"Whoa! Good stuff, a sky fortress… SHIELD's doing this?"
White Snake spun a memory disc in his hand: "These guys really know how to hide. Lucky for us, we've got quick minds, otherwise, we might not have found them."
After Linto ordered breakfast, he activated Hermit Purple, using a declaration of war poster as a medium to read memories. He locked onto one of the Sky Ninja Corps' ninjas.
When he followed the direction, he didn't see any terrorists flying in the sky, only an ordinary village.
Linto caught a Sky Ninja hiding in the village. After using White Snake to extract and view the memories, he learned that in order to counter Hermit Purple, these people had come up with a method of "leaving behind those connected to causality."
This Sky Ninja didn't know where the sky fortress had flown off to. Normally, even if Linto caught him, it wouldn't have been meaningful, but…
"Given the sky fortress's flight speed,
Given its destination,
And given that its maximum altitude prevents it from escaping normal visual range.
To avoid ninja pursuit, the sky fortress hides within the clouds."
Based on the above information, a general area could be mapped out.
Then, looking for places with large cloud formations, a few tries would be enough to find it.
Linto's finger swiped through the clouds, tearing open a "rift." Slowly, he drew out the Great Sword of Ruin from within.
"For most opponents, as long as they're willing to give up, I'll give them a chance. But…"
On the way back, Linto passed through the city that was bombed last night.
It was truly quiet.
No crying, because the tears had already dried up last night.
No wailing, because the dead were already gone last night.
The night that was easily spent staying up late, the sleep time that felt incredibly short when having to work the next day, was stretched infinitely in disaster and pain by Limitless.
Hoo—
A gust of wind blew, and a wisp of golden flame ignited on Linto's finger holding the sword. It traveled along the hilt upwards until the Great Sword of Ruin was completely drawn.
The long sword swung, igniting the sky.
Even through the glass of the sky fortress, the generals and soldiers inside could feel the heat intense enough to scorch one's heart.
And more terrifying than the golden flames…
was Linto.
The fierce anger in his eyes, with a heat that could burn everything, Linto said calmly:
"...You will all die."
General Hornet suddenly came to his senses and rushed to the main console, smashing his fist into the all-army broadcast:
"Attack!"
"All forces, attack!"
Sky Ninja Corps soldiers, each piloting a flying ninja tool, poured out like insects.
They had excellent flying skills, constantly shifting formations in the air, engaging Linto in a crossfire from all angles.
But they were met with machine guns firing at 1400 rounds per minute.
Two of them, in fact.
The explosive tags disguised as shuriken, which were flying towards them, detonated in mid-air before they could get close.
The dense storm of bullets continued its advance, turning the dancing Sky Ninja Corps soldiers into sieves.
"Everyone!"
General Hornet's voice came through the earpieces to every Sky Ninja soldier who had sorties.
"Our enemy is a devil who kills without blinking, a demon! Ordinary attacks won't win. The only thing you can rely on now is your fighting spirit!"
"The Sky Ninja Corps will forever remember you!"
Hearing this, the flying Sky Ninja soldiers were silent for a few seconds. One soldier lifted his clothes.
Beneath it was a specially made vest, entirely sewn with explosive tags.
The soldier yanked a cord, igniting all the explosive tag fuses, and shouted, "Uphold the Sky Ninja!" charging towards Linto.
Even as his body was pierced by bullets, he still used the last bit of strength before death to maintain the stability of his aircraft.
Endless bombing ensued, the fiery light of the explosions dyeing the sky red.
A flash of golden sword light appeared, swallowing all the suicide attacks. Thousands of the Sky Legion's human bombs wailed and died in the flames.
"It's not over yet! Take this, Linto!"
General Hornet's eyes were bloodshot as he roared at the top of his lungs: "Fire the Sky Cannon!"
A ball of crimson light appeared in the massive cannon mouth at the front of the sky fortress.
The next second, a laser cannon with power comparable to a Tailed Beast Bomb shot out, accurately hitting the core area of the suicide explosions.
Gales and bombing raged. General Hornet gasped for breath: "Is he dead? Scout! Search for the target!"
There was no response.
He turned and shouted: "Scout! Are you deaf?!"
