The Land of Snow (2)

Graphite... reactor?

Hinata was a little confused.

She could understand each word individually, but when they were put together, she was completely confused.

That's just like Sakura... Hinata was speechless.

Sakura Haruno (in her clone) was quite educational, smiling as she took Hinata's hand and asked, "Do you know what a reactor is, Hinata?"

"... Anti-reactor?"

Hinata looked back at Sakura with her hazy, bewildered Byakugan, and shook her head innocently.

How could she possibly know?

"Hmm, a reactor!"

The split body nodded, pulled her downstairs, took out a piece of white paper, and quickly wrote "E=" on it.

"Let's start with the basics. The release of nuclear energy satisfies the mass-energy equivalence equation, which states that energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared..."

After hearing the first sentence and seeing Hinata, I automatically entered a state of staring blankly and daydreaming.

Because she knew very well that what followed was completely beyond her comprehension.

Hinata still doesn't understand how her friend's brain stores such strange, yet sometimes extremely useful, knowledge.

The origin of that mysterious knowledge may forever remain a mystery...

Sure enough, Sakura then wrote a lot of words that Hinata could only see as scribbles. Then, a whole bunch of unfamiliar words that Hinata had never heard of before, such as "nuclear fission," "chain reaction," and "weapon-grade plutonium and uranium," quickly filled Hinata's ears.

Even the common-sense term "mass" is used by Sakura Haruno in inexplicable ways, such as "rest mass," "kinetic mass," "relativistic mass," "inertial mass," and "gravitational mass"...

Hinata wanted to retort: Can you please stop complicating simple things?

However, the truth is, the facts are indeed that complicated.

In short, even though Sakura Haruno was speaking human language, the girl clearly felt as if a thousand ducks were quacking in her ears...

"In conclusion, my Ninjutsu utilizes the energy generated by nuclear fission to unleash powerful Ninjutsu."

After talking on and on for quite some time, Sakura Haruno finally stopped, still feeling like she hadn't said enough.

What do you think?

The girl slammed the paper covered with formulas and diagrams onto the table, looked up at Hinata, and asked with a smile.

That sounds really impressive.

Hinata stroked her chin, pretending to ponder for a moment, as if she understood.

"E..."

She hummed in agreement for a while, and under Sakura Haruno's expectant gaze, she finally came up with a question.

"What do all these things you have, about fission producing radioactive energy, have to do with ninjas?"

Sakura Haruno sighed; she could tell from the question that Hinata didn't understand at all.

"Of course they're related!"

She said calmly.

"Nuclear fission is a process that converts mass into energy. If you listened carefully to what I just said, you should know that by converting just a tiny amount of mass, we can obtain an enormous amount of energy."

"Those people from the Hoshigakure integrated this radiation energy into their Chakra, creating a more advanced and active Chakra that they called 'Mysterious Peacock Method,' which is actually quite similar to Sage Mode."

The only difference is that the Sage Mode absorbs Natural Energy, while the Mysterious Peacock Method absorbs radiant energy.

The existence of the Mysterious Peacock Method even allowed the leader of a remote ninja village to become so arrogant that he wanted to turn Hoshigakure into the sixth largest ninja village. Putting aside any element of arrogance, this also demonstrates the power of this technique.

"What I'm going to do is improve the Mysterious Peacock Method, increase its power, and reduce its side effects..." Sakura Haruno smiled smugly, "Then you'll see just how powerful this technique really is."

This technique, which she calls "Star God Mode," is Secret Technique even stronger than Sage Mode!

Not just Star God Mode.

"Brilliant Radiation" can also be completed at that time.

The only problem is, if Sakura Haruno were to actually unleash this technique, how would she avoid being consumed by her own magic?

The temperature at the core of an atomic bomb reaches tens of millions of degrees Celsius; everything imaginable would be vaporized into nothingness by this absolute power!

Hinata couldn't imagine this scene.

Sakura Haruno's Star God Mode is even stronger than her Sage Mode, but she simply doesn't comment on it.

Of course, the fact that it can be compared to Sage Mode already makes the problem quite clear.

At this point, Hinata also became interested in Sakura's techniques and asked, "So, what does your technique have to do with these machines?"

"Centrifuges and reactors are used to prepare the core raw materials needed for the operation."

Sakura Haruno resisted the urge to explain how the machine worked, and tried to explain it as simply and directly as possible.

Hinata had no interest in what was happening inside those rumbling machines.

"Oh," she replied casually, "How long will it take to prepare?"

"Weapon-grade plutonium and uranium, just a dozen kilograms is enough to make a big splash," Sakura Haruno replied, adjusting her goggles. "Star God Mode consumes even less."

"But even with such a small amount of raw materials, it will take an extremely long time to prepare."

The girl shrugged.

"Anyway, it's probably not going to happen this year."

If this world didn't possess omnipotent Chakra, and if she herself weren't a master Chakra manipulator, and if the workers of the Land of Snow didn't also possess some Chakra, how could the Land of Snow possibly grow mushrooms on the land with its limited manpower and resources?

It's not that there's no chance this year, not next year, the year after, a hundred years, or even a thousand years.

"Will it take this long?"

Hinata murmured something softly.

She thought for a moment, then slowly walked out of the room, turning back regretfully and saying, "I can't wait until then... When will your true self arrive?"

"Soon, it'll be over in the next couple of days," Sakura Haruno replied, following behind her. "Kakashi-sensei's training will be finished in two or three days, and she'll come right over then."

"So, Sakura, will you stay in the Land of Snow until you complete this technique?" Hinata asked again.

Sakura shook her head.

"I won't stay that long..." She walked out of the room and into the mechanical forest, saying, "The Shinobi World is currently in turmoil, how could I possibly put aside so many things and stay here to cultivate in peace?"

Meeting Hinata's questioning gaze, Sakura Haruno explained, "Besides, things here only require a start and a period of maintenance. After that, we just need to keep the machines running; I don't need to keep an eye on them. The workers in the Land of Snow can handle most unexpected events."

"So this time, I'll be returning to Konoha very soon."

"I see." Hinata said quietly as she walked ahead.

"Then... shall we go back together then?"

"Um?"

The deafening noise of machinery in the industrial area drowned out the girl's words. Sakura Haruno, not hearing her clearly at first, moved closer to Hinata and asked, "What?"

The gentle breaths of air were so close that they made one's face feel slightly itchy.

"It's nothing!" Hinata touched her cheek, quickened her pace, and answered loudly, "It's me, it's too noisy here!"

"Let's go then."

Sakura Haruno shook her head, grabbed Hinata, and strode a few steps. Then, with a few quick Body Flicker Technique, they left the factory area and arrived in the quiet countryside.

With the noise gone, my ears felt much more comfortable.

Because there are no geothermal heaters to provide heat, the outskirts of the Land of Snow are already freezing cold even though autumn has just begun; it had snowed several times recently, covering the earth in a silver veil.

Hinata exhaled a breath.

The warm breath in her mouth condensed upon contact with the cold, turning into a cloud of white mist on the girl's palm. The sunlight in the Land of Snow was sparse, and through the mist, the industrial area not far away appeared blurry in her vision.

The girl stood silently in the snow, her eyes becoming unfocused.

"What are you thinking about, Hinata?"

Sakura Haruno walked over.

[Since coming back today, I haven't had any inspiration and can't write. I originally planned to save it for tomorrow morning to rewrite, but considering it's already past today and I need to update a chapter, I've forced myself to write until now. I'm exhausted and can't think of anything, sorry.]