Early that morning, everyone gathered by the reservoir.
Even Chiyo had received a letter from Sasori and made a special trip over with Ebizo.
"Sis, did these children really complete all this?"
Ever since Sasori had gradually grown closer to her, Chiyo had become more and more like a kind old grandmother.
She sat beside Sasori and nodded gently:
"Of course. Sasori dug the main section of the tunnel with the Mountain God Mecha.
That child Mukai is remarkable. For a waterworks project of this scale,
if a daimyo or noble had undertaken it, who knows how many commoners they would have conscripted, or how many years it would have taken to build."
Ebizo was in charge of the village's intelligence, so he naturally knew everything his sister said was true.
In this world, where combat focused solely on a ninja's individual strength,
very few people would use Ninjutsu and the Puppet Technique for such a grand project.
He looked over at Mukai, who was busy nearby, and stroked his beard.
"He really is a fine child. Sasori has a good eye for friends!
Those ninja clans in the village know nothing but fighting over resources and funding.
They're not even as good as these children.
But everything's ready, so why haven't they let the water in yet?"
Sasori explained from beside him:
"One person from our team went out to train and hasn't come back yet.
His Taijutsu is really incredible. If Mukai hadn't discovered him, the village might have overlooked him forever."
Chiyo had told Ebizo about Shisō, who had become a Genin only through a special recommendation.
As a traditional ninja, Ebizo didn't believe that someone who knew only Taijutsu could become a qualified ninja.
Just then, he felt the ground suddenly begin to tremble faintly.
Looking toward the source of the sound, he saw a cloud of dust gradually approaching from the southwest.
"What's that?"
Sasori got up from the mat and clapped his hands.
"Shisō should be back."
As the dust cloud rapidly approached, the ground's trembling grew more pronounced.
It was as if the one approaching wasn't a person, but a massive summoned beast.
Only when the cloud of dust reached the small mountain of Iron Sand and came to a stop did Ebizo see Shisō's muscular figure, steam rising from his entire body,
and the large iron box on his back.
Seeing the sheer amount of black Iron Sand poured out, Ebizo cried out in astonishment:
"Th-this... this pile of Iron Sand, if I'm not mistaken,
was this person called Shisō just running with over a thousand jin of Iron Sand on his back?"
Sasori nodded.
"That's right. Mukai usually has Shisō carry Iron Sand on his back and run more than ten kilometers every day.
At that speed today, he probably used a Taijutsu secret technique because he was afraid of delaying the ceremony, right?"
To run so fast while carrying over a thousand jin of Iron Sand on his back-such Taijutsu was truly astonishing.
"Truly remarkable. With Taijutsu like that, even if he can't perform the Three Basic Techniques, he still has terrifying combat power.
And Mukai, who was able to discover him, is even more exceptional.
Was it because of that eye for talent that you wanted to push for Mukai to become a teacher at the Ninja Academy, Sis?"
Looking inscrutable, Chiyo shook her head.
"Of course there's more to it than that. There are many other remarkable things about Mukai. You'll find out in time.
The ceremony is about to start. Look, Mukai is going to speak!"
Ebizo watched as Mukai, who was a year younger than Sasori, walked without a trace of stage fright onto a platform temporarily raised with Earth Release.
"Elders, comrades, teachers, and friends!
Hello, everyone!"
As Mukai spoke, he rubbed his nose with a finger in embarrassment. On a whim, he had blurted out the words he used for speeches in his previous life.
Fortunately, everyone was very supportive. Pakura not only applauded but also let out a wolf whistle. Teacher Pakura was really letting loose.
Mukai coughed twice to ease his embarrassment before continuing:
"This water tunnel project was completed through the efforts of all of us, working together over half a year.
It brought together our ingenuity, our unity, and many other powers, including Ninjutsu and the Puppet Technique.
This water tunnel will greatly improve the environment at both ends,
and it also proves that Ninjutsu can be used not only to kill, but also to create and bring new life!
This is one small step for us, but it will surely be one giant step toward a new life for the Shinobi World!
I declare the waterway officially open!"
As he spoke, Mukai gave Konan, whose cheeks were slightly red, a meaningful look.
Konan understood at once and waved her hand, sending an origami swift soaring into the air.
This was her improved origami, and it flew more than ten times faster than a paper crane.
Soon, the rumble of water came from the tunnel.
Over in Moon Sake Town, Nagato received the origami swift's signal and used Earth Release to open the embankment separating the tunnel from the Moon River.
The surging river water first poured into the reservoir they had dug,
then the water from the middle and upper layers flowed through the hardened tunnel.
They had first dug a reservoir by the river in Moon Sake Town to let sediment settle, reducing the amount of silt in the water that flowed through.
When river water began gushing from the pipe at the oasis on the Land of Wind's border, everyone cheered in unison.
This was a great undertaking they had completed with their own hands!
For the first time, clear river water had been brought to the parched border of the Land of Wind!
As the reservoirs at the various levels filled, the river water began flowing to every part of the oasis through the underground channels Mukai and the others had dug in advance.
From then on, clean water could be drawn directly from underground wells throughout the surrounding area.
While everyone was examining the clear, sweet river water in the reservoir,
Mukai and Sasori had already entered the remodeled puppet workshop.
The place had been completely transformed.
Mukai and Pakura had fired and hardened each of the originally empty underground rooms at high temperatures,
leaving the walls and floors like obsidian.
These rooms had been divided into several functional areas. Besides the main smelting area, there were also various machining areas equipped with electric machine tools.
In a small room next to the tunnel's power generation module, Mukai went to a cabinet where electric arcs occasionally flickered across the walls,
solemnly took down a metal cylinder as thick as a finger and twenty centimeters long, and handed it to Sasori.
"Mukai, is this the fully charged supercapacitor you mentioned?"
Sasori carefully held the small cylinder in his hand. He had witnessed its power firsthand.
A little cylinder like this could actually store Lightning Release converted from twice the amount of Mukai's Chakra!
If it were released in an instant, it would be comparable to a B-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu!
Of course, they already had an advanced use for this kind of supercapacitor.
Mukai nodded, very satisfied with the turbine generator's charging efficiency.
With a hydroelectric generator capable of supplying a small town from his previous life,
its charging rate was hundreds of times faster than the rate at which his own Chakra recovered!
And this power could be stored and released whenever needed!
With electricity, many of his ideas and inventions could finally become reality!
Water wasn't the only reason he had gone to such lengths to build this tunnel.
Compared with conspicuous wind power generation,
these unobtrusive hydroelectric generators buried deep underground
were his most reliable backup for increasing his strength right now!
Mukai took down another fully charged supercapacitor and installed it in a huge Chakra Metal arm beside him.
"Sasori, try controlling it!
With these, we can upgrade our mecha to a powered model too!"