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Chapter 21 — Entering the Flying Fortress
The ground was overgrown with weeds; mottled, ancient stone pillars rose all around.
Giant, grotesque gray-white statues of various shapes stood scattered through the ruins.
Konan walked among the bizarre stone constructions, Alex hovering at her side. This area was still part of Soragakure's domain—on the outskirts where the hillocks met the ruins. The weathered rocks looked much like the rest of the Sky Village remains, but the architecture here felt stranger, almost surreal.
Konan stopped before an exaggerated, massive human face carved into stone. The Sky-ninja who had been bombing the nearby village had disappeared into the gaping mouth of that statue. The maw alone was roughly three stories tall; its interior was a black void like an abyss.
Alex studied the colossal face, then rose into the air and circled, scanning the surroundings until his suspicions were confirmed. The scene matched exactly what he'd seen in the anime—only far larger in scale.
[Konan, you're standing on the Flying Fortress itself.] Alex floated down and hovered before her.
"Standing on it?" Konan instinctively looked at the ground beneath her—paved entirely with gray-white stone slabs. "The Flying Fortress is underground?"
Alex nodded, then shook his head. [Both yes and no.] [To be precise, this whole stone forest is the above-ground section of the Sky Ninja Flying Fortress—you're literally standing on its deck.]
"This is the Flying Fortress?" Konan's pupils narrowed as she gazed west; the gray slabs stretched out so far the end could not be seen. The fortress was as large as a small town. To make such a "town" fly, the energy required must be terrifying. She hadn't expected the Sky-nin, hiding in secret, to have built such a monstrous thing.
Konan swallowed her surprise and focused her sensing. She concentrated on the statue's yawning mouth. Soon she stopped.
Alex asked hurriedly, [What did you find? Any dangers?]
"No." Konan shook her head. "There are probably sealing barriers inside that prevent sensing from working."
[Just in case, send a paper clone in to probe.]
Although in the original story Shinnō was pathetic and ultimately killed by Naruto, the underground Flying Fortress could still hide unknown hazards—so they needed to scout.
Konan nodded, formed a paper double, and slipped into the black mouth. After a moment the clone dissolved, its memories transmitting back to the original.
Alex, perched on Konan's right shoulder, peered up. [How is it down there? Any threats?]
Konan answered, "The internal space is huge and the passages are complex. There's no sign of Shinnō, and there don't appear to be traps or defensive setups that threaten me."
Alex exhaled. [Good. Let's go in now.]
If Shinnō was there, they could catch him in a trap; if not, they could loot the place. Konan nodded and led the way, Alex tucked into her chest as they entered the statue's mouth.
Darkness swallowed their vision; nothing could be seen. But Konan was confident—the paper clone had already mapped the interior and found an entrance. She flew straight to the innermost left wall. A stone slab in the floor slid open, revealing a black shaft. Without hesitation she dove in.
The descent was brief—only about ten meters—and she floated down without touching the ground, entering the Flying Fortress. Alex hovered to the left, taking in the long stone corridor ahead. The interior was dim; the far end could not be seen.
Konan glided forward and warned, "Alex, the floor and walls here have alarm devices. Don't touch anything."
Alex nodded and kept his curiosity restrained—he didn't go poking at the black glyphs carved into the walls. He clung to Konan's shoulder and silently observed everything around them. All was quiet; not a sound disturbed the air. With so many Sky-nin living here, wouldn't someone speak? Or had the place some kind of sound-dampening system?
The passage was long. Konan flew for five full minutes before reaching an exit. As they emerged, Alex felt as if they'd left a silence field—the bustle of the Sky-nin and the roar of machinery slammed into them all at once.
Their path opened into a square hall the size of a basketball court. Over twenty Sky-nin busied themselves around various machines; the floor and walls were woven with pipelines of many colors. One black-clad Sky-nin strode through the room, head down, making notes on a clipboard.
At the exit, he looked up and locked eyes with Konan—her orange gaze cold and unreadable. The man's face froze in recognition; panic lit his expression. He drew a breath to shout.
But his voice never left his throat. A sheet of white paper had already darted forward and plastered itself over his open mouth, stifling the warning. Almost at once, every Sky-nin in the hall was seized by sheets of paper and wrapped into mummified bindings. Not a single alarm escaped.
The paper clone had sneaked in earlier to scout without raising alarm; now Konan herself had come and there was no need to hide. Alex, safe at her chest, watched the scene unfold like slicing through ripe fruit. He couldn't help but marvel: 'Paper Release is really useful.'
A crowd-control weapon—silent, efficient, and able to bind many opponents at once. Its only weakness was absolute offensive power, which could be improved later—an upgrade Alex planned for himself.
Konan controlled one of the mummified Sky-nin to float before her. The paper peeled away from the upper half of his face, finally revealing his features—the same unlucky man who'd seen her first.
"I ask; you answer." Konan stared at him, voice icily flat.
The black-clad Sky-nin blinked with disdain. If his mouth hadn't been sealed, he'd have had a few choice curses to offer the intruder. We Sky-nin aren't cowards—born bone of steel! he thought. You expect me to betray my village and leader over a single question? In your dreams!
He vowed silently never to betray Soragakure. But the next instant the pain began—searing and growing. The white paper that wrapped him pressed inward from all sides. He felt as if he were sinking into the depths of the ocean; monstrous pressure squeezed every inch of his skin and muscle. His organs throbbed with agony, bones groaned under crushing force. He could not scream—the paper sealed his mouth—so the pain amplified into helpless terror.
His resolve evaporated. Tears and blood-red veins clouded his eyes as he looked pleadingly at Konan, signaling submission.
Konan repeated, "I ask; you answer."
"Mmm—mm—mm…" he nodded wildly, the silence broken only by frantic head movement. The pressure abated; the paper over his mouth receded. He stammered in a trembling voice: "M-Master, please—ask."
"Where is your leader Shinnō?" Konan demanded.
The man's face tensed. He hesitated, then felt the paper's pressure ghosting over him once more—no time for moral dilemmas. He blurted out, "Third level! Under the fortress—on the third basement level!"
"That level is the heart of the fortress. It houses the power core and Shinnō's quarters and training area."
Konan pressed on: "Why bomb the nearby village?"
"That was the leader's order," he said. "He said it was to test the energy… something about the Zero-Tails absorbing emotions…"
Zero-Tails… emotions… Alex's mind clicked into place. The Flying Fortress drew power from the Zero-Tails; the Zero-Tails could absorb ambient emotional energy and convert it into chakra. The stronger the emotion, the more chakra generated. No wonder Shinnō had been bombing that village—he was harvesting intense emotional reactions.
Alex gave Konan a signal. Now that Shinnō's location was known, there was no need to waste time. Straight to the third basement level.
Konan waved her hand and resealed the informant, leaving him mummified with the others—she did not kill them. The Flying Fortress needed people to maintain and operate it; they would be useful. She didn't know exactly what the huge flying machine's full purpose was, but if Alex wanted it, she could take it.
After a quick sweep of the hall to ensure nothing had been missed, Konan descended toward the third basement level along the route the informant had given.
Target—Shinnō.