So, half an hour later.
Sasayama Chiran, the vice-captain of the Puppet Force's Second Division, received a mission from Chiyo, the head of the Puppet Force.
This was the same person who had been the chief examiner when Qingshui participated in the Puppet Force selection. He was a burly man with a muscular build, arms so wide you could run a horse on them. He looked more like a Taijutsu ninja than a Puppet Master.
Only after Qingshui joined the Puppet Force did he accidentally hear that this individual, in order to overcome the Puppet Master's weakness in close combat, would specially set aside time every month for Taijutsu strengthening training. Even his daily diet paid great attention to nutritional balance, which was how he forged a body no less capable than that of a regular Taijutsu ninja.
Qingshui felt that Chiyo's choice was very fitting, because this person's body was indeed as strong as an ox.
"Elder Chiyo, is there a mission? Are you asking me to act with Captain Qingshui? Are there other team members?"
Jonin Sasayama walked into the dungeon with a steady expression and asked Chiyo.
In his opinion, a mission requiring two or more Jonin must be a very important S-rank Mission.
"Something like that. As for other team members... perhaps this old woman counts too?"
Chiyo replied.
Jonin Sasayama's expression became even more serious.
Chiyo was leading the team!
This was no ordinary mission!
"Elder Chiyo, please give your command!"
"Go in, test the poison."
Chiyo pointed to the room separated by glass.
In the corner, the Grass Village Chunin sat on the ground with his legs spread, foaming at the mouth, looking utterly broken.
Jonin Sasayama: ???
Another ten-odd minutes later.
Jonin Sasayama emerged, pale-faced, leaning against the wall.
"Excellent. It seems Jonin indeed have stronger resistance. They can barely maintain consciousness in a fear illusion, but their perception of their surroundings and their own judgment are greatly affected, and their Ninjutsu release is even more unstable."
Qingshui mumbled, continuing to record on the paper.
"Elder Chiyo, surely this is the end?"
Chiyo simply shook her head silently.
"Qingshui, use Medical Ninjutsu to treat Jonin Sasayama. Afterward, give him a regular Antidote Pill, then try again."
Jonin Sasayama felt his vision go black.
However, in reality, Chiyo was quite fair in her dealings.
She promised to add Jonin Sasayama's name to the list of personnel involved in the creation of this type of poison and submit it as an A-rank Mission to the Third Kazekage.
And when Jonin Sasayama, trembling, walked out of the partitioned room again, there was one more person outside.
A handsome young man with red hair.
"The effect is still pretty good."
Chiyo tossed a small bottle to Jonin Sasayama.
"This contains an antidote formulated by this old woman based on the poison's properties. After you use it, write down your sensations, then come back here in two days to see if your body develops antibodies against this toxin."
"You mean, in two days, I have to go through this again?"
Qingshui actually detected a tremor in the voice of Jonin Sasayama, a seasoned Jonin.
Chiyo smiled and nodded.
"Alright, no matter what, it's two days from now. Don't feel wronged; this old woman will remember your contribution today."
"No, no, no, Elder Chiyo, not wronged at all, not wronged in the slightest!"
Jonin Sasayama waved his hands repeatedly.
He knew that once the current Second Division captain retired or was transferred, that position would surely fall to him.
"Let's go! Sasayama, you come along and see what new Puppetry Qingshui and Sasori have been busy with these past few months. It seems they've made progress, and this old woman is quite curious."
Chiyo walked ahead, chuckling.
Sasori had come because the Ninja World's first fully automated production line was complete.
Ten minutes later.
Chiyo arrived at the Sixth Division's headquarters, which had been transformed beyond recognition.
Since Qingshui became the Sixth Division's captain, half of the area had been partitioned off, becoming his and Sasori's most important laboratory.
Or rather, a factory that, though small, was fully equipped.
Jianye and Jianxue would sometimes come here to help.
The siblings showed considerable interest in the new Puppetry created by Qingshui and Sasori.
The former was a Jonin, after all, with good skills. He quickly absorbed and understood a lot of knowledge, which was a great help.
As for Jianxue, in the past two years, she's decided to focus her development primarily on Medical Ninjutsu. While she hasn't abandoned Puppetry, her progress has slowed. She splits her time between the Puppet Force and the Medical Squad, and with her energy divided, she's still only a Chunin. She typically just helps out when needed.
"This is..."
Chiyo looked at the steaming pool, then at the several furnaces further away, and finally, her gaze settled on the shimmering Kunai arranged on the racks nearby.
"This is the Ninja Tool Production Line we've set up."
Jianye emerged from the back room, acting as the explainer.
"Those are the melting furnaces for steel. Once high-quality iron ore, lime, and coke are fed into them, you just flip a switch, and this Ninja Tool Production Line, created with new Puppetry, can start working."
"The entire production line is divided into two parts. After the slag and molten iron are separated in the blast furnace, they go to the converter for oxygen blowing and new components are added to improve the quality of the steel. Finally, it's cast into steel ingots. This is actually a complete steelmaking production line."
"After that, it's for casting Kunai, but not just Kunai. By changing the molds and programs, it can also cast Ninja Blades, Shuriken, and more."
"The main idea here is to use the fixed programs of puppets to carry out the steps traditionally performed by artisans in crafting ninja tools. The newly produced steel is reheated, forged and stretched, then folded and forged again, repeating multiple times. After it cools down, it's cut and polished to create the rough blanks."
"Then it's reheated to a red-hot state, finally placed in a medicinal pool for cooling and quenching, and then tempered to enhance toughness until it cools completely."
Jianye placed a freshly cooled Kunai in front of Chiyo.
"After the cooling is complete, these Kunai need to be manually put on an angle grinder for sharpening and polishing to get the final product."
Chiyo picked up the Kunai from Jianye's hand, then picked up a fully polished Kunai from the nearby rack, and tried to trim her fingernails with it.
"It's reasonably sharp. While it can't compare to the excellent artisans in the village who make ninja tools, it's certainly usable."
Chiyo commented, her eyes subtly shifting.
Anyone with a bit of sense would understand what this implied.
If they built a few more production lines, as long as raw materials weren't scarce, the Sand Village could rapidly produce large quantities of ninja tools during wartime, significantly enhancing their combat capabilities.
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