Chapter 179: The Explosive Tag Road
"Yuna-kun, how is it? Have Konan and I been successfully connected?" Masahiko asked with a query.
Don't get the wrong idea; this was a serious question. Masahiko hadn't stooped so low as to make a move on a nine-year-old girl.
After returning to the Land of Whirlpools from Konoha, Masahiko first tested the training progress of his two disciples. He specifically checked Konan's speed in making explosive tags and was pleasantly surprised to find that she could basically make one every few seconds, fully achieving mass production.
However, Konan didn't have the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan after all. Although her strength could be considered that of a Chunin, her chakra volume was insufficient. Masahiko could only take her to find Yuna-kun, hoping to solve this through technology.
Masahiko naturally considered doing what he did to Tsunade during the Jonin Exams: using sealing jutsu to seal chakra into Konan. But after trying, Konan's explosive tag production became very unstable due to the mixed-in chakra from Masahiko.
After finding Yuna-kun, the scientist indeed had many solutions. After collecting chakra samples from Masahiko and Konan, she was actually able to use some equipment to convert Masahiko's transmitted chakra into the same type as Konan's. Masahiko couldn't understand the principle at all; following the chakra-shielding wristband, another piece of black technology was born.
"Grandpa Masahiko, the connection is ready," Yuna-kun's reply came. "Try outputting a little chakra, not too much."
Masahiko did as told. Opposite him, Konan showed a slightly pained expression. Masahiko was startled and quickly stopped.
"Yuna-kun, what's going on? Did it fail?"
Yuna-kun walked over with a smile. "It succeeded, Grandpa Masahiko. However, Konan's internal chakra isn't depleted right now, so receiving your chakra will definitely be a bit uncomfortable. It's okay; this will actually have some benefits for her."
Masahiko paused, nodded in understanding, and smiled.
"In that case, Konan's chakra volume might improve a bit. An unexpected gain."
"However, Grandpa Masahiko," Yuna-kun continued, "after the instrument's conversion, about fifty percent of your chakra will be lost..."
Masahiko waved his hand, interrupting Yuna-kun. "It doesn't matter. That's normal; fifty percent is enough."
Then he turned to Konan. "Konan, are you okay? Get used to it first, then we'll start making explosive tags."
"I'm fine, Sensei."
For the next two months, Masahiko led Konan to make explosive tags every other day until Izuko-kun stopped them.
"Sensei..." Izuko-kun's face was full of helplessness. "You've already made nearly ten million explosive tags. On average, every ninja in the Land of Whirlpools can be distributed a thousand tags. No need to make more."
Masahiko was startled. Only then did he realize that two months of hard work had yielded such great results. Looking at Konan opposite him, her face was already full of fatigue.
"Phew... then let's stop here for now. Thanks for your hard work, Konan. However, the hard work during this period wasn't in vain; your chakra volume has basically doubled. The harvest isn't small."
Konan nodded with a smile and went to rest.
Masahiko didn't feel tired. Since gaining the Sage Body, he hadn't felt fatigue again.
"Izuko-kun, since we have too many explosive tags, we can think of ways to sell some."
This was Masahiko's true goal. The Land of Whirlpools' current economic source was the Land of Lightning, but they couldn't rely on "protection fees" forever; they needed their own source of income.
Explosive tags were something with lethality that wasn't too big but not too small either—perfect for selling. As for buyers, the Land of Lightning probably didn't have spare money to buy them, and the Land of Water was a bit too close to the Land of Whirlpools. That left the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth. As for those small countries, Masahiko estimated they wouldn't have the money to buy in large quantities.
But how to sell them was a problem. Konoha Village was easy to deal with; not only were they close, but relations were also good. Besides, which village wouldn't want to stock up on explosive tags? But the Hidden Sand and Hidden Rock were problematic. Not only were they far away, but the route passed through many countries, making it prone to danger.
Izuko-kun raised this issue, causing Masahiko to fall into thought.
"What if we go by sea?" In recent years, the Land of Whirlpools had developed rapidly and already possessed ships capable of long voyages.
"By sea?" Izuko-kun was stunned. "Can't we only reach the Land of Water from the sea?"
Masahiko frowned. Speaking of which, he had never paid attention to whether the Naruto world was round. If they could reach the Hidden Rock from the sea, the Hidden Sand would be much safer to reach too.
"I'm going out for a bit." Masahiko left a message and flew towards the southeast of the Land of Whirlpools.
When Masahiko filled the sea back then, he only used ninjutsu to extend the mainland a large distance into the sea; he didn't fill the entire ocean. That wasn't something that could be done in half a month; it would take Masahiko at least nearly a year.
Therefore, to the southeast of the Land of Whirlpools, there was still an endless ocean. Masahiko didn't stop at the seaside and traveled directly across the sea.
"This distance..." Half an hour later, Masahiko frowned. Before him lay the endless ocean. At his flying speed, he had already crossed about two hundred kilometers.
"Is it this far?" Another half hour passed, and Masahiko finally discovered land, but not a new continent.
"Is it really the Land of Earth? That means the Naruto world is also round?" Masahiko breathed a long sigh of relief.
"At this distance, it would take about half a month to get here from the Land of Whirlpools by sea. It's about the same as transporting by land, but the sea is much safer."
Masahiko didn't go for a tour of the Land of Earth; his Shadow Clone had already explored everywhere when looking for Yuna-kun. He wasn't in the mood to catch up with Onoki either, so he turned around and flew back directly.
However, his speed wasn't fast this time. Every few minutes, he would stop and use Earth Release to erect a stone monument a hundred meters high to prevent his clansmen from getting lost while sailing.
It wasn't until the sky completely darkened that Masahiko returned to the Land of Whirlpools and excitedly found Izuko-kun.
"Izuko-kun, the world is indeed round!"
Izuko-kun was stunned, not understanding what he meant.
Masahiko continued to explain, "Sailing southeast from the Land of Whirlpools for about half a month, one can reach the Land of Earth. We can issue missions within the country for ninjas to escort the explosive tags."
Thinking about it, Masahiko added, "Set this mission as S-rank. At least two Elite Jonin must lead the team. After all, there might be unexpected situations at sea."
Izuko-kun nodded. "Then regarding negotiations with the Hidden Rock..."
Masahiko smiled. "I'll go with the ship for the first time. In all these years, I haven't experienced the feeling of sailing at sea."
"I marked the route so the clansmen won't get lost. This route can be called the Silk... uh, the Explosive Tag Road."
He nodded, very satisfied with his naming ability.
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