Chapter 339: Looking Toward the Future
A massive tower reaching the heavens rose from the ground. Its pure white outline was etched against the clear blue morning sky, like a white cloud made solid.
It was called a tower, but it wasn't slender. If anyone were nearby, they would see that the Raikage Building and all the houses in the surrounding area had vanished, transformed into materials for the new structure.
The main road that originally passed in front of the Raikage Building was now enveloped by the gigantic white tower, passing directly underneath it. The base of the white tower resembled the roots of a colossal tree, forming arches over the road.
At the very top was a small platform, though people couldn't see what was on it yet.
"Heavens! It's a miracle!"
"It's so high!!"
The Cloud Spire.
Total height: 251 meters.
Designed by numerous Cloud researchers, it would become the central hub of the entire Cloud-Thunder Federation in the future. Its massive capacity could accommodate not only the administrative system of Kumogakure but also consolidate work from all over the Federation, adding numerous new departments.
The Cloud Spire could house thousands of people working and even living inside. And unseen underground, there were matching structures.
If the Old and New Kumogakure structure was like a two-layer birthday cake, then the Cloud Spire was the luxurious candle on top.
No, perhaps calling it a torch was more accurate.
In the Cloud Village, Tobirama Senju clicked his tongue in wonder. "The Cloud really loves making big moves..."
On the platform, Dodai looked up until his hat almost fell off, his face full of satisfaction.
Countless children pointed at the Cloud Spire, chattering excitedly.
Madara Uchiha stood in the crowd, clenching his fists tightly.
He had no mind to care about any Cloud Spire; his thinking had been impacted.
"No... wrong! Permanent peace exists! The Infinite Tsukuyomi is permanent peace, the perfect world! Peace is humanity's eternal pursuit! Progress and development? Nonsense!"
Just then, several more Tailed Beast Bombs flew in from the horizon. Their direction was completely different from before, clearly indicating the Jinchuriki launching them was moving at high speed.
Minato Namikaze and Tobirama exchanged a glance. Together, they threw kunai into the sky. prepared this time, the Tailed Beast Bombs were teleported away before even entering the Cloud Village.
More Tailed Beast Bombs arrived. Blue Bee leaped high into the air, firing a larger, fiercer Tailed Beast Bomb from his mouth, detonating the incoming one directly outside the village.
The Third Raikage still didn't look up. Even the tens of thousands below didn't panic; they were infected by the shock and grandeur of the moment.
"I declare, from this day forth, the Cloud-Thunder Federation is formally established! Kumogakure is officially renamed 'Cloud City' (Kumoto)!"
Amidst the huge explosions, the Third Raikage spread his arms and announced loudly:
"Whether Land of Lightning! Land of Fire! Land of Hot Water! Land of Rice Fields! Whether Cloud Village! Konoha Village! One body, one heart! Creating a prosperous age together!"
Countless people below shouted:
"Long live the Cloud!"
"Idiot! It should be long live the Cloud-Thunder Federation!"
"Long live the Federation!"
"Long live the Federation!"
Over a hundred kilometers away, Onoki shaded his eyes with his hand, flying in the sky. Behind him was Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki.
The two had just fired a volley of Tailed Beast Bombs, then quickly moved dozens of kilometers before daring to stop and observe.
After a long while, Onoki said regretfully, "Doesn't seem like they exploded inside the village. We have to retreat."
Roshi asked, "Why don't we keep firing? As long as we keep moving, just like the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki did back then..."
Onoki replied, "The Cloud isn't the Mist. Once they react, they'll find us quickly. Can you be faster than the Heavenly Transfer Technique?"
Just as he spoke, several streaks of rainbow light flew from the horizon toward the location where they had fired the Tailed Beast Bombs.
Start of Ninja World Year 46.
The Cloud-Thunder Federation was formally established. The original Kumogakure was renamed Cloud City—this was the city's name, while "Cloud" (Kumo/Kumogakure) could still be used as the faction name.
The Cloud-Thunder Federation spanned four countries, with vast territory and rich resources. Its administrative and military centers were both established in Cloud City. Beyond what was written on paper, Cloud City was also the economic and research center of the Federation. Preparations for future expansion had already begun.
