After one training session after another, the sun set, the sky grew dark, and night, like a giant black cloth, enveloped the entire Konoha Village.
After seeing off a still-shaken Jiraiya and a delighted Hinata, Naruto returned to his apartment.
The room was as neat as ever, all items placed in the most logical positions, like a barracks ready for inspection at any moment. He drew the curtains, blocking out the last sliver of Gekko from outside, plunging the entire room into pure darkness.
He stood in the center of the darkness, quietly, adjusting his breathing.
The two Summoning Techniques during the day, one was an accident, the other a test.
That accident, like a key, opened a door he had never anticipated.
He bit his finger again, the taste of blood spreading on his tongue.
This time, he did not touch the contract belonging to Mount Myōboku. He immersed all his mental energy into the deepest part of his soul, like an experienced diver, precisely grasping that faint yet incredibly tenacious beacon connecting to another world.
"Summoning Technique."
The sound barely echoed in the silent room. His palm gently pressed against the cold floor.
There was no deafening roar, nor a sky-obscuring cloud of white smoke.
A distorted, black mist reeking of strong rust silently emerged from the floor. The mist was as viscous as oil, emitting a heavy, stale scent of a distant battlefield.
The mist slowly dissipated.
The soldier Karsten, his armor damaged and his expression weary, reappeared in the room.
He looked even more disheveled than he had during the day; his dark green armor had several new, deep gashes, one of which had grazed the artery in his neck. His eyes held a trace of post-calamity daze and a loneliness of being lost in an unknown star system.
"Political Commissar!"
When he saw Naruto before him, that daze instantly vanished, replaced by the rekindled absolute loyalty of a soldier. He snapped to attention, his heels clicking dully on the floor.
"Reporting, sir, I tried all communication frequencies, including the Emperor's Mercy emergency channel, but still cannot contact the regiment. The star charts here... do not match any of the Empire's star maps. I... we are lost."
His voice was hoarse, filled with exhaustion.
Naruto walked up to him, his gaze falling on the almost fatal new scratch on his armor, but he didn't ask what he had encountered, only calmly asked, "Ammunition and supply status?"
This question, more than any words of concern, reassured an old soldier.
Karsten's face showed a trace of bitterness, as if chewing on a bitter gourd.
"Bolter ammunition remaining: seventeen rounds. Only one energy cell left, just enough to maintain the armor's most basic life support system. Food and purified water have run out. I... I have failed your expectations, sir."
He lowered his head as he said this, like a child who had done something wrong. In a strange, hostile world, running out of ammunition and supplies meant the most desperate end.
"You have not failed expectations, soldier."
Naruto walked to the window, pulling back a corner of the curtain, looking at the sparsely lit night view of Konoha Village outside. Every light there represented a family that needed to be protected, a spark of humanity.
Without turning around, he issued new orders in an unquestionable tone.
"Your mission has changed."
"From now on, switch to extreme survival mode. Your primary objective is to survive and serve as my coordinate 'on the other side.' I will find a way to provide you with supplies."
Naruto turned around, his ice-blue pupils in the darkness, like two cold stars, looking directly into Karsten's eyes.
"Remember, the Emperor is watching you."
These words, like a sacred decree and a potent stimulant, instantly injected into Karsten's near-collapsed will. Despair and confusion were swept away, replaced by a renewed sense of purpose and determination.
"Yes, sir! For the Emperor!" Karsten straightened his chest again, his voice booming.
Naruto nodded, then released the Summoning Technique.
The black mist dissipated, and the room returned to silence.
A heavy and dangerous secret front, linking two worlds, had thus begun.
For the next ten days, Naruto's life became regular and compact.
During the day, he sweated profusely at the training ground.
The ferocious Chainsword seemed to come alive in his hands. He was no longer merely replicating but integrating his will and understanding of "destruction" into every bit of Chakra.
"Chainsword Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a low shout, dozens of Chainswords appeared out of thin air, suspended in the air, each as stable as a physical object, their sawteeth rotating at high speed, emitting a teeth-grinding hum. They were no longer phantoms but true killing weapons that could be deployed in battle.
And at night, when the entire Konoha Village was deep in slumber, Naruto's apartment transformed into a cross-dimensional command center.
"Reporting, sir, I am currently in a giant fungal forest. The air contains toxic spores, and the armor's filtration system is nearing its limit."
"Based on the environmental information you provided, proceed seven kilometers in your three o'clock direction; there will be an underground river there. The water can neutralize the toxicity of the spores. Be aware of parasitic leeches in the river; stun them with the high-energy battery in your military boot."
"Sir, I discovered an abandoned mine shaft, which appears to be the lair of some alien creature. I dare not go deeper."
"According to your description, that creature has nocturnal hibernation habits. Use your Bolter to create a small cave-in, sealing the main entrance, then infiltrate through a side ventilation shaft. Their eggs are high in protein and can serve as an emergency food source. Remember, do not use fire; that will awaken them."
"Take this, potato chips, high-calorie food."
"If you're not in a hurry, you can have a few bowls of ramen here before you go."
Naruto, relying on his extensive experience as an Imperial Political Commissar that surpassed this world, and the real-time intelligence provided by Karsten, strategized like the most brilliant chess player.
He taught Karsten how to identify edible plants, how to set up the simplest yet deadliest traps, and how to use the terrain to evade unheard-of terrifying predators.
Every day was a dance on a knife's edge.
On the night of the tenth day.
Naruto, as usual, laid out the Summoning array on the floor.
Black mist surged out, but this time, the familiar smell of rust had less despair and more of a steady, grim determination.
The mist dissipated, and Karsten's figure appeared.
He was no longer the disheveled remnant soldier from ten days ago.
Although Karsten's armor was still worn, every damaged part had been carefully repaired and polished to a shine. The ferocious Bolter in his hand was well-maintained and gleaming. Behind him, he carried a bulging rucksack, and new magazines and energy cells hung from his waist, along with even a captured, strangely shaped alien dagger.
His face still bore the marks of wind and scars, but in his eyes, all fatigue and confusion had vanished, replaced by the hardened grit and confidence of one who had endured much.
Seeing Naruto, he immediately unslung his pack and knelt on one knee, his movements clean and sharp.
"Political Commissar!"
His voice was no longer hoarse but filled with power.
"Soldier Karsten, reporting to you! I have successfully rendezvoused with the remnants of the Cadian 8th Regiment! We have cleared out an alien tribe entrenched in a valley and seized their energy crystals! Now, we have ample ammunition and no worries about supplies!"
He looked up, his gaze burning as he stared at Naruto, his eyes filled with fervent adoration and absolute loyalty.
"Political Commissar! We are ready for battle at any moment! Please give the order!"
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