They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 134 The Idea of ​​Colonizing the Eastern Continent

To avoid attracting attention, Yagura Karatachi, along with the prisoners, not only raised the aerial fortress Anker Bandian to hide in the clouds, but also deliberately took a long detour by sea before returning to Kirigakure.

Therefore, by the time he returned to Kirigakure, Hozuki Shingetsu had already returned to Kirigakure from the capital of the Land of Water.

"This world truly has a lot of cutting-edge technology..."

Hozuki Shingetsu carefully stroked the aerial fortress, looking at this colossal structure that had never appeared even in his previous life, and couldn't help but sigh.

Hozuki Shingetsu was already immune to the chaotic technological lines of the Naruto world. While the ninjas were still traveling on foot, walkie-talkies and surveillance cameras appeared in the blink of an eye.

Even so, they couldn't help but be shocked when they saw this behemoth, which was one-tenth the size of Konoha.

Perhaps only those who have experienced the technological life of Hozuki Shingetsu in his previous life can truly appreciate the advanced technology used in this aerial fortress.

If this technology, capable of supporting the levitation of an entire town, had appeared in my previous life, it's foreseeable that every country would have fought tooth and nail to acquire it, even if it meant the outbreak of World War III, Hozuki Shingetsu would have had no doubt.

"The people from the Sky Ninja Village are all inside. Except for the pilots, everyone else has been blindfolded and doesn't know where we are."

Yagura, a man named Goji Tachibana, reported to Hozuki Shingetsu.

To prevent leaks and conserve energy, Yagura Karatachi specifically parked this aerial fortress on an uninhabited island near Kirigakure.

By utilizing the gaps in the valley and the dense vegetation for concealment, even if someone were to pass by from the sky, they would hardly be noticed unless they were paying close attention.

"What is the energy source for this aerial fortress?"

Hozuki Shingetsu waved his hand, not paying much attention to the detainees.

He had no problem with the deaths of everyone in the group except for Shennong and the corresponding technicians.

However, since they are ninjas who have refined chakra, sending them to the village to do various kinds of hard labor such as infrastructure construction and agriculture is not a bad choice.

He was more concerned about the energy usage of this aerial fortress than these ninjas.

According to Hozuki Shingetsu, if they can figure this out, it might be the biggest gain from this trip.

After all, Kirigakure's research on chakra energy storage and utilization has been going on for several years, but progress is still slow.

If Kirigakure can master this technology, then perhaps they can skip the First Industrial Revolution and directly enter the next generation of industrial revolution.

"energy……"

Faced with such a technical question, Yagura Karatachi scratched his head for a long time but couldn't answer. Fortunately, there was a relevant technician among the prisoners, so Yagura Karatachi quickly had someone bring him over, which finally resolved Hozuki Shingetsu's doubts.

However, the technician's explanation left Hozuki Shingetsu deeply disappointed, because the energy source for this aerial fortress was actually...

"Greel's Stone"

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the crystal-clear blue ore in his hand, a helpless expression on his face.

The air fortress's energy source is the Grell Stone, an answer that was both expected and unexpected.

After all, if we're talking about using minerals as a power source, the only one in the ninja world that can provide chakra is probably the Grell Stone. But he never expected that this aerial fortress would also be powered by the Grell Stone.

However, this means there's not much to learn from the chakra resource utilization technology of this aerial fortress. After all, extracting chakra from ore is far too simple, and you could even directly adopt the technology of the half-finished chakra cannon from the Hidden Cloud Village.

Moreover, not only that, the small Grell Stone mine in the Land of Sky has already been emptied by the Sky Ninja Village.

The current energy reserves are only enough to support the aerial fortress to make one more round trip between Kirigakure and Konoha. After that, the aerial fortress will basically be nothing more than a decoration.

This is why Shennong insisted on taking this opportunity to launch a sneak attack on Konoha and obtain the records related to the artificial tailed beast.

Only a tailed beast with near-limitless energy can provide this aerial fortress with a continuous source of power.

Despite knowing that storing and utilizing chakra energy is not so easy, Hozuki Shingetsu still couldn't help but feel disappointed when faced with this situation.

In that case, instead of letting the aerial fortress float in the sky for a while, it would be better to hand over this small amount of Grell Stone to the Chakra Research Institute so that they can study the ore and see if they can discover anything from it.

"It seems that we will have to wait until two years later to design the Black Zetsu using the Chakra Cannon before we can find Grell Ore to power this behemoth."

As a chakra ore that was prominently featured in his previous life, Hozuki Shingetsu would inevitably send people to search for it, whether for the needs of the Industrial Revolution or for the research and utilization of chakra energy.

Unfortunately, despite the significant investment of human and material resources, there has been no news about this matter for many years.

