After flying for more than a week straight, Qingyun finally arrived above the former Kusagakure, his face drawn with exhaustion.
Orochimaru had received word while the Flying Fortress was still approaching. He looked up gravely at the behemoth in the sky, wondering whether he should abandon this base and establish Otogakure somewhere else.
Boom!
Suddenly, the Flying Fortress shuddered, and a Sky Ladder extended from it, stretching steadily toward the ground.
"Orochimaru, come on up!"
Orochimaru grew wary when the Sky Ladder appeared, but hearing Qingyun's voice put him at ease.
"Qingyun, where did you get your hands on this enormous thing?"
Orochimaru used the Body Flicker Technique to enter the Flying Fortress. Seeing how exhausted Qingyun looked, he immediately asked curiously.
"Never mind that. I came today to ask you to help me draw the energy out of this stone and use it to power the Flying Fortress!"
Qingyun got straight to the point.
"Oh? What exactly is this stone?"
Orochimaru did not mind Qingyun's bluntness. He took the Gelel Stone from Qingyun and extended his mental power into it. His yellow, slit-pupiled eyes immediately contracted.
"This... this stone actually contains such tremendous energy?"
Orochimaru looked at Qingyun in astonishment.
"That's right. It's called the Gelel Stone. You've seen this Flying Fortress. Keeping it running requires enormous amounts of energy every day. I can't keep feeding chakra into it daily, so I found this stone. The problem now is how to create an Energy Conversion Device that can extract and convert its energy to keep the Flying Fortress operating!"
Qingyun briefly explained the Gelel Stone, then laid out his request to Orochimaru.
"I see. What can you offer me if I develop this device for you?"
Orochimaru rubbed his chin and considered for a moment before asking Qingyun.
"I'll