Chapter 198: Human Puppet·Rasa
The Land of Wind, Sunagakure Village.
In the conference room of Kazekage Building.
Tired, bored, powerless, numb, angry, calm...
A dozen chairs were placed around a huge stone round table in the center, which seemed quiet and empty under the gaze of the statues of successive Kazekages.
Except for a few ninja clan leaders, the others present were either elders of the Sunagakure Village like Ebizo, who held important management positions, or were senior ninjas with fame and strength.
But at this moment, these high-ranking people in Sunagakure had different expressions, and the entire conference room was filled with a depressing and dull atmosphere, as if a cracked clay jar was about to break.
"…Regarding the proposals for training medical ninjas, researching medical ninjutsu, and developing and utilizing puppet technology, if there are no objections, I hope you will cooperate in the future."
The Third Kazekage sat in the first seat, his tone was calm but unquestionable.
The rest of the people looked at each other, and they all saw the hesitation and even the vague gloom in each other's eyes.
Their hesitation and gloom were not because the training of medical ninjas and the research of medical ninjutsu required a huge amount of resources and energy.
Although the Sunagakure Village is surrounded by a desert with no resources to exploit, the capital of the Land of Wind is located in the largest oasis in the desert and has land that is very suitable for growing herbs and cash crops.
It can be said that at least 80 percent of the resources of the Land of Wind are in the hands of the daimyo and nobles of the Land of Wind.
Hanzo tore off his face, overturned the table, and led the Amegakure Village to declare war on the Land of Wind, which made the Land of Wind furious.
The daimyo directly increased the resource support for the Sunagakure Village and readily approved a large sum of military funds for the war. The only requirement was to kill Hanzo and defeat the Land of Rain.
Therefore, the financial pressure they are facing now is not that great. This is why they can still hold on and not be defeated when facing the Amegakure troops that are like mad dogs and have the support of Konohagakure behind them.
What really made them feel depressed and look different was actually the proposal on the development and utilization of puppet technology.
The puppet technology of Sunagakure is unique in the ninja world, but due to the limitation of materials and resources, it has now entered a bottleneck period and there is not much room for improvement.
Therefore, the so-called "puppet technology" of the Third Kazekage is actually... the technology related to human puppets.
The human puppet can retain its appearance in life, use all the ninjutsu it had in life, and even inherit its bloodline limit.
This technique is indeed powerful, but it is too evil and a blasphemy against life.
Even in this ninja world where wars never cease, "resting in peace" is the idea of most people.
But the human puppet needs to have the chakra of the person when he was alive, and a living person who has not yet died needs to be made into a puppet, so that all the ninjutsu of this person during his lifetime can be fully preserved!
Capturing ninjas from other hostile ninja villages and making them into human puppets would definitely cause public outrage and hatred. That would be a real endless hatred, and the reputation of the Sunagakure Village in the ninja world would plummet!
Therefore, after the Second Kazekage accidentally discovered the results of his research, He sealed up the method of making and controlling human puppets without hesitation.
Now, apart from the Book of Seals, only Chiyo's family of puppeteers still has the inheritance.
"..."
Thinking of this, everyone turned their eyes to Chiyo and Ebizo who were sitting in the second seats on both sides, wanting to see whether the two people who had the most say in this matter would be so angry as to slam the table.
But all they saw was silence.
It couldn't be said to be silent, but at least Chiyo's face, which was filled with fatigue, was already very gloomy.
In contrast, Ebizo looked calmer. He shook his head at his sister and said calmly, "I have no objection..."
At this point, he suddenly paused, but still couldn't help but speak with a hint of sarcasm: "After all, Lord Kazekage has already conducted human experiments in private and confirmed the feasibility, right?"
Human experiment?!
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed instantly. They all frowned and looked at the Third Kazekage.
However, some people remain unmoved.
Indeed, life is not such a trivial thing.
But saying this is a bit hypocritical.
The more advanced the medical ninjutsu and technology are, the more they cannot avoid human experiments. They are all developed step by step in this way, and are the valuable experience gained based on the countless sacrifices and deaths of predecessors.
Therefore, they were just curious. Since the Third Kazekage dared to bring up this matter at the high-level meeting, and Chiyo and Ebizo did not directly object, did he have something to rely on?
Facing the angry or suspicious eyes of the crowd, the Third Kazekage did not explain, but clapped his hands expressionlessly and said, "Come in."
