In the Sand Village, the clones are everywhere, and the Arkham game begins

Chapter 484 Sasori's Gundam Project
Just as Shimizu was still thinking, the laboratory door was suddenly pushed open.

A strikingly handsome red-haired boy walked in from outside the door.

Scorpion's eyes swept over the twenty or so shadow clones still busy in the laboratory, finally landing on Shimizu, who was sitting on the table in a daze. Regardless of whether it was the real Shimizu or not, he simply took a document from his hand and slammed it in front of Shimizu.

"This is……"

"You can take a look at the Sand Village No. 1 Large War Puppet Project. Once it's built, both you and I will have the technology and chakra to drive this large puppet. I've sent people to survey the place where you fought the First Hokage. If this puppet can be successfully built, even a First Hokage who is half-dead and only half his strength can be defeated."

Shimizu took the plan and opened it to the first page, which contained the design drawings for this large war puppet.

This puppet is not humanoid; it has six deformable metal legs and four arms, which can also transform into various weapons.

It has a slender body with three long tails extending from its rear end. Each tail has two movable barbs at the back, and a cannon muzzle in the middle of the barbs.

The whole thing looks like a giant, deformed scorpion. If scaled up, it would be about 200 meters tall and over 800 meters long.

However, half of that length comes from the tail.

Even so, it is still enormous.

The device also contains various parameters calculated by Scorpion. Although it has not been built for actual testing, its power should not be weak.

At least according to Shimizu's estimation, based on the Edo Tensei Hashirama with 40% of his peak power, this thing would probably have more than 60% of Hashirama's strength before his energy was exhausted. Even if it couldn't necessarily defeat the Wooden Buddha and the Complete Susanoo, it would at least be a being of the same level.

Going any further would probably be very difficult.

According to Tobirama Senju during the Fourth Shinobi World War in the original timeline, when Hashirama unleashed the True Several Thousand Hands and clashed with Madara Uchiha of the Rinnegan, he had already demonstrated 90% of his peak strength during his lifetime.

Hashirama Senju at 80-90% of his strength, when he unleashes his True Several Thousand Hands, would be considered an upper-tier fighter even among Kage-level opponents.

Even if it were Hashirama at his true peak, then there would be virtually no one below the Six Paths level who could defeat him.

As for clean water...

He can't say for sure how strong he is now or what level he is at.

Since the end of the last Shinobi World War, although he has improved considerably, he has never truly fought anyone at full power.

But upon closer reflection, there should be at least one more step forward; the giant puppet that Scorpion plans to create should be unable to do anything to him.

After digesting and organizing the insights gained from the avatar of the One-Man World into skills usable in battle, and breaking through a few easier-to-break limiters, another major enhancement should be possible.

Who knows, maybe I'll be able to have the combat power of the Six Paths level by then?
At the very least, a master of the highest level (likely a Shadow Realm expert) is unlikely to be his opponent.

“These expenses… one machine would require a budget of at least 10 billion taels, equivalent to the village’s entire annual fiscal revenue back then. And you’re planning to build two. Although the village now controls the country’s tax revenue and the economy is developing rapidly, with the village’s disposable funds increasing almost tenfold, there are still many places across the country, including the village, where money is needed. If you’re going to build one, there’s no need to build two at once; one is enough.”

After quickly flipping through Scorpion's proposal, Shimizu spoke.

"One? Or two would be safer. I am now the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, and your chakra reserves are enormous, even surpassing those of the Tailed Beasts. If we have these large puppets, we alone can contend with a major ninja village. We can wipe out an ordinary ninja army with a single hand. Even if there are tens of thousands of them, they are just numbers. Even if there are three or five Kage-level experts, they will be difficult to stop us."

"If we join forces, even if Hashirama Senju truly regains his former strength, we will still be able to defeat him outside!"

Could two such enormous puppets defeat Hashirama Senju?

If it were Madara Uchiha before he awakened the Rinnegan, Shimizu thought he could win. It's hard to say with just one puppet; he might even be at a disadvantage. But with two puppets, he should be able to secure victory.

