Fortress

Kashirō, submerged in the sea, followed closely behind Kamira and Ranke in the air, and surprisingly arrived in the Land of Tea.

The Land of Tea borders the Land of Fire, and is separated from the Land of Wind only by the sea.

Beneath the sea, Kashirō thought to himself, "So, our headquarters is in the Land of Tea, which gives us a geographical advantage. It's only natural that we chose the Land of Wind first."

While steel warships and armored soldiers are formidable opponents, invading the Land of Fire with only this level of capability would be tantamount to suicide.

Kamira flew into the jungle for quite some time before Kashirō finally stood up from the seawater and looked around at his surroundings. " Ice Release: Lens."

"Click click click"

Kashirō's body quickly froze into ice, entering a transparent state, which ensured that Kamira had not discovered him before he continued to follow her.

After traversing the jungle for nearly an hour, Kamira finally descended from the air.

Before them lay a vast rift valley, within which lay a fortress made of the same material as a steel warship. The fortress was suspended in mid-air, supported by numerous steel supports, and hung from the cliff face of the rift valley.

"Such technology exists? Hieimon will definitely be very interested! Shadow Clone Technique!"

Kashirō used his Shadow Clone to infiltrate the fortress and gather more information, while he stood in place observing the fortress's exterior.

"Waaah!"

Kamira hovered in the air for a while, then saw the metal gate at the top of the fortress open, and the two flew inside.

Fortress Control Room

Haidō remained in his usual approachable attire, seated in the main seat, with Temujin and Fugai standing on either side.

Kamira deactivated her transformation and returned to her original form. However, the long flight had left her exhausted. She was panting heavily as she knelt before Haidō.

Haidō, observing Kamira's state, already had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but still smiled and asked, " Kamira, how did your trip to the Land of Wind go?"

Ranke immediately knelt down, crying, "Lord Haidō! I'm so sorry! Our fleet has been completely destroyed by the Land of Wind!"

Haidō was silent for a moment, then stood up and helped Kamira and Ranke up. He said solemnly, "Alas, creating a better world is very difficult. If you want to create peace, you must be prepared to pay a price. The fact that you came back alive means that your sacred mission is still not completed. It's just a pity for those children."

Fugai nearby, quickly said, "Lord Haidō, the intelligence we purchased from the intelligence organization shows that the number of ninjas in the Sunagakure of the Land of Wind has indeed reached its lowest point in recent years, so how could it still be..."

Haidō helped Kamira to sit down and sighed, " The Land of Wind is, after all, one of the Five Great Nations. It was my mistake to send you."

Kamira quickly replied, "No, Lord Haidō! This defeat was due to their allies, not because the Land of Wind was too strong."

"Oh?"

Temujin's expression was serious. " The Land of Wind and Orochimaru's Otogakure joined forces to try to destroy Konoha, causing themselves enormous losses. Such an evil ninja village is a stumbling block on the road to peace, and so are those who ally with it."

Haidō raised his left hand, signaling Temujin to stop talking. " Temujin, let Kamira finish speaking first."

Kamira then slowly explained, "We fought for a day and a night. With the help of the endless energy of the Gelel Stone, we had exhausted the Sand Ninja, including the Kazekage, to their lowest possible strength. If we had held on a little longer, we might have even been able to kill the Kazekage. However, when the final bombardment began, several reinforcements suddenly appeared. The leader was extremely powerful; with just one move, he cleaved the warship in two!"

Haidō exclaimed in surprise, "What! The warship was destroyed in a single move? There's such a powerful ninja? Could it be that the Hokage himself has come?"

Kamira shook her head. "Judging from their Forehead Protector, they're probably not from Konoha, but from a ninja village called Core."

Haidō muttered to himself, " Nuclear Ninja Village? Never heard of it. Do you know this ninja village?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Ranke also shared his opinion. "Judging from the direction they came from, I estimate they are from some ninja village in the Land of Rivers."

Temujin chuckled lightly, "Ha, Ranke. Are you making excuses for your failure? The Land of Rivers is at least five days' journey from where you landed. Do you think they can fly like Kamira?"

Kamira nodded solemnly. "That's right, they flew here, and among the five people who came with them, two kids were wearing Konoha Forehead Protector."

Temujin: "(°ー°)..."

Haidō paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, deep in thought, "You mean... the Sunagakure and the Konoha are allies again?"

Temujin's expression turned serious. "This is troublesome. Alliances between major powers will only make smaller neighboring countries easy prey once again."

Haidō said, "This defeat has likely put us on the verge of exposure. Fugai, go and inform the three warships along the coast to move south and remain concealed. The fortress also needs to be relocated. Temujin, go to the Land of Rivers to investigate the situation of the Nuclear Ninja. Note that you should not travel by sea."

"Yes, Lord Haidō! Let's depart immediately!"

Temujin, being impatient, immediately left the main hall. Haidō then said to the three women, "It seems that chaos has begun to break out between nations. We must make finding the Gelel Stone Vein our top priority. With the power of the mine, we will have the power to maintain world peace."

Kamira was still resentful of this failure. "Lord Haidō, I almost succeeded! Please let me..."

" Kamira! That's enough!"

Haidō shouted, "Given the current situation, we can't be too high-profile. Even if Konoha and Sand Ninja are at their weakest point in recent years, they're not easy for us to defeat. We've already lost our first warship; we can't afford any more losses. We have a limited supply of Gelel Stone right now, so we need to find a mine first."

Fugai, somewhat smug after being scolded by Kamira, said, "Lord Haidō, there's a small country to the south, far from the mainland, I think it's the Land of Spring. Let's go and conquer it first."

Lord God: "Oh ho! Great idea!"

Haidō looked at the map of the Shinobi World on the ground. There was indeed a small, very remote island nation to the south. "Hmm, far from the mainland, the war won't reach it. Good idea, let's go there first."

"Yes, Lord Haidō!"

The three female knights left the main hall and relayed the orders.

After saying that, Haidō sat back down, squinting at the map of the Shinobi World on the ground, his hands unconsciously clenching. "Damn it, where are those descendants of the ancient clans! As long as I find the Gelel Stone Vein, I will possess power comparable to the Five Great Nations!"

"Boom!"

After a while, the mechanisms beneath the steel fortress began to rumble, and the central Gelel Stone furnace began to supply Chakra energy to the external mechanisms. The fortress also began to rise from the rift and move southward.

Steel warships and fortresses are the weapons Haidō uses to realize his ambitions. Years ago, he bought a book from a traveling merchant that recorded an ancient super civilization. He was deeply impressed by the Gelel Stone and steel warships in the book. He worked hard for decades, plundering everywhere, and that's how he achieved what he has today.

Now that he has fully utilized the Gelel Stone he has found throughout the Shinobi World, if he cannot find the location of the Gelel Stone Vein recorded in the book, this will be his limit.

His repeated massacres of small villages had clouded his judgment, leading him to believe that with his current strength he could defeat a great power. This defeat made him see himself more clearly, which is why he chose to retreat.

However, he didn't notice that the air in the control room had become somewhat chilly since the beginning.