Chapter 177: Human Cannon

Having become an official employee of Konoha, Shinso the ninja cat would have its "return point" bound to Nameless Mountain. Not just Shinso, but also the ninja cats it would train in the future, as well as the ninja hounds trained by the Inuzuka clan, would all be based on that mountain.

In fact, some summoning animals were already stationed there, prime examples being Habara's own Scales, Rock, and Stripes.

Although Shinso would technically be working at Nameless Mountain, it demanded that as long as Habara was in Konoha, he had to summon it once daily to bring it into the village proper.

There was no particular reason other than Konoha being bustling, lively, and filled with countless food stalls. Cats have distinct personalities, and Shinso was clearly one that enjoyed excitement and was quite the glutton – otherwise, why demand such a high salary?

However, even if Habara were to dismiss the summoning now, the ninja cat wouldn't return to Nameless Mountain yet, simply because it hadn't been there before.

After signing the "contract," Shinso vanished with a swoosh. It wasn't until evening that it reappeared at the small earthen building. By then, Raido Namiashi and Iwashi Tatami were already waiting, each carrying a basket on their back. Inside the baskets were several litters of ordinary kittens. Their next task was to transport these kittens, along with Shinso, to the "Hidden Domain of Nameless Mountain."

Upon seeing the two men and hearing the faint meows, Shinso, being highly intelligent (smart enough to master the Transformation Technique, which is no easy feat with paws!), understood their purpose immediately. Before Raido or Iwashi could say much, Shinso leaped deftly into one of the baskets, curled up around a few kittens, and promptly fell fast asleep.

Raido and Iwashi exchanged glances. Great. Now they were reduced to being glorified sedan carriers. They suddenly felt incredibly envious of Genma Shiranui, who was out doing "important" construction work. And what were they doing?

The pair made their way unhurriedly to Nameless Mountain. Bringing the ninja cat into the hidden domain didn't mean their mission was over. Next, after Shinso selected a crooked tree that struck its fancy, they had to clang and bang away, helping it build a treehouse. As everyone knows, clients can be peculiar creatures. What happens when the client is a cat? Unquestionably, even more peculiar.

To put it mildly, they were essentially just building a glorified cat tree for a single feline, yet it felt more troublesome than setting up barriers for the entire mountain. By the time this demanding feline overlord (despite being female) was satisfied and finally permitted them to leave, they had already spent a full ten days on the mountain.

They couldn't complain, though. This wasn't just any summoning animal; it was an official Konoha employee tasked with training future logistics personnel. Raido and Iwashi simply had to meet its demands.

Having nearly driven two shinobi to tears, Shinso was naturally quite pleased with its current living arrangements. Now, it could finally focus on training the young ninja cats.

However, besides training kittens, Shinso had another task here: feeding Habara's pets.

Every morning, Shinso would perch on the branch of a large tree and let out a series of loud meows. Clearly, despite being able to speak human language, this cat preferred not to. It made sense – honestly, who wants to speak a foreign language when you can use your native tongue?

After its calls, it wouldn't take long for a tiger, a snake, and an eagle to appear before it. Then, Shinso's feeding duties would commence.

The eagle and the snake each received two chakra crystals, while the tiger received only one. These crystals were formed from Habara's own chakra. By consistently feeding his summons with his chakra, they would soon become genuinely battle-capable.

Habara, of course, allocated these chakra crystals fairly. What he didn't anticipate was a black-hearted middleman skimming off the top.

Shinso wouldn't dare shortchange the snake or the eagle; both possessed considerable intelligence and would easily expose the theft if underfed. But the tiger was different. Its IQ was permanently overdue, so to speak. As fellow felines, Shinso figured this big cat surely wouldn't mind sharing its food.

Shinso had discovered Stripes the tiger's intellectual deficiency shortly after arriving. The primary evidence? It didn't follow its master's orders very well. Shinso and its future feline subordinates were meant to work for Konoha, while Scales, Rock, and Stripes were Habara's personal summons. Habara had naturally ordered them not to bother the relatively defenseless kittens, lest they face being skinned.

Scales and Rock obediently followed Habara's command, never encroaching on the kittens' territory. Stripes, however, was different. Upon discovering the kittens, it immediately turned into an absolute goofball, constantly looking to stir up trouble.

Fortunately, Shinso caught it in the act and drove it off. After being beaten back several dozen times, Stripes finally seemed to understand that crossing the boundary to tease the cats was forbidden. A tiger losing to a cat might sound embarrassing, but Shinso was a true summoning animal capable of using ninjutsu. And the tiger? Its chakra reserves simply couldn't compare to the ninja cat's.

