Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 200 Human Puppet Rasa, A Trap to Kill Hanzo

The Land of Wind, Sunagakure Village.

The vast yellow sand stretches to the horizon, seemingly without end.

There will always be people who love this country and will compare it to a woman.

Her hair was golden. When you put your hand in her hair, it felt like the wind blowing across the desert, carrying wisps of golden sand, dry and gentle, tickling your skin.

There was always a breeze in the waves of her hair, and her honey-colored skin was so clear, while she also adhered to the proverb that silence is golden.

Silent and reserved, as still as death.

Meanwhile, in the conference room of the Fengying Building.

Exhaustion, boredom, powerlessness, numbness, anger, calmness...

A dozen or so chairs surround a huge stone round table in the center, appearing quiet and empty under the gaze of statues depicting the winds and shadows of past dynasties.

Apart from a few clan leaders, the people present were either elders of Sunagakure like Ebizo, holding important management positions, or Jonin with prestige and strength.

But at this moment, these people who were high-ranking members of Sunagakure had different expressions, and the entire meeting room was filled with a sense of oppression and gloom, as if a cracked earthenware jar was about to break.

"...Regarding the proposals on training medical ninjas, researching medical ninjutsu, and developing and utilizing puppet technology, if there are no objections, I hope everyone will cooperate fully in the future."

The Third Kazekage sat in the head seat, his tone calm yet brooking no argument.

The others exchanged glances, all seeing the hesitation and even a hint of gloom in each other's eyes.

Their hesitation and gloom were not because training medical ninjas and researching medical ninjutsu required a large investment of resources and energy.

Although the area surrounding Sunagakure is mostly desert with no usable resources, the capital of the Land of Wind is the largest oasis in this desert, possessing land that is very suitable for growing herbs and cash crops.

It can be said that at least 80 percent of the resources of the Wind Kingdom are in the hands of the daimyo and nobles of the Wind Kingdom.

Hanzo, however, broke off all pretense and led Amegakure in declaring war on the Land of Wind, enraging the daimyo of the Land of Wind.

They directly increased resource support for Sunagakure, readily approving a large sum of war funds for the village, with the sole condition that Hanzo be killed and the Land of Rain defeated.

Therefore, they are not facing much financial pressure right now. The reason they can continue to hold on without being defeated is because they have the support of Konoha and the Amegakure forces that are like mad dogs.

What truly depressed them and caused them to react with varying expressions was the proposal regarding the development and utilization of puppet technology.

The Sand Village's puppetry technology is unparalleled in the ninja world, but due to limitations in materials and resources, it has now reached a bottleneck and there is not much room for further improvement.

Therefore, what the Third Kazekage called "puppet technology" was actually... technology related to human puppets.

Human puppets can retain their appearance from when they were alive, and can use all the ninjutsu they used in life, and can even inherit their bloodline limit.

This technique is indeed very powerful, but it is too evil and a desecration of life.

Even in the ninja world where war never ends, "burial is the best policy" is the prevailing belief among most people.

To create a puppet, one must have the chakra of the person in life. The puppet must be made from a living person who is still alive, so that all of that person's ninjutsu can be completely preserved!

Capturing ninjas from other hostile villages and turning them into human puppets would surely arouse public anger and hatred, a truly irreconcilable feud, and the reputation of Sunagakure in the ninja world would plummet!

Therefore, after Monzaemon unintentionally achieved results in his research, the Second Kazekage sealed away the methods for creating and controlling human puppets without hesitation.

Today, apart from the Kazekage of each generation who can access information in the Book of Seals, only the Chiyo family of puppeteers still has this lineage.

"..."

With this in mind, everyone turned their gaze to Chiyo and Ebizo, who were sitting in the next seats on either side, wondering if the two people who had the most say in this matter would be so angry that they would slam their fists on the table and stand up.

But all they saw was silence.

It can't be said to be silent; at least Chiyo's face, etched with fatigue, was quite gloomy.

In contrast, Ebizo appeared much calmer. He shook his head at his sister and then said in a nonchalant tone, "I have no objection..."

He paused for a moment, unable to suppress a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "After all, Lord Kazekage has already conducted human experiments in private to confirm its feasibility, hasn't he?"

Human experimentation?!

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed instantly, and they all frowned and looked at the Third Kazekage.

However, some people remained unmoved.

Indeed, life is not such a cheap thing.

But saying that is a little hypocritical.

The more advanced the medical techniques and science, the less likely they are to avoid human experimentation. They all develop step by step in this way, and are all based on the countless sacrifices and deaths of their predecessors to gain valuable experience.

