A few days later.
The Sand Village released its latest standard-issue armored Puppet.
The price wasn't steep, only 800,000 ryo, comparable to the reward for an A-rank Mission.
However, the purchase prerequisite was sufficient military merit. One could say this purchasing privilege was a benefit offered to Ninja who had made certain contributions.
For a typical Genin, it would be difficult to afford this sum, and they would likely not meet the merit requirement. But for a Chunin who was already eligible to participate in B-rank Missions and lead lower-tier missions, if they were willing to save up and grit their teeth, they could still afford it.
After all, if they could meet the merit requirements, even if they were currently penniless, as long as they were diligent in taking on missions, they could buy it within a year or two.
Chunin had the authority to independently lead C-rank Missions and met the criteria for participating in B-rank Missions. Even if the final mission reward had to be split with teammates, they could still complete many missions over a year.
Soon, the Ninja of the Sand Village discovered that the performance of this armored Puppet was incredibly strong.
After equipping it, even Special Jonin, who in some aspects met Jonin standards and were a tier above them in overall strength, might not be able to defeat them.
Relying on its superior mobility and energy output efficiency, even for a well-rounded Jonin with no obvious weaknesses compared to conventional Ninja, it would still take considerable effort to deal with someone wearing the latest standard-issue armored Puppet.
At the same time, intelligence agents from various Ninja Villages stationed in Sand Hidden also received this news.
This item was definitely going to be mass-produced and equipped by forces in the future. Since the last Great Ninja War, the major Ninja Villages had significantly stepped up their intelligence gathering efforts against the Sand Village.
Things like the Ice Bomb and new Puppetry techniques were definitely highly sought after by outsiders, but it was also known that stealing them would be extremely difficult. Still, if similar items appeared again, they needed to understand their function so their own village's Ninja could be prepared when encountering them.
The Sand Village naturally guarded its truly important assets strictly. Ebizo and Rasa, along with the Anbu, conducted secret investigations daily, capturing spies and agents.
But no matter how much they tried to conceal it, some things that were openly displayed would inevitably leak out. The Sand Village enjoyed economic prosperity, with a huge daily flow of people. Some things simply couldn't be hidden, so there was no need to try. Instead, it was better to openly and generously display them.
I've shown it to you, what can you do about it?
In a single day, over a thousand sets of standard-issue armored Puppets, capable of boosting an ordinary Chunin's combat power to that of a Special Jonin, were openly unveiled and sold publicly within the Sand Village.
The necessary protective measures were still in place. The purchase qualification was restricted to Chunin who had completed twenty or more B-rank Missions.
However, in reality, even if the technology leaked, other Ninja Villages lacked the ability to replicate it.
While Qingshui considered the technology to be of average difficulty, for other Ninja Villages without sufficient industrial infrastructure, even if they deciphered it, they couldn't produce it.
The Sand Village's new Puppetry shined brightly in the Third Great Ninja War, even more astonishing than the Medical Ninja corps Tsunade had established. Other Ninja Villages began researching Puppetry afterward, but this wasn't something that could yield results overnight.
From the Second Kazekage and Monzaemon, to Chiyo and Ebizo, and finally to Qingshui and Sasori, three generations of Puppetry geniuses spent decades laying the foundation for the Sand Village. It wouldn't be easy to catch up.
Even Konoha, currently with the strongest financial and research capabilities, with Kushina as a Sealing Jutsu master, and Orochimaru and Tobirama Senju as two top research prodigies, could at most barely produce Jonin-level Puppets. Moreover, the materials required were several times that of the Sand Village, and only Tobirama Senju and Orochimaru could build them.
Forget comparing them to the Chikamatsu Collection; for Qingshui, they'd currently only rank A+.
If these two top Ninja World scientists were given enough time, they might not catch up to Sand Hidden in the future, but they would certainly achieve some results. However, for at least the next decade or so, they would at most reach the level Sand Hidden was at before the new Puppetry was developed.
The development of science and technology must follow objective laws and is not subject to human will. Konoha and other Ninja Villages cannot simply speed it up just because they want to.
Even if Konoha somehow managed to build such a thing one day, they wouldn't have an energy source like the Arc Reactor to power it.
