Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Trading Technology for Resources, a Blood Profit!
The most difficult person to accept this was, naturally, Rina herself.
Looking at her paralyzed puppet, she almost burst into tears, but considering the current situation, she held them back and said, "This thing of yours is not puppet jutsu at all!"
Upon hearing this, Yamato put away his puppet arm and looked at her strangely. "I never said it was puppet jutsu. Any jutsu or ninja tool, as long as it can defeat the enemy and is useful enough, is fine. Why get hung up on what it is?"
His words were very direct, rendering the Sand Village crowd silent. Especially Rina. She had been very angry, thinking that Konoha’s creation couldn’t be called puppet jutsu at all. But on second thought, the other party had indeed never said from beginning to end that he was going to demonstrate puppet jutsu.
And, wasn’t puppet jutsu used to kill enemies? According to Yamato’s logic, there was indeed no problem.
"Hokage, this puppet... no, I think it’s more like a special kind of ninja tool. This kind of ninja tool..." Rasa really wanted to ask directly "how much does it sell for," but he managed to hold back the words on the tip of his tongue.
There were children present! It wasn’t very good to talk about such worldly things directly, and it would affect his image as the Kazekage. But, the Sand Village had so many puppet jutsu, yet they couldn’t create something as powerful as Konoha’s.
In comparison, Konoha probably hadn’t been researching puppet jutsu for very long, yet they had already reached such an incredible level. And... their puppet jutsu was completely different from the Sand Village’s; it was indeed another direction.
"It is indeed more like a ninja tool." Tsunade didn’t explain in depth, just smiled and waved her hand, signaling for Yamato to leave.
Baki really wanted to call out to him. However, thinking of the other’s age, he realized that even if he defeated his opponent, it wouldn’t mean much. What’s more, in terms of puppets and ninja tools, the other party’s creation was indeed superior to theirs.
That terrifying power... what on earth was it?
All the Sand Village ninja were thinking and pondering. They couldn’t figure out how Konoha had created such an exquisite and powerful ninja tool.
The one with the most complicated feelings was naturally Rasa. He still had an unsettled deal with Konoha—trading a mine for a puppet ninja tool. Tsunade hadn’t forced him to sign the contract before. Now, it seemed, Tsunade was not afraid that he wouldn’t agree.
Rasa’s mood was complicated. He had no mind for the subsequent tour and didn’t even know what Tsunade was talking about with his subordinates. After several minutes, he gradually came back to his senses.
***
On the roof of a tall building in the distance.
"This time, Rasa should have taken the bait, right?"
"He is a cautious but bold person. With just this one ninja tool, he will definitely still calculate carefully. But if it’s a full-body puppet, he will agree," Kyohiko said with a smile.
The Hashirama cell version would definitely not be sold externally. And even if it were, the Sand Village would not actually be able to master such a powerful creation. The ordinary version, they were still researching, but the basic chakra gathering and enhancement patterns were very simple. As long as they had the metal for making chakra armor, they could complete the manufacturing.
In the future, when the Sand Village felt the benefits, they could sell the iterated second version of the puppet ninja tool to them... Thinking of this, a brilliant smile appeared on his face.
"Are you sure there is this kind of chakra metal in that area?"
"Yes, the intelligence ninja has already sent back a message, confirming that there are such resources there. Other places are still being detected," Kyohiko nodded.
"Good! That’s great!" Mitokado Homura also had a brilliant smile.
According to Kyohiko’s words, technology could be iterated and upgraded. Old, ancient technology would sooner or later be eliminated by more powerful ones. But resources were non-renewable. Even if the Sand Village had magnet release technology and could mine a large amount of minerals, it would run out one day.
Trading basic weapon technology for a valuable mine, it was definitely their Konoha that would profit more! And on Konoha’s side... with more chakra metal, they could create more of such ninja tools.
Thinking of this, Mitokado Homura immediately said, "Kyohiko, don’t forget to delay for a while, so that the Sand Village doesn’t realize the importance of the mineral!"
"It’s already being done." Kyohiko nodded lightly.
The former Mitokado Homura was indeed rather muddle-headed in certain areas. But recently, ever since he had been cooperating and learning more with him in education, his mind had become much more flexible, like an old tree rejuvenating.
As for Sarutobi Hiruzen, he had also been given the most suitable position—ninjutsu research! The research on summoning jutsu had recently begun to be promoted in the Anbu, and at most it would only take two months to complete all iterations. After that, they just needed to continuously increase the members of the summoning beast clans.
