"General Golden Lion, our plan is to have Miss Louise open the 'World Gate' here tomorrow at 03:00."
"At that time, the squad led by Kurama Unkai will be the first to cross to the other side. There, they will deploy the technique 'Illusion Art: This Place Is Not Here' around the World Gate."
"This technique will cloak the entire area in illusion, making anyone who looks in this direction see false images, thus concealing the white light released by the World Gate."
Yamanaka Inoichi, overall commander of this mission, patiently explained everything to a curious Shiki.
"Illusion?"
"Show me a demonstration!" Shiki said with keen interest.
Nearby, Saito, Louise, and the others also looked on curiously.
To them, shinobi and their ninjutsu truly were shrouded in mystery.
"Of course."
Yamanaka Inoichi naturally agreed—after all, this was a General of the Air Force.
He cast a meaningful glance at Kurama Unkai, who gave a small nod.
With a swish, Unkai's figure suddenly flickered twenty meters away. His hands formed seals in quick succession.
In the blink of an eye, his figure faded, as if erased by an invisible hand.
"That's it?"
Shiki looked a little disappointed. Although Kurama Unkai seemed invisible, his presence remained fixed in Shiki's perception.
At that moment, the three members of Kurama Unkai's squad exchanged glances and then calmly walked into the area where their captain stood.
Soon, before everyone's eyes, their figures too vanished into that same space.
"I see… So this is something our magic could never achieve."
As a top student of the "Four Elemental Magics," Tabitha immediately grasped the brilliance of the technique This Place Is Not Here.
"Louise, could your Void Magic achieve something like this?"
"This…"
At Tabitha's question, Louise glanced at the satchel at her waist. With a trace of hesitation, she replied, "I can only say… if it's written in the Founder's Prayer Book, then I can do it."
Her Void Magic came almost entirely from the Founder's Prayer Book she carried in that bag.
Meanwhile—
Shiki, as a general of the Air Force, valued the military potential of This Place Is Not Here far more than its artistry.
A large-scale invisibility effect combined with environmental simulation—if applied to airships or bombers—could ensure the enemy never even realized how the bombs had fallen upon them.
"You shinobi had better figure out how to fix this technique onto vehicles—airships, war chariots, even personal gear!"
Shiki looked sternly at Yamanaka Inoichi. The latter responded with a calm smile: "General Golden Lion, our Ninjutsu Development Department in Umigakure already has a project underway that combines barrier techniques with illusion."
"If the research progresses smoothly, it should allow seals to be inscribed directly onto objects. Then, with chakra supplied by a shinobi, the technique could activate at will."
Shiki nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent, excellent. Once it's complete, make sure the Air Force uses it first—especially my unit!"
His impression of the shinobi was clearly rising.
"Come, there's still some time before your mission begins. Let's sit down and talk—tell me about the other interesting jutsu you have."
"But don't bother with things like spitting fire or spraying water. That's no different from circus tricks—Shihahaha!"
Throwing back his head, Shiki roared with unrestrained laughter. When he finished, his eyes shifted to Louise. "And you—your magic isn't just about opening gates, is it?"
Louise's spoiled nature flared at once.
She ducked halfway behind Saito, poking her head out with a pout, and huffed: "Don't underestimate me! I can do plenty—like Dispel Magic. And—and explosions! Super big explosions!"
...
Time passed little by little, and the light began to fade.
Dark night gradually swallowed the sky.
At this moment, Yamanaka Inoichi, Uchiha Tekka, Kurama Unkai, Yūhi Shinku, and the others—twenty shinobi in total—had already taken their rest in advance and now stood in the field, brimming with energy.
(Author's note: Yūhi Yang has been changed to Yūhi Shinku.)
At the sidelines, Shiki and Budo silently watched them.
Not far from the two men stood Tabitha, Tiffania, Kirche, and Siesta, their faces heavy with worry.
Every gaze in the arena was fixed on Louise.
The petite girl gripped a slender wand in her right hand. Her back was turned toward Inoichi and the others, while her left hand clutched Hiraga Saito's tightly.
She could feel the tremor in his hand, just as he could sense the tension in her heart.
To be honest, neither of them wanted to open this "World Gate" for the World Government.
But they also knew that even if they refused, the World Government would still find a way to force their cooperation—whether by threats, bribes, or some form of control.
