419. Just How Far Has Konoha Developed?

"Is this the legendary train?" Omoi and Karui stared wide-eyed at the steel dragon roaring down the railway, their faces filled with disbelief.

The appearance of the train was undoubtedly a shocking revelation for those who had long lived in the ninja world, accustomed to relying on ninjutsu and their own two feet for travel.

Not just Omoi and Karui, even the Fourth Raikage and the Land of Lightning's daimyo, who had seen much of the world, had complex expressions when they saw the train before them.


This complexity wasn't just admiration for this new era's invention—it also contained a hint of indescribable resentment.

After all, it was precisely because of the train's emergence that the Leaf Village's transportation efficiency had undergone a qualitative leap, leading to the Land of Lightning's heavy losses on the battlefield in the Land of Hot Water.

With a sharp whistle, the train released a burst of high-temperature steam from its head.

The white steam roared like a giant beast.

Then, the train began to slow down, eventually coming to a steady stop at the platform.

"Your Excellency, Daimyo. Lord Raikage, this way, please."

Shisui Uchiha extended his hand, guiding the two leaders of the Land of Lightning onto the train with a gentlemanly demeanor.

Such composure and grace made even the Fourth Raikage, their enemy, inwardly marvel at how that damned Danzō Shimura had managed to raise such an impressive disciple.

Given the long journey, the train was mostly equipped with sleeper cars.

The interior was comfortably arranged, with soft beds and clean bedding, providing ample rest for the delegation members to maintain their condition during the long trip.

Not only that, but the train also featured a dining car, offering new dishes tailored to the Land of Lightning's tastes.

This truly made the Cloud Village delegation feel what it meant to be treated as honored guests, and what professionalism looked like!

"I didn't expect the service on this train to be so good," Omoi remarked, once again surprised.

He had initially thought the Leaf Village would try to make their journey as difficult as possible, potentially disrupting their competitive state.

But his worries turned out to be completely unfounded.

Not only did the Leaf Village not make things difficult, but they also provided an incredibly comfortable experience.

Although the train still jostled a bit during the journey, it was undoubtedly far better than trekking all the way to the Leaf Village on foot. Not to mention, they could enjoy the scenery and the development of towns along the railway.

This time, even Karui, who usually loved to argue, stayed silent.

The Leaf Village's magnanimity had indeed exceeded her expectations.

As the train crossed the Land of Fire's border and gradually approached the Leaf Village, the scenery along the way began to change.

First came endless plains and forests, followed by bustling towns.

And the closer they got to the Leaf Village, the new capital, the more prosperous the scenery became.

Finally, the train stopped in a lively town.

The place was decorated with lanterns and colorful neon lights, casting an ambiguous glow, as if celebrating the arrival of the Chunin Exams.

"Is this the Leaf Village?" Omoi asked in a slightly awed tone as he stepped off the train and saw the bustling commercial street, the tall buildings on either side, and the various modern amenities.

His words seemed to have reached Shisui's sharp ears, as the latter smiled at him and clapped his hands.

"This is called Red Leaf City, one of the Leaf Village's satellite cities," Shisui explained.

Hearing this, Omoi's face immediately turned red. Not just him, but the other Cloud ninjas also felt their ears burn.

They had all assumed this was the Leaf Village, the capital of the Land of Fire.

After all, it was so prosperous, even more so than the Cloud Village!

And now they were being told this was just one of the Leaf Village's satellite cities?

Damn it, just how far has the Leaf Village developed?

Shisui soon provided an answer to this question.

"Next, we will provide you with an even more convenient mode of transportation. Our esteemed guests can choose to continue by train or... by airship."

As soon as Shisui finished speaking, the guests from the Land of Lightning witnessed a sight they would never forget.

A massive, oval-shaped flying object suddenly appeared in their field of vision.

The enormous shadow it cast swallowed everyone like a giant maw.

As it gradually descended, people began to realize just how big this thing was.

Over a hundred meters in length and about twenty to thirty meters wide, it looked like a whale swimming through the sky!

"This is the latest mode of transportation developed by the Leaf Village Research Institute. We call it—the Sky Airship."

Although Shisui's tone was as calm as possible, it still sounded grating to the Raikage and the others.

This guy was totally showing off, wasn't he?

The Fourth Raikage, A, cursed inwardly as he looked at the giant airship landing at the airport.

He hadn't expected the Leaf Village's technological progress to be so rapid...

Exchanging a glance with the daimyo beside him, they both saw a sense of urgency in each other's eyes.

"Since the Leaf Village has brought out such a novel invention, I, the Raikage, naturally must experience it for myself."

Without hesitation, A chose this new mode of transportation.

This, of course, was met with protests from his subordinates.

They believed that as the Raikage, A shouldn't risk riding the airship. What if the Leaf Village had set some trap?

The airship flew at cloud level, and if something went wrong, even a body of steel couldn't withstand the impact.

To this, the Raikage replied:

"If I don't experience it myself, how can I understand the gap between us and the Leaf Village?"

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze resolute.

"If something happens to me, let Killer B succeed me as Raikage and follow the daimyo's orders!"

After saying this, the Fourth Raikage ignored everyone's objections and boarded the airship.

As for the daimyo, he continued on the relatively safer train.

The rest of the delegation split into two groups: one followed the Raikage on the airship, while the other continued by train.

Omoi, filled with boundless curiosity about the Leaf Village, naturally chose to travel by airship.

After a brief hesitation, Karui also decided to follow suit.

As it turned out, their choice was the right one.

The Leaf Village had no intention of sacrificing an airship and their credibility to eliminate the Raikage.

On the contrary, they would use every means necessary to ensure the safety of these important figures.

As the airship ascended, the scenery below grew smaller and smaller, and a sense of wonder rose in Omoi and Karui's hearts.

So, humans could fly into the sky without relying on ninjutsu!

Unlike these two curious youngsters, the Raikage, A, looked out the window with a grim expression, calculating something.

In the end, he concluded that this airship was an incredibly terrifying invention!

Based on his estimates, the airship was flying at an altitude of over two thousand meters. This height far exceeded the range of most ninjutsu or ninja tools.

Not to mention, being in the sky, the difficulty of overcoming gravity to attack an enemy at this altitude was unimaginable.

So, when the Leaf Village and the Cloud Village clashed again, and this airship appeared on the battlefield, how would they deal with it?

Would they just have to watch helplessly as the enemy rained down firepower from above?

At that point, the barrage of explosive tags and ninjutsu from the sky would deal a fatal blow to the Cloud forces!!