Hefeng was pacing around his house, examining his Puppet, Kannazuki.
Like humans, Kannazuki had a metallic skeleton, which meant Kannazuki's movements could be incredibly precise.
Hefeng had just installed a missile in Kannazuki's left arm and a poisoned Ninja blade in its right arm. At the joints, there were also retractable poisoned blades and various small mechanisms that could release Ninjutsu through Ninjutsu scrolls.
Kannazuki's chest cavity was loaded with a large number of poisoned Kunai.
Moreover, Hefeng had filled Kannazuki's body with Sand Iron.
This Sand Iron was infused with Hefeng's Chakra, allowing Hefeng to manipulate it as easily as his own limbs.
What made Hefeng most proud was that he had developed a material that was indistinguishable from human skin, which made Kannazuki's appearance almost identical to a human's.
However, there were still differences upon closer inspection, as human skin has pores, while the artificial material does not.
At the same time, Hefeng combined the limited knowledge he learned in Hidden Sand Village with his insights to research and successfully integrate a drive system, control system, and power unit into Kannazuki's body.
This meant that as long as it was fully charged, Kannazuki could act autonomously.
However, this system still had many flaws; it could only execute simple commands and could not allow Kannazuki to act independently without his control.
There were also issues like ten hours of charging for three minutes of operation, among various other problems.
This was the limit of what Hefeng could achieve at the moment, as the research environment here was truly harsh, preventing Hefeng from conducting proper research and improvements.
However, Hefeng was not content with just this.
Hefeng wanted to research and develop the Scientific Ninja Tool that would only appear in the future.
This tool would store the Chakra needed to cast Ninjutsu, and after loading a Ninjutsu from a miniaturized scroll, it could release the sealed technique, making it much more convenient than a Ninjutsu scroll.
If Hefeng could develop this, it would greatly enhance Kannazuki.
But what troubled Hefeng was his lack of relevant knowledge and data, and even if he had the data, Hidden Sand Village could not support his research.
Because Hidden Sand Village was simply too poor.
Also, only Sasori could create Human Puppets, or more accurately, Chakra cores, which Hefeng was quite interested in.
Sasori could transform deceased individuals into Human Puppets with Chakra cores.
Sasori was the only Puppeteer capable of creating Human Puppets, and he could do so while retaining their living Chakra, thus perfectly preserving all of their Ninjutsu and Bloodline Limit from when they were alive. The Chakra core was key, which was the Human Puppet's greatest advantage.
However, in Hefeng's opinion, Sasori's Human Puppets only had a unique Chakra core that allowed them to use the deceased's Ninjutsu and Bloodline Limit through the Chakra core and their original body; otherwise, they simply couldn't compare to his Kannazuki.
This was because Sasori's Human Puppets focused on the strength of the Human Puppet when it was alive, while Hefeng focused on the Puppet itself.
Hefeng dared not approach Sasori to discuss this; Sasori's creation of Human Puppets was a secret, and if he were to foolishly approach Sasori, he would surely be dealt with by Sasori.
Furthermore... the process of creating Human Puppets must be very bloody and cruel, which made Hefeng a bit apprehensive.
"Sigh... I really want to meet Orochimaru. Although Orochimaru is also cruel, he can create Mecha Naruto. If I could communicate with such a scientist, I would surely gain something."
Hefeng sighed. He had never felt lonely before, but now he felt a strange sense of loneliness, hoping to find someone with similar aspirations to talk to.
Feeling a bit tired, Hefeng ate a few bites of cake, drank a few sips of water, and then lay down to sleep.
...
Meanwhile, a meeting was taking place inside the Kazekage Building in Hidden Sand Village.
The Third Kazekage, Chiyo, Ebizo, and other high-ranking officials of Hidden Sand Village were present.
Ebizo said in a deep voice, "According to reports from my informants in the Five Great Nations, the entire Ninja World is currently in turmoil. Many years have passed since the last war, and the Great Nations have recovered their strength and are planning further warfare."
The Third Kazekage frowned and asked, "Planning further warfare? Does that mean these local conflicts are very likely to quickly escalate into a full-scale war?"
Ebizo nodded. "Exactly. Now, all it takes is a single spark, and a full-scale war could begin."
Chiyo sighed. "It hasn't been many years since the Second Shinobi World War, and now there's going to be another war. Our Land of Wind is not like the other Great Nations; our environment is harsh, resources are scarce, and we haven't fully recovered our strength yet. How are we supposed to fight this war?"
The Third Kazekage's expression was very grim.
Although the Land of Wind was one of the Five Great Nations, it was the weakest among them. Its population, military strength, economic power, and resources simply couldn't compare to the other nations.
Moreover, after the Second Shinobi World War ended, the Daimyo of their Land of Wind proposed disarmament.
The Third Kazekage naturally tried his best to prevent the Daimyo's disarmament, and while he succeeded, it wasn't a complete success.
Because the Daimyo only allocated the minimum military funds to the Third Kazekage, leaving the Third Kazekage to find the rest of the military expenses himself.
The Third Kazekage knew deeply that he could not cut corners on the Ninja; only if the Ninja were strong could Hidden Sand Village be strong.
So, to raise military funds, the Third Kazekage stayed awake night after night, willing to do any dirty or exhausting work as long as it brought in money.
Thinking of this, the Third Kazekage suddenly slammed his hand on the table, angrily cursing, "That short-sighted fool, he really deserves to die!"
The high-ranking officials of Hidden Sand Village were startled, each looking strangely at the Third Kazekage, not knowing what had suddenly gotten into him.
Chiyo inquired, "Third Hokage, what's wrong?"
The Third Kazekage gritted his teeth and said, "If it weren't for the Daimyo only giving us the minimum military funds, we would have long since trained a group of Ninja capable of participating in the war. This Third Shinobi World War is an opportunity for us!
Because the four Great Nations will not attack us, if we participate in this war, everyone will want to cooperate with us. Besides compensation, we will definitely be able to make a huge profit. What a great opportunity! It's just being wasted like this!"
Chiyo and Ebizo immediately understood why the Third Kazekage was so angry.
Because the Land of Wind was so barren, even if the other four Great Nations attacked them, they wouldn't gain any benefits. They wouldn't be so foolish as to attack the Land of Wind, where there was nothing to be gained.
However, the four Great Nations had to worry that the Land of Wind might attack them, so they would definitely want to cooperate with the Land of Wind to prevent Hidden Sand Village's Ninja from attacking them.
After all, those with nothing to lose fear no one; even if those with nothing gain a worn-out pair of shoes, it's a pure profit.
But now, Hidden Sand Village had not yet recovered its strength, and with insufficient military funds, its current Ninja forces lacked the ability to directly compete in the war.
Precisely because of the lack of money, such a great opportunity for Hidden Sand Village to profit was lost.
That was why the Third Kazekage was so angry.