In truth, the two of them had even whispered in secret about dying together, ending their own lives to prevent the World Government from invading Saito's homeland.
Yet in the end, both Louise and Hiraga Saito realized they lacked the courage to follow through.
Perhaps, deep down, neither could bear to see the other die for the sake of strangers.
The world beyond the "Gate" was Hiraga Saito's homeland, but if they thought about it carefully, aside from his mother, wasn't everyone else there just strangers?
They both wanted to believe—and did believe—that they would have the courage to die for each other.
Because that was love.
Of course, these were only thoughts in their hearts, never words they would say aloud.
But they could remain silent.
They could comply with the World Government's demands through tacit, unspoken understanding.
That way, it counted as being forced.
But what else could a sixteen-year-old girl and a seventeen-year-old boy, both just awakening to love, possibly do?
"Saito… I'm sorry."
Louise lowered her head, hiding her face in the shadows.
"No, this isn't our fault. And we know the World Government—they won't go too far."
Hiraga Saito's voice was soft, comforting: "Besides, letting the World Government rule the world might not be such a bad thing."
"Then… I'll begin."
Seeing him say this, Louise could only press her lips together and nod.
She raised her wand, shut her eyes tightly, and began to chant the incantation for the "World Gate."
What she recited were actually runes, symbols often treated as arcane script in many fantasy worlds.
Before long, as magic in the air gathered at the wand's command, a cluster of brilliant white light appeared before Louise—expanding at a shocking rate.
"This is bad!"
The faces of Yamanaka Inoichi, Uchiha Tekka, and the others changed dramatically.
The "Gate" was far too large!
[Swish!]
Suddenly, Kurama Unkai's figure blurred into an afterimage as he flashed past Louise, hurling herself headlong into the white light.
Only then did her three teammates snap out of their shock and rush in after him.
...
Official World Government Designation No.0007.
Codename: Nuclear Weapons World.
This was the eastern coastline of Japan, at District One of Yokosuka Port.
As one of Japan's largest and best-equipped naval bases, the area had been marked as a military restricted zone by Japan, with entry forbidden to ordinary vessels.
The current time was July 3rd, 2002, at 03:21.
The naval base had grown quiet and desolate as most personnel fell into slumber.
Only the intermittent chirping of insects lingered under the vast starlit sky, accompanied now and then by the crashing sound of waves.
Even the sentries posted around the base appeared slack and careless.
They were simply standing guard in the most literal sense.
After all, this was an age of peace—no one expected any real threat.
"Phew, thank goodness I got the night shift. I wouldn't want to keel over from the heat like West did during the day—that was embarrassing as hell."
A cool sea breeze brushed across Jamal's face, and with his freshly issued M16A4 rifle in hand, the dark-skinned soldier broke into a cheerful grin as he grumbled about the day's events.
At the moment, he and his comrade were walking the residential district streets, carrying out a monotonous patrol.
"Oh, Jamal, can you give that mouth of yours a rest for once? I can't believe you can actually talk this much. No wonder Hector said he never wants to be teamed up with you again!"
Granger, who had been enduring it in silence at the front, suddenly stopped and turned around with an exasperated complaint.
"What?!"
"Hector actually said that about me? I thought we were friends!"
Jamal's eyes widened in shock. He remembered Hector calling him Brother just the other day—but now a surge of anger welled up inside him.
"When we get back, I'm definitely going to have a word with Hector. I told him everything—stories about my grandma, about my childhood—and this is how he repays me?!"
"..."
Granger's face twitched.
At last, he understood exactly how Hector must have felt at the time.
"In any case, I really hope you can at least—huh?"
Before he could finish his sentence, Granger's eyes caught a sudden flash of white light in the night sky behind Jamal.
It came from the direction of the parade ground!
"Hey, you really want me to shut up? That's impossible—unless Superman takes me flying through the sky, now that would be cool~~"
Jamal paid no mind to Granger's stunned look and kept rambling on.
"Shut up! Follow me! Something's happening over there!"
Granger barked sharply, then darted past Jamal, sprinting toward the source of the white light.
"Hey, what's gotten into you?"
Jamal was completely baffled—until his eyes shifted to follow Granger's.
Just in time, he saw that streak of white light vanish from the sky. His face darkened instantly.
"What the hell was that? Oh no—wait for me!"
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