually increasing the flow. As his vast reserves poured into the fortress, the men outside felt a violent tremor beneath their feet. The mountain began to collapse, rocks tumbling down, and every bird on the island took flight in a panic.
With a world-shaking rumble, a massive aerial fortress emerged from the debris and rose into the sky! A pale yellow barrier flashed across the hull, blowing away the accumulated earth and stone.
Under the sunlight, the spectators were awestruck by the sight of the floating fortress. They understood Kakashi's intent now. If such a fortress appeared on the battlefield, it would be an unstoppable engine of war. Given how rare flight was in the shinobi world, this would fundamentally change the nature of conflict.
With weapons like this, how exactly did Sakumo Hatake lead a team to wipe out the Land of the Sky back then?
Inside, Kakashi continued to stabilize his output, piloting the Ancor Vantian higher until it pierced the clouds and vanished from the ground's view. He wasn't worried about the consumption; he could support this level of drain indefinitely.
Without hesitation, he set a course for the Hidden Leaf.
"The barriers here also allow for external surveillance. The pilot can use them to scout the surroundings," Inoichi explained.
With a thought from Kakashi, the massive body of the Ancor Vantian, along with its passengers, vanished instantly. It hadn't truly disappeared; it had used a specialized barrier to cloak itself.
Simultaneously, the interior of the cockpit transformed. The stone walls displayed a 360-degree view of the outside world. Even Kakashi had to admire this unique chakra-based technology. The technical level of this fortress was leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the world.
His previous goal had been the right choice. But was one Ancor Vantian enough?
Once he returned, he planned to have the Daimyo provide more funding to build a fleet of these. As for the power source, he already had a target in mind: the Gelel Stones from the Land of Hidden Ruins. It was a special ore with near-infinite energy, once used by a civilization a thousand years ago to build a vast empire. It would be the perfect replacement for manual chakra input.
Additionally, he wanted at least three iron fleets on the sea, each powered by Gelel Stones and consisting of over ten warships. The sky and the sea would become the Leaf's playground.
But...
With the sea and sky covered... what about the land?
A subtle light flashed in Kakashi's eyes. He already had candidates in mind for that research. Aside from Katasuke Tono, the future developer of Scientific Ninja Tools, there was someone else.
Doto Kazahana, the Daimyo who had usurped power in the Land of Snow—the man who once sent soldiers to hunt Kakashi from the Land of Snow all the way to the Land of Demons.
To others, his status as a Daimyo might be problematic. But for Kakashi?
Problematic? Then we won't follow the rules.
Regardless of his title, Kakashi would simply kidnap him. He didn't even need the "Light of the Eight-Headed Serpent" (Yata no Kagami) to make that "Lord Daimyo" bow his head.
A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Kakashi's mouth.
Inoichi, noticing the smile, asked cautiously, "Lord Hokage, have you thought of something?"
"Ah, just something interesting."
The Ancor Vantian sped through the clouds. Under Kakashi's manipulation, the barrier shifted into a streamlined shape, significantly increasing the fortress's speed.
Inoichi was stunned. In the memories he had taken from Shinno, the Ancor Vantian was never this fast. However, he wisely chose to remain silent and wait for their arrival at the Leaf.
He could vaguely sense the ambition in the Hokage's heart. But as a ninja of the Leaf, his duty was simply to execute orders perfectly.
Don't ask what shouldn't be asked. Don't do what shouldn't be done. Fulfill the duty; complete the mission.
It didn't matter who was Hokage; Inoichi would follow their lead. That was his way of life. He still couldn't understand the fate of his friend Shikaku Nara—to have such a bright future, only to throw it away on a redundant move.
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