Sunagakure, underground laboratory.
The air always carried that strange smell of chemicals, metal, and residual chakra, but to Toyotomi Yinglang, it was more invigorating than any incense.
He stood before a huge, smooth stone slab covered in data and symbols, his fingers tracing absently across it and leaving a faint white mark.
Sasori had just delivered a batch of improvements to the joint bearings for the "Basic Battle Armor." His efficiency was frightening. Ever since that girl Sakura Haruno had "chosen" the Gene Serum, she had been avoiding him a little these past few days. Still, she had completed her assigned physiological monitoring and data analysis meticulously, occasionally even raising a few thoughtful questions.
Talent!
Those words turned over in Toyotomi Yinglang's mind. Sasori was a genius, but genius was not enough. He needed more "talent"-people who could work, understand orders, and turn ideas into reality.
Sunagakure's wind and sand wore people down, but they also forged a group of hardy, capable workers.
Before, they had lacked a path forward. Now that he had given them direction and resources, their enthusiasm had surged.
He recalled the memories of his previous life. Only a dozen or so years separated "Shippuden," with Naruto as its protagonist, from "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations," which followed his son's generation.
Good grief, that technology tree had shot up like a rocket. Scientific Ninja Tools, communications networks, even things resembling computers and the internet, along with all those bizarre energy weapons...
What did that mean?
It meant the researchers of the shinobi world were certainly no fools! In fact, their potential was enormous! Previously, they had simply been boxed in by the old framework of "chakra," "ninjutsu," and "kekkei genkai." They regarded individual power as supreme, and no one had seriously explored the path of large-scale, standardized,