Chapter 327: Rocket Barrage Tactics
"The first test of the rocket propellant fuel begins now."
Amamiya Kenichi stood on the plain with narrowed eyes, staring into the distance. There was a forest ahead, but he could no longer see it clearly.
After all, the distance between his current position and that forest was about ten kilometers. Even with the Sharingan, there was no way to see that far with precision, and naturally, there was no chance of destroying trees from hundreds of miles away with the naked eye.
"Still, this distance is perfect for testing a rocket's launch speed and effective range. Although a ten kilometer range sounds short, it's already more than enough." Kenichi weighed the rocket in his hand.
He had personally forged this metal cylindrical rocket. Its structure was similar to a conventional rocket, with a pointed front designed to reduce air resistance, increase launch speed, and extend its flight distance.
However, what Kenichi truly cared about was strike speed.
A longer range would certainly allow for long distance attacks, but the fuel requirements would also become much higher. And what he needed right now was a weapon that could be fired quickly enough to effectively threaten ninja.
Otherwise, if its firing speed was too slow, the enemy would notice it before it even arrived, then simply run off. If that happened, there would be no point in researching a rocket launcher at all.
"And honestly, a ten kilometer range isn't short. Most rocket launchers don't have an especially outrageous effective range to begin with. This thing is meant to follow the design logic of a Katyusha system anyway." Kenichi ran a hand across the rocket's surface.
Then he frowned slightly.
It still felt too rough.
A proper rocket should feel smooth and cold to the touch, like some flawless beauty. But this thing felt more like sandpaper. The unevenness in several areas was obvious.
The craftsmanship was crude, but at least it existed.
The industrial level of the Ninja World really was terrible. At this rate, he would have to make assembly line factories sooner or later, or at least build precision machine tools. Otherwise, a lot of things would never become truly practical.
Still, those problems could wait.
"For now, this should do. According to the rocket's parabolic trajectory, I only need to..." Kenichi adjusted the shoulder mounted launcher, then pressed the trigger.
A deafening roar erupted at once, followed by a fierce recoil. But with Kenichi's current physique, that amount of force was nothing. He absorbed it effortlessly.
"One second... two seconds..."
The moment the rocket launched, Kenichi began counting in his head. He wanted to measure the interval between launch and impact. Although ten kilometers was a long way off, he had already stationed a Shadow Clone near the target area to observe the rocket's landing point and travel time.
After roughly twenty two seconds, a wave of dizziness rose in his mind.
Kenichi frowned. He now knew the exact impact point and the approximate time.
"So although it didn't miss entirely, it also didn't land inside the forest. It fell short, just in front of it. That means the effective range of this rocket loaded with chemical fuel is still under ten kilometers." He fell into thought.
It had taken about twenty seconds from launch to impact. Since the dissolution of the Shadow Clone also took some time, he would need to account for that delay as well.
"The calculation on the parabola still isn't accurate enough. Is that because of air resistance?" He quickly ran toward the impact zone while scribbling notes onto a piece of paper.
The parabolic model was one he had worked out himself. In theory, it could estimate the rocket's general landing point, the launch angle, and related variables.
Normally, rocket systems calculated and adjusted all of that instantly through a computer, but his weapon was still in the experimental stage, so he had to do everything manually.
"Even though I already factored in air resistance and wind drag, reality is obviously more complicated." By the time he reached the blast site, he could clearly see the explosion crater.
It was huge.
He even found fragments of shrapnel embedded in the mud five hundred meters away from the center of impact. That alone proved the lethality of the weapon was excellent.
"An ordinary rocket shouldn't be able to produce a crater this large. Is this really the effect of incorporating chakra?" Kenichi's mood lifted immediately.
The inclusion of chakra had not only reduced the dependence on raw explosive yield, it had also amplified the destructive power of the blast itself. If a weapon like this were brought into his previous world, it would be enough to change the development path of rocket artillery.
Its power was simply too great.
"So the actual range this time was... 9,348 meters?" Kenichi calculated the distance between the edge of the forest and the center of the explosion, then raised a hand to gauge the wind direction and speed before lowering it again.
The Land of Snow was known for its violent winds, but today the airflow was mild, more like a summer breeze. If the weather had been even a little worse, the range would have dropped further.
"And it crossed that distance in twenty two seconds. That gives me a launch speed of about 425 meters per second." Kenichi wrote the figure down, then recalled the rest of his Shadow Clone's observations.
"The speed is still too slow. If the enemy notices it in time, they can still dodge. I can increase the launch speed and the explosive yield later." He noted down both the strengths and weaknesses of the test.
For ninja, a long range projectile like this was still visible enough to be noticed. So the faster it flew, the less time they would have to react. And the stronger the blast radius, the harder it would be to escape even after noticing it.
"As for those two problems, they can probably be solved by improving the chemical propellant and modifying the rocket's explosive mixture." Kenichi turned and headed back to the laboratory, already forming new ideas.
However, on the way back, another thought surfaced.
"But regarding the detonation properties of the explosive, I remember..." Back in the lab, he rummaged through his notebooks.
Most of his experimental logs were stored at the laboratory base in the Land of Rice Fields, but he had brought the most recent ones here, so it was not difficult to find what he wanted.