But if it's that freak, Hashirama Senju, then it might be a different story.

A broken puppet is difficult to repair on the battlefield, but a wooden puppet and Susanoo can be repaired as long as there is enough chakra.

If Hashirama Senju were to activate his Sage Mode at his peak, unleashing his true thousands of attacks, he might not necessarily be able to win.

There is a chance of winning, but it's probably not very high.

"Don't rush. This thing is suitable for you, but it's not really necessary for me. Besides, what I mean is, let's build one first, improve it, and then build a second one based on the technology of the first one, and then a third one, which can be given to Chiyo-sensei and Ebizo-sensei."

Scorpion frowned slightly, clearly feeling that Chiyo and Ebizo did not have the ability to control such a large puppet on their own.

His mental strength might be up to par, after all, he was a veteran Kage-level puppeteer, but his chakra reserves were far from sufficient.

"Grandma and the others, I'm afraid..."

"Do you remember that arc reactor I showed you last time?"

"That energy source? The power is indeed powerful, and theoretically it's not unusable. However, the energy source would take up a lot of space, and energy conduction loss and heat dissipation would have to be considered. Moreover, given the power of that thing, its power would probably be reduced considerably. Not to mention, using external force to drive a puppet is ultimately different from using chakra. No matter how ingenious the mechanism or how skilled the technique, it can't be as easy to control as a puppet. All things considered, it's still a loss."

Instead, it would be better to stick to the old plan and use the arc reactor as a secondary energy source for the conventional golems, improving output efficiency and mobility... Hmm? What you're saying is...

Scorpion looked at the arc reactor that Shimizu suddenly took out, somewhat puzzled.

"This is an upgraded Ark Reactor with higher energy density and output efficiency. Although it is much more difficult and costly to manufacture, and cannot be mass-produced, building a few large ones should be enough to power it. Even if the power is not as good as using the Tailed Beast Chakra directly, it is enough to restore about 70-80% of the original."

That's no worse than the Edo Tensei Hashirama with over 40% of his current strength. Sasori's eyes lit up, and he snatched the Second Generation Arc Reactor from Shimizu's hand. He immediately summoned a Salamander puppet, removed the old reactor from it, and installed it. On the puppet's head, he saw a bunch of overload data on the display screen.

"With this, the war puppets I designed can be upgraded in terms of both mobility and secondary firepower. The war ninja tools in the village can also be upgraded, and a batch of high-level puppets can be manufactured. Even if the number is not large, it is equivalent to having an additional powerful elite Jonin unit to target and strike enemy experts. Ten of them can be equivalent to one Kage. Twenty of them, with proper tactics and a willingness to pay certain casualties, can ambush and kill one of them!"
Furthermore, this thing is so energy efficient; since it can power our large war puppets, it could also be used to create a large fortress that can fly in the sky for extended periods, like the Sky Ninja Village that was destroyed by Konoha's White Fang and his forces in the early stages of the Second Shinobi World War. Only theirs was too slow, too fragile, and too weak; ours…”

"Alright, alright, alright, I knew all of that. But if we don't start building now and just start working without any preparation, how many things can we accomplish?"

Scorpion was slightly taken aback, then realized what was happening and looked at Shimizu with a wary expression.

"Are you trying to trick me into doing your work again?"

"What do you mean by bluffing? This is an order from your superior, the Fourth Kazekage. Besides, don't you want to learn all the new things I've come up with, including this?"

Shimizu pointed to the second-generation Ark reactor in Scorpion's hand.

"This...you don't mean I have to teach all these things to those guys down there, do you? Those guys aren't very bright. Simple things are fine, but for anything a little more complicated, I have to explain it to them repeatedly and break it down for them to understand. That's too time-consuming. I also have to make puppets, so I'm afraid I won't have the time."

Scorpion frowned again.

In Scorpion's eyes, humans in this world can be divided into the following categories.

I am a genius. I can learn anything after just one lesson. I have an extremely strong self-learning ability and can even research and develop new things.

Shimizu is a genius among geniuses; he can learn without studying and can research a whole host of things.

