Land of Rain.
"You're here?" Dan looked at the white-haired young man before him, a gentle smile on his face. "Does the Hokage have any orders?"
It seemed his temporary role as commander was coming to an end.
A trace of regret flashed in Dan's eyes before he smiled again. "Nothing has happened in the village, right?"
Some time ago, the legendary ninja sword had been the talk of the shinobi world, especially the final technique unleashed from it. According to descriptions from others, it was almost on par with the God of Shinobi!
He heard the sword had been obtained by the village. Where was it now?
"The Hokage has instructed you to continue serving as the temporary commander," Hatake Sakumo said, nodding in greeting to Dan. "As for the village, it's the same as always—peaceful."
"That's good." A flicker of joy passed through Dan's eyes before he frowned. "Do you have a mission here?"
"Yes." Sakumo smiled slightly but didn't explain the details of his mission.
"You should rest first." Seeing Sakumo's demeanor, Dan immediately understood. "How can we assist you?"
It must be a secret mission.
Otherwise, why wouldn't the Hokage inform the battlefield commander?
"Should I gather the other jonin?"
"No need." Sakumo shook his head. "This is a classified mission. I won't be staying here long."
"In that case..." Dan frowned, thinking for a moment. "If you need anything from us, please don't hesitate to ask. We'll cooperate fully."
"Understood." Sakumo nodded.
This mission couldn't be disclosed to too many people.
So...
After staying one night, he would lead his team to carry out the mission.
"By the way, I noticed this around your neck..." Sakumo looked at the crystal necklace on Dan's neck and smiled. "Isn't this Lady Tsunade's?"
This necklace held great significance in Konoha—it was a keepsake left by the First Hokage.
And now that the Senju clan was...
As a result, the necklace's value on the black market had skyrocketed more than tenfold.
"Tsunade gave this to me." Hearing Sakumo's words, Dan's face softened into a warm, nostalgic smile. "I've already proposed to Tsunade."
"Please make sure to attend our wedding and have a drink with us."
"..."
Sakumo was momentarily stunned before nodding with a smile. "Of course."
Dan and Lady Tsunade...
What about Lord Jiraiya?
Such complicated relationships.
Well, he was just a single man. No need to worry about other people's marriages.
"Where are our temporary tents?" Sakumo asked Dan. "We've been traveling all day. My team needs rest."
...
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya grinned cheerfully at her. "You must be thrilled to see me, right?"
"A measly Rain Village? One spit from my toad would wash them all away."
However...
"Stop bragging." Tsunade scoffed at Jiraiya. "What mission did the old man give you?"
This pervert had always been unreliable. Back then, he even looked down on her flat chest. Now...
He'd only grown more vulgar.
"Hold the front line at all costs." Hearing Tsunade discuss the war, Jiraiya immediately dropped his playful tone. "No matter what, we must defend the line. I heard Kumo has allied with Konoha, so Iwa will be left to them. Orochimaru is also coming."
"Kumo?" Tsunade frowned. "Since when are those muscleheads so cooperative? What terms did the village agree to?"
"Not sure." Jiraiya shook his head. "They're still negotiating."
"In that case..." Tsunade lowered her head, staring at the map of the Land of Rain on the table. "The situation isn't great. Ame has acquired a batch of unknown weapons, nearly doubling their shinobi numbers."
"Combined with the weather in the Land of Rain, it's extremely unfavorable for Konoha's forces."
Neither the timing nor the terrain was on Konoha's side.
And then there was Hanzo's poison...
What a headache.
Tsunade sighed, looking helplessly at Jiraiya. "You came alone?"
"Yep! But don't underestimate me." Jiraiya thumped his chest. "I'm worth a thousand soldiers."
"Tch." Tsunade sneered. "You've gotten even more full of yourself in such a short time."
"Of course." Jiraiya chuckled. "Because I brought this."
He formed a hand seal—
"Boom!"
A puff of smoke appeared.
"Weapons from the Akatsuki organization."
...
"Iron ships aren't like wooden ones." The elder pointed at the roughly constructed iron ship before them. "The welding must be precise to prevent cracks and leaks."
"So the construction process is very tedious."
"Also, iron isn't as light as wood. Even with the Light-Weight Boulder Technique at full power, it can only hover in the air. And the chakra consumption per kilometer is dozens of times higher than wooden ships."
"It's too wasteful." The elder sighed. "Even with wind-style propulsion, it's not very effective."
This iron ship was practically useless.
Aside from being sturdier, it had no other advantages.
"What about the researchers from the Sky Ninja Village?" Uzumaki Jun frowned as he examined the iron ship. "Have they found a solution?"
He remembered that the Sky Ninja Village had once built the massive floating fortress, Ango. A simple iron airship should be child's play for them.
"According to the Sky Ninja Village's records, they did have blueprints for similar designs, but they relied on wind-style propulsion." The elder shook his head helplessly. "The chakra consumption was even worse than the Light-Weight Boulder Technique."
"I see." Jun rubbed his chin, murmuring, "No wonder the Sky Ninja later became so desperate they tried capturing a tailed beast for power."
That Ango Fortress was also a massive chakra drain.
It seemed Uzushiogakure would need to acquire a tailed beast as well.
Currently, they couldn't extract chakra from the environment, and manual extraction couldn't keep up with the nation's development. They had no choice but to follow the Sky Ninja's example.
These iron ships were meant to form an iron fleet, equipped with modern chakra cannons and such...
With such military power, who would dare challenge Uzushiogakure?
And in the future...
If they could develop tanks—especially in this world with ninjutsu—they might even create Mirage Tanks. Combined with earth-style, they could produce Grizzly Tanks or Apocalypse Tanks.
So...
"Perhaps Uzushiogakure could drag the entire shinobi world into an arms race." Jun muttered before frowning at the first-generation iron ship before him. This was just a small one, and it was already so impractical. What about larger models?
They probably wouldn't even float.
"It seems we'll need to recruit mechanical engineers from outside." Jun sighed, then turned to the elder. "Continue the research. See if these obstacles can be overcome."
"But for now, focus on the 'Golden Agricultural Fertilizer' and 'Pigs as Big as Elephants' projects."
With the population growing, food supply had to be secured. Otherwise, problems would arise.
"Those projects are already underway." The elder nodded. "We've found that injecting livestock with vitality potions during breeding makes pigs grow larger and more flavorful."
"And for crops, irrigation with vitality potions also yields bigger, higher-yielding seedlings."
"But..."
"Although these pigs and seedlings can pass on their advantages to the next generation, it only lasts for two generations. By the third, the effects vanish."
"No matter how much vitality potion you inject afterward, the pigs and seedlings show no further changes. It's as if they've developed immunity."