Chapter 328: The Flying Fortress

Chapter 328: Chapter 328: The Flying Fortress

Land of Hot Water, inside the aerial fortress.

As more and more Four Symbols Seals were activated, the roars of Shinno, who had completely transformed into a tailed beast, grew weaker and weaker, gradually disappearing beneath the deafening noise of the activated power chamber.

Hyuga Kagami stared impassively at the sealed Shinno, without the slightest trace of pity in his heart.

For a man who had spent his entire life deceiving and betraying others, ending up like this was entirely his own doing.

If Shinno hadn’t so decisively betrayed the Akatsuki, Kagami might not have made his move against him so soon.

Rumble...

The noise inside the power chamber grew louder and louder. Even the floor beneath their feet began to tremble slightly.

Shisui and Itachi exchanged glances, both revealing looks of astonishment.

Kagami had already interrogated Shinno earlier and learned exactly how to activate this aerial fortress, so he turned to Shisui and Itachi and said, "Let’s go. We’re heading to the central hall!"

Shisui asked curiously, "We’re activating the fortress right now?"

As he walked toward the central hall, Hyuga Kagami replied, "Yeah. We need to relocate this aerial fortress immediately, and the only way to move it is to activate it and have it fly there under its own power."

Before long, the three arrived at the central hall.

Standing over the metal plates covering the floor, Kagami bit his finger and drew an activation formula.

In an instant, a dazzling light spread outward from the metal plate, racing along the patterns etched into its surface and reaching every corner of the fortress.

Rumble...

A deafening roar erupted around them as the entire hall—or rather, the entire fortress—began to shake violently.

Kagami staggered several steps amid the tremors, but a look of delight appeared on his face.

He could clearly feel it.

The aerial fortress was slowly rising into the air!

Shisui and Itachi rushed out of the hall and arrived at the fortress entrance.

Watching the enormous aerial fortress tear itself free from the earth and slowly ascend into the sky, even the well-traveled Shisui and the calm, reserved Itachi couldn’t help but stare in astonishment.

Before long, the aerial fortress had risen into the clouds.

Standing outside the fortress and listening to the wind howl past his ears, Kagami thought, "As long as I keep the aerial fortress flying at high altitude, I can prevent the vast majority of surveillance and infiltration attempts."

There weren’t many shinobi in the ninja world capable of flight to begin with, and those capable of flying at high altitude were even rarer.

Therefore, as long as the aerial fortress remained high in the sky, it could essentially eliminate ninety percent of all outside intrusions.

In terms of security alone, it was undoubtedly superior to Kagami’s secret laboratory beneath the Forest of Death.

Because of that, Kagami had already decided—

He was going to move his entire secret laboratory onto the aerial fortress.

As dawn began to break, the aerial fortress arrived above a towering mountain not far from Konoha.

The mountain was extraordinarily steep and rarely visited, while its summit was shrouded in clouds and mist all year round. With the aerial fortress hovering here, it was almost completely swallowed by the thick cloud cover, making it virtually impossible for ordinary people to discover.

After leaving the aerial fortress with Shisui and Itachi, Hyuga Kagami immediately returned to his secret laboratory, switched back into his Yin Release original body, and then used storage scrolls to pack up the entire laboratory.

Carrying a large number of storage scrolls containing all sorts of equipment, Kagami left the secret laboratory together with the Third Kazekage Human Puppet.

Traveling back and forth to an aerial fortress hovering several thousand meters in the sky might have been an incredibly difficult task for others, but for Kagami, it was extremely easy.

His Yin Release original body could enter Tenseigan Chakra Mode and fly freely through the air, allowing him to come and go as he pleased.

Although his Water Release clone couldn’t freely fly at high altitude, it wouldn’t have much difficulty reaching the fortress by using the Ice Style ninjutsu, Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, to climb vertically into the sky.

The only one that couldn’t make the journey independently was his Fire Release clone.

At present, the development of his Fire Release clone was still only in its earliest stages. With the clone’s current strength, it couldn’t support Kagami in activating the Complete Body Susanoo.

As a result, the Fire Release clone could currently only rely on ninja crows, using the Crow Substitution Technique to maneuver through the air at low altitude. It couldn’t reach the aerial fortress hovering several thousand meters above the ground.

Of course, this also meant that Shisui and Itachi couldn’t enter the aerial fortress on their own either.

And that ensured Kagami’s secret experiments would never be leaked.

After moving his entire secret laboratory onto the aerial fortress, Hyuga Kagami left a Shadow Clone behind inside the fortress, along with the Third Kazekage Human Puppet.

The Third Kazekage Human Puppet, which possessed the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, was also capable of flying freely through the air, making it the perfect choice to serve as the aerial fortress’s guard.

Once everything had been taken care of, Kagami didn’t linger aboard the aerial fortress and immediately returned to the village.

The village had only recently suffered an attack by the Akatsuki, so security and surveillance in every area were extremely strict. As a member of the ANBU directly under the Hokage, Kagami couldn’t remain outside the village for too long.

Kagami had barely slipped back into his home when Rei hurriedly came looking for him.

Seeing Rei’s anxious expression and how out of breath she was, Kagami smiled gently. "What happened this time?"

Rei took a sip of tea, then told Kagami everything that had happened—the Main Family estate’s secret archive had been broken into, a Main Family elder had been killed, and his Byakugan had been stolen.

Hearing this, Kagami’s smile disappeared as he asked, "Have they found the culprit?"

Rei shook her head. "It’s precisely because they haven’t found any clues about the culprit that Lord Hizashi is so worried. He asked me to come tell you to be careful for the time being!"

"Be careful!?"

Kagami froze for a moment before asking in confusion, "What do I have to be careful about? Don’t tell me the Main Family suspects I did it?"

Rei hurriedly explained, "Lord Hizashi said the Main Family suspects that the culprit is someone from the Branch Family. And recently, you’ve openly questioned the clan’s traditions and even the Gentle Fist, so the Main Family is definitely going to suspect you!"

Hyuga Kagami rubbed his chin and nodded.

Hizashi’s concerns clearly weren’t unfounded. Given the way those old fossils in the Main Family thought, every Branch Family member who had ever questioned the clan’s traditions would probably end up on their list of suspects.

Rei cautiously glanced at Kagami again before lowering her voice. "And apparently, this attack is connected to Orochimaru. You used to be Orochimaru’s subordinate, so Lord Hizashi is worried that the Main Family might use that as an excuse to come after you. He wanted you to prepare yourself in advance!"

Kagami smiled and reassured her, "Don’t worry. Forget those old fossils in the Main Family—even the Third Hokage can’t do anything to me now. I’m no longer that chunin who had to live at the mercy of others."

Rei jumped in fright and immediately activated her Byakugan, looking around in every direction.

Only after confirming that no one was monitoring them from outside the house did she lower her voice and say, "What are you talking about?! If Lord Hokage heard you saying something like that, you’d be in serious trouble! Besides, we both have the Caged Bird Curse Seal. If you do anything out of line, the Main Family won’t let you off!"