Chapter 33 — A Chakra-Interference Device Exclusively for Shinobi
"You!"
The dead should at least speak kindly, or so the saying goes.
But even at the brink of execution, Kazahana Doto continued smearing her father's name.
Koyuki instinctively grasped the six-edged pendant hanging at her neck—
her father's final keepsake.
The very object her uncle claimed was the "key" to Snow Country's hidden power.
"Oh?"
Oda Nobunaga's gaze followed her movement.
The pendant shimmered under the flames, its glint outlining the graceful curve of Koyuki's collarbone—
impossible for anyone present not to notice.
Seeing everyone's attention shift toward Koyuki,
Doto grew even more frantic.
His bound body wriggled like a maddened worm as he shouted:
"Still pretending to be virtuous? Deceiving the masses with your fake righteousness?"
"The key at your neck unlocks Snow Country's ultimate power!"
"Instead of using it to strengthen the country and save our people, you buried it!"
"What right do you or your father have to call yourselves 'good'?"
"I…"
Koyuki froze.
Truthfully—she didn't know what the pendant unlocked.
Her uncle's accusations felt like hammer blows to her already fragile heart.
Her confidence faltered. Her posture shrank.
"Koyuki."
Nobunaga rose decisively and approached her.
Asama Sandayū had never mentioned this "secret power,"
so Nobunaga had kept silent—
his knowledge of the truth carefully hidden.
But now that Doto himself had brought it up,
Nobunaga finally had the perfect excuse to intervene.
What a useful villain, Nobunaga thought.
Almost too useful to kill early.
He gently clasped Koyuki's trembling hand, grounding her.
"I don't even know what it really is,"
she whispered, meeting Nobunaga's steady gaze.
She wanted no misunderstanding between them.
Asama Sandayū anxiously gestured behind her, urging her to tell the truth.
"Then let's go take a look."
Nobunaga suggested casually—
smooth as flowing water, pressing the mood to its natural conclusion.
"Mm."
Koyuki nodded.
Perhaps it was finally time to unravel the mystery.
And so, though the battlefield was still warm with blood,
and corpses not yet buried—
they departed immediately to investigate the "world-changing power" Doto had shouted about.
Aboard Snow Country's Flying Battleship
Using the seized Snow Country combat airship—technology even the Five Great Nations lacked—
the party soared through the night sky.
For once, the Oto-nin were not trudging on foot like pack animals.
They actually enjoyed the luxury of flight.
Nobunaga, however, left behind a significant number of shinobi
to clean the battlefield and recover every scrap of scientific ninja tech.
"What a beauty…!"
Inside the airship, Kakuzu was touching everything.
Even he—a man who valued money above human life—gave the craft the highest praise.
Jūgo and Kimimaro, calm by nature, were wide-eyed with wonder.
Their first time seeing the world from such heights—it was like a Blue Planet tourist's first airplane ride.
"Zōmajirō, are the items sorted?"
While they enjoyed the view, Nobunaga began taking inventory.
Snow Country's greatest treasure was not its daimyo,
nor its winter terrain…
but its scientific ninja tools.
The key to letting the tiny Land of Fields overtake the Five Great Nations.
---
"My lord," Zōmajirō bowed deeply,
"the documents on the chakra armor—designs, research notes, and production methods—were all recovered."
But—
"Regarding the chakra-control device you specifically ordered us to look into…"
"Our technicians report that suppressing an enemy's chakra without physical contact is extremely difficult."
Zōmajirō had originally thought the chakra armor would be their greatest acquisition.
After all, Koyuki and Sandayū had emphasized its ability to strengthen and amplify one's chakra.
Yet Nobunaga's interest…
had been elsewhere from the start.
In the obscure "chakra-control device" mentioned only in passing.
Zōmajirō glanced at Nobunaga—quiet, thoughtful, watching the horizon.
He finally understood part of Nobunaga's intent.
Shinobi chakra is created from spiritual energy + physical energy.
Traditionally, to disrupt an opponent's chakra:
shinobi injected their own chakra into the enemy
using sealing techniques
to interfere with the enemy's chakra output.
Different methods, same foundation.
But Snow Country's device—
worked in reverse.
It didn't inject chakra.
It absorbed the opponent's chakra,
then used that stolen energy to suppress the target's own chakra flow.
A completely different framework.
And according to the documents…
Even tailed-beast levels of chakra could be theoretically suppressed.
The only drawbacks:
the device's core must not overload
its stored chakra must not be depleted
Minor limitations, compared to its terrifying potential.
Zōmajirō knew very well—
even this astonishing bounty from Snow Country was not what his lord desired most.
What Oda Nobunaga wanted was far more ambitious:
A chakra–interference device capable of suppressing enemy shinobi across a wide area—
without any physical contact.
But…
was such a thing even possible?
Zōmajirō's unease was perfectly reasonable.
And of course Nobunaga was aware of it as well.
But technology—
as long as there is solid theory—
can always evolve toward the unimaginable.
After all—
Who could have predicted that a remote, impoverished Snow Country
would develop an entirely separate technological path
outside the Five Great Nations' ninja system?
If they could do this,
then with persistence and research,
perhaps ordinary people could walk an entirely new path of power.
And more importantly…
Nobunaga's gaze turned toward the distant mountain—
where the weather control device left by Koyuki's father awaited them.
He had not forgotten his greatest trump card:
Turning falsehood into reality.
And recently, he had even discovered
a more subtle, more effective method
for spreading rumors—
one that wouldn't draw attention from key players.
As long as he could properly guide the "truth" shaped by this ability,
a body-free, contact-free Land of Fields–exclusive chakra disruption system
would eventually be birthed into existence.
One day—
It would shock the stubborn traditional shinobi of the Five Great Nations
to their very core.
---
"Thud."
As Nobunaga dreamt confidently of the future,
the airship touched down.
The final destination of their Snow Country expedition—
and the greatest reward—
was finally before them.
Following behind Koyuki,
Nobunaga stepped toward the control platform
of the weather manipulation device her father had left behind.
To outsiders, the machine looked like nothing more than a heating system—
a tool meant to soften Snow Country's harsh climate.
But Nobunaga knew better.
When heat reaches a certain threshold…
it becomes a weapon—a calamity suspended above the enemy's sky.
And already, he was calculating
how to transform this device
into a tool of war.
---