So, they were just curious whether the Third Kazekage had something to rely on since he dared to bring this up at a high-level meeting and Chiyo and Ebizo did not directly object.

Faced with the angry or surprised gazes of the crowd, the Third Kazekage offered no explanation, but simply clapped his hands expressionlessly and said, "Come in."

Click.

The meeting room door was pushed open, and the person who walked in was someone who surprised everyone.

Click! Click!

The person stepped out with their right foot on the ground before their left foot followed, creating an incredibly awkward and stiff appearance.

"Teacher." He knelt on one knee beside the Third Kazekage, his body making eerie "crackling" sounds as he moved, his tone as emotionless as a dead man's.

Upon seeing the newcomer's face, many people present recognized him.

"Rosa?!"

A slightly younger Sand Village Jonin exclaimed in surprise, "You're not... already a cripple...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Luo Sha, who was kneeling on one knee with his head bowed respectfully, raised his head.

Those eyes, seemingly devoid of any human emotion and utterly cold, looked over, causing the Sand Village Jonin to swallow his next words and involuntarily shiver.

The others were more composed, but they shared the same doubts as him.

This disciple of the Third Kazekage possesses the same, or even more strategically valuable, Magnet Release technique as the Third Kazekage, which allows him to manipulate gold dust.

Like the female ninja Yekura who possessed the Scorching Release, she was once a key genius cultivated by Sunagakure.

However, Yekura has already made a name for herself on the battlefield of the Land of Rivers, and even has the potential to succeed as the Kazekage and become the Fourth Kazekage.

Rasa, who was always compared to Yekura by others, was poisoned and became a cripple in the battle that made Hanzo famous.

Chiyo, who has the highest level of medical expertise, has already ruled that it is impossible for Rasa to continue being a ninja.

Even with the aid of a breathing apparatus, each breath is painful, and no strenuous activity can be performed, which is fatal for a ninja.

Many people lamented the loss of another genius from Sunagakure, and their hatred for Hanzo deepened.

But now, this former genius, now a cripple, has been summoned once again by the Third Kazekage…

"Luo Sha".

Ignoring the astonishment and doubt of the crowd, the Third Kazekage said, "Let everyone here see your current strength."

With that, he casually waved his arm, and the tightly closed window instantly swung open, letting the noisy wind blow into the meeting room.

"Yes."

Luo Sha bowed his head in response and then stood up, his two arms, gleaming with a golden sheen, extending from his wide gray robe.

With his hands forming a hand seal, an even more terrifying chakra aura surged forth, causing the expressions of everyone present to change slightly.

"Magnetic Release: Golden Sand Waves," Rasa said.

The next moment, the dazzling sunlight that had been streaming into the conference room from outside the window was eroded, and darkness filled everyone's eyes, as if everything was submerged in a tidal wave of pitch black.

Looking out the window, one can see the boundless gold sand surging and converging from the desert below like a sea, the waves of gold sand seeming to shatter the thick sky into strands.

"this……"

Everyone looked up at the golden waves outside the window that covered the sky and seemed about to crash down. A heavy pressure, like a tidal wave, gradually pressed down on each of their hearts, and their expressions gradually turned to horror.

They were not unfamiliar with this level of sand manipulation.

The Third Kazekage was even able to manipulate iron sand, which was heavier than sand, and use Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Technique, which was even more terrifying than what was happening before their eyes.

The reason he was able to become famous in the ninja world and even have the title of "Strongest Kazekage" is because he has extremely strong control over iron sand.

Heavier, harder, and more powerful than the sand gold manipulated by Luo Sha, it can form a large-scale sand iron barrier in the air for piercing attacks, making it the form with the strongest attack range, restriction range, and density.

But Luo Sha is only a teenager!

Before he was poisoned and became a cripple, he could only manipulate very small amounts of gold dust, but now...

Moreover, the advantage of placer gold lies not in combat, but in its intrinsic value.

The Land of Wind has no shortage of mineral resources, but the difficulty lies in how to discover and explore gold mines, and how to mine the discovered mineral resources, that is, how to pan for placer gold from the vast desert.

Now that Rasa has the ability, as long as enough gold dust is extracted from the desert, Sunagakure will be able to support a battle without even needing the support of the daimyo.

"As you can see."

The Third Kazekage spoke, drawing everyone's attention back. With his arms crossed, he said calmly, "Rasa's body from the head down has been replaced by puppet organs made of chakra-conducting metal."

