The materials used for the new puppet were far more advanced than those used for Formentor or Little Boy.
With Chiyo's permission, Hardy used the best materials available to him, and incorporated several types he had already conceptualized. Its overall combat capabilities were a level above Formentor's.
[Puppet Name]: Great Ivan
[Overall Parameters]:
Height: 1.95 meters
Weight: 94.33 kilograms
Materials: Composite fibers, lightweight alloys, reinforced biological bone, reinforced wood, etc.
Power Source: None
Control Method: Chakra threads
[Puppet Rating]: B+ (A-)
[Overall Evaluation]: Armored combat puppet. A highly integrated product of puppet jutsu and modern engineering, boasting not only powerful close combat capabilities but also high-powered ranged attacks. Outstanding overall performance. When combined with the puppeteer, it can operate at full capacity, further enhancing its abilities.
It could be said to be on the verge of reaching A-rank puppet level!
Previously, with the B+-rank Formentor, Hardy's frontal combat abilities could overwhelm most chunin, and with Little Boy's support, his fighting power stood out among chunin.
But now, with an A--rank puppet added to his arsenal?
Would he be able to face a jonin-level opponent head-on?
Great Ivan was the culmination of all Hardy's work up to this point.
It was also a summary of the early stage of his career as a puppeteer.
The main body still followed the orthodox puppet-making methods of Sunagakure, but he had incorporated all the advanced techniques he had learned from the puppet corps and from Chiyo.
Combined with the modern engineering knowledge he had acquired as an avatar in the DC world, Great Ivan not only matched the newly upgraded Formentor in close combat power, but also showed significant improvements in agility.
This was thanks to improvements in materials and structure, with better springs and ball bearings used in the joints, and a redesigned pneumatic system that could work with Wind Release for jet propulsion.
Although Hardy's skills weren't yet enough to make Great Ivan fly, he could at least counteract gravity and increase its movement speed.
He also created a semi-puppet component called "Desert Eagle." Its main function was similar to the "Swift," using the skin and other body parts of a specially bred chameleon summoning beast as the primary material, making it not only lightweight but also highly durable.
If his skills were higher, Hardy would have liked to install a small mechanism on the Desert Eagle to perform the Puppet Escape Seal without hand signs, providing a lifesaving measure in emergencies.
The reason for choosing a chameleon was its color-changing ability.
This chameleon possessed chakra and had an invisibility ability similar to that of a Permeation Release ninja.
Abilities.
Of course, there's still a bit of a gap compared to true Transparent Escape, but in most situations, as long as you don't run into sensory or dōjutsu ninja, it works very well.
Because of this, Sunagakure specifically raised a batch of them as summoning beasts. After they die, their hides can be recycled to make ninja tools.
Moreover, unlike kekkei genkai, which become unusable after death because they require specific kekkei chakra, these can still be used.
As long as the chameleon is processed in time after death to preserve the activity of key areas of its skin, you can inject chakra to activate the cells when camouflage is needed, and selectively infuse the hide with collected hormones from the same chameleon to enable environmental color-changing camouflage.
The pneumatic system remains one of the core mechanisms of the new puppet.
Hardy had considered hydraulic and electric motor drives before, but after weighing all the factors, still chose pneumatics.
Mainly because Hardy is skilled in Wind Release; no matter the location, he can directly use Wind Release to gather, compress, and manipulate air.
He doesn't know Water Release, and compressing liquids is much more difficult.
There's also the matter of weight.
Even if air is compressed into a liquid, its density is still lower than water.
There are liquids with lower density than water, but air is everywhere—available anywhere on the planet's surface—so why go to the trouble of finding a low-density liquid?
What's more, it's basically impossible for Hardy to compress air into a liquid at normal temperatures.
If Hardy could compress air into a liquid outside of critical temperature, or even at room temperature, then his Wind Release skills would be several levels above Danzo's.
Wouldn't it be better to just use Wind Release directly in battle? Why bother with puppets at all?
Breaking Susanoo with Wind Release would be a piece of cake; the Third Kazekage would have to abdicate on the spot, handing the position straight to Hardy.
In theory, electric motors would be better than hydraulics, but their energy efficiency isn't as good as Wind Release combined with pneumatics. Maybe in the future, a hybrid drive system could be developed, but for now, Hardy still relies mainly on pneumatics.
Compared to Formentor, the biggest change in Ivan the Great is its ranged capabilities.
The original ninja tool launching system has been retained and improved. On top of the original mechanical launch, structures compatible with the pneumatic system were added, increasing both range and power.
This is also part of the pneumatic system's upgrade.
There are many other functions as well—for example, the puppet's right arm hides a foldable, spring-loaded greatsword; both the sword and the puppet's fist can be launched mid-range with the pneumatic system and chains; and it's equipped with high-speed rockets powered by a combination of gunpowder and explosive tags.
"So… all this time you've been busy making this new puppet? I have to say, its design is much better looking than those weird puppets made by the other puppet masters in the village."
Yakura curiously touched Ivan the Great.
Nearly two meters tall, with a streamlined design that balanced strength and aesthetics, its appearance was far superior to the usual three-eyed, seven- or eight-armed monstrosities common among Sunagakure's puppets.
"You can already control three puppets at once, right? How does this one compare to Formentor in combat? I remember that quite a few special jōnin, even some jōnin-level puppet masters, can only control three or four puppets at most."
Maki, chewing on a toothpick, came over as well.
There was still a gap in natural talent and strength among the three, not to mention that Yakura was a bit older than Maki and Hardy. According to the latest assessment by Kazekage Chiran, Yakura's combat ability had already surpassed the standard for a chunin. Even though her military achievements in logistics were accumulating slowly, with her past mission experience and Kazekage Chiran's recommendation as a jōnin, Yakura should be eligible for promotion to special jōnin in the first half of this year.
Maki's abilities were a bit lower. While he was among the top chunin and could be considered elite, he was still some distance from becoming a special jōnin.