Above the Forest of Death, the hovering Sky Fortress resembled a dormant beast, its cold metal shell reflecting a dim gleam beneath the sunlight.
Neji brought Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru aboard a dedicated lift platform, slowly ascending onto this war fortress that had conquered the skies.
"Whoa!" The instant the elevator doors opened, Jiraiya was the first to rush out. Standing on the broad upper-deck plaza, he danced about excitedly. "We're really flying in the sky! This feels way better than riding a toad!" He ran to the edge, looking down at the shrunken forest below and the distant outline of Konoha, shouting in amazement.
Though Tsunade remained composed, her emerald eyes shone with barely restrained shock and curiosity. She stamped hard on the solid metal deck beneath her feet, feeling a stability far beyond that of the ground. "It's hard to imagine... How does something this huge even fly?" She looked at Neji with an inquisitive gaze.
Orochimaru, meanwhile, was like a venomous snake that had discovered a priceless treasure. His golden vertical pupils greedily swept over every detail of the fortress—the massive cannon barrels, intricate energy lines, and precise control crystal walls. "Neji-kun, this is simply the crystallization of the art of war... power beyond its time..." His voice carried a trace of barely concealed eagerness.
Neji smiled faintly, his white robes fluttering in the breeze as he began explaining in detail. "The fortress hovers and moves using its anti-gravity engines and main thrusters below. Its core power source is the Natural Energy Conversion Matrix that I modified. As long as it remains in an area rich in natural energy, it can operate almost indefinitely."
He pointed to rows of metal devices lined neatly along the deck's edge, resembling bat-wing frames. "Those are the Sky Ninja's original individual