"Genetic Programming Experimental Data Validation One."
"Research and Summary of the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"Research on the Fusion of Trinitrotoluene and Fire Release Chakra."
Kenichi's hand paused. Then he pulled out another notebook.
"Research on the Fusion of Trinitrotoluene and Compound Release Chakra."
He flipped it open and began reading.
This was the notebook he had compiled while researching what happened when trinitrotoluene was fused with multiple chakra natures. It contained a great number of trial records.
"...After attempting to fuse Fire Release and Wind Release into trinitrotoluene, the explosive yield increased significantly. This stood in sharp contrast to the fusion of Water Release and Fire Release."
Kenichi stroked his chin.
During his work on trinitrotoluene, he had uncovered a new problem. Simply mixing in more chakra natures did not automatically create a better explosive.
For instance, combining Wind Release and Fire Release caused the power of the explosion to increase noticeably. But combining Fire Release and Water Release produced the opposite effect, shrinking the blast radius and weakening the explosion.
However, when he adjusted the ratio to seven parts Fire Release and three parts Water Release, the detonation produced high temperature steam, which carried a burn effect. It just was not particularly useful in practical terms.
"Wind, Fire, and Lightning. Those three are the best combination for rocket explosives based on repeated testing." Kenichi had already found one way to improve explosive power, but now he had a new problem.
The propellant.
Still, because some raw materials were already running low, he chose not to pursue a more complicated path for now. Instead, he would continue using today's propellant formula and first create a finished Katyusha style launcher. Once it was complete, he could claim the side mission reward and continue refining things afterward.
The launcher itself was not hard to construct.
Although Kenichi had no intention of directly building a truck for it, lining several launch tubes side by side was easy enough. With enough materials and with personnel supplied by Koyuki, he quickly assembled a crude six by six artillery array.
"The vertical adjustment works. Next I need to test launch interval, firing speed, and accuracy. If none of those have serious issues, then it can be used in actual combat." Kenichi was quite satisfied as he looked over the row of rockets beside him.
These were all trinitrotoluene rockets infused with Wind, Fire, and Lightning Release.
However, to enhance their destructive force, he had also packed in additional TNT. This was partly because the fusion of the three natures demanded more explosive material in the first place. Otherwise, the rocket casing would not be able to contain the chakra balance and would detonate prematurely.
That aspect still needed field testing too. But just as he was considering where to do it, his ring suddenly grew warm.
"Hm?"
Kenichi glanced at it and narrowed his eyes.
Nagato was contacting him again?
He paused for a moment. Based on what Nagato had said earlier, that probably meant a mission. In that case, Kenichi had no objection. In fact, he wanted another chance to speak with Nagato.
"Leader, you were looking for me..."
Kenichi released his thought wave and entered directly, but the moment he stepped into that mental space, he stopped short.
Nagato was there, of course.
But he was not alone.
Konan stood beside him.
Kenichi let out a quiet breath of relief. Fortunately, it was Konan and not Black Zetsu. Otherwise, any real conversation would have become much more troublesome.
"I have a mission for you," Nagato said at once, not even bothering to let Kenichi finish speaking.
Kenichi said nothing. He simply waited to hear it.
"Iwagakure has issued a war commission against Sunagakure. They requested you by name." Nagato continued.
Kenichi stared blankly for a second.
Good heavens.
What was Iwagakure planning now? And why had they specifically named him?
"No, why do you make it sound like I'm some kind of male escort?" Kenichi could not help blurting out.
Konan burst out laughing.
Nagato, meanwhile, visibly paused. Kenichi watched him take a deep breath, clench his fists, and forcibly calm himself.
Nagato regretted this already. If not for the fact that he did not want to create exceptions within Akatsuki, he truly would not have chosen to assign a mission to Amamiya Kenichi.
"Anyway, remember to complete it. Iwagakure's requirement is simple: attack Sunagakure and inflict effective damage. The reward is one hundred million ryo." Nagato suppressed his inner irritation and continued speaking.
Kenichi nodded. One hundred million. In the past, he would never have accepted a job at that price, because the cost would not even have been covered. But things were different now. All he needed to do was inflict enough damage, which made this the perfect chance to test the rocket launcher's barrage capability.
"Alright. Understood." He accepted immediately.
The reward was mediocre, but at least it covered expenses. More importantly, he had been looking for a test ground for his launcher. Now it seemed Sunagakure was about to become the first unlucky target.
The only concern was the village barrier. He did not know whether a concentrated rocket barrage could break through it. Still, Sunagakure was poor, small, and generally weaker than the other major villages. It should not be too much of a problem.
"Then..." Nagato clearly intended to eject him right away. The longer Kenichi stayed, the worse his headache got.
"Leader, what do you think of the proposal I mentioned before?" Kenichi cut in before he could be dismissed.
Nagato stopped.
He fell silent, then slowly turned his gaze toward Kenichi.
The moment Kenichi saw that expression, his heart stirred. There was hope.
"If the concepts of nations and hidden villages cannot be erased, then war will always return." Kenichi spoke with complete certainty. If the Ninja World could not be unified, then any so called peace would only ever be an illusion.
"Then erase them."
Nagato severed the connection.
If he kept listening, he felt his mind would only grow even more conflicted.
It was far too painful.
.....
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