Chapter 54: Anchor Vantian

Tanaka received a note through the inventory of his shadow clone that remained in Uzushiogakure. The note provided a brief update on the recent events, including the fact that, so far, it had not been discovered who was behind the attack on the lives of the elite ninjas and the village leader.

However, that wasn't all. There was something that made him narrow his eyes. It was reported that several natives of Uzushiogakure had seen something gigantic floating in the sky, heading towards the eastern coast of Konoha.

Although it was just a small dot, being visible from such a distance turned it into something that people were talking about, and the information reached his clones through Akane.

'Perhaps it's that...'

Tanaka felt he might be wrong in his guess, but considering the possibilities, along with the lack of information about the actual event, there was a high chance that it was the Anchor Vantian, controlled by the Land of the Sky; ninjas formed from various countries.

'I need to check this out...' Even if he was wrong, it wouldn't hurt to see it for himself. This also made him want to change his initial plans.

Destroying the paper with lightning, he wrote a note and placed it in the inventory.

After that, they returned to the house where they were staying, and he dispelled the dungeon.

The sound of raindrops falling on the leaves of the trees…

The pleasant chirping of birds…

The sound of insects crawling nearby…

The sound of rats scurrying through the house…

All these sounds blended into Tanaka's and the sisters' ears the moment the dungeon was dispelled.

Suddenly, Tatsumaki shuddered. She felt something brushing against her foot, and knowing the presence of rats in the house by the unique sounds they made, she froze until she screamed, "Kyahhh!"

Her scream was followed by her hands being enveloped in wind, and soon she smashed the wooden floor with her fists.

"Boom!"

"Cough, cough, cough…"

Tanaka and Hanako, caught off guard, were enveloped by the house's dust and coughed a lot as the structure collapsed due to the impact. After all, it was an old, already crumbling house.

It was more fragile than the straw house of the Three Little Pigs that the Big Bad Wolf blew down with a puff…

"Ane-ue...!" For the first time since Tanaka had known her, Hanako showed anger—and, even more surprisingly, it was directed at her older sister.

Their luck was that Tanaka acted quickly and created a spiritual barrier that protected the three of them just in time to avoid being buried.

"Sorry, sorry." When Tanaka and especially the upset Hanako looked at her, Tatsumaki stuck out her tongue, making a funny face as she awkwardly apologized.

"Oh my goodness." Hanako couldn't stay mad, seeing her older sister act like that. She sighed, placing her hand on her face, looking more mature than she actually was for her age: "Don't do that again, okay?"

"Yes, I won't... I promise?" Her words didn't inspire confidence.

Meanwhile, Tanaka made the three of them float, escaping the collapse of the house.

He floated himself using the ghostly skill, while the two were lifted with psychokinesis.

Hanako's eyes sparkled, momentarily forgetting that she was mad at her older sister, because unlike the times Tanaka had used it to save her when she was in trouble, this was the first time he used it to make her float.

After floating to the ground with the two, he canceled the barrier around them and then said, "Girls, change of plans."

"Huh?" The two of them looked at him, appearing confused.

Tanaka explained: "Something has come up that requires me to act quickly, and I won't be able to stay with you for a while. But don't worry, I'll create a clone that will act as 'Killua,' and 'Zephyr' will also stay with both of you. Now, go with them to the base and wait for my return."

Even though they wanted him to stay, after hearing him say all this, they couldn't be more selfish than they already were.

"Yes…"

Even Tatsumaki's voice sounded more disheartened when she replied.

Tanaka rubbed their heads as he spoke with a simple smile: "Don't worry, I shouldn't take long to return."

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On Saturday, January 27th, the wind was cold and biting as it blew near the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.

Close to this location, there was Tanaka, and he seemed shocked as he murmured quietly, "It really is the Anchor Vantian…"

Even from a distance, it looked like a massive structure. It seemed larger than what he saw in the movie: Naruto Shippūden the Movie: Bonds.

In the movie, it is said that they fought in the Second Shinobi World War, and their hidden village was destroyed in the war by Konohagakure for challenging the Five Great Shinobi Countries, but the country itself survived.

Now, he hadn't thought that this was a real event, since it's not always reliable to link anime movies with the original storyline, which is why he was doubtful when he received the news from his clone earlier. However, seeing it for himself now, he had to believe it was real.

'I want that thing.' His eyes sparkled with a hint of desire.

It was simply perfect to serve as the base for his organization.

Although some things would need to be modified, like the energy source and other aspects... Still, there were many things that could be utilized.

As for the combat power of the ninjas from the Land of the Sky? He wasn't concerned. What made them stand out wasn't their power itself, but rather the technology they used, mainly the winged devices that allowed flight and the kunai launchers. Of course, not to mention the Anchor Vantian itself, which was capable of a powerful laser.

But... That would only be useful if he was outside the base.

Creating a dungeon, everything soon changed. The dungeon expansion began and enveloped everything around, including the Anchor Vantian which, although it continued to fly, the people living there disappeared.

Flying, Tanaka approached the Anchor Vantian. Then, he dispelled the dungeon and opened the inventory.

'As long as it's treated as an item, it can be stored in the inventory, even if it's a floating island in the sky...' He thought as the Anchor Vantian was sucked into his inventory.

Now, when the Anchor Vantian was fully absorbed into his inventory, what happened to the people?

"Ahhhh!"

"What's happening?!?"

"I don't want to die!!!"

"Why are we falling from the sky?"

"Where is our floating island?!?"

"Someone, someone save me!!"

Several screams echoed, one overlapping the other; but they all had something in common: terror, fear, and confusion.

Meanwhile, Tanaka, who was floating in the sky with the appearance of Killua, created some threads of MP, catching some people who had been used for 'relief' by these ninjas who were all men, as well as others who had been used as fuel for the Anchor Vantian.

||- Note -||

Chapter 78 is already released on Pa treon!

patre on.com/Tozoku