At the same time, the Cloud Spire would gather the elites of the entire Federation to assist in its rapid development.
The Federation merged four countries, with all administrative power belonging to the position of Consul. The first Consul of the Federation was Yotsuki Dana. Dana would also carry out a series of reforms on the Federation's administrative system.
All armed forces within the Federation, including but not limited to the Cloud and Konoha ninja, fell under the authority of the Grand General. The first Grand General of the Federation was A, the Third Raikage.
"Consul" and "Grand General."
One civil, one martial. They were the "Twin Poles" of the Cloud-Thunder Federation.
The "Twin Poles" were the sublimation of administrative reform. The titles of Raikage and Cloud Elder were retained and held concurrently.
The Cloud Spire had 52 floors above ground and 10 below, standing 251 meters tall—the tallest building in the ninja world. The Consul's "Administrative Headquarters" and the Grand General's "Military Headquarters" were both located within, along with dozens of different departments. Its massive structure, futuristic design, and instant construction would be known as the "Miracle of the Cloud Spire" in the future.
The interlude on the day of the ceremony—the Tailed Beast Bomb attack—was successfully resolved with the cooperation of many Federation experts. All bombs were transferred or intercepted, causing no casualties.
However, the enemy only harassed. Consul Yotsuki Dana pursued personally but found nothing; Heavenly Transfer reconnaissance also yielded no results. The enemy ceased their attack and fled the Federation's territory.
But this also sounded an alarm for the Cloud-Thunder Federation. New defense requirements were handed to the various research bases within the Federation.
The day of the ceremony marked the ninja world entering a brand new era. Since the Sage of Six Paths initiated the ninja era, the world had experienced a long Warring States Period, with system exploration stopping at the Daimyo's Court.
46 years ago, the God of Shinobi Hashirama Senju and the Asura of the Ninja World Madara Uchiha created the Ninja Village system, hoping for peace.
Today, the ninja world saw the emergence of the Federation system—a brand new exploration by humanity in this world.
Just as the Third Raikage said, peace is beautiful, but it is not humanity's only pursuit.
Development and progress are.
If peace favors progress, embrace peace.
If struggle favors progress, embrace struggle.
Perhaps peace brings stagnation.
Perhaps struggle brings death.
But humanity never stops advancing.
The day after the ceremony.
Early in the morning, Yotsuki Dana arrived at the biological research institute where Yoshitoki worked.
By the way, administratively, this place had been renamed "Federation First Research Institute" yesterday.
The Heavenly Transfer Institute was renamed "Federation Second Research Institute."
Minetarou's Structural Institute became "Federation Third Research Institute," and there might be a Fourth, Fifth, Sixth in the future.
Dana walked into the institute familiarly. Yoshitoki had been waiting for a long time.
"I asked you here today mainly to show you an important result. We had preliminary results before the ceremony, and the Raikage... erm... Grand General came to see it then. But he and I agreed that it would be best for you to witness it personally."
Dana was expectant. What technology would make both his Old Man and Yoshitoki take it so seriously?
Yoshitoki led the way, speaking slowly as he walked. "By the way, you know I applied for research on Chakra Metal years ago, right?"
Dana said, "Yes. Back when the Eastern Archipelago was just developed and we shipped back lots of Chakra Metal but could only forge weapons, I thought it was a waste. I encouraged everyone to develop new uses. The new delivery pods came from that time."
Yoshitoki nodded. "Exactly. Chakra Metal is unique and should have better uses than forging swords. At that time, various institutes in the Cloud produced many new alloys, each with its own characteristics, but none had a major application. Later, while traveling, I kept thinking about this problem."
Dana asked curiously, "Is today's experiment related to Chakra Metal technology?"
"Yes and no. You'll see in a moment... My strengths actually lie in biological and medical technology; Chakra Metal itself isn't my field. So I wanted to find a combination point between Chakra Metal and biotechnology. Later, while traveling in the Land of Craftswork, I gained some inspiration. I remembered the Cloud has a very unique item, captured by Blue Bee during the last war. I studied it for a while too."
