Raikage A deliberately dragged out his words, saying, "What you all see now... is merely a test version of the Chakra Cannon, its power only one-thousandth of the expected amount. Further adjustments will be made after today."
These words struck like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone hard in the heart.
One in a thousand... This number caused everyone's pupils to involuntarily contract.
Jiraiya, "One in a thousand... what about the complete version... wouldn't that be enough to destroy the entire Shinobi World world? That's way too outrageous!"
Ōnoki's hovering height unconsciously decreased a few degrees, Konan's paper wings trembled slightly, and a few pieces of white paper drifted down uncontrollably.
Even Pain's Rinnegan flashed with an unusual fluctuation.
Its current power is already comparable to Super Shinra Tensei; further adjustments...
The sinkhole in the distance was still emitting wisps of smoke, and the spatial rift hung in the sky like an ugly scar.
And this is only one-thousandth of the power.
The air on the observation platform seemed to freeze, and everyone fell into a terrifying silence.
At this moment, they were not witnessing a weapons test, but facing an ultimate weapon that could reshape the entire Shinobi World.
The Raikage, satisfied with everyone's reaction, continued, "Of course, this is just theoretical data; Kumogakure never boasts."
This statement made the atmosphere even more somber.
Everyone understood that this was not a threat, but a blatant declaration of power.
The Kumogakure is not afraid of your combined attack at all.
Because it's impossible for anyone to find the location of the Chakra Cannon, which can be used to bombard any location using Space-Time Ninjutsu Chakra Cannon.
The balance of power in the Shinobi World has completely tipped at this moment.
Hoshino's mechanical prosthetic eye flickered slightly, silently recording all the data, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on his arm armor, making a soft 'click' sound.
The strategy must be reassessed!
This level of weapon...
Jiraiya's voice suddenly broke the silence, "Hey, Hoshino, your Sunagakure's Mutant Insect..."
It's actually Kikaichū, but the Kikaichū originated from Konoha, yet Konoha hasn't studied it to this extent, which is really shameful.
They might as well change its name; it's like burying one's head in the sand.
Hoshino raised her hand to stop him, " Jiraiya, now is not the time to discuss this."
His gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Raikage. "That firework display was truly impressive."
The Raikage grinned. "Likewise, aren't your Sunagakure's insects just as unsettling?"
The conversation between the two was delivered casually, but everyone could sense the weight it carried.
Currently, there are only two and a half forces in the Shinobi World that are clearly capable of possessing weapons of national or even world-destroying power: the Sunagakure's Mutant Insect and the Kumogakure Village's Chakra Cannon, while the Land of Rain's Rinnegan should be considered half a force.
After all, no one has ever seen the true power of the Rinnegan; this half is only because it is the same eye as the Sage of Six Paths.
That's all.
A bitter feeling inevitably welled up in Jiraiya and Ōnoki's hearts.
Times have truly changed.
Previously, only ninja villages with Tailed Beast or Kage Level ninjas would receive their real attention, but now, it's all about things like "country-destroying level" or "world-destroying level."
Faced with such weapons, Tailed Beast would be devoured by Mutant Insect, and even Kage Level powerhouse would be finished off with a single shot. It remains to be seen whether the resurrected First Hokage could withstand it.
However, Hoshino believes that Konoha should be added.
Others might not know, but how could he not know?
A perfect Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is absolutely Super Kage Level; half of the Nine-Tails could easily defeat the other eight Tailed Beast.
And there's also the Eight Gates Released Formation - Gate of Death.
With Might Guy's skill, destroying a small part of a continent would be no problem at all.
Not to mention the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, which can summon the souls of the dead from the Pure Land back to the mortal world, granting the summoned individuals immortality and unlimited Chakra.
In Hoshino's view, the true value of this technique lies not in summoning those legendary powerhouses, but in resurrecting those wise men who are capable of changing the times.
For example, if a scientific genius like Tobirama Senju were to be resurrected...
With his extraordinary creativity and understanding of the nature of Chakra, combined with advancements in the field of mechanics, it is entirely possible for him to develop new weapons capable of rivaling the Mutant Insect and the Chakra Cannon in a short period of time.
However, Hoshino also knew that the conservatives, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, would never allow such an experiment.
The Third Hokage would rather watch Konoha fall behind in the new era than cross this ethical line.
Hoshino viewed this kind of moral adherence as almost outdated; in this era where world-destroying weapons were rampant, clinging to tradition would only hasten demise.
Even the aging Ōnoki at least knew how to change.
At this moment, Ōnoki sneered, "You young people always talk about destroying the world. I've lived most of my life and I've never seen a weapon that can actually destroy the world."
Despite saying that, his voice was clearly lacking in confidence, and everyone could hear the unease in Ōnoki's tone.
Sunagakure and Kumogakure belong to opposite ends of the Shinobi World and both possess theoretically world-destroying weapons, so there's really no need for them to fight to the death.
The hatred between Iwagakure and Kumogakure... well, those who know, know.
The Fourth Raikage, A, truly wanted Iwagakure to die!
Jiraiya seized the opportunity to interject, "Everyone, shouldn't we discuss the Four Kage Summit the day after tomorrow?"
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "This kind of weapon... there should be some guidelines for its use. Nobody wants to see the Shinobi World truly destroyed."
Upon hearing this, an eerie silence fell over the room, everyone secretly plotting their next move...
Hoshino: It seems we need to speed up the subsequent research.
Raikage: Hmph, the future definitely belongs to Kumogakure.
Pain: We need to reassess the Tailed Beast capture plan; the Tailed Beast seem to be falling behind the times!
Ōnoki: The project on the Dust Release Hybrid Machine must be accelerated.
Jiraiya: This isn't my concern. I need to hurry and inform the old man, and the Chosen One...
See you the day after tomorrow.
Hoshino suddenly turned around, his mechanical bone wings unfolding, and a ghostly blue electromagnetic arc of light flickering and dancing.
With the hum of high-frequency current, his figure broke the sound barrier. As the shockwave exploded behind him, the ionized air left a blue-purple trail.
The atmosphere on the observation platform grew increasingly tense.
The residual ions in the air emitted a faint crackling sound, as if reminding everyone of the stunning weapons demonstration that had just taken place.
"It seems everyone needs time to process what they've seen and heard today." Raikage A's gaze lingered on Ōnoki for a moment, a cold smile playing on his lips.
Before the words were finished, a blinding flash of lightning streaked across the sky. The Raikage instantly transformed into lightning and vanished from the spot.
Konan's paper wings unfolded silently, and countless pieces of paper fell like snowflakes, enveloping her and Pain's figures.
When the last piece of white paper landed, the two had vanished without a trace.
"Hmph! Playing tricks!"
Ōnoki snorted coldly, quickly flew into the sky, and disappeared into the night.
Jiraiya stood alone on the empty observation platform, gazing at the still-smoking sinkhole in the distance, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
" Summoning Technique!"
As the white smoke dissipated, a communication Toad appeared on his shoulder.
"Notify the old man immediately," Jiraiya's voice was more serious than ever before, "The situation is worse than we thought."
As the Toad disappeared, Jiraiya's figure also vanished in a puff of white smoke.
The observatory finally fell silent again, leaving only the shocking sinkhole and the not-yet-fully-healed spatial rift in the sky, silently proclaiming the cruel laws of the new era.