Engineering

The shadow of war gradually loomed over the Shinobi World.

Despite the Shinobi Alliance to capture some of the Outer Circle members of the Dawn Organization through various means.

However, the attacks against them did not end there. The conflict between the Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning escalated from a localized conflict into a full-scale war due to irreconcilable differences.

Konoha felt the threat of war drawing ever closer, and even Shisui, the old electrician from Root, ended his electrician career to once again throw himself into frontline missions.

The death of Houki, Inner Circle member of the organization, did not deter the Dawn Organization. Instead, it prompted them to send even more forces to launch attacks on Konoha's important border defenses.

Kazashiro entrusted everything to Sakumo and went to an unknown place to continue his cultivation.

Sakumo had no choice but to feel helpless about his hands-off management style.

Fortunately, Konoha is now very strong, with many powerful individuals emerging, and it can even put up a fight against the Artificial Human.

At Jiraiya's suggestion, Konoha allocated a portion of its funds to mass-produce Scientific Ninja Tools for combat.

Soon, with the Scientific Ninja Tools production line running at full capacity, the first batch of new weapons rolled off the production line. Only the final step of battlefield testing remained before they were deployed to the entire army.

"Let's send this batch of weapons to Kumogakure. We'll gain their gratitude and also discover any shortcomings in the weapons through actual combat."

Looking at the black muzzle and the boxes of shells laid out on the ground, Sakumo was very curious about what role the KY-152 howitzer, designed and developed by the Konoha Research Bureau, would play on the battlefield.

The first batch of artillery pieces produced totaled 36.

With a command from Sakumo, the artillery was delivered to Kumogakure under the guise of humanitarian aid.

Some military observers also accompanied them.

Their role was to record the shortcomings of the artillery and whether it would be unsuitable for the terrain on the actual battlefield.

"This is... a cannon?"

Having heard that Konoha had provided him with a batch of artillery free of charge, Tsuchida, who was struggling to counter the Dodai of Land of Lightning's artillery positions, personally went to receive the weapons.

Upon seeing the Konoha -made cannon, which was vastly different from the Land of Lightning's cannons in both appearance and shells, Dodai reached out and stroked the cannon's barrel.

Feeling the cool touch of the metal, Dodai began to inquire about the specific operating procedures of the cannon.

The artillery used by the Land of Lightning's army is Smoothbore Cannon, and it fires solid shot.

The weapon Konoha provided was 152mm Breech-loading Howitzer, which far surpassed the artillery of the Land of Lightning in both quality and power.

The forward artillery positions of the Land of Lightning.

Behind various defensive fortifications stood an artillery position of up to 60 cannons from the Land of Lightning.

With their cannons, they withstood several large-scale attacks from the Kumogakure.

The commander of the Land of Lightning was well aware of the importance of artillery, so he deployed a large number of infantry here to protect his precious cannons.

On this day, the artillerymen, as usual, arrived at their positions with shells, ready to fire a few shots at the Kumogakure's positions and show these ninjas what modern warfare was all about.

The group chatted and laughed, showing no signs of the tension that comes with the impending war.

They had been fighting here for some time, and the ninjas of Kumogakure had still not been able to break through the outer defenses, causing them all to become somewhat complacent.

"As expected, without the Fourth Raikage, Kumogakure is utterly insignificant."

An artilleryman looked at the Cloud Ninja position in the distance and said with a smile to his comrade beside him.

A person's shadow, a tree's name.

Although the Third Raikage is dead, his reputation for withstanding ten thousand ninjas has spread far and wide.

This allowed his son, the Fourth Raikage, to enjoy some benefits.

In the eyes of many Land of Lightning, the Fourth Raikage, like his father, was capable of single-handedly storming a battlefield of ten thousand men.

"Yeah, what is Dodai? Just a secretary, frankly, an ordinary ninja."

Another companion chimed in.

Just as the two were talking, a violent sound suddenly erupted from the Cloud Ninja's position in the distance.

The sound was familiar, like the sound of them firing their cannons.

"Strange, we haven't even gotten the shells up there yet, and the fighting has already started?"

The soldier who had spoken earlier raised his head and looked towards his own position.

"Wait a minute, what's that in the sky?"

Another soldier looked up at the sky and saw many dense black dots falling rapidly in their direction.

Immediately afterwards, the artillery positions of the Land of Lightning were bombarded by shells, flames and thick smoke rose, and after the Hono and explosions, the faint groans of the soldiers could be heard.

"This is far more destructive than the cannons of the Land of Lightning."

Dodai had thought his side might engage in a fierce artillery battle with the Land of Lightning's artillery, but Konoha's artillery proved him wrong.

They fired three salvos, destroying all of the Land of Lightning's outdated artillery, sending the soldiers defending the position flying into the sky.

Of course, these cannons also had their shortcomings.

That is, after three salvos, four cannons exploded, taking the lives of six Cloud Ninja.

"The steel used to make the cannons is not strong enough. Tell the contract manufacturer to improve it as soon as possible."