Forcing a Jonin to use their own Chakra as an energy supply would truly be more trouble than it was worth.
On the second day after this batch of the latest standard-issue armored Puppets went on sale within the Sand Village, a special selection process was held.
Under the influence of Qingshui, with the Sand Village gaining more resources, along with the Breathing Style and new Puppetry, every Ninja could receive better training and enhancement. The proportion of strong individuals was also continuously increasing.
Three years ago, the Sand Village had over 5,200 Chunin, 733 Special Jonin, and 144 Jonin. In these three years, a large number of the more outstanding Chunin and Special Jonin were promoted after being enhanced.
Currently, the number of Special Jonin in the Sand Village has risen to 1,084, and Jonin to 202, an increase of nearly half.
As for Genin promoted to Chunin, there were even more.
This was due to the concentrated outburst of the Sand Village's past accumulated strength over these three years. Future increases are unlikely to be this high.
However, that's only if things remain as they are.
In the training ground, excluding those on missions or maintaining the village's daily defenses, hundreds of Sand Village Ninja, Special Jonin and above, secretly gathered near the Emerald of Wind in a training ground, watching two Ninja battle.
One was a veteran Jonin from the village. While not an elite among Jonin, he was certainly not an amateur at that level. The other, however, was only a newly promoted Special Jonin.
Normally, the latter would undoubtedly lose, at best holding out for a while to see if they could escape unscathed from the former.
But in reality, the two were currently fighting to a standstill.
The sole reason was that the Special Jonin was wearing a Puppet Armor.
"Aerial combat offers high mobility. Even though Jonin generally have comprehensive combat abilities, they are fundamentally ground units and will be at a disadvantage. In terms of destructive power, this Puppet Armor also exceeds Jonin-level standards. The best way for Jonin Kiriba to win against Takeda is to destroy the armored Puppet's energy core," an older Jonin remarked, stroking his short beard as he watched the battle.
"That's probably not easy to do. Takeda can fly with the Puppet Armor and is fast, making him difficult to hit. And besides using the Puppet Armor, he himself is a Special Jonin specializing in Earth Release. While he's protecting his vital points, unless Kiriba has some powerful trump card that can absolutely suppress Takeda in a short time, he won't have a chance to break the energy core."
"That's probably not possible. Kurokawa or Ishido, those Elite Jonin, might be able to, but Kiriba... it's not that I look down on him, but I know his capabilities. While he's decent among our generation of Jonin, he clearly doesn't have that ability."
"Then it's a matter of whether the Puppet's energy core runs out first, or Kiriba runs out of Chakra first."
...
A group of Jonin and Special Jonin gathered by the field were discussing animatedly. On the high platform, several Sand Hidden higher-ups were also observing.
"Based on the current surplus production capacity of the Puppet Force, the output of this type of Puppet Armor can be about forty sets per year. As long as Sasori's trained personnel can keep up, the production scale can continue to expand.
However, the true core, the second-generation Arc Reactor, requires a Particle Accelerator to manufacture. Like the first-generation Arc Reactor, when its energy is depleted, the metal reactor rods need to be replaced.
According to my vision, given the village's current financial situation, and without affecting normal development and the large-scale war Puppet construction plan, the surplus funds should be enough to maintain four Particle Accelerators. Therefore, considering the output of the Particle Accelerators, the number of Puppet Armors should be controlled to under four hundred."
Qingshui, seated at the head of the table, watched Kiriba and Taketa sparring below and began to speak.
"So, if we have enough time and resources, the village can raise 400 Special Jonin to the Jonin level, or make existing Jonin even stronger. And there's another, lower-cost Puppet Armor that can be mass-produced for Chunin, giving them combat power comparable to Special Jonin. Then..."
The Third Kazekage, showing a hint more age than before, gripped the armrest excitedly.
He estimated conservatively that the Sand Village would then have 600 Jonin-level combatants and thousands of Special Jonin.
This was an incredibly formidable force, comparable even to the combined core strength of four or five Great Ninja Villages.
Before Rain Hidden Village rose to become a Great Ninja Village, every major ninja village had over a hundred Jonin. Konoha, the strongest at its peak before the Second Great Ninja War, even had over 200 Jonin.
