3 Years Later
"Finally…"I've got another break" I griped to myself.
It's seriously been three years since I've started these missions, I've been sent on escapades attacking both Kirigakure and Iwagakure numerous times.
Our team has already disbanded with Pakura, Baki and even I becoming Jōnins.
Pakura even stopped a scheme of the Hidden Stone in one of the mission with Rasa himself congratulating her atop the Kazekages Office.
However I know, he may be trying to boost her reputation to use her as a sacrificial bargaining chip.
Knowing this I requested Chiyo and Ebizō beforehand, with a lot of humiliation, to not let anything happen to her. I don't exactly know how successful this will be as they just laughed at me.
In terms of how I became a Jōnin
Sunagakure is far more lenient in ranking Shinobi up, hence why I was able to become Jōnin so quickly. I do remember Temari and Kankuro became Jōnins in shippuden despite being mediocre at best.
Being a Jōnin was still impressive nonetheless, after all I have become a lot more proficient in combat and gained some notoriety from my missions. even gaining a few female fans in the village as one of the youngest jōnins, or maybe it has to do with the fact my face had become quite handsome if I don't say so myself.
Going back on topic.
[Puppets (5/10) - Completed(12)
Puppet and Baryon fusion reactor knowledge (27.0%)]
The Kazekage has been working me to the bone and I've rarely had any opportunities to build my puppets. In the rare opportunity I get to tinker on them, I am able to achieve huge leaps in advancements.
I've focused less on creating new puppets however and more so on upgrading my exo-skeleton, as any new innovations can be superimposed onto my puppets.
The culmination of my work and advancements now lays in my newest puppet in front of me — Hornet.
This puppet combines the most devastating tools of destruction and a high defense, boasting a strong carbon steel encompassing its entire three metre long frame.
Typically chakra threads don't have the tensile integrity to move around such a heavy metal puppet adeptly enough for combat, however with my capacitors increasing in efficiency I've been able to achieve high mobility in tandem with durable frame.
That's not all the puppet has, I've also installed wings — when activated the actuators on its four wings automatically flies upwards, hovering in the sky and only requiring subtle manipulation with my chakra threads to guide it in any desired direction.
And by extension it also allows me to fly, as the rear and front two legs function as straps.
The abdomen of the puppet has the ability to shoot a poison laced bullet-like-projectile at an insane velocity, but due to size constraints there is only three loaded at a time requiring manual reloading. However it can still launch senbons out of each limb.
The impact generated by the bullet can leave a ten metre wide crater and can annihilate anything in its path.
As I install the last bullet into the abdomen of Hornet, someone walks through my door, interrupting my brief respite from the missions.
"Sora, you always make the creepiest puppet designs."
"You don't understand true art."
"Okay…pack it up, Lord Fourth has sent us a missive to go to another mission in Kirigakure."
"Are you serious Pakura!? We just got back from our mission in Iwa."
"There has been signs of Konoha and Kiri battling, we're being sent to perform
an espionage mission and report of the news back to Lord Fourth."
"But isn't our village focused on Iwagakure?"
"Kirigakure seems to hold a deep grudge against us, if we don't deter them now… it's only a matter of time before they collude with Iwa again."
"Don't you have no desire to defend this village. A truly strong Shinobi values the village and serves to protect it with their life."
"Okay, okay, you don't need to lecture me anymore, I'll go."
With a sigh, I get up and pack my Hornet puppet into my scroll.
Then I grasp two handle bars on my new exo skeleton frame, which stands upright on a pedestal in my room, my arms slip into the steel bracers, as I embue it with chakra.
Clink
Clink
Clink
Whirring iron plates enclose sequentially around me starting from my hands and reaching all the way to my feet, layering atop one another, as I very quickly become clad in a thin chrome plated armour.
The seams glows a luminescent blue, due to excess chakra seeping through the frame, the highest concentration of which is located on my palms and soles, with beams of light emanating from the hexagonal chakra repulsors embedded within each.
"Do you seriously have to do that every time?"
"Let's just go to the mission already!"
—-
After exiting through the narrow passage between the cliffs, I summon my new puppet.
"Pakura don't worry about the journey, I have a new invention." I say with a smirk.
"No! Don't even think about making me test subject for your new invention again, last time it blew up in my face!"
"Don't worry. I'm not testing a weapon on you again, it's just to help us travel."
I click the button located on the back of the puppet.
Buzz!
The wings quickly flatter, creating a low pitched humming noise as Hornet ascends into the air.
"Woah… Although it looks creepy, your creations never cease to amaze me Sora.", Pakura says glancing up in awe.
"Just grab those straps and click it into place and you'll fly along with it"
I begin to try and buckle Pakura into the puppet, wrapping my arms around her from behind but as I do, she randomly gets startled as my arm lightly grazes her waist.
"W-Wha..", Pakura stammers out, as the tips of her ears flush red.
"S-Sora… you can't…"
"Can't do what? I'm just trying to strap you into the puppet?"
"What?! Shut up! I knew that. Just leave already!", Pakura mumbles erratically as she squirms around in the puppet, now firmly attached in its grasp.
I shrug my shoulders and load my repulsors then attach chakra threads to the hovering Hornet puppet.
I squat down then BOOM! Chakra spews out the repulsors for a couple of seconds propelling me far into the sky with the Hornet puppet following.