After thrashing the tiger numerous times, Shinso certainly had a good measure of its intelligence level.

With the testing plans for the two systems progressing smoothly, Daigo's accumulated chakra grew increasingly vast. Her main body could no longer remain within Konoha. According to the plan, "Pendant Daigo" could stay without issue, but "Red Gourd Daigo" needed to be transferred to the hidden domain on Nameless Mountain.

This was always the intention; otherwise, why had Habara, Kakashi, and Tenzo spent so long playing mole underground? They had already made the necessary preparations.

But before the transfer, there was one final "experiment" to conduct.

Konoha Year 51. By rough calculation, Naruto Uzumaki was barely three years old.

Just a few days after the New Year, the new experiment was set to begin.

Inside a spacious, empty room within the small earthen building, a massive sealing formula was inscribed on the floor. Habara, Tenzo, and Kakashi, the participants, stood at the formula's center. Leaning against the wall nearby were Kushina Uzumaki and the Third Hokage.

Besides these five, only Daigo remained in the room. The limited number of personnel present underscored the experiment's extremely high secrecy level.

"Are you ready?" Kushina asked Habara and the others.

"Ready," Habara and Daigo replied in unison.

Not ready... This was the hidden truth in Kakashi's and Tenzo's hearts.

Yet, even if they weren't ready, both men gave difficult nods. They were shinobi, after all. How could they refuse a mission?

Kushina glanced at the Third Hokage beside her. Seeing no objection from him, she declared, "Then begin."

Daigo nodded and, without hesitation, began channeling her chakra. As the formula beneath Habara, Kakashi, and Tenzo lit up, an even larger torrent of chakra was stimulated and projected outwards through specialized equipment. This energy instantly pierced Konoha's great barrier, traveling to an extremely distant location.

"Commencing check on remote formula integrity... Check complete. Remote formula integrity confirmed. Experiment can proceed... Initiating transport experiment."

As Daigo's words faded, Habara felt the gravity pressing down on him suddenly double. An immense force crushed against his body, threatening to pulverize him.

"Gentlemen, good luck to you both," Habara said, turning to Kakashi and Tenzo beside him. At that moment, they saw Habara's entire body being rapidly coated in pitch-black Iron Sand.

Holy crap, you absolute dog!

Expressions of shock and disbelief froze on Kakashi's and Tenzo's faces. Even through Kakashi's mask, his eyes clearly conveyed the sentiment: We were supposed to be in this experiment together! Why the hell are YOU wearing full armor?!

In truth, Habara was mostly just messing with them. In an experiment like this, heavy armor wasn't entirely useless, but its effect was minimal.

The experiment currently underway was testing the final component of the "Akakammuri" system – the Flying Thunder God Formation Network – complementing the Integrated Information Thought Entity and the Chakra Infinite Library.

The pressure intensified abruptly. Kakashi staggered, taking a step forward. As he lifted his foot, he was still inside the Konoha building. But when his foot landed, he felt only a gentle breeze caress his face.

This was no longer Konoha. They were now in a forest on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.

This instantaneous long-distance movement naturally relied on the "Flying Thunder Formation Technique," developed by the Gate Guard Trio. Successfully implementing the special barrier arrangement for Nameless Mountain's hidden domain already signified that this technique could achieve long-range personnel transfer.

Although only three people participated in this test, one could easily imagine the technique's future application: rapidly deploying large numbers of personnel to distant battlefields. Once such a rapid mobility system was perfected, Konoha would essentially be invincible in future wars.

Perhaps due to experiencing this kind of spatial teleportation for the first time, Kakashi and Tenzo simply stood frozen in place after the successful conclusion of the experiment. Habara, however, tilted his head back and looked up at the sky.

For some unknown reason, possibly related to the massive amount of chakra transferred, the activation of the Flying Thunder Formation Technique had created a straight pillar of light shooting towards the heavens at their arrival point. Although the pillar existed for only an instant, the hole it had punched through the clouds remained visible.

As Kakashi snapped back to reality, his eyes naturally followed Habara's gaze upwards. He, too, saw the spectacle in the sky.

"This is..."

"Mm. I just thought of a name to describe this phenomenon. Let's call it... Daigo's Peerless Radiance."

Daigo's Peerless Radiance... Kakashi silently mulled over the name, then decided it might be Habara's most successful naming attempt yet.

"It sounds... rather fitting."

"Right? You think so too." It seemed Habara and Kakashi could actually share a moment of mutual understanding.

Daigo's Peerless Radiance.

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