Click.
The door of the conference room was pushed open, and the person who walked in was beyond everyone's expectations.
Click! Click!
The man stepped on the ground with his right foot and then stepped out with his left foot. He seemed to be extremely stiff and uncomfortable.
"Teacher." He knelt on one knee beside the Third Kazekage, his body making a strange "crackling" sound while moving, and his tone was as calm as that of a dead person.
When they saw the man's face clearly, many people present recognized his identity.
"Rasa?!"
A younger Sunagakure Village jonin exclaimed, "You haven't... become a useless person..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw Rasa, who was kneeling on one knee with his head bowed respectfully, raise his head.
The pair of extremely cold eyes that seemed to be devoid of any human emotion looked over, causing the Sunagakure Village jonin to swallow the next words and shudder all over.
The others were more calm, but they had the same doubts in their hearts as he did.
This disciple of the Third Kazekage possesses the same magnetic release technique as the Third Kazekage, which is even more strategically valuable and can control gold sand.
Like the female ninja Pakura who possesses the Scorch Release, he was a genius who was once trained by the Sunagakure Village.
But Pakura has now made a name for herself on the battlefield of the Land of River, and even has the hope of succeeding the position of Kazekage and becoming the Fourth Kazekage.
However, Rasa, who was always compared with Pakura by others, was poisoned and became a disabled person in the battle that made Hanzo famous.
Chiyo, who has the highest medical expertise, has already made the conclusion that it is no longer possible for Rasa to continue being a ninja.
Even with the assistance of a breathing device, every breath would be painful and any strenuous activity would be impossible, which was fatal for a ninja.
Many people sighed and lamented about this, feeling sorry that Sunagakure had sacrificed another genius, and their hatred for Hanzo deepened.
But now, this former genius, now a useless person, has been summoned by the Third Kazekage again...
"Rasa."
The Third Kazekage ignored everyone's surprise and said, "Let everyone here see your current strength."
After saying that, he waved his arms casually, and the tightly closed windows opened instantly, and the noisy wind blew into the conference room.
"Yes."
Rasa bowed his head and responded, then stood up. Two arms with a golden glow stretched out from the wide gray robe.
He formed seals with his hands, and a chakra aura far more terrifying than before emerged, causing the faces of everyone present to change slightly.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral." Rasa said.
The next moment, the dazzling sunlight that had originally shone into the conference room from the window was eroded, darkness occupied everyone's eyes, and everything seemed to be submerged in a tide of darkness.
Looking out the window, they saw endless gold sand surging and gathering from the desert below like sea water. The wave-like golden sand seemed to break the thick sky into wisps.
"This..."
Everyone looked up at the golden waves outside the window that covered the sky and seemed about to collapse. A heavy pressure gradually pressed down on the heart of each of them like a tide, and their expressions gradually became filled with horror.
It's not like they haven't seen this level of sand manipulation before.
The Third Kazekage could even control iron sand which was heavier than sand, and use the Magnetic Release: Iron Sand World Method Jutsu which was even more terrifying than the scene before their eyes.
The reason why he was able to become famous in the ninja world and even had the title of "The Strongest Kazekage" was because the iron sand he controlled was extremely strong.
It is heavier, harder, and more powerful than the gold sand controlled by Rasa. It can form a large-scale sand iron barrier in the air for piercing attacks. It is the form with the strongest attack, limited range, and density.
But Rasa is only a teenager now!
Before he was poisoned and became a cripple, he could only control a small amount of gold sand, but now...
Moreover, the advantage of gold dust lies not in combat but in its own value.
What the Land of Wind lacks the least is mineral resources, but the difficulty lies in how to discover and explore gold mines, how to mine the discovered mineral resources, that is, how to pan for gold in the vast desert.
Now with Rasa's ability, as long as enough gold sand is panned out from the desert, the Sunagakure Village will be able to support a battle without even the support of the daimyo.
"As you can see."
The Third Kazekage spoke, drawing everyone's attention back to him, and crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke calmly, "Rasa's body below the head has now been replaced by puppet organs made of chakra-conducting metal."
"Moreover, after adding the gold dust, with his bloodline limit, he will be able to move without any inconvenience, and even more agile than before. His physical strength is beyond the reach of human flesh."
"As for the final effect, I believe everyone has seen it."