The observers behind the Dodai immediately took samples to find out which manufacturer produced these cannons.

"Send the Internal Affairs Department over there. If we don't teach them a lesson, these unscrupulous merchants won't be afraid."

Another observer went so far as to threaten that the Internal Affairs Department should invite the factory manager inside for a chat.

"Fortunately, the Fourth Generation had the foresight to have Kumogakure test the cannons for us."

Another observer was there praising Sakumo's foresight.

While the group was talking, the Cloud Ninja commander received a message from Dodai, informing him that the enemy's artillery positions had fallen silent. He immediately ordered his ninjas to advance and capture the Land of Land of Lightning's positions.

The Yun ninja in charge of the artillery used their bare hands to forcibly lift the cannons, including four that had already exploded, and prepare to move them to the rear.

"Mobility is still a problem. Although ninjas who have mastered Taijutsu can move tire-loaded cannons using their physical strength, I think it's an unnecessary waste to send ninjas out for something as small as this."

"That's right. For long-distance transfers, we can rely on the railway network laid out within the Land of Fire, but on the battlefield, we still need some kind of vehicle specifically for moving artillery."

"I have an idea. What if we combined artillery and vehicles, like Steam Car, so they could move on their own..."

Seeing the soldiers begin to move the artillery, the observers started discussing again.

The biggest advantage of artillery over ninjas is its simplicity and ease of use. With a little training, ordinary people can become soldiers and fight on the battlefield.

The training cost is low, requiring no significant investment of time and money; all that's needed is accurate shooting.

Using ninjas to operate artillery was seen by observers as a very wasteful practice.

Inside the Military Industry Department of the Konoha Research Bureau, Ebisu, who was in charge of the design and development of military Scientific Ninja Tools, reviewed the observation reports sent back from the front lines and summoned his subordinates.

The reason he was able to reach such an important position at this age was not only because of the Third Hokage's appreciation, but more importantly because of Kazashiro's trust.

Although this Black Flash has similar flaws to Jiraiya, he also possesses the Will of Fire within him. Such a person would never betray the village, so many people can rest assured in entrusting this position to him.

"The 152mm cannon's caliber is still too large. Its mobility is limited, making it only suitable for large-scale positional warfare. Observers believe that Konoha should focus on miniaturizing and portability of its weapons, given that the Dawn Organization has always operated with single-digit numbers of personnel."

Ebisu echoed the observers' thoughts, who believed that smaller combat guns with a caliber of less than 100mm should be developed.

"Of course, this doesn't negate our previous Project 50 research and development. You know, that steel behemoth has already started production, and we absolutely have to roll one out for actual combat operation."

Upon hearing that the new research and development goals would not affect Project 50, the researchers breathed a sigh of relief and then began discussing the production of the new artillery.

With Konoha's artillery deployed in actual combat, the stalemate between Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning was instantly broken.

As battle reports poured in like snowflakes, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning lost all interest in drinking. He immediately sent messengers to contact daimyo of other countries, while condemning Konoha's shameless act of providing aid.

Faced with the condemnation from the Land of Lightning, Sakumo stated that there was absolutely no such intention and continued to discuss the second batch of military aid.

Because the first batch of cannons suffered a serious barrel explosion, the Konoha High Command unanimously agreed that the soon-to-be-completed Project 50 should be sent to the front lines to test its stability with the lives of the Cloud Ninja.

However, considering the importance and uniqueness of this new type of artillery, Sakumo, while agreeing to provide assistance, also ordered that it must be transported back after the operation.

After months of fierce fighting, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning failed to receive support from his other relatives; instead, the city where the Daimyo's Mansion was located was besieged by the Cloud Ninja.

If we want to negotiate, this is the only opportunity.

Faced with this last chance for peace talks, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning displayed his stubbornness. He didn't believe that the ninjas from the Kumogakure would dare to take his life, and decided to fight those bumpkins to the very end.

He also firmly believed that the wide city walls, built at great expense by successive daimyo, would be able to withstand the attacks from Kumogakure and keep them outside the walls.

Just as the daimyo had predicted, the Cloud Ninja who had reached the castle did not launch an attack, but instead chose to set up camp on the spot.

The Konoha cannons, which they considered a powerful siege weapon, all went silent due to insufficient shell production capacity and the failure to deliver new shells in time.

Fortunately, Konoha provided a newer, giant cannon; its sheer size alone was enough to instill fear in countless people.

What's this thing called?

Looking at the cannon Dodai that could fit a hundred daimyo, Tutai subconsciously swallowed.

"The Research Bureau says it hasn't been officially named yet; its current code name is Project 50."

Minato, who was in charge of using Space-Time Ninjutsu to transport this behemoth, didn't know the specifics of it, only that he had expended a lot of Chakra to transport it.

"The next step is to build the railway. By constructing a circular railway according to this blueprint, we can adjust the firing angle."

He also presented the operating procedures for the cannon.