The research and manufacturing of the five-element puppets could greatly enhance Konoha’s strength. In the future, it would be of great use whether against White Zetsu or against the ninja armies of other villages. The power and efficiency produced by this kind of mutual cooperation would definitely be higher than the past war model of winning by quantity.
Now they just had to wait for the results!
***
Sarutobi clan compound. Sarutobi Shinnosuke came back from outside and was a little surprised to see his mother, Biwako, and his father, Hiruzen, both at home.
"Is Father at home every day recently?"
"Not every day." Sarutobi Biwako was washing vegetables and couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
?
Sarutobi Shinnosuke was full of confusion. What was so funny? He had been on a mission recently, so he didn’t know about the changes within Konoha, let alone that Sarutobi Hiruzen had just come back from going out...
Sarutobi Biwako smiled kindly. "Your father, he finished a research project for Tsunade and happily went to find her, only to come back with another research project."
"Ah?" Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was stunned for a few seconds, then couldn’t help but laugh. "This, isn’t this just Tsunade-sama and Kyohiko doing it on purpose?"
"Hahaha!" Sarutobi Biwako finally couldn’t hold it in.
A violent coughing sound came from inside the house, followed by a voice. "What’s so funny?"
"I’m contributing to the village. What do these trivial details matter?" Sarutobi Hiruzen walked out in a huff. He glared at Sarutobi Biwako, then looked at Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
"This mission, I remember you should have passed by the capital, right? Have you checked on Asuma?"
"I’ve seen him from a distance." Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded, then smiled. "You don’t have to worry about him. This kid has his own friends now."
"Sigh..." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. He wasn’t worried about friends or social life, but about other things. But he also knew. Asuma had left Konoha purely because he didn’t want to have too deep a connection with him. The grudge with that kid was secondary.
He didn’t say any more and changed the subject. Then, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh right, your Earth Release is not bad. Come and take a look together." He pulled Shinnosuke into the house.
After a short while, Sarutobi Shinnosuke’s face showed surprise. This kind of puppet technology was unheard of. If it could really be done, such a weapon would be at least as good as the Sannin’s summoning beasts and could change the situation on the battlefield to a certain extent. If it could be successfully created, it would be Konoha’s secret weapon.
"Father, this research is very meaningful!"
"Yes, you research the Earth Release part, and I’ll research the other types. Let’s conquer the five patterns together!"
"Okay." Sarutobi Shinnosuke was full of excitement.
Outside, Sarutobi Biwako smiled helplessly. The father and son were two peas in a pod!
***
"Rasa, what do you think? After looking around, are you satisfied with our ninja academy?"
"Satisfied, of course I’m satisfied!" Rasa nodded repeatedly. Then, he hesitated for a moment and said, "I just don’t know about the tuition fees?"
"Our Konoha has a considerable subsidy for its own ninja, so the children’s tuition is relatively low. It definitely won’t be that cheap for your Sand Village to come to school," Tsunade answered. After that, she excused herself by saying that the "education finances" were in the hands of the three great advisors, and she had no right to interfere—let Rasa haggle with the three advisors over this matter! Anyway, they were used to it. Tsunade thought to herself.
She smiled and said, "Rasa, we’ve been ninja for many years. Let’s not play that game. Let’s talk about the most important thing directly."
"About that ninja tool..." Rasa was very tempted. But the price was the resources of a mine! Although that mine had already been dug quite a bit by them, with less than half of the resources left, it was still a precious mineral.
He gritted his teeth and said, "I’m very tempted, but I want to know, will our Sand Village get the same kind of puppet as yours?"
"Of course not." Tsunade shook her head.
Rasa was stunned for a long time, his face filled with confusion and incomprehension. Tsunade’s answer was within his expectations, but also beyond his expectations—he had not expected that Tsunade would answer so readily, without any concealment.
Aren’t you even going to pretend?
Tsunade said with a smile, "Rasa, this puppet device is very special. You must have seen its core, right?"
To amplify the power of chakra, Rasa thought to himself. He was silent for a few seconds, then nodded lightly. "Yes."
"The basic is to amplify the effect of chakra and enhance its power. On top of that, different functions can be added, for example, the five basic release techniques." A slight smile appeared on Tsunade’s lips. "Also, who told you that this ninja tool only has one hand?"
"What?" Rasa was first astonished, then his eyes widened, unable to stop his shock. "You mean, it’s actually a component?"
