Chapter 105: Purification Signal Tower
Summer of Konoha Year 45 had already arrived.
Compared to the chaotic yet unproductive first half of the year, the ninja world—now deep into midsummer—was gradually settling into a strange calm.
After all, people still needed to eat. With the Spring Offensive abandoned, summer was already becoming unsuitable for war. On top of that, the Moon Dream plague continued to spread across every land; to say the ninja world still had the energy for conflict was nothing short of delusion.
The illusions that drew people into beautiful dreams before slowly corrupting them had now become so widespread that even the greediest merchants were openly selling Moon Dream triggers. Rumors even circulated that several small-country daimyo had sunk so deeply into Moon Dream that they neglected state affairs entirely, breaking long-standing unspoken rules among ninja and rendering the political meaning of war meaningless.
As a result, the major ninja villages tentatively signed a peace agreement intended to last for several months. It could collapse at any moment, but for now, each land turned inward to fight the Moon Dream plague. Even in this struggle, the ninja world displayed a rare unity. Former enemies began sharing research notes and medical reports, hoping to collectively develop a cure.
How far had Moon Dream spread? Nearly one in twenty people worldwide had already fallen into its seductive illusions.
Border villages were almost entirely trapped in dreamscapes. For many who lived in poverty, suffering, and oppression, the peaceful dream world was sweeter than waking life. Countless people preferred to die quietly in Moon Dream rather than return to misery.
Social systems collapsed. Local governments stopped functioning. Law and order crumbled. Every land was feeling the pressure of a crisis too large for one village to face alone. This time, unity was not a choice—it was survival.
The first to announce their research findings was Konoha Village, which had been behaving strangely ever since the appointment of the new Fourth Hokage. Minato Namikaze—once overlooked—now acted with a decisiveness that surprised even his allies. His first move was to publicly release Konoha's internal data on Moon Dream and begin open collaboration with the rest of the ninja world.
Following Konoha's lead, the other major villages—already overwhelmed by Moon Dream—quickly formed a joint research coalition. Using teleportation networks and chakra communication, they pooled their findings and worked day and night.
When the entire ninja world mobilized for a single goal, progress came with astonishing speed.
Using Aizen's research templates as their foundation, the major villages collectively analyzed Moon Dream's propagation patterns and chakra mechanics. They successfully reconstructed the illusion framework and traced its signal path.
In theory, several villages could now replicate a Moon Dream of their own—but because the true source of the signal was the moon itself, completely eliminating it remained impossible.
"Anti Chakra Signal Tower," Chiyo said, tapping the diagram in her notebook during the joint Kage meeting. "Within its coverage, individuals will no longer be influenced by Moon Dream's chakra or fall into induced illusions."
Minato frowned. "Is this the only method? Is there no way to remove Moon Dream completely?"
"According to Aizen Sosuke's research," Chiyo replied, "the guiding signal originates directly from the moon. Unless someone can shut down the moon's chakra emissions entirely, Moon Dream cannot be dispelled. At best, we can suppress the effects."
Suppressing her annoyance toward Konoha, she continued:
"Right now, all we can do is treat the symptoms. The deeper cause—why the phenomenon exists and why its source is lunar—is still under investigation."
"I see." Minato's tone was calm. "Then how much will it cost to construct these towers?"
Chiyo turned her notebook, pointing to rows of figures.
"These numbers represent the total cost for each land."
"…"
Every Kage at the table fell silent.
The cost was astronomical—enough to bankrupt a small village overnight. And each tower required at least two Jonin-level personnel to maintain stable output. Any lapse in supervision could lead to malfunction or worse.
However, the towers came with a crucial advantage: their range was massive, and their function extended far beyond suppressing Moon Dream.
"The Anti Chakra Signal Tower can modify Moon Dream's incoming signals into whatever frequency we choose," Chiyo explained. "As long as the tower is active, any genjutsu that operates using chakra signal pathways will be nullified. One illusion cannot override another of equal strength. If individuals are already under a controlled signal, outside signals cannot reach their minds."
She adjusted her glasses slightly.
"When Moon Dream activates, the signal tower intercepts the lunar frequency and converts it into a harmless one. The original dreams of bliss can then be replaced with scenes of study, training simulations, or even mental combat drills. While we currently cannot modify perceived time like Moon Dream does, the theory for time dilation within consciousness already exists. The implementation is likely only a matter of time."
"So from my personal perspective, I recommend that everyone adopt the Chakra Signal Tower Project. There is no simpler or more reliable solution."
"..."
The Kage rubbed their temples as they looked over the proposals from each village, completely overwhelmed.
Chakra Signal Towers were the most expensive option, but also the most effective.
Kirigakure, being surrounded by the ocean, proposed an extremely cheap seawater-based medicine. By mixing seawater with chakra to form a liquid and pouring it over the head for thirty minutes, the treatment could last for an entire day.
However, who besides Kirigakure had access to such vast seawater resources? Even Water Style ninjas couldn't create enough on a daily basis to sustain production. As a result, aside from Kirigakure themselves, no other village supported the idea.
Each village presented its own unique, sometimes absurd solutions—such as blocking drugs, sky-wide barrier fields, or even proposals to directly blow up the moon. Compared to those, the signal towers remained the only practical option.
But when everyone saw the amount of chakra metal required, along with the tower's astronomical construction cost, a heavy silence filled the room.
After this ordeal, the major villages likely wouldn't dare think about war for at least a year. They would be too busy rebuilding their economies. Even if war could yield profit, it wouldn't matter if every village was already bankrupt.
"Konoha has decided to adopt the signal tower proposal from Sunagakure. Are the construction teams from Sunagakure and Iwagakure willing to handle the building process under Konoha's supervision?"
After a moment of thought, Minato looked at Chiyo and asked, his tone steady:
"If you are willing to make the technology public, Konoha will pay a research fee to buy out the technical data. If not, we can still provide funding for architectural planning, but in that case, the construction procedures must be submitted for review. Can you accept these terms?"
"...How much money are you paying?"
Before the other Kage could respond, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, immediately leaned forward, eyes sparkling with barely contained excitement.
Heaven help him. The Sand Village was so poor that its entire economy depended on him dredging gold from desert sands every day. Digging through endless dunes for gold would make anyone lose their sanity.
As for transferring their technology, Rasa was more than willing. The principle behind the tower wasn't complex; it simply incorporated their puppetry engineering into its framework and didn't rely on their newer core technologies. Selling outdated tech for a massive payout was a dream come true.
Why think about starting a new shinobi war when one sale could fix the entire economy?
Even Chiyo, who had lifelong grudges against Konoha, couldn't hide the flicker of excitement on her face.
The Sand Village was truly poor—so poor that aside from sand, they had almost nothing.
"Actually, Konoha is rather conservative about adopting new technology from outside villages," Minato said calmly. "So the price we offer may not be particularly high."
Seeing his thoughtful expression, both Chiyo and Rasa suddenly froze. Their excitement cooled instantly. The number might not be as high as they hoped.
After a long pause, under the increasingly uneasy gazes of the two, Minato finally spoke:
"What do you think of an initial buyout trial period price of one trillion ryo? Since this is a preliminary agreement, we cannot offer too high a number until we see results."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The other Kage stared blankly at the Fourth Hokage sitting at the table, looking almost apologetic about the amount.
Now they understood what it truly meant to be the strongest village in the world.
It meant money was not money at all.
Why not buy the entire Sand Village Research Institute while you are at it?
As Minato exhaled quietly—as if embarrassed by such a small figure—Rasa swallowed hard, fighting the urge to collapse in front of the Five Kage Summit.
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