Orochimaru's pale fingers held a silver rune chip engraved with dense markings almost impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.
Under the magnifying glass, his golden vertical pupils contracted slightly as he ensured that the final energy-guiding circuit connected flawlessly with the main activation array.
Sweat soaked his bangs, yet his entire body was like the most precise instrument, his movements steady without the slightest tremor.
"Resonance rune group for Key No. 37 connected. Energy fluctuations... stable within an error margin of three-thousandths."
Beside him, Senior Sousuke, whose eyes were likewise bloodshot, stared at the chakra fluctuation monitor nearby. His voice was hoarse but excited.
"Barrier strength of the third inner-wall buffer layer confirmed. It has reached ninety-five percent of the theoretical value and can withstand more than five repeated impacts at the projected peak pressure."
The female researcher from the Materials Group handed over the final inspection report, her voice weary but full of accomplishment.
"The redundant circuit for the backup activation channel has been loaded. All safety mechanisms are ready."
The researcher in charge of the safety systems let out a long breath and wiped away his sweat.
This was perhaps the most nerve-racking part of the entire project—ensuring that if the main activation failed, the violent energy would have a safe path to vent rather than exploding inside the barrel.
More than twenty core researchers in the laboratory all held their breaths as they gathered around the workbench.
The countless sleepless days and nights of arguments, calculations, failures, and restarts—all their sweat and wisdom—had condensed into this creation known as the "Thunder Halberd-α Prototype Verification Unit."
At that moment, the laboratory's heavy isolation door slid open, and Akimichi Doto, deputy director of the Weapons Research and Development Department, strode in.
He was not wearing a director's uniform,