Freshly carved wood shavings carpeted the ground of the sandstone floor, the air thick with the scent of oil and lacquer as over a dozen puppets in progress lay scattered haphazardly all over the floor.
And slouching on the workbench of said room, was a little red haired kid, screwing in a joint into his Mantis puppet.
"Why do I have so much work!"
I groaned, tossing the tool in my hand to the ground.
Its been over a week since Sasori's untimely departure from the village, with the consequences putting me under duress.
Wih his absence, many of his customers who had once placed orders for puppets had mistakenly thought that he was sent on a long mission.
So the bittersweet reality hit me hard - the disappearance of my brother caused a lot of focus shifted to me as the sole genius puppet maker left in the village, leaving his clients turning to me.
And since I know he's left the village for good, it has forced me to take his mantle now as the sole genius puppet maker.
Unexpectedly, fulfilling this role has imbued me with me a lot of knowledge pertaining to the history of Sunagakure.
Contained within this history, a very unique fact has become apparent to me.
Puppets have a deep history in the sand village, before the great ninja wars, during times when nomadic tribes still occupied the desert, puppets were only used for entertainment and plays, with this still being a prevalent practice to this day and many rich elites buying my puppets for that sole purpose.
During the times when the great villages were established, an important figure emerged.
Monzaemon Chikamastu - the first puppet master. Besides being a master craftsman, his visionary idea revolutionised puppeteering combat in Sunagakure.
Granny Chiyos ten infamous puppets were made by none other than him - The White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets.
Due to the infamy of said puppets, I've also been attempting to work on creating ten highly specialised puppets myself but my plans have been ruined due to the sudden influx of customers I've received.
Clink
The final hinge latched on the Mantis puppet I've been paid to create.
[Puppets (0/10) - Completed(7)
Puppet and Baryon fusion reactor knowledge (12.3%)]
In an instant the same familiar sensation I've felt numerous times flushed through my cranium, my eyes locked on to the mechanisms of the puppet in front of me; the angle of the joints, the hinge on the claws, tensioning of the threads. what was once invisible, now lay bare, as though a veil had been lifted from my eyes, the flaws along with the solution, all appearing crystal clear to me.
Although my intellect hadn't changed, my instincts when creating puppets had altered, every detail in my line of sight had been fine tuned, concepts I at one point couldn't even imagine clicked deep within my psyche.
However this time something was different.
Without effort, a blueprint was rapidly manifested within my mind . It was as though I had formed a 3d rendition.
And what was visualised, was just as revolutionary as the Chikamtsu Collection.
"If this truly works as envisioned it will be a game changer for me!"
what my idea is you may wonder - it's an exoskeleton, utilising and harnessing the capacitive effects of Chakra metal in tandem with carbon plates to store chakra.
In a way it's similar to how Sasori uses remnant chakra from humans in his own puppets, as a battery storing chakra.
With my idea not using the human corpses of course.
If my theory is correct, I can generate devastating power by rapidly discharging stored chakra.
Similar to how Tsunade generates her strength, however with the added benefit of efficiency by using my capacitor, the capacitor is a better vessel that can contain far more chakra then just using my body to concentrate chakra.
Not only does this allow me to become extremely powerful, it simultaneously overcomes the greatest hurdle for all puppeteers — taijutsu.
So I enthusiastically sweep off all the junk parts on my desk and begin to start drawing the design for the puppet on a rough piece of paper.
What I roughly sketched out was a sleek complex design, creating an exoskeleton that traces along my legs spine and arms seamlessly.
Fortunately due to all my Mantis orders, I have been able to procure a surplus of chakra metal and carbon plates.
I get to work instantly, shaping the metal to the desired length and size required for my body.
…
A day later
"It's finally done", With bags under my eyes I grumbled wearily, wiping the black soot off my forehead.
I've spent the last 24 hours with no sleep crafting this.
The first prototype has been created.
The hardest part was creating actuators for the knee and elbow joints and forging the small mechanical components.
The actuators, are able to convert my chakra into mechanical force and drive pistons built within the frame of the exoskeleton.
At the end of each arm is a small blunt cube of steel for the sole purpose of delivering blunt trauma.
Now that it's all over with, I'm itching with excitement to test it out.
Fitting it on and eager to test it, I swiftly run outside to a patch of the open barren desert.
A target enters my line of sight.
Amidst the empty landscape, lays a boulder withered by the elements.
Buzz
Scintillating blue aura begins to drain into the exo skeleton through various nodes installed along the frame.
"I've poured five percent of my chakra into this thing, time to see how powerful it is!"
Twisting the knob on my chest strap to discharge the total capacity of stored chakra at once.
I load my arm back, grasping the steel handle bars, chakra pours and swirls inside the actuator, a faint whirring sound jostles my shoulder and elbow joints.
And then…
The pistons violently accelerate my fist to a rapid velocity, reverberating the air, causing a block of cold steel to collide with ferocity into the boulder.
Boom!
The boulder shatters into fragments, with each tiny shard of rock whizzing through the air.
The ensuing shockwave pierces my ears, evicerating the boulder ,
my ears rang, the desert itself seemed to roar with the impact.
A plume of dust now began enveloping the air, where there once stood a boulder.