However, if Black Zetsu were to intervene, good news would likely arrive in no time.

After all, as an old silver coin hidden behind the ninja world for thousands of years, it may have witnessed the history of people using Grell Stone. In addition, with its unparalleled mayfly technique, finding this ore should not be a problem.

"With enough Grell Stones, this aerial fortress can be fully utilized. At that time, the natural barrier of the ocean will no longer be able to stop the aerial fortress, and the plan to colonize the eastern continent can be truly implemented."

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the blue ore in his hand that resembled agate, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

Ever since learning that the ninja world was not limited to the Ninja World Continent, and especially since the Eastern Continent was weaker than the Ninja World Continent, Hozuki Shingetsu had the idea of ​​colonizing the Eastern Continent.

According to intelligence, the resources of the Eastern Continent are similar to those of the Ninja World Continent, but its population is smaller due to years of war. However, it is still much larger than the population of the Land of Water.

As is well known, a large population not only means a large labor force, but also a large market.

As Kirigakure is about to embark on an industrial revolution, no one understands better than Hozuki Shingetsu what a vast, unknown market means.

Why did Hozuki Shingetsu hesitate to start the Industrial Revolution before? Wasn't it because he didn't have enough military strength to support himself in protecting Kirigakure's market share?

Back then, Germany's slogan, "Use the sword of the empire to acquire land for the plow of the empire," constantly echoed in Hozuki Shingetsu's ears. How could he possibly forget it?

If the Industrial Revolution were to begin, and Kirigakure lacked sufficient military strength to protect its market share, the immense productivity brought about by the Industrial Revolution could very well turn against it instantly, plunging Kirigakure into utter ruin.

However, if we had this entire continent, separated by the ocean, as our backyard, all the aforementioned problems would be easily solved.

However, due to the complex sea conditions between the Ninja World Continent and the Eastern Continent, which made it difficult for ships to cross the ocean, it was not easy for people to even cross the ocean, let alone transport a large number of people to colonize the Eastern Continent.

The group of people in the original story crossed the ocean from the Eastern Continent to the Ninja World Continent only after they invented ironclad warships and steam power.

However, none of this matters in the face of a flying fortress, unless the ocean is like in One Piece, capable of flying into the sky.

Judging from the size of this aerial fortress, it can easily accommodate a thousand or so people. Even considering the issues of supplies and range, it can easily carry six or seven hundred people.

Judging from the original work, the Eastern Continent seems to not know how to refine chakra, and its combat strength relies more on external objects such as robots.

Putting aside the fact that the robotics technology of the Eastern Continent at this time was not as advanced as it would be decades later, just considering the fact that relying on external objects compared to relying on one's own power, one can easily imagine how obvious the disadvantage would be in a surprise attack.

Coincidentally, the ninja's specialty is surprise attacks.

In addition, these external objects are usable by the natives of the Eastern Continent, so why can't the ninjas of Kirigakure use them?

Therefore, considering the generational gap in combat strength, and referring to the ratio of British soldiers to local natives in the various British colonies of the previous life, Kirigakure should be able to control the entire continent with at most one or two thousand people.

"Two years, two years... exactly two years later, according to the three-year academic system, my first batch of graduates since becoming principal will also graduate. The Eastern Continent needs trustworthy people to manage it, and those children just meet the criteria..."

"Hmm... Moreover, those children are at a stage where their strength and mentality are growing rapidly. If we send those brainwashed children to the Eastern Continent for a few years of training, they will return just in time for the upheaval in the Land of Water, and they will be able to seamlessly take over and start operating immediately..."

As Hozuki Shingetsu gazed at the magnificent aerial fortress before him, he pondered the possibilities that lay ahead.

Controlling a country is not just about suppressing the upper class; it also requires loyal people to act as the eyes of Hozuki Shingetsu, monitoring the situation at the grassroots level to ensure that his will is truly implemented.

As a colony, the Eastern Continent was a perfect testing ground, providing ample opportunity for these students to experiment and learn.

As for the various costs that inevitably arise from mistakes during this process...

As an imperialist, this was not a problem for Hozuki Crescent to consider.

"But in this way, colonizing a continent hundreds of times larger than itself with such a small territory... it feels more and more like Britain's approach..."

Supporting hundreds of millions of people with hundreds of millions of others, supporting an entire continent with an island nation—the civilization and prosperity of Kirigakure are built upon the blood and sweat of the people of the Eastern Continent. This feeling…

"Our Hidden Mist Village will never surrender until the last drop of blood is shed on the Eastern Continent!"

Hozuki Shingetsu suddenly thought of the scenario where Kirigakure would say those words if another Shinobi World War were to break out in the future, and he couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

(End of this chapter)