"Click. Click."
The firing pin of the Maxim heavy machine gun missed twice in a row.
The canvas ammunition belt was completely empty.
The Anbu Ninja released the scalding hot launch plate.
The water-cooled jacket outside the barrel hissed, spewing out high-pressure steam. The red-hot gun barrel emitted a faint metallic contraction sound in the night wind.
On the sea.
The gunfire stopped.
After the deafening gunfire subsided, the sea suddenly became eerily still.
All that remained was the crackling sound of burning wood chips.
And the dull thud of waves crashing against the submarine's manganese steel hull.
The thick fog had long since dissipated.
The surface of the water, spanning two nautical miles, was covered with a thick layer of scum, wood chips, and bits of meat.
The burning wreckage resembled giant bonfires, bobbing up and down on the water.
The Kakkō illuminated that desolate sea.
Not a single Kirigakure warship was still able to float.
There wasn't a single living person left struggling in the water.
Those elite troops who prided themselves on being invincible in naval warfare didn't even have a chance to dive into the deep sea in the face of a metal storm firing six hundred rounds per minute.
The mangled corpse drifted with the waves.
Blood stained the nearshore waters red, and the stench was overwhelming.
As for the Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki.
Two seconds before the heavy machine gun fired, he was thrown into the air by the aftershock of an armor-piercing round that had gone off course.
Half of his body was torn apart by the steel fragments.
Along with his prized Steaming Danger Tyranny, it sank into the cold, dark East China Sea trench.
Not even a recognizable bone was left.
On the conning tower of submarine No. 1.
The Anbu Ninja pulled down the hatch.
Clang.
The heavy, round steel cap was locked.
Three black fish-like Chakra submarines.
It slowly turned on the sea surface. The tail propeller shredded several corpses and broken pieces of wood.
It stirred up large amounts of white Utakata.
The descent valve is opened.
The submarine plunged headfirst into the black seawater without a sound.
Disappeared.
East coast of Konoha.
A few days later.
The once barren coastline overgrown with weeds has been completely leveled.
No. 3 Heavy Industry Shipbuilding Base
The salty sea breeze had just reached this place when it was abruptly drowned out by the pungent smell of welding fumes and heavy machinery oil.
Shu Shiraishi stands on the operating platform of a 50-meter-high gantry crane.
Underfoot was a rusty iron mesh pedal. When the wind blew, the iron plate swayed slightly.
He was wearing a black turtleneck short-sleeved shirt with a thick, windproof woolen overcoat draped over it.
He pressed his hands against the iron railing.
Below is a huge open-air dry dock.
It is 400 meters long and 50 meters deep.
This place was a bay just half a month ago. It was transformed into a huge, square concrete crater by thousands of Earth Release ninjas using Earth Style Wall and Moving Earth Core.
High-voltage power grids, as thick as an arm, are strung along the towering breakwaters all around.
A colossal steel beast lay silently at the bottom of the pit.
The 300-meter-long manganese steel keel has been laid.
Dozens of thick, H-shaped load-bearing steel columns point straight to the sky, like a row of giant ribs.
Thousands of shirtless workers, like black worker ants, clung to this massive steel skeleton.
The blue and white arcs of welding flashed wildly in the dock, so bright they were blinding.
Sparks rained down like a waterfall, crashing into the muddy water at the bottom and sending up plumes of acrid white smoke.
"One, two! Rise!"
A unified chant rose from below, the voices cracking from shouting.
Two Akimichi Clan ninjas activated Partial Multi-Size Technique.
His arms were as thick as buckets, with bulging muscles and veins that darted under his skin like little snakes.
The two men, one in front and one behind, worked together to lift a ten-ton outer armor plate.
He trudged through ankle-deep mud and water, gritting his teeth as he made his way to the edge of the dock.
With each step, the mud beneath their feet was trampled into a pit half a meter deep.
Mud splattered all over their faces, and they didn't even dare to wipe it off.
Next to the steel plate.
A Uchiha Chunin a black vest, sat atop a pile of cement bags.
He held a notepad in his hand, and his Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
He stared intently at the Akimichi ninja ahead.
" Chojiro Akimichi 'Chakra output is unstable. His right shoulder is two inches lower than his left."
The Chunin Uchiha drew a heavy line on the paper with his pen.
Uneven stress can easily cause steel plates to deform. Two points deducted. I'll have to eat two pounds less meat for lunch today.
The Akimichi ninja carrying the steel plate gritted his teeth, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
He quickly pushed his right shoulder upwards with all his might.
A muffled groan, like that of a wild beast, escaped his throat. He didn't dare utter a single word in reply.
If you anger the Urban Management Brigade, their whips will come flying with Lightning Release.
On the scaffolding in mid-air.
