Chapter 388: The Heavenly Palace Project
Ninja World Continent, Land of Earth.
Night had fallen over a jagged stone peak. Surrounded by a boundless, swallowing darkness, the only point of light was a small campfire flickering atop the rocks.
A tall figure reached into his robes and pulled out an egg, feeding it to the white snake resting in his bosom.
The great white snake opened its maw and swallowed the egg whole, sliding it down into its belly without a single chew.
For nearly four years, the snake had accompanied this man on his quest to "see the ninja world."
Jiraiya—or the soul inhabiting his form—had used his own two feet to measure every inch of the continent. He moved without haste, wandering with no apparent destination.
It seemed he truly was just "looking." He rarely interacted with others and formed no lasting bonds. Even the people he helped during his travels only received a gentle smile before he moved on, never staying long enough to exchange more than a few words.
Over these four years, they had slept in damp caves and under the canopy of wild forests. To maintain his disguise, the man's hair had changed many times—sometimes blond, sometimes blue, sometimes black.
Currently, a green-haired Jiraiya sat quietly eating wild fruit.
The white snake looked somewhat sickly. "This clone body of mine... I don't think it can hold out much longer," it hissed.
The modified white snake clone had been developed as a means of survival, never intended for long-term endurance. After trailing "Jiraiya" through the elements for four years, the snake had molted its skin several times over.
However, these years of wind and rain, witnessing the kaleidoscope of human suffering and joy alongside this man, had triggered a transformation in the snake's own heart.
In the past, his vision had been too narrow. He had seen only the "World of Shinobi," but he had never truly seen the Ninja World.
Four years and ten thousand miles later, though his ultimate pursuit remained unchanged, his perspective and the way he processed the world had evolved.
A trace of reluctance flickered in Jiraiya's eyes as he handed a wild berry to the white snake.
Orochimaru subconsciously accepted the fruit. "No need for sorrow," the snake hissed. "My true body is in Cloud City. Stay here and wait for me; do not wander. I will go and return shortly. I can send a fresh clone to you within two weeks."
Jiraiya remained silent for a moment, then shook his head slowly. "No... the journey is over."
The white snake froze. "Over? You're ready to return? Fine. I've already prepared a legitimate identity for you. As long as you don't change your hair back to its original color, no one will recognize you."
Jiraiya ran a hand through the green hair he had manifested on a whim. "No... I'm not going back. I'm moving on. My journey ends here."
The tall man stood up, gazing out over the pitch-black horizon, though it was unclear what he could see in the gloom.
"This ninja world... no matter how many times I look at it, I never grow tired of the view..."
Orochimaru realized that the "Jiraiya" before him was different today. He was speaking in complex, contemplative sentences.
Before the white snake could process its surprise, Jiraiya reached into his robes, lifted the snake out, and held it before his face.
"Orochimaru... you are a man of great talent. Unlike me. I am of no benefit to this world, but you... you have the capability to make it better."
The white snake dazed. He couldn't tell if those words came from the original Jiraiya or the "entity" that had merged with him.
Sensing that the end of their companionship was truly at hand, the snake asked, "If you are leaving, where are you going?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "I cannot say."
"Will we meet again?"
"'He' might. But I cannot."
"Who is 'He' and who are you?! Dammit! You know I hate unknowns more than anything!"
Jiraiya offered a faint smile but gave no answer. He set the white snake gently on the ground.
"Well then... farewell."
His hands blurred into a sequence of seals.
"Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"
With a burst of white smoke, Jiraiya vanished. On the desolate stone mountain, only a stunned white snake remained.
Mount Myoboku.
Following the Reverse Summoning, Jiraiya reappeared. Before him lay a landscape of bizarre forests and jagged rocks, a world entirely foreign to the human realm.
He looked upon stones of impossible shapes, insects that defied nature, and rivers filled with a viscous, shimmering liquid.
As he surveyed his surroundings, a massive shadow suddenly blotted out the sun.
Looking up, he saw a toad the size of a hill looming over him. A booming, muffled voice rolled down from above.
"Strange! You carry the scent of a Mount Myoboku contract, yet I have never seen your face... Wait! You... are you Jiraiya?!"
