Hearing Ryuji's words, Kana stated upfront, "Let me make it clear first. I am a Shinobi of Shimogakure. I will not betray my village to work for you."
"I don't need you to work for me." Ryuji gave a light laugh. "Just cooperate with me for some research."
"Research?"
"Research on your eyes."
"Then... how do you want me to cooperate?"
"Hmm." Ryuji crossed his left arm over his chest, right hand pinching his chin thoughtfully. "First, dig out the eyes and do some scans, see how the structure differs from a normal person's."
"What?!"
"It's said that Dojutsu are techniques that apply Chakra to the eyes to produce special effects. Probably need to do a craniotomy too, see how the neural connections between the brain and the eyes differ."
After he finished speaking, he noticed Kana staring wide-eyed behind him and instinctively turned to look.
Empty. Nothing.
"What are you looking at?"
Ryuji turned back, puzzled, only to find this side also empty, with only the open door swaying.
"Did she get scared off?"
Ryuji was dumbfounded.
'She actually believed such obvious nonsense? She's too naive!'
Thinking back to Kana's initial tough stance when brought in by his subordinate, and now running away scared by two teasing remarks... the contrast made him laugh out loud.
'That girl actually had this side to her.'
'What can I say... fits for someone who ran away from the deep mountains, doesn't it?'
...
Twenty minutes later.
Kana was recaptured.
Ryuji didn't continue teasing her. Instead, he had puppets take her to clean off the dirt and then had her locked up.
He had just finished researching all night and didn't have time to study Hawk Eyes immediately.
The most important thing right now was to get the flight system operational.
…
Time continued to pass.
The eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth days...
Ebizo captured sixteen intelligence squads from other forces, including nine Sensor-Type Shinobi.
But many Shinobi also managed to return with information to their respective factions.
The fourteenth, fifteenth days...
The intelligence squads Ebizo captured had reached twenty-three, from almost every force in the Shinobi World.
But the number of teams coming to investigate gradually decreased. All the Sunagakure's Shinobi felt the eerie calm before the storm.
The sixteenth day.
Pakura and Rasa arrived with ten teams to help.
The seventeenth day.
A team from Kumogakure infiltrated Roran.
Although discovered in time by the puppet forces and killed, the aftermath of the battle destroyed two spires.
The eighteenth day.
Three more teams infiltrated Roran.
Though also discovered and killed in time by the puppet forces, the damage was greater than the previous day.
Simultaneously, Ryuji completed the formula conversion for the anti-gravity system, enabling it to be manufactured with Chakra as the energy core.
The nineteenth, twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fourth days...
More and more Shinobi attempting to sabotage the Mechanical City's construction arrived. The fighting intensified. The Specific Gravity System under construction in the eastern area was interfered with; some already-built machinery was damaged.
Ryuji secretly threw himself into building the anti-gravity system.
The twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth days...
More and more people arrived trying to sabotage and hinder Sunagakure's construction of the Mechanical City. The battles grew fiercer. Construction work was severely hampered. Many Roran's citizens were affected, with many sustaining serious injuries.
Fortunately, no one died.
But the pressure on everyone grew heavier.
The thirtieth day.
Morning of the last day of October. The anti-gravity system was finally completed.
Some might wonder why the anti-gravity system was completed so quickly.
Because it was a mature technology.
Unlike the Specific Gravity System and the Planetary Engine, these two were first-generation products just developed by Ryuji. Not tested in practice, their flaws unknown, not optimized, so building them was naturally troublesome and resource-intensive.
But the anti-gravity system had been developed in another world for four hundred years.
After four hundred years of continuous use, identifying flaws and optimizing, this technology was quite perfect. It only required an area of about five hundred square meters, with the corresponding Ninjutsu formulas and seals inscribed inside a sealed structure.
The time and resources required were very minimal.
The sabotage teams sent by other forces were all attracted to the high-profile construction site of the Specific Gravity System in the eastern area. The anti-gravity system was smoothly completed in silence.
As Ryuji established a Dragon Vein conduit connecting to the anti-gravity system...
The anti-gravity system's magic circle was fully activated. Land roughly five thousand square kilometers in area, to its own inhabitants' and other factions' astonishment, lifted off and flew into the sky.
"It... it really flew up!?"
Watching the ground grow smaller and smaller, Pakura said in disbelief.
Ebizo, Rasa, Sara, the hundreds of Sunagakure's Shinobi, and even all the Roran's citizens stared at this scene in amazement, each face filled with disbelief.
Although they had long known this was about building a flying city, whether it would succeed was anyone's guess.
Moreover, when five thousand square kilometers of land took flight... the visual impact was unimaginable for those who hadn't witnessed it.