"Of course. I said, this is a cross-era puppet jutsu. Your Sand Village will definitely not lose out by buying it," Tsunade said with a serious expression.
Rasa’s heart pounded like a drum. Even though he was experienced, he had never thought that puppets could be designed this way. This was equivalent to directly using a person as a puppet and strengthening the person’s own ninjutsu abilities. It was more like... armor?
"Is what you said true? Then, that child’s puppet ninja tool, which ninjutsu does it correspond to?"
"Considering you are our ally, I can reveal it to you, but you are not allowed to leak it out. Otherwise..." Tsunade sneered coldly, the threat self-evident. Then, she paused and said, "Wood Release!"
"Wood Release?" Rasa’s first reaction was "impossible," but then he thought of a piece of intelligence from a long time ago. Besides Kyohiko, Konoha had a second ninja who had mastered Wood Release ninjutsu, who had shown their ability in the war against the Hidden Stone Village before. But, because it could not be confirmed whether it was Kyohiko in disguise, there had been many different opinions outside for so many years.
Now it was confirmed—it was true! Konoha really had a second child who had mastered Wood Release.
Rasa’s pupils shrank, and his thoughts quickly diverged, further understanding Konoha’s attitude.
A show of strength! Even if that child’s strength was not as strong as Kyohiko’s, with the special puppet armor, they still possessed incredibly powerful strength. If the Sand Village wanted to betray them, they would have to weigh the price.
Rasa nodded in understanding. "I understand!"
Wood Release was indeed special! Even if Konoha was willing to give it, they would not be able to control the power of this puppet ninja tool. But, even so, as long as they got this puppet armor, their Sand Village could study its structure and function, and then derive and develop new products.
Trading half a mine for technology, it was a blood profit, not a loss!
He answered immediately. "I personally agree to the deal with Konoha, but it concerns special resources, so I need to ask the daimyō for instructions."
"Of course, I didn’t expect it to be finalized immediately. After all, it will also take some time for us to produce it." Tsunade tapped her fingers lightly on the table and said, "Oh right, you want to jointly hold the Chūnin Exams with Konoha. Coincidentally, the Hidden Rain Village has a similar idea and should be arriving in Konoha soon."
"The Hidden Rain Village?" Rasa was slightly taken aback. He didn’t expect that Konoha had, without a sound, hooked up with the Hidden Rain Village. This was the strongest village among the small ninja villages!
His heart was heavy, but he forced a smile on his face. "If we can hold it together, that would be for the best."
***
At this time, Yahiko and Konan were indeed about to reach Konoha.
Outside Konoha.
"Yahiko, it’s all your fault! You insisted on taking a detour to that Tanzaku Town. I didn’t expect it to be that kind of place!" Konan was very annoyed.
Yahiko coughed lightly and said, "How would I know that the good place Jiraiya-sensei mentioned would be this kind of..."
"What kind of good place could he be talking about?!!" Konan snorted coldly.
Yahiko was at a loss for words, then he explained, "Actually, it wasn’t without gains..."
"Oh?" Konan glanced at him, clearly not quite believing him.
Yahiko pondered for a moment and said, "I heard that the Kazekage of the Sand Village is also visiting Konoha this time."
"What does that have to do with us?" Konan’s strength was not weak, but her thinking in this area was clearly not on the same level as Yahiko’s.
Yahiko was very patient. "Our three-party alliance can set up a four-party co-governed zone in the south near the Land of Rivers."
Four-party... naturally included the Land of Rivers. But, as a country without a ninja village, on the Land of Rivers’ side, in fact, they just needed to ensure that the interests of the daimyō and the noble faction were not lost. If such a town could be built, the Land of Rain would definitely benefit more.
Upon hearing this, Konan said—"I don’t quite understand, but I know one thing."
"What?" Yahiko looked at her.
Konan smiled slightly and pointed in the direction of Konoha. "No matter what you’re planning, we now have to, one, depend on Konoha’s mood, two, depend on the Sand Village’s mood, and three, on Hanzō-sama above us."
"Yeah! I really miss our time in the Land of Birds..." Yahiko lamented.
In the village in the Land of Birds, they basically had the final say. Yahiko could give full play to his abilities without any scruples. But when he arrived in the Hidden Rain Village, Hanzō said he trusted him, but how much trust there was was still unknown, and the people in the village did not obey him. The road was long and arduous!