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Deep within the Hidden Sand Village, the lights of Sayo's independent workshop burned through the night, a silent defiance against the encroaching war. Inside, the atmosphere was a sterile contrast to the dust-blown streets of Sunagakure. The scent of fresh chakra-conductive wood and the ozone tang of raw energy hung in the air.
Sayo stood before his workbench, his silhouette now that of a disciplined shinobi rather than a frail academic. The Body Tempering Furnace had done its work; his frame was lean, his movements precise, and his eyes held the clinical focus of a master engineer. Before him lay the culmination of two lifetimes: the blueprints for the "Mirage"—his first manned mobile platform.
Having absorbed the puppetry of Chiyo and Sasori, the sealing wisdom of Bunpuku, and the mechanical logic of his past life, Sayo was no longer just a student. He was an innovator.
Sayo understood a fundamental truth: even with Jōnin-level reserves, a human body has biological ceilings on speed and durability. He needed a force multiplier. While Sasori's Hiruko offered a defensive shell, Sayo's vision was a departure from traditional "walking" puppets.
"Ten-finger manipulation is limited by the length of the threads and the cognitive load of the user," Sayo noted, tapping the cockpit schematics. "The future is human-machine integration. For the Mirage, I will bridge the gap between a tool and a vehicle."
He avoided the extreme risk of Sasori's "human puppet" transformation, opting instead for a Modular Manned Platform. The prototype would still utilize chakra threads for control, but the heavy lifting—movement, stabilization, and defense—would be handled by the onboard Natural Energy Core.
The manufacturing process was a grueling test of Sayo's craftsmanship. He didn't just design; he forged. He spent weeks on a small lathe, machining the precise magnetic poles for the levitation array. He used ink infused with Chakra Metal powder to etch the conduction lines, ensuring the energy from the Natural Energy Puppet Core (Type II) flowed without resistance.
The challenges were constant:
Magnetic Instability: Early tests saw the platform tilt violently as the magnetic field hit uneven mineral pockets in the sand.
Structural Stress: High-speed vectoring caused the wooden frame to hairline-fracture under the G-force.
Thermal Regulation: The Natural Energy Core produced significant heat that threatened to warp the delicate steering runes.
One by one, Sayo engineered solutions. He added dampening seals to the levitation array to smooth out the ride and integrated cooling vents powered by the waste air from the propulsion system.
Finally, after months of solitary labor, Sayo polished the tail stabilizer wing—a sleek, aerodynamic component designed to provide stability at high velocities. He stood back, wiping grease and sweat from his brow. Neatly arranged on the floor were the sections of the Mirage: the streamlined hull, the mag-lev chassis, and the weapon pods.
"The components are ready," Sayo whispered, a rare smile breaking his composure.
The pieces were no longer just wood and metal; they were the "feathers" of a mechanical bird. Tomorrow, he would begin the final assembly. When the Natural Energy Core finally synchronized with the magnetic array, the Mirage would no longer be a drawing on a scroll—it would be the first pair of wings to conquer the desert sky.
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