Even though they were Shinobi, their footprints spanning the Shinobi World, having seen all sorts of strange things, they were still so shocked they were left speechless.
Finally, when the landmass floated to an altitude of two thousand meters, it stopped ascending.
Not that it couldn't go higher, but the oxygen was thinner at higher altitudes, and everyone needed time to adapt slowly.
Ryuji was the first to snap out of the shock.
He clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, then said, "The city walls aren't built yet. For everyone's safety, ordinary citizens are prohibited from approaching the edge. Adults must also keep an eye on children."
Hearing this, many people knowingly smiled.
Rascal kids... everyone had some experience.
After a moment, everyone quieted down.
Ryuji continued, "Many Shinobi from other villages have come during this period to gather intelligence and try to sabotage our construction of the Mechanical City. They don't know what we're building, but they know that once we complete it successfully, they won't be able to stop Sunagakure's rise. So even while mired in the quagmire of war, even when beaten to the point of barely clinging on, they still send people to sabotage, to stop us."
"But is it useful? No."
"Sunagakure's rise can no longer be stopped."
"No matter what methods the enemies use, they cannot stop us."
"Now the Mechanical City has taken to the sky. We still need to build the subsequent flight systems, defense systems, industrial zones, agricultural zones, residential zones, administrative zones, military zones, academy zones... This place will become the most impregnable fortress in the world, the safest, most advanced, most comfortable city."
"And your family, friends, and all the people of Sunagakure, even your children and grandchildren... even countless years from now, they will all live in this place."
"It will help us realize our dreams, allowing everyone to enjoy life peacefully."
"But now, Sunagakure's great undertaking is not yet complete. We still need to strive. Now, outside forces can no longer harass us. Whether what I described can be realized depends on everyone's efforts."
"Let's work hard together!"
"OHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
The morale boost from this stage victory and the bright future Ryuji described for them filled everyone with motivation.
…
Ground.
The former Roran's ruins had become a deep pit.
Countless foreign Shinobi hiding in the surroundings, preparing to infiltrate and sabotage under cover of night, arrived at the edge of the pit.
The depth was circular, about a thousand meters deep, but its length was hard to measure. They could only see people on the opposite side like tiny ants.
They looked at the pit, then at the shadow in the clouds, falling into a stunned silence, unable to recover for a long time.
"What do we do now?"
A Shinobi from Iwagakure broke the silence, looking helplessly at his teammates and Shinobi from other villages who had come for the same purpose.
This included Konoha.
These Shinobi from villages still locked in a life-and-death struggle in the Land of Grass had no intention of being enemies at this moment. Instead, they discussed countermeasures like allies.
But no matter how they thought about it, there was no solution.
If they couldn't fly, they couldn't even get up there, let alone carry out sabotage.
And even if they could fly up, what then?
Under the vast, open sky, they had nowhere to hide. The moment they went up, countless puppet armies would come to greet them.
There was no way to infiltrate the city for sabotage.
And long-range attacks couldn't reach that far.
"This mission has failed. We cannot stop Sunagakure from manufacturing its secret weapon." After the Konoha's Shinobi reached this conclusion, the Shinobi from other villages could only accept this frustrating and disheartening fact, then each departed.
On a sand dune several kilometers away.
Nagato, wrapped in a black robe, silently watched the floating island in the sky for a while, then turned and left.
Beside him followed Zetsu, also cloaked in black, body half black, half white.
"That Senki Ryuji is too amazing, able to make such a large piece of land fly into the sky," White Zetsu said in exaggerated surprise.
Black Zetsu also said solemnly, "Originally, I spread rumors everywhere just to cause trouble for Senki Ryuji. I never thought I'd be right. This kind of flying island... if fully equipped with war machinery, it's a natural, invincible fortress."
"It doesn't matter." Nagato's expression was calm. "He has his methods, I have mine. We'll compare later!"
"What's the next step?"
"Return to Amegakure. To collect all the Tailed Beasts, we need more, stronger power. With Hanzo gone, Amegakure is in chaos now. We can take the opportunity to seize it."
"And then?"
"First, take Amegakure. We'll talk about the rest later."
"Understood."
Black Zetsu responded flatly, but his heart sank.
'Uchiha Madara's prediction about the situation was indeed correct. This Senki Ryuji had too much impact on the plan.'
'When this fortress is completed, it will likely signal the end of the Third Shinobi World War.'
'By then, muddying the waters won't be easy.'
'Moreover, Nagato's changes are somewhat different from predictions. Is this good or bad?'
'I must find Madara's successor quickly. Otherwise, controlling Nagato will be impossible.'
Under the setting sun, the figures of the two grew farther away, only their shadows on the ground stretching longer and longer.