In an open area 20 kilometers away from the Daimyō's mansion, Kumogakure ninja, under the guidance of Konoha ninja, began constructing a circular railway.
The railway construction was very fast. Within a few days, a railway capable of carrying the 'Project 50' was declared complete.
With a grating squeak, this behemoth, driven by lightning-style chakra, started and slowly moved onto the tracks with the help of the ninja.
"This thing is too big. Just its sheer size is comparable to the Eight-Tails."
A Kumogakure ninja who had personally witnessed the Eight-Tails' rampage exclaimed.
"No way, is this thing bigger than the Eight-Tails?"
A young Kumogakure ninja was somewhat skeptical of the other party's words, but this thing was indeed very heavy; it felt like it weighed thousands of tons, as the ground used to place it was somewhat indented.
"You don't even look at how big that thing's shell is."
The older Kumogakure ninja grumbled irritably, pointing his finger in the direction of the shell.
"Hmm, preparations are almost complete. We can now have someone write a letter to the Daimyō persuading him to surrender."
Seeing that the giant cannon was ready to fire immediately, Dodai signaled a subordinate beside him to write a letter to the Daimyō.
"Ah, oh, yes."
The subordinate, who was concentrating on observing the giant cannon, was stunned when he heard Dodai's order. After a while, he finally reacted and hurriedly acted as instructed.
"An 800mm cannon. With one shot, the Daimyō's mansion will surely collapse."
As he walked away, the subordinate couldn't help but mutter softly.
"Dodai-sama, let's also leave this place. After all, if a cannon of this caliber backfires, the consequences will be unimaginable..."
Minato looked at the Kumogakure ninja desperately loading shells, recalled the researcher's warning, and immediately came to Dodai's side.
Hearing that this thing might backfire, Dodai looked at Minato with complex eyes.
No, why do the things Konoha provides as aid always have the risk of backfiring?
Could it be that you are using the lives of us Kumogakure ninja to test weapons?
Although he thought so in his heart, it was also a fact that without Konoha's aid, the war would last for a long time.
So Dodai could only suppress the dissatisfaction in his heart and refused Minato's suggestion.
"I apologize, Minato-san, I cannot stand by and watch my ninja be in danger. Moreover, I believe Konoha's military factory will not disappoint me."
Dodai subtly mocked Konoha.
Of course, the reason he didn't withdraw wasn't that he truly believed in Konoha, but because he possessed the incredibly defensive Lava Release.
The Lava Release membrane he created could even defend against the attacks of the Third Raikage, so he wasn't worried at all about the backfiring Minato spoke of.
"I understand."
Minato nodded and ordered the Konoha personnel to withdraw, but he himself stayed by Dodai's side.
Seeing Dodai's puzzled eyes, Minato smiled and said, "Since the Raikage-sama believes in Konoha, as a Konoha ninja, I must not retreat even more."
The reason Minato stayed was that he possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique, and at a critical moment, he could take Dodai and escape.
...
When the letter arrived, the Daimyō was losing his temper at the kneeling minister below him.
"Fools! A bunch of fools who can't see the truth! At a time like this, they are still thinking about self-preservation!"
The main reason for the Daimyō's furious anger was that his relatives had all rejected his request for aid with various excuses.
The Land of Fire was simple; the Daimyō there was supported by Konoha, and his refusal was expected.
The Land of Earth was more infuriating. They claimed that the Daimyō was currently deploying troops to fully clear out traitors colluding with the Akatsuki Organization and could not spare time to help him for the moment, but they would strongly condemn Kumogakure's vile conduct, which showed no respect for rank.
The Land of Wind Daimyō was willing to help, but unfortunately, Sunagakure suddenly turned coat underneath him. Pakura, in whom he placed great hopes, also did what Rasa had done back then, controlling parts of the Land of Wind's passes. He was busy dealing with his own domestic affairs, so naturally, he couldn't spare the time to deal with the Land of Lightning.
The Land of Water Daimyō was also facing the same situation as the Land of Wind; Yagura was becoming somewhat disobedient.
Kirigakure and the Land of Water were like colleagues. Besides exchanging a few words during work, everyone was busy with their own affairs at other times. Even though they lived on the same land, if you talked about relations, he apologized, but the First Mizukage, Byakuren, had forged the country through battle, and it had very little to do with the Land of Water.
Therefore, regarding Yagura's desire for independence, the Land of Water Daimyō's thought was: as long as you don't infringe upon my interests, you can do whatever you want.
Unfortunately, what Yagura wanted was not just independence; he also wanted the commercial port of the Land of Water.
This demand immediately struck a nerve with the Land of Water Daimyō, who immediately deployed troops to guard strictly, fearing that Kirigakure ninja would make some small moves.
Thus, in the end, not a single Daimyō was willing to rush to the aid of the Land of Lightning.
The Land of Lightning Daimyō, in a fit of pique, casually picked up the unopened letter sent by Kumogakure and tore it to shreds.
Therefore, he didn't know that his mansion was currently being targeted by an 800mm-caliber railway gun. He was still thinking about how to eliminate the Kumogakure ninja outside.
