We Just Wanted to Broaden Our Horizons

How important are puppeteers to Sunagakure?

Because the Land of Wind is vast and sparsely populated, Sunagakure suffers from a lack of manpower. Its ninja count is naturally at a disadvantage, similar to the Land of Water, placing it at the bottom of the Five Great Nations.

It is roughly equivalent to France and the UK among the five great powers.

When the Second Kazekage took office, it was during the Second Shinobi World War. Constrained by the village's insufficient military strength, the Second Kazekage developed puppetry.

Only by leveraging the home-field advantage of the Land of Wind was Sunagakure able to secure its position among the five great ninja villages. Even if their schemes to seize the fertile lands of the Land of Fire failed, self-preservation was at least manageable.

It is worth mentioning that the Magnet Release used by the Third Kazekage and the Fourth was also developed by the Second Kazekage, who drew inspiration from the sand-control techniques of Shukaku. He was truly a master of scientific research.

Puppeteers have rendered meritorious service for the safety of the Land of Wind; one could say that the Sunagakure of today is paved with the remains of countless puppets.

That is why Chiyo reacted so strongly. In her eyes, Rasa's words bordered on betraying his masters and ancestors.

"Lord Chiyo, please calm down."

Rasa's expression remained unchanged as he tapped his index finger on the desk, stimulating his electromagnetic force.

Calm down? How can you expect me to calm down? The only reason I didn't strike you on the spot is because you are a disciple of the Kazekage!

Just as Chiyo was about to erupt, Ebizo pulled her back.

His long eyebrows twitched slightly as he held a finger to his lips and whispered, "Listen."

What is there to listen to!

Wait, there really is a disturbance...

The rustling sound of wind-blown sand, accompanied by the clamor of Sunagakure's ninjas, drifted in from outside the room. The ground began to tremble slightly.

"Could it be a sandstorm?

No, I must arrange for the villagers to take shelter immediately. Damn it, so sudden!"

The desert environment is prone to storms and erratic weather, which is precisely what forged the resilient character of the sand ninjas.

Chiyo grumbled as she brushed past Rasa and rushed toward the door. She slammed it open, but just as she was about to run outside, she froze in place.

She remained dazed for a long time, unable to collect her thoughts.

"What is it, sister? Have some villagers been caught in the sandstorm?"

Ebizo asked, rushing toward the door as well. This could not be ignored; every villager was a treasure of the village.

Upon reaching the doorway, Ebizo was about to speak, but he was shocked by the scene before him.

Centered on the Kazekage's office, all metallic objects within a radius of 150 meters had been gathered together, circling the office in a ring.

If one were to divide the circle into twenty-four segments, one could see the metal objects in each segment rising into the sky one after another, dancing wildly like snakes hearing the sound of a flute.

A true dance of the golden snakes!

Twenty-four metal chains rose and fell, twisting into the shape of a 'B' and then a 'W', drawing the gaze of everyone in Sunagakure!

What is the meaning of BW? The King of Arrogance!

A spectacle of the human world.

After about twenty seconds, all the metal objects flew back into the sky in sequence, returning to their original positions, and the carnival officially came to an end.

Chiyo suddenly turned back, her eyes filled with an indescribable excitement as she looked at Rasa—one part despondency, three parts shock, three parts relief, and three parts agitation!

The villagers, having also seen the "Third Kazekage" rush to the office door, fell silent for a moment before erupting into cheers.

"Congratulations to Lord Kazekage for his great increase in strength!"

"Long live Sunagakure! Long live Lord Kazekage!"

As everyone knew, the ability of the Third Kazekage was Magnet Release: Iron Sand, so it went without saying who had accomplished this feat.

The excitement of the sand ninjas was plain to see; as subordinates, who wouldn't hope to follow a leader who could actually fight?

Why did ninjas from Konohagakure and Kumogakure have such confidence when going out on missions? Wasn't it because the overall strength of their villages was formidable?

The Kage is the face of a village. The terrain and environment of Sunagakure destined it to be unable to cultivate a large number of ninjas, so the emergence of a powerful leader was crucial.

Pakura, who happened to be passing by the office, stood amidst the excited crowd. She seemed completely out of place, staring blankly at the Kazekage's office.

She was speechless for a long time.

Only she knew that the Third Kazekage had already passed away; only she knew that the annoying redhead must be sitting in the Kazekage's office at this very moment.

Ebizo said a few symbolic words to encourage the villagers before returning to the office and slamming the door shut with a "bang."

Chiyo and Ebizo circled Rasa several times, as if looking at some rare, priceless treasure.

After a long while, Chiyo finally said in a trembling voice, "You—you can now control more than just gold dust, or iron sand?"

"Yes, I can control the vast majority of metals," Rasa nodded, his tone flat.

Electricity generates magnetism, and then magnetism is used to manipulate metal; it was as simple a principle as that.

Chiyo became even more agitated, her words incoherent, her thoughts racing! What did it mean to be able to control the vast majority of metals?

It meant being a puppeteer's nightmare and a killer of mediocre ninjas!

Every puppet contains metal, and the vast majority of ninjas in the shinobi world rely heavily on taijutsu, kunai, and shuriken techniques.

With Rasa, the disadvantage of Sunagakure's insufficient ninja numbers will be truly rectified.

One could tell from Rasa's actions just now that his control over metal is both powerful and wide-ranging, which means that whenever he encounters ordinary ninjas or puppeteers, it will be a completely one-sided affair.

Kill a hundred if a hundred come, kill a thousand if a thousand come; in front of him, weaklings don't even have the right to breathe.

"It's fortunate that you are from Sunagakure, it's fortunate that you are from Sunagakure..."

Chiyo murmured, repeating this sentence over and over.

Ebizo nodded in deep agreement; if Rasa belonged to any other ninja village, he could simply lead a few squads of elite ninjas and march straight into Sunagakure, single-handedly destroying the nation.

The happiness came too suddenly, and Chiyo still couldn't believe it. She pulled out a storage scroll, took out a dozen puppets, threw them on the ground, and said hopefully, "Quick, try it and see if you can destroy them."

"Wouldn't that be a waste?"

Rasa glanced at the puppets on the ground; they were all high-quality goods.

"Not a waste, not a waste at all!" Chiyo said excitedly.

It's not that we don't believe you, we just want to broaden our horizons.

Rasa blinked, and after a few strange noises came from the puppets, he said calmly, "It's done."

Chiyo was slightly stunned. No hand seals, no fluctuations of chakra—it was already done?

She twitched her fingers, which were wrapped in chakra threads, but the puppets that should have stood up not only failed to move, but emitted even louder noises from within.

All the joints and critical metal components at their cores had been twisted into spirals and violently dismantled. As Chiyo moved her fingers, the metal parts inside the puppets collided with each other.

Clang, clatter.

She believed it; this time Chiyo truly believed it. Taking one sharp breath wasn't enough, so she took two more. The shock Rasa gave her was on the level of three sharp breaths.

She had witnessed the birth of a puppeteer killer; Sunagakure finally had real hope of becoming powerful!