Before the end of the Third Great Ninja War, even when the Five Great Ninja Villages were in decline, their Jonin numbers never dropped below 100. Special Jonin, as the reserves for Jonin, consistently maintained numbers above 500, and the scale of their armies generally remained above 10,000.
Add to that the legacies that could produce Kage-level powerhouses, and the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki who could consistently produce Kage-level powerhouses generation after generation—these combined were the true foundations that allowed the Great Ninja Villages to maintain their standing!
Although Rain Hidden Village now had Hanzo, Kakuzu, and Nagato, and had acquired the Seven-Tails, meeting the criteria for a Great Ninja Village in terms of high-end combat power, their position wasn't truly stable.
This was because they lacked sufficient personnel and available core forces.
No matter how much Hanzo cultivated talent, consolidated power, and recruited people, he only had a few dozen Jonin under him, barely over fifty, and the total number of ninja was only six or seven thousand.
This combat power was enough to influence the Ninja World's situation, but it was still significantly weaker than other ninja villages, only ranking at the very bottom among the Great Ninja Villages, sitting at the same table as Stone Hidden Village, which was shattered by Qingshui in one battle.
Stone Hidden Village had now lost two Tailed Beasts, severely lacking in high-end combat power, and also lost thousands of people on the battlefield of the Third Great Ninja War. Although their total number of ninja still exceeded 10,000, their Jonin count was just over 100.
These two were truly the weakest ninja villages, with only 160 to 170 Jonin combined.
Konoha suffered significant losses in the Second Great Ninja War, and even heavier losses in the Third Great Ninja War, but its foundation was ultimately too strong. Its Jonin numbers were similar to Sand Hidden Village three years ago, still around 140 to 150. Cloud Hidden Village suffered fewer losses in this Great Ninja War and had been developing robustly, with its Jonin numbers now comparable to Konoha.
Add to that Mist, which, despite being severely beaten by Uchiha Fugaku, still maintained the facade of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. The combined total of Jonin from these villages was actually around 600, possibly even a little less.
While the numbers for Special Jonin might vary, the difference wouldn't be too significant.
Qingshui had previously estimated that to achieve a generally stable rule over the Ninja World, 60,000 ninja would be needed. However, with Sand Hidden Village's current rapid troop expansion, no matter how optimistic, training ninja still required time, at least seven or eight years.
But from another perspective, significantly raising the average strength of Sand Hidden Village's current ninja through technological capabilities, so that 20,000 people could contend with 60,000, was also a viable method.
Although manufacturing these Puppet Armors also took time, it was much shorter than following conventional methods.
This wave could directly bring about an earth-shattering qualitative change in Sand Hidden Village's overall strength, which was why the Third Kazekage couldn't help but be excited.
Such things were usually only seen in dreams by old men; he never imagined there would truly be a day when it might come true.
"All Jonin and Special Jonin will have purchasing access to these Puppet Armors. For those stronger Elite Jonin, while the armor won't bring about the same level of qualitative change in their power as it does now, it will still provide some enhancement."
At the very least, the ability to fly is very useful.
Jonin-level ninja typically have no significant weaknesses, and their anti-air capabilities wouldn't be poor, but they generally didn't possess the ability for aerial combat.
Combined with the armor's other functions, it could also provide excellent support for Jonin.
"However, how to reasonably distribute these Puppet Armors among Jonin and Special Jonin will require the careful consideration of all of you elders."
Qingshui withdrew his gaze from the sparring below and addressed several of Sand Hidden Village's senior executives.
Sasori also spoke up:
"Additionally, these Puppet Armors can be further upgraded, but only a few of us top Puppet Masters have the ability to do so. Qingshui needs to focus on continuing to improve his strength, and I need to build large war puppets. So, if someone accumulates enough merit, we'll have to rely on Grandma and Uncle."
Chiyo looked at her student, now the Kazekage, then at her handsome and equally outstanding grandson, who had surpassed his teacher. A smile blossomed on her aged face, full of contentment, and she said:
"Youngsters, go ahead and do your things. Just leave these trivial matters to us old folks. Your time is more valuable."
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Read 1111+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------