Hearing this, the expressions of everyone present became surprised. Obviously, they did not expect that after the transformation of the human puppet body, Rasa not only regained the ability to move from a disabled person, but also had such a significant enhancement in ability.
"I am aware of your concerns. Human experiments and the creation of human puppets are undoubtedly unethical, but you can rest assured."
Seeing that everyone was touched, the Third Kazekage continued, "Before conducting human experiments, the human puppet transformation technology has been tested on many animals and has accumulated enough experimental data."
"Although the final transformation effects of others may not be as significant as Rasa's magnetic release, based on the complete theory, as long as it is done carefully, the risk of endangering life is very low, and safety is guaranteed."
"Moreover, in order to promote technological development, based on humanitarianism, adhere to principles, and be responsible for the health and life safety of the transformed, human puppet transformation is entirely voluntary."
Having said this, the Third Kazekage paused and swept his eyes across everyone's faces with different expressions.
"Lord Kazekage means..."
Everyone present was not stupid and understood his intention immediately.
"That is to say, we will mainly recruit those ninjas who are physically disabled and have lost their ability to fight. Those who participate in the transformation will be reorganized into the puppet troop branch and become elite puppet detachments. In addition, they can also enjoy subsidies..."
The Third Kazekage briefly outlined the subsidies that human puppet transformers could enjoy. Everyone looked at each other in surprise, their eyes flickered, and they couldn't help but feel moved.
"This... seems feasible?"
"Lord Kazekage is right. Since it is all voluntary, there will be no problem."
"Yes, and there are so many ninjas in the village who have to retreat to the background due to disabilities. I think they will be very happy to know that there is hope for them to regain their mobility."
"The only problem is that the capital investment required will be terrifying, right? However, with the village's current funds and Rasa's ability, it should be no problem to select a thousand people to build an elite team."
After the first supporter appeared, the atmosphere in the meeting room changed immediately, and everyone thought it was a good proposal.
Not to mention, in the battle between Hanzo and the black cat, there were at least a thousand Sunagakure Village ninjas like Rasa who were poisoned and treated in time but still lost their ability to fight.
Not to mention those elite ninjas who had retired from the front line due to disabilities. A large part of the Sunagakure Village's annual financial expenditure was spent on them.
Although it is impossible to provide lifelong support, disability pensions and nursing fees are much more expensive than war death pensions.
Except for a small number of disabled ninjas who taught in ninja schools, other disabled ninjas are a burden to the Sunagakure Village.
Today, the development and utilization of human puppet technology can make full use of these "burdens".
"Since everyone has no objection, this proposal is tentatively confirmed. The future human puppet transformers will be led by Rasa."
The Third Kazekage couldn't help but feel relieved, and promoted his disciple to the position of squad leader.
The others had no objection to this, except Chiyo, who had always had a gloomy expression, who suddenly stood up.
"Hmph! Then I wish you all the best. I will not accompany you any longer. After this war is over, I will resign from the position of elder!"
She snorted coldly, her eyes swept across Rasa and the Third Kazekage, a flash of disappointment passed through her eyes, and then she turned away.
"This..."
The others finally reacted and looked towards the Third Kazekage, only to see him just wave his hand and say, "Elder Chiyo is just tired. She will figure it out soon."
In fact, he had already had a quarrel with Chiyo before this.
But the matter is done, and there seems to be no problem with his proposal. Even Ebizo acquiesces in this approach. After all, he is the one who understands the current difficulties faced by Sunagakure best.
It would be meaningless if only Chiyo opposed it.
"..."
Ebizo sat in his seat with his eyes downcast, his long white eyebrows drooping in front of him, hiding the strange color in his eyes.
After Chiyo left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief with the Third Kazekage's guarantee, and immediately began to check for omissions and discuss the feasibility of the plan.
After a moment, the Third Kazekage stretched out his fingers and tapped the table lightly.
Boom…Boom…
The sound of everyone's conversation suddenly stopped, and they subconsciously turned their eyes over here.
"In addition to this proposal, I have another piece of good news to tell you."
Facing everyone's puzzled gazes, the Third Kazekage smiled and said, "The Land of Fire has sent a letter, hoping to join forces with us to assassinate Hanzo and fight against the Land of Rain together."
"That is to say, next, it's finally time for us to fight back."
(End of this chapter)