Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 204 Test

"Just now... it seems like we didn't stop to reload?"

"Ten bullets are loaded at a time."

"...How many shots can you fire per minute on average? Thirty?"

"The fastest record is 41. However, not enough bullets were made in the first batch. This is based on a rate of 20 bullets per round."

"41?!"

For the first time, a large group of the ninja world's elite discussed the power of a weapon in such a chaotic manner, a discussion that wasn't even half as serious as their discussions of ninjutsu. The power test stopped at the final step. Even the most prejudiced Senju and Uchiha clans, after so many years of working together, couldn't truly engage in a life-or-death struggle, let alone the fact that they were all acquaintances who saw each other frequently. No one could bring themselves to use the final, let alone kill it, so they changed their test target to a pig about to be slaughtered. An adult domestic pig generally weighs about the same as a human, and this one was a breed selected by Hui, making it even more robust than a human. If even it couldn't withstand the weapon's attack, then a human would be even less likely to survive.

This time, it was Tobirama who fired the shot. He was already more interested in these things and couldn't resist trying it himself. He stood two hundred meters away and fired a shot at the domestic pig. The shot was a bit off, but it still hit the pig's body. The pig let out a deafening scream, and its struggle was so strong that it even kicked away the ropes binding it. Hashirama immediately used a vine restraint to bind the pig again. Its struggles were significantly weaker than the first time, and bright red blood splattered all over the ground.

Tobirama was the first to rush over and carefully gave the pig emergency treatment, then his brows furrowed more and more.

"The bullet is still inside, but it's shattered, along with the liver and bones that were hit. This kind of wound is somewhat like being hit by a split-air bullet, except that a split-air bullet explodes outside the body, while a bullet creates an instantaneous cavity inside."

Izuna listened attentively, but said he didn't quite understand, and said, "Just tell me what would happen if it hit someone."

"...Humans don't have as much fat as pigs, so the bullet will most likely go right through. The wound on the front might not look like a big problem, but the back will definitely be a huge hole." Tobirama looked at the listless pig and reluctantly stated his conclusion. "This is a deadly weapon. If it hits a vital spot, it will definitely kill you. Even if it doesn't hit a vital spot, it will still cause serious injury, and the treatment process will be very difficult. Cleaning up the fragments and stopping the bleeding will be problems."

Fugaku silently retreated, picked up his gun, and even stared intently with his Sharingan for a long time before carrying the gun to a spot more than a hundred meters away. The crowd quickly dispersed, leaving the poor pig to face its final fate.

"The skull can withstand some damage, but not much... The bullet still shattered inside, and the shockwave alone could cause fatal damage to the brain." This time, the autopsy examiner was Hashirama, and his conclusion was similar to Tobirama's.

After a second round of silence, Fugaku was the first to speak up. Naruto's social circle was limited, and they were all ninjas; they couldn't possibly have come up with such an invention. But Kinrin was different. He already sensed that this might be the work of one of the "good kids" who had been released from school.

"Who gave you this?"

"Xia's friend, Ma Han. The one who went to Danzhu Academy."

Fugaku looked like he was about to faint. He knew every single one of the remaining Uchiha children, which was why he had been guarding the base for so many years. If their plan ultimately failed, at least these children were still alive, and the Uchiha clan hadn't been wiped out. As the clan head, he clearly remembered each child's strengths, and of course, he knew where they had ended up. Uchiha Natsu was considered a super troublemaker among the children, a brat who even dared to blow up the leader's office. He had already been worried about transferring this troublemaker to a place where he couldn't see him, and now, after not seeing him for a year or two, he had caused such a huge incident.

"Mahan, right... Go investigate him right away! We have to bring him over no matter what!" Izuna was already giving orders through telepathy.

Naruto forced a smile and said, "We probably don't need to dig anymore. He gave me the blueprints himself."

"How old is he? Does he not understand the significance of this?" Hashirama asked.

“He’s eighteen, the age to graduate. He knows very well that guns are deadly weapons, but I’ve confirmed that he made it with the intention of ‘protecting’ it.” Naruto touched the still-warm barrel and sighed, “He hoped that I could use ‘it’ better.”

The weather in the southern part of the land of rivers wasn't that cold; people could even stroll around in the sun wearing only light clothing. But at this moment, the atmosphere in the forest was terrifyingly cold. Anyone who had participated in war understood that this was a weapon tailor-made for war.

The gun is 1.1 meters long and weighs 8.9 kilograms. Its magazine holds ten rounds and can be emptied in as little as six seconds. The loading process has been simplified, with a movable magazine ensuring quick and easy reloading. A ninja is trained from a young age, reaching ninja skills by at least eleven or twelve, and fully matures around twenty. Some never reach that level, only a few exceptional individuals with both talent and perseverance can advance further. But an ordinary person, with sufficient strength and aiming training, can pick up a gun and go to the battlefield, with a kill radius reaching 300 meters! The attack frequency is a staggering forty shots per minute, each a fatal blow to a vital point.

Once this thing becomes widespread, ordinary ninjas will have to disappear from the scene.

Tobirama left with the pig; they still needed a more accurate autopsy report, a task to be handled by the medical department. Fugaku returned the gun to Naruto; even he felt that such a potentially world-changing weapon should be entrusted to the boy. Hashirama turned over the soil in the woods to ensure all traces of their presence were erased. The group quickly returned to the meeting room from the deserted wilderness to continue discussing the gun's potential impact.

"This gun will reduce the cost and guilt of killing; it's something that absolutely cannot be allowed to exist." Izuna, who was adept at manipulating people's hearts, was the first to vote against it.

"But this is beneficial to Hui's future development. As we all know, more and more ordinary people are joining us, and training an army is something we must do." Tobirama offered a different suggestion after a long period of deliberation: "We can limit its quantity and the time it is used publicly. It will not be so easy for outsiders to imitate it. We can use the information gap to make a quick victory."

Hashirama shook his head disapprovingly, “Our future mission is to overthrow ‘all’ nobles, which is by no means something that can be accomplished quickly. Once the door is opened, its spread is only a matter of time.”

"It poses too great a threat to ninjas. No one can guarantee that we will be aware of what is happening a hundred meters away at all times. This gun is not even a ninja tool, so it doesn't have any chakra fluctuations. Even sensory ninjas would have a hard time detecting it." For the first time, Fugaku, who had always been a neutral party, expressed his opposition so clearly.

This matter was far too important, so important that three people had already firmly voiced their opposition. According to the voting rules, the gun could be sentenced to death at this moment, but everyone's eyes turned to Naruto, who had remained silent. Unconsciously, they had already tacitly accepted that this child possessed the power to influence the final decision.