Night had fallen.
Moonlight flowed like water across the empty training ground.
Naruto stood alone. Not far behind him, Sasuke silently wiped down the Bolter in his hands.
The transformation of the Land of Hot Water was only a beginning, a template.
But Naruto knew very well that neither the Akatsuki nor those lurking even deeper in the shadows—the "farmers" who viewed humanity as "crops"—could be fought with this world's power alone.
He needed more, stronger support.
Slowly, he took a metal plaque from his robes.
It was stained with his own blood and engraved with the Imperium's Aquila Emblem. Under the moonlight, it reflected a cold gleam.
"Everything we're doing now, Sasuke," Naruto said without turning around, his voice drifting in the night wind, "is just patching up a leaking ship riddled with holes. The real 'Pollution' is far more terrifying than you imagine. To fight it, I need more support from the 'Imperium.'"
As soon as he finished speaking, he bit his fingertip and let a fresh drop of blood fall onto the metal plaque.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Unlike when he summoned Gamabunta, space did not distort. Instead, it was sliced open by an invisible blade, revealing a pitch-black rift. The roar of gears and steel came from within.
A man in a standard Imperium uniform stepped through the gateway, his eyes as steadfast as iron.
The moment he saw Naruto, he hesitated not at all. He slammed his right fist against the armor over his left chest and gave a flawless military salute.
"Karsten reporting to the Commissar!"
"Long time no see, Karsten." Naruto looked at him and nodded.
A nearly ecstatic smile appeared on Karsten's weathered face.
"I have good news for you, Commissar!" His voice was hoarse with excitement. "My application for armament blueprints has been