Konoha.
At this moment, Aoki Yoru was still wandering around 'Konoha Plaza', eating beef skewers from the Land of Lightning, the flavor of which made his taste buds dance.
The shopping mall was packed with people; having dining, drinking, and entertainment all contained within a single building was truly an eye-opening experience for them.
Moreover, the mall Aoki Yoru built was exactly like the ones from his past life.
The smooth marble floors, the granite pillars, and the floor-to-ceiling glass that reflected people's silhouettes—even the floor layout and shop partitioning were identical.
Warm yellow light hung from the ceiling, and even the styles of the escalators and cashier counters were no different from the malls of his past life, leaving the Konoha villagers and tourists who saw it for the first time completely shocked by this never-before-seen modern architecture.
Even the Daimyo and nobles marveled at it, expressing their desire to build one in the capital and already placing their orders.
The profits from it made Tsunade as happy as a blooming peony.
At that moment, the originally leisurely Aoki Yoru paused, and his expression darkened; a message from his clone informed him that a group of enemies was rapidly invading from the sky to the southeast of Konoha.
Since they were invading from the sky, the ground-level guard units didn't notice them at all; it was only through the clone's powerful spiritual energy that he managed to capture a few traces.
Boom! Boom!
A series of crimson fireworks exploded over Konoha.
Civilians and tourists looked up curiously, thinking it was a performance by Konoha.
However, the Konoha Ninja's expressions changed drastically; this signaled an enemy intrusion.
On the outskirts of the southeast side of Konoha, Aoki Yoru looked around at the Ninjas before him.
Most of them were proficient in long-range combat, with Wind Release Ninjas being the majority, and he even saw Sai among them.
He was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses; since Danzo had been killed by him, it wasn't surprising for Sai to appear in the ordinary Ninja ranks.
Looking at his attire, it seemed Tsunade knew that Sai lacked a human touch after staying in Root for so long, so she specifically assigned him to the Police Force to interact more with civilians and gain some humanity.
"The enemy is launching a raid from the air. Intercept them immediately. This operation will be led by Shimizu Yui."
"But how do we deal with Ninjas flying in the sky? Our Wind Release can't reach them!"
Aoki Yoru didn't explain to them, simply walking onto the open ground on his own.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A puff of white smoke rose, and suddenly five figures, each over ten meters long, appeared before everyone's eyes.
The five little Yatagarasu were dazed the moment they appeared; they had just been playing with their mother catching black bears, and in an instant, they were in a strange place.
Before they could even screech, a surge of information was transmitted into their minds, and they immediately calmed down.
Looking at Aoki Yoru in the center, they lowered their heads and affectionately nudged him.
The Konoha Ninja in the area looked at these five little Yatagarasu in stunned silence.
They knew Aoki Yoru had a flying Ninja beast, but they hadn't expected there to be five smaller ones; this completely changed the strategic value, as they could now form an aerial raid squad.
Aoki Yoru didn't pay attention to their thoughts and urged, "Alright, get on quickly according to the plan."
Everyone snapped back to their senses and jumped onto the birds' backs.
Only Sai did not; he opened a scroll, his brush tip rapidly sketching the outline of a bird on the paper, and after injecting Chakra, he shouted:
"Super Beast Pseudo Drawing!"
An ink bird emerged at his command, and he flipped onto its back, spreading its wings to follow the team.
Once they had flown high into the sky and disappeared from sight, a figure walked out—it was the worried Tsunade.
"Do you know the origin of those people?"
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be the Sky Ninja Village!"
"Sky Ninja Village?"
Tsunade frowned as she recalled, "Wasn't this Village destroyed by a team led by Sakumo Hatake after they took the initiative to attack Konoha during the Second Ninja World War?"
"There are always some who slip through the net, aren't there?"
Aoki Yoru looked at Tsunade curiously, "Besides, I think the Sky Ninja Village's technology is pretty good. If we acquired it, we could at least form an aerial raid squad. Why didn't the Third Hokage do that?"
Tsunade was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then looked at him with a faint smile: "What do you think?"
Noticing Tsunade's expression, Aoki Yoru immediately felt that it wasn't that simple.
Tsunade then said, "The Land of the Sky's flight technology isn't unique to Konoha; if other great nations were truly willing to pay the price, they could create it too."
"In fact, many great nations have research teams that have developed weapons for civilians to use; the power of some weapons is such that even an average Chunin couldn't withstand them, and some can even threaten a Jonin."
"But all of these were eventually suppressed, leaving only some civilian-use applications in larger cities."
Aoki Yoru immediately thought of the various modern equipment in the Capital of the Land of Fire; if they could develop those, then things like firearms should have existed long ago, but they just hadn't been released.
If technology were allowed to develop freely, civilians would eventually possess power that could threaten Ninjas. When that time came, what would be the use of Ninjas? How would Ninjas maintain their high-and-mighty status?
The Daimyo also feared civilians possessing things like guns, as those would threaten their own positions.
Restricting technology within a certain range was a tacit understanding between Ninjas and nobles.
Of course, some factions used technology for combat power, and if it wasn't excessive, others would turn a blind eye.
However, if you had a weapon of mass destruction similar to a nuclear weapon, the Five Great Nations would immediately strike and leave no survivors.
Meanwhile, under the rapid flight of the little Yatagarasu, Yui and the others had already spotted the Sky Ninja Village team flying in from afar.
At this time, the Sky Ninja saw the approaching Yatagarasu and their expressions changed drastically; they hadn't expected to be discovered by Konoha.
One had to realize that for an aerial force, only a surprise attack could cause the maximum damage.
"Minister, what do we do now?"
The middle-aged man with a goatee at the very front had a darkened expression, which soon turned into a ferocious one.
"Charge through! As long as we cause destruction to Konoha during the 'Festival of Fire', or even cause casualties, our goal will be achieved."
He then shouted, "Charge! Avenge the Sky Ninja Village!"
The Sky Ninja behind him immediately showed determined expressions, and the golden wings on their backs emitted green smoke as they accelerated toward Konoha.
Yui stood at the front and made a hand gesture; the Yatagarasu immediately spread out, forming a battle formation.
"Wind Release Ninjutsu Squad, prepare!"
The Ninjas on the birds' backs immediately raised their hands to form seals.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Several powerful Wind Release techniques erupted simultaneously, the violent air currents instantly forming several intersecting wind walls that swept fiercely toward the Sky Ninja team.
The Sky Ninja were instantly tossed about by the turbulent airflow, their flight postures losing control and their formation being blown into disarray.
Seeing the Sky Ninja in disarray, Yui took a deep breath, and wisps of clear wind drifted from her nostrils.
"Wind Breathing - Wind Release: Decapitating Air Waves!"
In an instant, countless massive wind blades shot through the air, weaving into a giant net of wind that covered the entire airspace and slashed down at the disorganized Sky Ninja.
Seeing the incoming Wind Release, the Sky Ninja's expressions changed drastically, and they all used their various means to save their lives.
"Aah!"
Some Sky Ninja who couldn't dodge in time were sliced into countless pieces by the net of wind blades.
Looking at the stragglers fleeing in all directions, Yui waved her hand: "Kill them! We cannot let them escape!"
Immediately, the Konoha Ninja used their various techniques to hunt down the fleeing Sky Ninja.