This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 212 Racing Against Time (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)

Ryuji's guess was quickly confirmed.

It's not that Sunagakure's intelligence department is so amazing that it immediately obtains relevant information as soon as the order is issued.

Instead, all materials related to the Mechanical City transported from the Land of Earth, the Land of Rain, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Grass were intercepted and seized.

If a problem occurs in only one place, it could be considered a coincidence. But if so many places experience problems simultaneously, it is enough to show that the other ninja villages in the ninja world are working together to target Sunagakure.

"These guys are asking for trouble!"

Upon hearing the news, the Third Kazekage slammed his fist on the table.

After a series of great victories, his confidence was greatly inflated. He was confident that even if several ninja villages that had experienced great battles and whose strength was less than half of their peak strength were united, he could still win.

But the more this is the case, the more it shows that the other side has more than just a few alliances.

Ryuji remained calm and instantly analyzed the hidden information: "Whether it's Onoki, Hiruzen Sarutobi, or the current leaders of Kusagakure and Amegakure, they are not fools. They wouldn't make such a provocation that could easily provoke war if they didn't have enough confidence."

Upon hearing this, the Third Kazekage instantly understood.

He slammed his fist on the desk and said angrily, "As expected, Cloud Village and Mist Village got involved too."

"Perhaps there are many other small and medium-sized ninja villages as well," Ryuji chuckled softly. "Although our Sunagakure has become stronger, we haven't done anything to make everyone in the ninja world feel threatened. How could we possibly unite so quickly? You know, they were fighting to the death not long ago; which one of them doesn't have a deep-seated grudge?"

"You mean someone orchestrated this behind the scenes?"

"That's right." Ryuji nodded slightly. "That person has the ability to unite the four major ninja villages that were fighting to the death not long ago, so it's not impossible for him to unite some small and medium-sized ninja villages as well. We need to be prepared to face all the ninja villages except for the Land of Iron."

"hiss!"

The Third Kazekage couldn't help but gasp.

Even though Sunagakure had won one battle after another and grown rapidly in the past six months, and even had a mechanical castle that was beyond the imagination of the times, he could hardly imagine the scene of fighting against the entire ninja world by himself.

At least, given Sunagakure's current strength, there is absolutely no glimmer of hope for victory.

"Don't worry."

Seemingly sensing what the Third Kazekage was worried about, Ryuji comforted him, "We have the Mechanical Castle. As long as the enemy can't fly in large numbers, we're already invincible."

Oh right, we also have the Mechanical City.

If a joint attack by the ninja world on Sunagakure were to actually occur, then everyone should move to the mechanical castle in advance.

Thinking of this, the Third Kazekage couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But what followed was frustration.

I've become stronger than ever before, yet I have to live a life that's more aggrieved than ever before. This is simply unbearable!

He looked at Ryuji, opened his mouth, and after a long while, finally made up his mind to ask, "...Ryuji, are we just supposed to endure this?"

"Would patience be of any use?" Ryuji snorted twice, then retorted, "You don't actually think they went to all that trouble to unite just to stop our material shipment, do you?"

This is of course impossible.

It would be understandable if they did this before the floating continent was completed.

However, since the floating continent has already been built and serves as an aerial strategic base, even if the construction of subsequent equipment is prevented, the existing situation cannot be changed.

Therefore, halting the construction of subsequent facilities was merely a preparation for the great battle to come.

The Third Kazekage was quick-witted and soon understood, his expression becoming serious.

"If the Allied Shinobi Forces attack, is our only option to move everything to the Mechanical Castle?"

The floating continent has only just completed the Sky Ladder. The various facilities and buildings in the Mechanical City have not yet been constructed. If the villagers move up there collectively, they will only be able to set up tents.

If they were to be attacked by something like a Tailed Beast Ball, the people living there would have no safety.

Therefore, if this happens, Sunagakure will definitely pay a heavy price.