Exceptional puppeteers like Chiyo and Ebizo are ordinary people who learn quickly. Even as they get older and their learning abilities decline, they still surpass everyone else.

As for the rest, they're all idiots.

Little did they know that those who had the opportunity to receive the latest puppetry techniques from Shimizu and Sasori were the most outstanding puppeteers.

The total number of puppeteers in Sunagakure is at least three thousand, if not five thousand. While not every puppeteer in the puppet corps is a prodigy, there are only a little over a hundred of them, all of whom are true elites.

Whenever Shimizu and Sasori pull out something new, those chosen to learn it are either those recognized as having strong learning abilities within the puppet unit, or Jonin-level ninja puppeteers such as squad leaders or vice-captains. The total number is usually only around thirty.

"Just tell me if you want to learn or not. Even if your body can't compare to mine, you're still a Jinchūriki. You have enough chakra and mental strength. Creating a shadow clone won't be a problem. After all, it's just teaching. Although it takes some time and is a little troublesome, it doesn't require much effort."

"Anyway, you don't have a girlfriend, so this little bit of energy won't be a problem."

Shimizu smiled and said to Scorpion.

Scorpion sneered:
"Ha, women, aren't they all just distractions from cultivation and puppet research? They'll even flaunt their charms in front of you from time to time to get your attention. How childish and boring."

"Oh, so you can get distracted by women!"

Shimizu changed her posture, crossing her legs, and looked at Scorpion, whose face had darkened, with a mocking expression.

Speaking of which, Sasori is already fifteen years old. In the group of ninjas who mature early, he can basically be considered an adult ninja.

If your body hasn't been replaced by a puppet, it's perfectly normal to experience physical attraction to attractive members of the opposite sex as you develop naturally and your hormones regulate their levels.

With his strength, good looks, illustrious family background, and high status, there was no better husband than Sasori in the entire Sand Village and even the ninja world.

When he was younger, it wasn't a big deal, but as he got a little older, a bunch of women who thought they were pretty good started flirting with him.

"Don't change the subject. I'm not talking to you about women."

Scorpion tapped the table, his face, which was even more handsome than a woman's, filled with seriousness.

"Tsk, alright, but I still have to ask you for help with this. Besides giving the village a clear direction for its development, I'll be focusing most of my energy on improving our strength. And there are some things that only you can do for me. No one else can, because you are irreplaceable."

Upon hearing this, Scorpion's lips unconsciously curved into a slight smile, which quickly faded. Then, as if remembering something, he looked at Shimizu and said:
"Improving your strength? I remember you just said that the large war puppet I designed is no longer needed by you? Does that mean I can assume that your strength has exceeded my estimate of the upper limit of this war puppet?"

Shimizu smiled slightly, revealing a hint of smugness, nodded slightly, and said to Scorpion:

"That's right, and this is not the limit. I will devote a lot of time to cultivation, and that will be my main body. The role that shadow clones can play in this process is very limited, and the more shadow clones I create, the more obvious the side effects will be."

The task of summarizing and organizing the harvest from the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley can be left to the Shadow Clone.

However, whether it's cultivating immortal techniques or breaking the limiter, it all depends on the physical body, and it also consumes a lot of energy.

In this situation, if you don't want to become ethereal or even cause an accident that leads to a failure to break through the limiter, then it's still not suitable to create so many shadow clones.

"Then you'd better organize your knowledge as soon as possible, and then get back to your work, lest you stagnate and be surpassed by me. I won't be lenient with you then."

"You won't surpass me, bro. Look, I've already compiled all the data, and all the necessary equipment is in this lab. As for that shadow clone, are you done with your work? Once you're done, take Scorpion to teach. I'll hurry up and prepare for my cultivation."

Shimizu called out to one of the shadow clones who was still packing up equipment.

He first practiced sage techniques, then tried his best to summarize and organize a set of safe and effective cultivation methods, which were then promoted within Sunagakure. After that, he created training artifacts to hone his limits and break through the limiters.

(End of this chapter)