"Jiraiya" smiled upward. "I have come to see the Great Toad Sage..."
Coast of the Land of Lightning, on a high cliff.
This was the testing ground for the Federation's "Heavenly Palace" Project.
It was far from Cloud City and isolated from any major urban centers. The nearest village was over a hundred kilometers away; calling it "no man's land" was an understatement.
This site was chosen for its vast, open space, allowing for unrestricted experimentation. Moreover, if something fell from the sky, it wouldn't hit anyone.
Dana arrived via the Heavenly Transfer Technique. From the air, he saw a mountain cliff facing the ocean that had been completely leveled. The flat plateau was swarming with busy personnel.
Dana spotted Tobirama Senju and Minetarou among the crowd and descended.
"Consul-sama!" Minetarou greeted him, while Tobirama offered a short nod.
"Any new breakthroughs?" Dana asked.
Tobirama glanced at Minetarou, gesturing for him to take the lead.
Minetarou spoke with suppressed excitement. "My Lord, we have successfully unified the 'Super Light-Weight Rock Technique' and the 'Super Weighted Boulder Technique.' We have a brand new finished prototype to show you."
Dana had been monitoring the progress here closely; after all, this concerned the Federation's grand strategy for the future.
"The two techniques have been integrated? Good. That should drastically improve the stability of the output."
Shortly after the unification of the ninja world, Dana had authorized two major research projects. These were the Federation's "Centennial Plans"—endeavors that the state would fund and pursue for decades if necessary.
One was codenamed "Heavenly Palace."
The "Heavenly Palace" Project consisted of three phases:
Phase 1: Using the "Super Light-Weight Rock Technique" as a foundation to develop atmospheric flight constructs, creating a stable, mass-producible aerial force.
Phase 2: Developing the capability to construct permanent structures in Low Earth Orbit.
Phase 3: Establishing a repeatable, two-way, and safe method to reach the Moon.
The Heavenly Palace Project was destined to be one of the most vital pillars of the Federation's future.
When the ninja world achieved total unification, there was nothing left on the planet that could threaten the Federation—unless the Federation rotted from within through civil war or decay.
However, beyond the planet, there were hidden, existential crises.
Namely, the Rabbit Goddess on the Moon, and the cosmic Otsutsuki Clan.
While they appeared to be of the same race, they represented two different problems.
The Rabbit Goddess could be viewed as an internal contradiction of the planet's history. That problem was solvable through various means.
But the Otsutsuki Clan... that was an external conflict. An unsolvable one.
A race capable of interstellar travel, one that habitually pillaged life-bearing planets with malicious intent, could not be ignored. Even chakra—the very foundation of the ninja world's development—was a product of their technology.
The Rabbit Goddess wasn't an immediate threat. With Black Zetsu and Madara sealed and no one left to rescue her, she would remain a lonely, cold prisoner on the moon. Dana held the initiative; he could decide how to deal with Kaguya on his own time.
But the Otsutsuki problem was a matter of when, not if. They would come. There was no escaping that.
Based on his past-life memories, the ninja world was "imbalanced"—weak in humanities and basic sciences, but absurdly high in individual combat power. This planet had produced individuals capable of physically brawling with the cosmic Otsutsuki, such as Dana himself.
Looking at the power levels from his memories, Dana actually hoped more Otsutsuki would show up—isolated samples were bad for research. In other words: "Please, send more."
This was the result of a thousand years of constant warfare on the planet. In terms of developing chakra for combat, humans had left the Otsutsuki in the dust.
But what if they had warships? What if they didn't come down for a fistfight but stayed in orbit and bombarded the surface?
Therefore, in Dana's mind, the Heavenly Palace Project had a hidden Phase 4: The capability to explore and engage in deep space.
Without that, the planet would always be in a position of passive defense.
Of course, it was too early for that. Space exploration required a massive accumulation of technology. In fact, despite the perceived progress, the Heavenly Palace Project was still in Phase 1.
They were still perfecting atmospheric flight.
However, a "flight construct" in the ninja world was destined to be very different.
Or rather, it was very different from what Dana had originally imagined.