Several Hyuga Clan were strapped in with safety harnesses and suspended more than twenty meters above the ground.
The sun was scorching, making the steel pipes scorching hot.
The veins on their temples were bulging, Byakugan were wide open.
"The weld joint of the seventh rib has too many internal air bubbles! Re-weld!"
A Hyūga ninja shouted down, straining his neck.
"The thickness is three millimeters different! Rework!"
They are the most precise flaw detectors for the human body. Not a single imperfection can escape their pure white eyes.
Shu Shiraishi looked down at all of this.
The hem of the trench coat fluttered in the sea breeze.
He gazed upon this vibrant industrial scene.
This is the war machine he wants.
The 300-meter-long steel behemoth at the bottom of the pit is more than just a ship.
That was Konoha's mobile territory.
Chakra.
Midway through the ship, a 20-centimeter-thick alloy flight deck has been partially laid.
The deck was as smooth as a giant black mirror.
On both sides, there were even cast iron tracks for heavy Explosive Tag throwers.
The stern section.
Four large, square elevator shafts were provided.
That was the elevator platform prepared for the newly developed Chakra airship.
Wait until this gold-devouring behemoth enters the water.
Those dilapidated wooden ships of the Land of Water are not even qualified to approach within ten nautical miles, let alone fight.
All that's needed is to fill the wide deck with airships loaded with high-explosive aerial bombs.
Konoha's fleet could reach the doorstep of any ninja village.
They threw the bomb directly onto the roof of their great man's house.
The ocean will henceforth belong solely to Konoha.
Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps echoed down the metal staircase of the gantry crane.
"Clang. Clang."
The sound was a bit heavy. The soles of my feet slammed against the wire mesh, leaving a muddy, splashing sound.
Orochimaru climbed onto the iron fence platform.
He leaned on the railing and gasped for breath.
That once white work jacket is now completely unrecognizable, covered in black oil stains and burnt holes.
His greasy black hair was matted and stuck to his pale cheeks.
Two bluish dark circles were visible under his eyes.
He had been watching over this shipyard for five days and five nights without closing his eyes.
" Lord Shu."
Orochimaru walked over, his throat as dry as if it were being rubbed with two sheets of sandpaper.
He had a thick metal folder tucked tightly under his arm.
Shu Shiraishi didn't turn around. He patted the railing, and the rusty iron crumbled and crumbled.
"The keel is laid."
"The outer casing will be welded in about two weeks, and then it should be ready to go into the water."
Orochimaru pulled out a metal folder and opened it.
The parchment was covered with complex Chakra circuit diagrams and densely packed data.
He stared at the blueprints, his brows slowly furrowing into a deep knot.
"No problem launching it. The schedule is on time."
Orochimaru closed the folder. His fingers unconsciously scratched at the cold metal cover a couple of times.
"But now we're in big trouble."
Shu Shiraishi turned around and leaned against the railing.
"Explain."
"The boat is too heavy."
Orochimaru pointed to the 300-meter-long monster below.
"Manganese steel armor. Double-deck flight deck. Plus, pre-installed six twin-mounted heavy cannons and an airship hangar."
"This aircraft carrier has an empty displacement of over 50,000 tons."
He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.
"Our four large Chakra turbines, designed according to conventional methods, simply couldn't power them."
"Once out to sea, this ship's top speed won't even reach ten knots."
"Slow as an old tortoise at sea, he's a sitting duck."
Shu Shiraishi looked at him. "Add the reactor. Add the battery compartment."
Orochimaru gave a wry smile.
He raised his oil-stained hand and scratched his greasy hair.
"We can add to the design, but there's nothing left to fill it with."
" The Nine-Tails ' half of its Chakra is entirely used for the village's armory and radar network; not a single drop can be squeezed out."
"The aircraft carrier's independent power source has always relied on those prisoners in the basement."
Orochimaru raised his head.
His narrow, yellowish eyes held a deep sorrow.
He handed the thick metal folder to Shu Shiraishi.
"This morning, the power supply to the independent power room on the second basement level went out three times."
Orochimaru lowered his voice.
" The Third Raikage... died last night."
Shu Shiraishi's hand, which was about to take the folder, froze in mid-air.
His brows slowly furrowed.
"She's not breathing?"
"Dead." Orochimaru sighed, his face utterly exhausted.
"Two consecutive months of intensive blood draws, plus the relentless exploitation of his Lightning Release Chakra around the clock."
"His Chakra pathways were all burned off. His heart couldn't take it."
"At midnight last night, he couldn't catch his last breath. He was completely drained."
Shu Shiraishi withdrew his hand.
He turned his head and looked down again at the enormous, gold-devouring behemoth that was gaping open, waiting to be fed.