Dana waited for the rest. It was clear Yoshitoki was excited today and eager to share.
"That is the Great Sword: Samehada!"
Dana was led to the back of a lab. Before him was a huge glass wall, behind which was a massive testing area. Dozens of researchers were busy inside.
What attracted the most attention were rows of gray, spiky cylindrical objects arranged neatly.
There were dozens of them.
Dana was stunned. This color... this texture...
He said in shock, "Don't tell me these are all Samehada?!"
Yoshitoki laughed. "Not exactly. You know my modified Earth Grudge Fear can analyze, adjust, and even assimilate organisms. Samehada itself is a very unique life form. After some effort, I can now replicate its special flesh by consuming Chakra Metal and ordinary flesh—like stimulating a pig to grow new legs, then cutting them off. These are the cut-off special substances. You could call them unconscious life forms, or living metal."
"Its characteristics are the same as Samehada: it can transmit and store chakra, with considerable capacity. I call it: 'Bionic Metal'. The biggest characteristic of chakra is that, except for the human body and seals, it cannot be stored long-term. Sealed chakra can only be released all at once or never used, making it very impractical. You know the Heavenly Transfer base still uses manpower to supply chakra. With this, the problem is solved."
"In the future, chakra can be stored like electricity, but chakra has far more uses than electricity."
Dana was shaken. So this is what he wanted to show me.
This was indeed a leap forward. Although chakra had infinite uses—flying, burrowing, elemental transformation, transformation, cloning—it lacked civilian applications.
The reason was storage. Only the human body and seals could store it, and seals were a one-time deal.
With this battery-like chakra storage device, civilian facilities could be developed vigorously.
For example, "Chakra Gas Stoves!" Converting chakra to fire is basic.
"Chakra-powered Cars!" With a storage device on the back, the horsepower would surely beat fuel, and it's eco-friendly.
Or using chakra for automated production, replacing electrical systems with chakra systems. The uses were endless.
Just as Dana was imagining what could utilize chakra energy, Yoshitoki dropped another bombshell.
"These were the results from half a month ago when the Grand General visited. Today, I want to show you something else."
Dana was surprised. "There's more?!"
Grandpa Yoshitoki is the best!
Yoshitoki smiled. "You know the saying 'Tailed Beast chakra is infinite,' right? But where in the world is there anything truly infinite? The maximum chakra of a Tailed Beast is finite and measurable."
"The reason it's called infinite is that no matter how much it consumes, it can quickly replenish an equal amount from the entire ninja world. This is a power akin to a rule of nature—unstoppable, unchangeable. Like being at the bottom of the sea: no matter how much water you pump out, the ocean replenishes it, so the water there is effectively infinite. Or on the ground: no matter how much air you suck away, the atmosphere replenishes it, so the air is effectively infinite."
"But neither air nor water is energy. Even if infinite, they aren't very useful. But chakra is useful. And the Tailed Beast is the relay station that allows us to draw chakra endlessly."
"The Cloud has four Tailed Beasts. Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails already have Jinchuriki, so I applied to research the Two-Tails."
A researcher pushed a large pot forward. Dana recognized it immediately—the Amber Purifying Pot, a Sage Tool originally belonging to the Gold and Silver Brothers, later used by the Cloud to seal Tailed Beasts.
Several researchers placed the Amber Purifying Pot amidst the countless gray spiky pillars, carved formulas onto the pot, and connected it to the surrounding pillars with numerous pipes.
With a nod from Yoshitoki, a researcher pressed a switch.
Massive chakra was extracted through the pipes and absorbed by the gray pillars. These special substances capable of storing chakra began to glow with a pale blue light.
Yoshitoki said, "Tailed Beast chakra volume is massive, and we haven't found the limit of its replenishment speed. But according to theoretical calculations, taking the most common electric lamp as an example... just the Two-Tails, relatively weak among Tailed Beasts, is enough to light up every home in the entire Cloud-Thunder Federation!"
"...Um... accurately speaking, forever, 24 hours a day, with plenty to spare. Because 'Tailed Beast chakra is infinite'... Do you know what this means?"
At this moment, Dana couldn't take his eyes off it...
"This means... The Future..."