Each leap covers hundreds of metres at once with my descent slowed by the repulsor in my hands.
If I can refine the capacitor technology, or when I create the Baryon Fusion reactor I'll have enough efficiency to sustain flight but that's probably far into the future.
…
I spent most of the journey flying along on the wasp to conserve energy. But we finally made it— The Land Of Water.
We get off the puppet and I store it back into my scroll.
"Finally… that was so uncomfortable."
"Don't be ungrateful Pakura, anyways now that we're here take this mask." I said as I threw her a metal mask which I summoned alongside two cloaks.
"I made it myself it can store some chakra and can release a chakra shield when activated. "
"We're going to have to hide our identity anyways."
"Wow, you came prepared."
"Well, we have done this so much times already…"
We were surrounded by a light mist and vast expanses of water, droplets of rain pattered onto the grey rock beneath our feet.
Waves clashed with the rocky cliff sides and the full moon's visage reflected off the harsh waves.
Pakura and I began to flicker on trees in search of shinobis to spy on.
And after a few hours we came across something, a pair of shinobi were leaping across trees, we quickly hid our presence and began tailing them.
"Kakashi kill me right now!"
"I'm being used!"
"At this rate I might end up attacking Konoha"
"I promised Obito I'd protect you! I can't kill you! There's got to be another way…"
My jaw dropped listening to this. If my memory serves correct, this was the moment right after Rin was kidnapped and had the three tails implanted in her.
"Sora, did you just hear that? What are those Konoha shinobi talking about?"
"Pakura… I don't think it's a good idea to follow them"
"What do you mean?! Did you forget our mission" Pakura whispered
I can't disuade her, I just hope they don't notice my presence.
As they kept jumping from tree to tree they revealed more information, as expected the Three Tails was sealed inside Rin. This revelation left Pakura almost gasping in excitement.
One of our worst enemies had lost their tailed beast to Konoha and she was the spy to find this out.
"Who's there?!" Kakashi screamed out, throwing a pair of shuriken in our direction.
But before he could see us, I grabbed Pakura and used my repulsors to jump away as far as possible.
"What are you doing?! We could've extracted information out of them!" Pakura yelled hammering at my chest whilst we were still mid air.
"Did you not hear? They are being chased by elite Kiri Anbu, we can't afford to fight them."
"We got the information we need. Let's just go back home"
"No we can get more! We can observe from a distance if you're so scared."
Unfortunately Pakura won't budge, so I just ended up dejectedly following her lead.
And I had jumped far enough that finding them again would take a lot of time. Hopefully enough time to miss all the dangerous action.
And a few hours later, just as I had anticipated Kakashi and Rin were now surrounded by Kiri ANBU.
As Kakashi's Chidori pierced through Rin.
"Damn it! He did it! After all that trouble we went to to get her!" A Kiri ninja shouts
"Rin…" Kakashi says fading out of unconsciousness as Rin slumps down lifelessly.
"He actually did it Sora, this is great news to report to Lord Fourth"
"This is really what the Fourth Ninja War will be over…" I thought to myself.
Then interrupting the fading chirps of Kakashi Chidori a young boy in a white bodysuit screams out, overcome by grief.
"What in the world!"
"Huh?"
"Reinforcements?! What a fool coming all alone!"
Thk.Thk.Thk.
Three Kunais pass through him hitting the tree in front of us.
"Let's leave now reinforcements arrived. It's too dangerous to stay" I whispered
"Fine. I guess agree it's too risky… that guy seems powerful."
I grab Pakura and a high pitched whine emits from the repulsors on the soles of my feet as I leap away as far as possible, I then summon my Hornet puppet once I know it's safe.
We begin to return to our village hovering over the skies.
However, in the trees where we once were spying, a White Zetsu emerged and had attempted to catch up but lost track after the repulsors launch.
Meanwhile:
Shurikens phase through Obito as he walks menacingly towards them.
"He dodged them?!"
"What just happened?!"
"Do not mock the village of the bloody mist!", said the masked Kiri Anbu as he swung his sword.
Obito continues his iconic slaughter, piercing through them with wood release and Kamui.
"Aargh!"
"Die!!"
"We can't hit him!"
"We need to retrieve the girl! Don't hand the corpse to the enemy!"
"There's no mistake that guy passes right through you."
In Madaras Lair
"Heh… You better not have been seen by anyone."
"About that Madara… There seemed to be two spies both unidentifiable, they were watching the battle, what should I do?" White Zetsu remarked.
"Identify them and kill them" Madara said with his old husky voice.
"That will be difficult, all I have to go off is their metal masks and they seemed to have the ability to jump extremely far, so I couldn't track them."
"Other than that, Obito killed the rest of them. He didn't seem to kill Kakashi though. But Kakashi didn't see anything anyways."
"When Konoha reinforcements arrived, he was screaming ,Who took down the enemy?!"
—-
We arrived back at the Kazekages office with crucial news.
"Lord Fourth, we have obtained vital information about Kirigakure regarding their tailed beast" Pakura said kneeling down.
"What is it?"
"Kirigakure has lost the Three Tails me and Sora have personally witnessed it."
"It seems to have been transplanted into a Konoha shinobi and she was killed by her squad mate shortly after."
"What?!"
"If this is true we must call a Council meeting right away! Kirigakure has been pressuring us recently but now we may have the upper hand!"