...
Seeing that the agreed-upon time had passed and the Daimyō's mansion had not given a reply, Dodai sighed helplessly and gave the order to fire.
As Dodai's order was given, the steel behemoth let out a violent roar, and a shell flew out from its rough barrel, heading straight for the set target.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps the Land of Lightning Daimyō had extremely bad luck, but the first shot of Project 50 was aimed precisely at the location where the Land of Lightning Daimyō was scolding his subordinates.
Facing such a huge shell, the Daimyō perfectly displayed his aristocratic demeanor. Without making a sound, he ascended to the heavens along with the palace.
They overdid it.
Dodai was stunned when he received the news of the Daimyō's death.
Minato, who was nearby, was also somewhat shocked after hearing it.
The two looked at each other, seeing an unspeakable emotion in the other's eyes.
However, there was a trace of pity in Minato's eyes.
Although the separation of ninja from the Daimyō's mansion was a foregone conclusion, killing the Daimyō and separating were two completely different concepts.
Other Daimyō, upon learning of this incident, would regard Kumogakure as a thorn in their side, whether for self-preservation or out of other psychological reasons.
Dodai understood Minato's pity. He opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but ultimately, he couldn't say anything.
What was the use of arguing with Minato? He couldn't help himself face the upcoming public opinion attack.
"Raikage-sama, should we continue firing?"
Just when Dodai didn't know what to say, a subordinate untimely came over.
"Fire what? Stop firing!"
Dodai scolded irritably.
What the hell was there to fire? One shot had already wiped out a Daimyō. If they continued to blast, who knows what else they would blow up.
Didn't the soldiers who came for peace talks mention that the Daimyō and the high-ranking officials were basically wiped out by this shell? Now, the person who could speak was the leader of the samurai who had sent people over.
Samurai took serving their lord as their duty, but even they couldn't withstand the shell.
Therefore, the most loyal samurai, upon seeing the destructive power caused by the shell explosion, abandoned their duties one after another and chose to surrender to Kumogakure.
...
The news of the Land of Lightning Daimyō's death quickly spread throughout the ninja world.
Many Daimyō who wanted to reach a compromise with the ninja, upon hearing this news, stopped sending signals of goodwill to the ninja.
The Daimyō is dead.
Killed by ninja.
Although Kumogakure claimed it was an accidental injury, the fact that a noble bloodline was killed by lowly ninja was an indisputable reality.
The Land of Wind Daimyō, who was already full of malice towards ninja, immediately raised his arms and announced the formation of a four-nation alliance of Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Water to jointly crusade against the ninja.
His actions quickly attracted many former soldiers of the Land of Lightning. These nobles were dissatisfied with the reform system implemented by the Kumogakure and wanted to rely on the alliance to regain their privileges.
Although the Land of Water was dissatisfied with the Land of Wind Daimyō making decisions on their behalf, the death of the Land of Lightning Daimyō still sounded an alarm for him. Knowing that relying on ninja would eventually lead to being killed by them, he decided to strike first and sent people to attack Kirigakure.
The Land of Earth Daimyō, not long after Ōnoki left, declared the Ninja Alliance an illegal organization, calling on the people to resist the ninja and force them back to the clan era.
The Fourth Shinobi World War thus began.
...
"Pfft."
The news of the outbreak of the Shinobi World War quickly reached Takeshi, who was currently cultivating.
"What the hell?"
Takeshi put down his water cup and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
The Shinobi World War has broken out?
Ninja versus Nobles?
What kind of magical plot development is this?
And what is the so-called Project 50? How did you manage to create an 800mm super-cannon in an era where the Industrial Revolution hasn't even fully taken place?
And they are even going to launch a second one?
Takeshi was completely unaware of what kind of monster he had nurtured the Research Bureau into.
Genma Shiranui lowered his head, glanced at Uchiha Hikari, who was covered in water sprayed by Takeshi not far away, and while praying for his friend in his heart, he relayed everything he knew.
He also brought Sakumo's idea.
Sakumo planned to take this opportunity to completely delineate the boundaries between the nobles and the ninja. The ninja would be upgraded from villages to nations, using this war to clear all obstacles for ninja in power.
"Oh my old Obito, when did Sakumo-san become a hawk? Is this really not an order issued by my restless old man?"
Takeshi still didn't believe that this was an order issued by Sakumo.
However, since the arrow had already been shot, all he could do was fully cooperate with the other party.
"Tell the Internal Affairs Department to cooperate with the Fourth Hokage's actions. Every instruction issued by the Fourth Hokage must be carried out!"
Upon receiving the order, Genma Shiranui immediately retreated because he clearly saw that Uchiha Hikari, not far away, had wiped the water off her face, and her eyes were emitting a strange red glow. Obviously, it wouldn't be long before someone would suffer a great misfortune.
"Huh? Why are you running so fast? Strange, there is killing intent—"
Before Takeshi could finish his sentence, he was smashed into the ground by a Susanoo punch and couldn't be pulled out.