Celebration Ends, Weasel Tank

At this moment, in the Uzumaki Plaza of the Land of Whirlpools.

Everyone brought out their signature dishes, and the round tables were laden with a sumptuous feast.

The people at the harbor returned in triumph, and the group led everyone to Uzumaki Plaza.

As the heroes of the Land of Whirlpools arrived at the plaza, the crowd cheered loudly, releasing the excitement pent up in their hearts.

Their families stood among the crowd, standing on tiptoes and craning their necks to peer at the ranks of ninja, searching for their loved ones.

The ninja who had remained behind in the Land of Whirlpools approached the hero leading the returning group.

"Lord Second, the podium in the plaza has been set up, and everyone is waiting for you to lead the speech. Please let us know if you would like to go up now."

He looked up toward the podium in the center of the plaza.

At this moment, a vast, dark sea of people had gathered in the open space of Uzumaki Plaza; over twenty thousand citizens from across the nation were assembled here.

As he stepped onto the podium, the crowd, previously cheering, fell completely silent, waiting for the Second to speak.

Uzumaki Shori looked down from the podium.

The eyes of the crowd below were fixed upon him, shining with adoration.

A surge of emotion stirred within his heart.

"In the war between the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Water, there is no doubt that we have emerged victorious."

"Should any other nation dare to invade us in the future, they will meet the same fate, and we shall achieve victory once again."

"The victory celebration you have prepared today is also for yourselves; I have seen the efforts you made before the battle with my own eyes."

"Now, let us begin the cheers and celebrate our victory!"

Uzumaki Shori shone brightly on the podium, while Tsunade stared at him with an expression of pure worship.

Everyone present was infected by the Second's speech.

Someone in the crowd stood up on a chair and shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Long live the Land of Whirlpools! Long live the Second!"

Looking at one another, their faces flushed with emotion, the crowd raised their arms and shouted in unison!

The roar of the crowd echoed out from Uzumaki Plaza.

Seeing the people shouting, Uzumaki Shori could only wave his hand to signal for them to stop.

As the brief speech concluded, the people present gradually returned to their senses.

The plaza became lively; most had found their families and sat around the round tables to begin eating the home-cooked meals.

However, some would never return, and tears began to stream down faces.

Seeing this, many began to sing songs praising the heroes, while others danced alongside them, bringing comfort to the hearts of the grieving.

Discovering some secretly wiping away tears, Uzumaki Shori sighed inwardly.

He still hadn't managed to bring everyone back; he had to develop asymmetric weapons to reduce their own casualties.

Tsunade ran over at this moment and pulled on Uzumaki Shori's hand.

"Why are you still standing here? Come and dance with me!"

Being pulled by Tsunade to dance, he found his mood lifting amidst the singing and laughter.

After being poured a few cups by Tsunade, his face felt a little flushed.

"So, our Uzukage cannot hold his liquor after all."

Seeing Uzumaki Shori's flushed face, Tsunade said with a mischievous smirk.

"I'm not drunk; it's just that my face turned red without me realizing it while being with you," Uzumaki Shori replied to the rumor of his intoxication.

Slowly, the two leaned closer and closer.

The next day, in a spacious bedroom.

Tsunade woke up slowly and saw that the room was empty.

She walked out slowly and saw Uzumaki Shori drawing something at his workbench.

She stepped forward quickly, pointed at the rectangular box in the drawing, and asked: "Up so early, what is this thing you're drawing?"

Uzumaki Shori, who was preparing to draw the next blueprint, stretched his back.

"When we fought the Land of Water, their numbers were several times our own."

"I was wondering if ordinary people could possess the power to stand against ninja. Look closely: the exterior is a steel shell that shuriken and kunai cannot pierce."

Tsunade looked surprised when she heard it was made of steel.

Steel could indeed defend against shuriken and kunai, but since even ninja couldn't easily carry such a large iron shell, how could an ordinary person move inside it?

Since it was made of steel, couldn't it be easily neutralized using Lightning Release?

Uzumaki Shori tapped Tsunade on the head, and she immediately covered her forehead.

"Looking at your expression, I know you're letting your imagination run wild with all sorts of nonsense."

"Take a closer look at the blueprints. I've named it the Weasel Tank. It houses two types of weapons: one is a Kunai Gatling Cannon, and the other is a tank cannon developed based on the Sealing Scroll: Chakra Capacitor, capable of firing highly condensed chakra energy."

"The steel shell is embroidered with sealing jutsu to prevent Lightning Release, and the movement system uses tracks on both sides of the chassis to guard against enemy Earth Release. There is a cross-shaped propeller at the rear, allowing it to travel through large bodies of water for short periods."

Tsunade began to take it seriously, flipping through the blueprints in her hands.

"It looks a bit like the puppet arts of the Suna Ninjas; it's practically pioneered an entirely new school of puppetry."

She started looking at Uzumaki Shori with admiration. The Rocket Launcher had already surprised her enough, but to be able to invent this Weasel Tank now was truly impressive.

Tsunade's admiring gaze made Uzumaki Shori feel even more elated, and he continued.

"The Weasel Tank weighs 3.6 tons in total; that weight alone is enough to send an opponent flying upon impact."

"The control buttons and steering wheel all require a chakra connection. The blueprints on the side are for the gloves, which combine the Chakra Capacitor with puppet arts."

"The power source is modified from puppet arts, and when combined with the Chakra Capacitor, it can generate eight hundred horsepower."

"The gloves can release puppet strings to connect to various positions, allowing for zero-latency operation."

"One Weasel Tank can carry three crew members: one to steer the tank, one to swap out the chakra tank cannon shells of various attributes based on the situation, and one to operate the Kunai Gatling Cannon."

Tsunade set down the blueprints. With the precedent of the Rocket Launcher, this Weasel Tank should also be successfully manufacturable.

She hadn't expected that as long as the Chakra Capacitors were manufactured in advance, even ordinary people could wield such power.

Those who possess chakra but were unable to graduate from the Ninja Academy should be able to exert tremendous capability in the Land of Whirlpools.

Tsunade tugged at Uzumaki Shori, pointing toward the Three-Tails, which was sleeping soundly in the corner.

"As long as that guy can lend a bit of chakra, your tank will surely be completed quickly."

Three-Tails Isobu seemed to hear someone calling it; it snapped its eyes open, looked at the two of them, and trotted over eagerly.

"This Great One is hungry. Hurry up and prepare some food for me."

Uzumaki Shori and Tsunade exchanged a glance, and he spoke up.

"Three-Tails Isobu, you can have something delicious to eat, but you need to do us a small favor."

Three-Tails Isobu didn't understand, but it made a promise.

"Rest assured, as long as this Great One is full, I can certainly help with a small favor. But what kind of help do you need from me?"

Uzumaki Shori's eyes darted around, and he brushed it off vaguely.

"No rush. Once you're full, we'll talk about the favor."