"A large quantity of high-purity Chakra-Conducting Metal, along with rare ores."
Nara Shikage's voice echoed through the quiet intelligence center.
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
Sasori, according to Kakuzu's description, was a puppeteer who regarded eternity as the ultimate form of art.
The Powered Exoskeletons Rock Lee and the others had equipped during the battle at Sunagakure had clearly dealt this master artist a shock beyond imagination.
Sasori had seen another possibility for Puppet Technique.
"He's trying to reverse-engineer our technology." Sasuke instantly grasped the key point. "If he succeeds in creating similar equipment, the technological barrier we worked so hard to build will develop a breach."
"No." Naruto shook his head.
He walked over to the enormous map of the Shinobi World and lightly tapped the location of the Land of Grass with his finger.
"That is precisely the outcome I want."
Sasuke looked at him in confusion.
"An arms race, Sasuke." Naruto turned around, his expression terrifyingly calm. "Once everyone starts frantically chasing the standards we set and desperately trying to imitate our weapons, the initiative in war will be firmly in our hands."
"Konoha will no longer merely be one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. We will become the makers of rules, the arbiters of Order, and... the ultimate Harvesters of all the spoils of war."
"If Sasori wants to imitate us, let him. I can even lend him a hand."
Naruto turned to Shikage and issued a new order.
"Use the Underground Bounty Exchange's covert channels to contact that 'merchant' you planted. Leak Sasori a set of 'core technical documents' regarding Exoskeleton Armor. They must be incomplete, but just enough to fit together with the fragments he captured and form what appears to be a complete theoretical framework."
"Focus on the 'miniaturization of the Chakra Energy