Rocket Launcher Factory, Rocket Launcher Test Firing

In the battles of ninjas, no one knows who the winner is until the very last moment.

Uzumaki Shori wore a smile as he scanned his surroundings, facing the crowd gathered before him.

"I, the Second Uzukage, will surely lead everyone to victory. Now, please head over to Uzumaki Sasuke to report for duty."

Having witnessed such a spectacular battle, morale was soaring, and the crowd shouted in unison.

"Yes, Lord Uzukage! We all believe in you."

Facing the encroaching threat from Kirigakure, the Uzumaki Clan's morale remained unshaken, and they stood united as one; even Jiraiya felt a sense of admiration for the Uzumaki Clan.

Uzumaki Shori noticed that the morale was high and nodded to himself.

"Uzumaki Jiro, take Tsunade to the hospital to treat my father. The remaining two, come with me; I will show you the trump card for this victory."

"Let us depart now." Uzumaki Shori led Jiraiya and Orochimaru toward the rocket factory.

Uzumaki Sasuke was currently gathering the ninjas, instructing them to write on sealing scrolls. Coordinating with the materials arranged by Elder Keimei, he quickly organized the ordinary clansmen to install gunpowder into the warheads, followed by the assembly process, leading up to his final step: activating the "Sealing Scroll Chakra Capacitor" and inserting it into the rocket launcher.

Soon after, Orochimaru, accompanied by Uzumaki Shori, arrived at the factory entrance and looked up at the massive facility, which had been converted from a warehouse.

Ordinary Uzumaki clansmen, devoid of chakra, were working feverishly, hauling materials in and out, transporting supplies inside and moving the finished cylindrical arrow-heads out.

"Lord Uzukage, it seems your entire clan is mobilized, with even the commoners participating. With such an impressive scene, there must be some secret weapon."

Uzumaki Shori was astonished by Elder Keimei's organizational skills; truly, an elder is like a treasure in the house, possessing such excellent management ability.

There were still many clansmen currently constructing a second and third rocket factory.

The strength in numbers was evident here; relying solely on the number of ninjas was not enough.

The eight hundred ninjas of the Uzumaki Clan could save time by being assigned to more suitable tasks.

"Inside this factory is the new weapon our Uzumaki Clan has developed to deal with Kirigakure."

As he spoke, Uzumaki Shori walked inside. Orochimaru watched the materials being moved in and out, most of which were gunpowder.

He frowned immediately. Could they be planning to bury the produced gunpowder along the coast? But the Land of Whirlpools was surrounded by the sea on all sides—how much effect could that really have?

He shook his head and walked in to inspect, discovering that the commoners were handling tasks that required no chakra, while the remaining three hundred ninjas were painting sealing scrolls.

Two hundred ninjas were channeling fire-attribute chakra into the scrolls, and he watched with envy at such a high level of sealing jutsu.

However, when they assembled the components, he truly could not understand the design.

Jiraiya looked carelessly at the arrow-tubes the group had assembled; they were a meter long, and he weighed one in his hand.

"Second, what is the use of this thing? Are ninjas supposed to load gunpowder into it and throw it? But at this weight, it's not as effective as attaching explosive tags to shuriken."

Uzumaki Shori's mouth twitched uncontrollably. How could he think this was meant to be thrown by hand?

"Jiraiya, you are right that it is for launching, but it is not meant to be launched by a person. Follow me."

"Uzumaki Jiro, go notify everyone. I am going to test-fire the rocket launcher. Do not panic when you hear the explosion."

Orochimaru was very eager to see what kind of power the combination of sealing scrolls and gunpowder could produce.

Uzumaki Sasuke saw the Second Uzukage approaching and immediately stepped forward to greet him.

"Lord Uzukage, the rocket launcher's twenty-four-rail launch pad has not been completed yet. Should we wait until it is finished before test-firing?"

Uzumaki Shori shook his head and signaled for Jiraiya and Orochimaru to follow him to the training ground to test the rocket launcher.

Jiraiya did not put down the rocket projectile he was holding; he simply hoisted it onto his shoulder and walked toward the training ground.

Upon arriving at the training ground, they found an open space, looked at a tree on the hillside opposite, and nodded.

The rocket had a range of nine kilometers and a speed of ninety kilometers per hour; this position was just right.

Uzumaki Shori performed a series of hand seals.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall Jutsu, Modified!"

He turned the raised earth into a single-tube rocket launcher. Since the soil lacked sufficient hardness, he performed more hand seals.

"Earth Style: Hardening Jutsu."

He could turn the soil into something harder than rock; the combination of the two jutsus was perfect for creating a single-tube launcher.

"Jiraiya, put the rocket you're holding into the launcher. I will demonstrate the power of this new weapon."

The curious Jiraiya examined the launcher, wondering what kind of power the combination could have, and shoved the rocket into the tube.

"I'll give it a try. Uzukage, tell me how to start it."

Uzumaki Shori thought for a moment upon hearing this and nodded. He extended his index finger to test the wind speed, calculated the parabolic distance, performed hand seals, and adjusted the launcher.

"Alright, I will leave the operation to you. Hold the fuse, walk to a distance, and input your fire-attribute chakra; it will launch successfully."

Elder Keimei arrived at the training ground with the various team captains just in time. Uzumaki Shori looked at the panting captains, filled with confusion.

"It is like this, Lord Uzukage. We have only heard you speak of the rocket's power, but we have yet to see it, so we wanted to come and watch the test-fire."

He felt a bit of pressure regarding this test; if it failed, the hope in the hearts of these captains might just collapse.

Looking up at the sky, the weather was truly fine.

"Begin, Jiraiya. Show everyone what you've got. I have already locked onto the target: the large tree ahead."

Seeing the massive crowd gathered at the scene, Jiraiya suddenly felt a twinge of regret for volunteering to test-fire it himself.

Biting the bullet, he walked to his position and gathered his Fire-style chakra, channeling it into the fuse. After waiting two seconds with nothing happening, he wondered, Did I mess something up?

Suddenly, a thunderous boom reached everyone's ears.

The rocket soared into the air, its second-stage ignition kicking in to accelerate its speed.

Whoosh.

Traveling at ninety kilometers per hour, it glided down from the sky, struck the target with precision, and immediately detonated.

The rocket's gunpowder, enhanced by Fire-style chakra, unleashed three times the power of ordinary explosives.

The entire tree was blasted to smithereens, and as the metal shrapnel scattered, numerous tiny, deep craters appeared at the impact site.

Jiraiya stood frozen, stunned by the sight of the rocket launching, striking its target, and unleashing such immense power.

Orochimaru's pupils constricted slightly, betraying his surprise.

This was already equivalent to a B-rank ninjutsu, yet it didn't require a Jonin to cast; even students at the Ninja Academy could operate it. The battlefield might well be transformed by this new type of weapon.

Elder Keimei stood with his mouth agape, dumbfounded. Lord Uzukage's talent was unrivaled—how did he ever conceive of such a weapon? It seemed the heavens were blessing the Uzumaki Clan.

"Lord Uzukage, we will do everything in our power to produce more rockets within three days."

Uzumaki Kyokei was so happy he was practically jumping for joy.

"I'm heading back to start production on the equipment now."