The Scout being reprimanded was deathly pale. Trembling, he extended his hand and pointed beside General Hornet.
General Hornet froze. Half a second later, his pupils contracted, and he had a guess. He stiffly turned his neck.
He saw a focused profile.
Linto looked out the window:
"From this perspective, soldiers really do look like a swarm of flying insects.
As for the people on the ground, the cities, in your eyes, they're probably even less than bacteria, not even worth calling insects.
However, I'm curious. The big screen was full of static. Who were you contacting before? Don't tell me…"
Linto glanced at General Hornet.
"It was your 'boss' who bamboozled you into coming here to die?"
"You—"
General Hornet was about to draw his sword from his waist.
*Snap!*
White Snake slapped him across the face in return, unceremoniously extracting his memory and Ninjutsu discs.
These crazy people from the Sky Ninja Village, who knew what kind of brainwashing they had undergone, killed themselves so quickly. If he had been a moment slower, he couldn't have extracted the discs.
"Done."
White Snake said.
Linto took the discs and slightly motioned with his chin towards the pilots inside the sky fortress.
"I'll leave these guys to you."
Linto was very interested in the sky fortress's technology.
If it could be widely used, it would definitely greatly improve existing productivity, and perhaps one day, they might even develop flying equipment to travel to the moon.
Hermit Purple was unleashed, entangling all the pilots in the control room and lining them up for White Snake to write commands on.
"Watch this."
White Snake stretched its wrists: "Later, I'll show you a special move – Eighteen Firecrackers, guaranteed to be crisp."
It gestured to the first person's face, about to start, when Linto sensed a Ripple disturbance and his expression sharpened.
"Come back, White Snake."
White Snake dispersed.
At the same time, the steel floor beneath them cracked open, and countless flames and shockwaves surged from the fissures.
All the Sky Ninja Corps members remaining in the sky fortress were instantly turned into charred corpses, and then into black fragments under the shockwaves.
Self-destruct sequence!
Linto understood. The sky fortress had a self-destruct program.
"I was prepared for this, I extracted the disc from the highest leader of the sky fortress immediately to prevent him from activating self-destruct… Does someone else have the authority to activate it?"
Linto turned back to look at the shattered screen.
Perhaps it was the person who had been communicating with General Hornet not long ago.
Fortunately, he had obtained his memory disc. When he returned, there would be plenty of time to study it.
"Star Platinum · The World"
Time stopped flowing. Linto pushed aside the shattered corpses blocking his path, but just as he was about to leave the sky fortress, his finger touched a thick protective barrier.
Unlike an ordinary barrier, the defense was not aimed outwards, but inwards.
Linto realized this was a trap set for him.
The "boss" hiding behind the scenes knew very well that a mere sky fortress couldn't stop Linto, so they set up this situation.
If the plan had gone smoothly, the sky fortress would have exploded above Konoha Village.
Even if it couldn't kill Linto, the falling debris and secondary explosions could have turned Konoha into ruins.
This was the sincerity Shinno had shown to "them."
It was a pity that Linto had come too quickly, too suddenly, and unreasonably destroyed this plan.
Linto and Star Platinum, one on each side, easily tore open the barrier and left the explosion radius.
A few minutes later, he returned to Konoha Village.
"Have you finished your morning exercise?"
The stall owner handed over the packed breakfast.
"Something like that."
Linto took it, picked up a rice ball, and returned to the Hokage building's conference room.
A group of elites were still discussing the battle two days later.
Linto picked up a rice ball and offered it to Jiraiya.
"Want some?"
Jiraiya rubbed his forehead: "I can't eat. Last night, fueled by alcohol, I wished we could fight immediately. But now, the thought of so many people dying gives me a headache."
"They won't die," Linto said casually.
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the conference room was a sharp-eared ninja, and they all heard him clearly. Suspicious glances were cast his way.
The two advisors spoke even more bluntly: "Mr. Linto, if you're confused from being tired, Konoha has a resting room. You can go take a nap, and come back after you wake up."
Linto still had a rice ball in his mouth. He didn't have the habit of talking while eating. So, he took something out of Kabuto and tossed it onto the table.
It was…
General Hornet's memory disc.
---
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