"Wow! This was way more efficient at converting my chakra into pure kinetic energy than I thought."
This prototype is impressive, however, I am only able to sustain it with my chakra for approximately twenty minutes, whether it be for attacks or movement, so for this to be more viable, the efficiency needs to improve further.
However this was still a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
I will use this as my trump card if a precarious situation arises and I'll need to manage my chakra carefully when handling it .
——
One Month Later
I've been tinkering with the exo-skeleton for a month, trying to refine it further and continuing to add modifications but I feel like I'm at a roadblock with how exactly to improve.
So despite the success of creating a prototype for an exo-skeleton, I still lack the confidence to actually implement into battle.
I feel like I deserve a rest day because I've been working day in and day out.
"I guess I should restock on the equipment for my puppets at the ninja tool store." I mutter to myself.
So I leave my sandstone house, walking along the cracked sedimentary rock characteristic to the land of wind, reaching the ninja weaponry store front.
…
"Thanks for the purchase come again!"
As I exit after getting my tools faint murmurs reach my ears.
"Did you hear? There's people saying the Kazekage has gone missing"
"Yeah, my nephews cousins dogs owners wife brothers uncle knew someone on a mission searching for him"
"Seriously? There's no way that's true, Lord Third is the strongest Kazekage in history!"
I chuckled under my breath at the absurdity of the rumors. "The Kazekage missings and civilians have already found out. If the news is travelling this quickly, Its only a matter of time before opposing ninja villages hear of this ," I muttered, tucking the supplies under my arm.
But as I took another step, a dry wind swept across the street, carrying with it the faint tremor of something heavy striking the earth. I froze. The chatter of civilians died, replaced by silence too sharp for midday Sunagakure.
Then—
BOOM!
The ground shuddered beneath my feet. A distant tower of sand erupted upward, scattering debris into the sky like a geyser. Screams followed, shrill and overlapping, rushing down the main street toward me.
My heart lurched, the sound hadn't come from inside the village but the entrance.
Judging by the destruction, the passage leading to Sunagakure village has been breached.
Sunagakure isn't exactly an open village, the entirety of it is embedded in a massive canyon and carved deep from the ground, built to prevent erosion from the harsh winds.
But that's not the only purpose, it also serves to prevent an all out assault from all sides against us, as there is only one entrance and exit, being the large trench carved from the very cliff face itself.
The village's lifeline was a single passage, a trench hewn into the cliff face, winding downward into the hidden heart of the Sand. That single choke point had stood for generations as both shield and sword, our greatest defense.
Furthermore, guards are posted on the terraces built on the slopes of the cliff, forming the shape of a stair case.
"So why are we being attacked?!"
I know the village is not a state to defend itself right now, as the search for the Kazekage is still imminent, leaving us undermanned with our strongest shinobis left on the useless manhunt for an already deceased Kazekage.
Thanks to my damn brother, now I have to deal with this invasion.
Maybe I should just hide this out, I mean who would blame a kid for being scared right?
But my conscience won't allow it.
The village is undermanned, so as one of the few remaining ninjas in the village, the onus is on me to prevent the deaths of innocent civilians and protect the village.
Despite my cowardice, my morals won't allow me to let the village suffer, especially with the strength I have garnered over these last few years.
With that thought in my mind, I rush back to my house, using the flicker jutsu I learnt before, weaving through the streets of the Sand village.
I swiftly reach my house and grab the scroll containing the exo-skeleton, I then proceed to grab 2 scrolls containing my heavily modified Tarantula and Mantis puppets and head out.
"I hope the damage to the village isn't too severe" I mutter as I leap from building to building, landing on the supporting pillars linking the residential houses together.
As I get closer, the extent of the damage becomes more apparent, debris scattered, bodies of inexperienced ninjas littered across the floor and the stench of blood beginning to permeate the air.
"Somethings not right", I mutter to myself as I peer into the distance
Despite the lack of moisture in the air, a thick fog enshrouds the entrance to the village.
Despite this a flickering glow emanates from the dense fog, focusing further, I notice a familiar girl with green hair and orange bangs facing off against several ninjas at once. Burned dehydrated corpses are littered around the battleground.
It's Pakura!
Sizzle
Spherical orbs of scorching flames swirl around her, clearing out the fog, revealing the casters of the jutsu responsible for creating the impaired visibility.
"How dare you Kiri scum invade our village!"
It seems not all the skilled shinobi have left the village, over the past few years Pakura has built a reputation for herself in missions and her over powered Kekkei Genkai.
Not wanting her to face the invaders alone, I flicker beside her.
Contrary to my expectation, in a flash, a ball of searing flames promptly heads towards my direction.
I tensed, tightly clutching the scrolls in my hands.
"Wait! I'm a sand ninja too!"
The scorch attack halts in its tracks leaving my face glowing with the flicker of the flames.
She pauses - her eyes glancing at my distinct red hair.
"Wait a moment… you're that kid who humiliated me at the park!?"
"Do you seriously still hold a grudge for something that happened years ago, this is not the time to reminisce at the past, just look at the situation we're in"
She turns to look at the Kiri ninjas surrounding us.
"Hmph… I'll deal with you after I kill these invaders, for now this takes priority."