Two and a half years later.
Konoha First Arsenal, underground forge.
The scorching air distorted the view. Clan Head Ancient Iron stood bare-chested, sweat beading across his knotted muscles. He paid no attention to the standard-issue Bolters being assembled on the production line beside him—the weapons that had customers drooling with envy. Instead, he stared fixedly at a faint blue light screen floating before him.
On the screen, complex structural diagrams that made one's scalp tingle were continuously breaking apart and reforming. They were the complete design blueprints for a Light Power Exoskeleton. Every component and every energy-conduction circuit was so perfect that it seemed beyond the work of mortal hands.
This was already the seventh set of guidance Naruto had sent through this encrypted channel since entering seclusion. Each time, it precisely solved the technical bottlenecks they encountered in production and brought an entirely new concept beyond this world's understanding.
Ancient Iron's hands trembled, not from exhaustion, but from the supreme exhilaration of a craftsman. "I'm not superstitious, but... can a human really come up with something like this?" he muttered, completely engrossed in the blueprints. Through arms trading with the major ninja villages, Konoha's finances had long ceased to be a problem. All the profits from those trades flowed into the massive system Naruto had personally established, one independent of Konoha's treasury, accumulating astronomical wealth for the fledgling Imperium.
And every last bit of that wealth was poured into research and manufacturing without reservation.
Schola Progenium, extreme sparring grounds.
"Haahhh!"
Kaguya Kei let out a roar that barely sounded human. Every bone in his body crackled under unbearable strain. Opposite him, Might Guy was wrapped in green chakra vapor as an incomparably fierce punch struck Kei squarely in the chest. The sound of shattering bones was crystal clear.