"Moreover, after adding gold dust, thanks to his bloodline limit, his movements will not be hindered, and he will even be more agile than before. His physical strength is incomparable to that of a human body."

"As for the final result, I'm sure everyone has already seen it."

Upon hearing this, everyone present looked astonished, clearly not expecting that after undergoing the human puppet body modification, Rasa not only regained his mobility from being a cripple, but also received such a significant enhancement in his abilities.

"I am aware of your concerns. Human experimentation and the creation of human puppets are undoubtedly unethical, but you can rest assured."

Seeing that everyone was moved, the Third Kazekage continued, "Before conducting human experiments, the human puppet modification technology had already been tested on the bodies of many animals, accumulating a sufficient amount of experimental data."

"Although the effects of other people's modifications may not be as significant as those of Rasa, who possesses Magnet Release, based on the complete theory, as long as one is careful, the risk to life is very low, and safety is guaranteed."

"Moreover, in order to promote technological development, based on humanitarian principles, and in order to be responsible for the physical health and safety of the modifiers, the modification of human puppets is entirely voluntary."

At this point, the Third Kazekage paused, his gaze sweeping over the various expressions on the faces of the crowd.

"What does Lord Kazekage mean..."

None of the people present were fools, and they immediately understood his intention.

"In other words, the recruitment is mainly aimed at ninjas who are physically disabled and have lost their ability to fight. Those who participate in the modification will be re-integrated into the elite puppet squads of the puppet army branch. In addition, they can also enjoy subsidies..."

The Third Kazekage briefly outlined the subsidies available to puppet modifiers. The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes gleaming, and a sense of temptation stirred within them.

"This... seems feasible?"

"Lord Kazekage is right. Since it's all voluntary, then there's no problem."

"Yes, and the village has so many ninjas who have had to retire behind the scenes because of their disabilities. They must be very happy to know that they have a chance to regain their mobility."

"The only problem is that the required investment will be terrifying, right? But with the village's current funds, plus Rasa's abilities, it shouldn't be a problem to select a thousand people to build an elite squad."

After the first person agreed, the atmosphere in the meeting room immediately shifted, and everyone thought it was a good suggestion.

Putting aside other things, in the battle between Hanzo and that black cat, there were at least a thousand Sand Village ninjas like Rasa who were poisoned and received timely treatment, but still lost their ability to fight.

Not to mention the elite ninjas who were forced to retire from the front lines due to their disabilities; a large portion of the Sand Village's annual budget is spent on them.

Although lifelong support is not possible, disability pensions and care expenses are much more expensive than war death pensions.

Apart from a small number of those who teach at the Ninja Academy, the other disabled ninjas are a burden to Sunagakure.

The development and utilization of human puppet technology can allow these "burdens" to still have some use.

"Since everyone has no objections, this proposal is tentatively confirmed. The future human puppet cyborgs will be led by Rasa."

The Third Kazekage breathed a sigh of relief and casually promoted his disciple to squad leader.

The others had no objections, but Chiyo, whose expression had been gloomy the whole time, suddenly stood up.

"Hmph! Then I wish you all the best. I will not keep you company any longer. After this war, I will resign from my position as elder!"

She snorted coldly, her gaze sweeping over Rasa and the Third Kazekage, a flash of disappointment crossing her eyes before she turned and left.

"this……"

The others then realized what was happening and looked at the Third Kazekage, only to see him simply wave his hand and say, "Elder Chiyo is just tired; she'll understand soon enough."

In fact, he had already had a fight with Chiyo before this.

But what's done is done, and his proposal seemed to have no problems. Even Ebizo acquiesced to this approach, since he was the one who understood best the current predicament of Sunagakure.

It's pointless for Chiyo to object alone.

"..."

Ebizo sat with his eyes lowered, his long, pale eyebrows drooping down to his face, obscuring the strange light in his eyes.

After Chiyo left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief with the assurance of the Third Kazekage. They then began to fill in any gaps and discuss the feasibility of the plan.

A moment later, the Third Kazekage extended his finger and gently tapped the table.

Thump...thump thump...

The conversation abruptly stopped, and everyone instinctively turned their gaze in this direction.

"Besides this proposal, I have another piece of good news to share with you all."

Facing the puzzled gazes of the crowd, the Third Kazekage smiled and said, "The Land of Fire has sent a letter, hoping to join forces with us to assassinate Hanzo and fight against the Land of Rain together."

"In other words, now it's finally time for us to fight back."

(End of this chapter)