"Don't worry!" Ryuji said calmly, "Their elaborate alliance must have something big on their mind. It's not just about strategic victory; they want to completely wipe Sunagakure from the ninja world. But to completely destroy Sunagakure, they'll need flying vehicles to transport the Allied Shinobi Forces, which they don't have yet, so it won't happen anytime soon..."

At this point, Long Er suddenly seemed to remember something, and his brows furrowed tightly.

If other ninja villages wanted to deal with the Mechanical Castle, they would definitely need transport vehicles or weapons that also had flying units.

But Kumogakure is different; it also hides a chakra cannon capable of blasting the moon apart.

If the Hidden Cloud Village brings out that cannon, can the floating continent withstand it?

According to the Book of Rozeel, the floating continent equipped with the Ring of Ugo possesses defensive capabilities comparable to a planetary continent, and also has regenerative abilities that ordinary continents do not have.

However, it did not specify how large the continent was.

If it were just a continent like Australia in the previous life, then the chakra cannon, with the power to blast the moon, would have a high probability of knocking down the floating continent.

If it were a continent like Eurasia, Africa, or the Americas, then naturally there would be nothing to fear (the difficulty of destroying the moon is about the same as the difficulty of destroying the state of Australia).

(Just to be on the safe side, we should have a backup plan!)

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Seeing that Ryuji fell into deep thought halfway through his sentence, the Third Kazekage couldn't help but ask a question.

"I've thought of a problem." Ryuji nodded slightly and said, "Kumikage does indeed have the weapon that knocked down the mechanical castle, but it should be something that cannot be replicated. I will find a way to solve this."

"So what did you originally want to say?"

The Third Kazekage was quite confident in Ryuji's abilities. Seeing that he said he could handle it himself, he didn't press further but instead asked the question he had asked at the beginning.

"What I mean is, the Allied Shinobi Forces may have obtained the method to manufacture flying vehicles, which is why they secretly joined forces."

Why get the manufacturing method instead of the flying vehicle?

This can be seen from the other party's actions.

If they acquire flying vehicles, they won't form alliances secretly; they'll form them openly and then launch a surprise attack.

and so……

"The Allied Forces won't attack Sunagakure anytime soon," Ryuji said. "They need time to build flying vehicles, and we can take the opportunity to completely complete the Mechanized Castle."

"That's precisely why they withheld the materials needed to build the mechanical city!"

After hearing Ryuji's words, the Third Kazekage suddenly understood.

He was both relieved and annoyed.

Fortunately, Sunagakure still had time to prepare, but what was frustrating was that the Shinobi World Alliance had blocked the roads, preventing the materials from being transported back and hindering further construction.

Seemingly sensing the Third Kazekage's troubles, Ryuji comforted him, "Don't worry, I just signed a contract with Kado of the shipping company. He will be responsible for the follow-up materials for the Mechanical City."

"Really? That's wonderful!"

The raw materials for the Mechanical City are mainly sourced from the Iron Country and the Craftsman Country.

Land transport requires fixed routes, but the sea does not.

The sea is vast and boundless, and the Land of Wind has such a wide coastline, with countless shipping routes to transport goods back.

Moreover, the person in charge of transportation, Kado, is a ruthless and unscrupulous businessman with connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, and he has many ways to get things done.

As for whether he will use this to blackmail or retaliate against Ryuji...

Well, considering Cardona's short-sightedness, this is highly likely to happen.

If that really happens, then Ryuji will make him regret being born into this world.

"Flying vehicles capable of transporting the Allied Shinobi Forces... whether it's a military base like the Mechanized Castle or a large number of small transport vehicles, it's impossible to build them in a short time. We probably have three to five years to develop them."

At this point, Long Er paused, then continued, "If we exclude non-essential buildings and equipment such as the entertainment area, three years is enough to complete it. By then, with the fully-fledged mechanical city in place, we can fear no enemy."

Yes, we fear no enemy.

Because Ryuji's ultimate purpose in building the mechanical city was to deal with the moon.

There will be another chapter later, please give me some monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)