"Mirage" Prototype

Deep within Sunagakure, in an independent workshop belonging to the Puppet Research and Development Department, the lights burned through the night. Unlike the sand-worn yellow hues outside, the workshop's interior was impeccably clean, almost to a harsh degree. Every tool was sorted by category and hung on the walls within easy reach. The air carried a mixture of fragrant special timber, the cold scent of metal, and the distinctive energy aura of chakra-conductive ink.

Shaye stood before a broad workbench, tall and straight, long since having shed the frailty of his youth. The nourishment provided by the continued use of the Natural Energy Body Refining Furnace had slowly transformed him. His muscles were well-proportioned, his vitality abundant, and his brow held a composure and focus beyond his years. His gaze was fixed firmly on an extraordinarily complex blueprint spread across the table—the prototype design for a manned mobile platform he had spent a long time conceiving, named "Mirage."

After systematic study at the academy, Chiyo and Sasori's wholehearted instruction, Bunpuku and Shukaku's introduction to ancient knowledge, and the accumulated experience of countless life-or-death missions, Shaye felt that the scattered pieces of knowledge in his mind had finally been linked together by a clear thread of logic. He was no longer merely a recipient and user of knowledge; he had reached the threshold of creation. Like Sasori of the Red Sands, designing and manufacturing a puppet that belonged entirely to himself was now a goal clearly within sight.

The concept behind "Mirage" stemmed from his clear understanding of his own shortcomings in battle—even though his chakra reserves were no longer what they had once been, his size and raw physical speed remained disadvantages in high-level combat. He needed a platform, something that could compensate for his mobility, improve his survivability, and