The murky brine had actually turned clear?
Sasori could hardly believe his eyes.
He was certain Mukai did not have water-nature chakra,
or rather, there were very few ninja among all the Sand ninja who had water-nature chakra.
In the dry desert, Water Release Ninjutsu might have only a tenth of the power it did in other regions,
and Water Release could not turn brine clear outright!
Water Release Ninjutsu merely used chakra to sustain some water for a short time.
Once the chakra sustaining it was gone, the water would disappear.
Now, seeing how clear the water flowing out of the trough had become,
Sasori immediately took out a cup and wanted to drink some.
"Hey, Sasori, you can't drink it yet!"
Mukai hurriedly stopped Sasori and explained:
"Stingy and impatient Sasori, although the water no longer has those bitter minerals in it,
it does contain chlorine gas produced by electrolysis.
But the chlorine disinfects and kills germs in the water,
and it'll be gone if you boil the water or leave it in the sun for a while."
As he spoke, Mukai filled a kettle. Without using a stove, he generated an induced current with both hands to heat it directly.
Before long, the water in the kettle began to boil.
With his ability to control chakra precisely,
Mukai poured two cups of water and enveloped them in a mass of wind,
quickly carrying away the heat from the water in both cups.
He first checked the water's data. It was nearly pure, with only the tiniest trace of impurities.
This precision ability was practically a god-tier appraisal skill!
Even if using the god-tier skill Eyes Are Rulers consumed some chakra,
it was still the foundation of his ability to make a life for himself in this world!
Mukai drank a cup without worry, then handed one to Sasori.
Sasori took a sip, and his eyes lit up:
"It really doesn't taste bitter or salty anymore!
It's as good as the water from the best well in Oasis City!
Mukai, how did you do it?"
As a child who had grown up in Sunagakure,
Sasori naturally knew how important water was to the entire village and the whole Land of Wind.
Here, clean water could even be sold for money!
Mukai gave Sasori a simple explanation of the principles of ion adsorption.
When he heard that the adsorption electrodes had to be made from Chakra Metal,
and that the current had to be controlled to the voltage and amperage Mukai specified,
his eyes dimmed.
After all, up to now, Sasori had never seen anyone control violent Lightning Release
as precisely as Mukai did.
If Mukai did not have too little chakra,
and could use his various precisely controlled techniques beyond his immediate surroundings,
he could probably have been promoted to Chunin already.
Mukai took out the energy-storage supercapacitor he had made and said:
"Did you forget we have this?
Using this supercapacitor, which can store a large amount of Lightning Release,
we can discharge it without me being there
and use ion adsorption to purify brine and seawater!"
Sasori still shook his head:
"Mukai, didn't you forget something crucial?
This trough and your supercapacitor
used up all the Chakra Metal Granny gave me.
The Chakra Metal they used is worth enough for hundreds of households to buy water.
How can something this expensive be used throughout the village like you said?"
Before Mukai could answer, a kindly voice came from outside the puppet workshop:
"Sasori, Mukai, may I come in?
I heard you made something extraordinary?"
Mukai went over and opened the puppet workshop's doors,
and Granny Chiyo walked in carrying a food box.
Although Sasori's relationship with Granny Chiyo had improved,
his long-standing resentment and resistance still made him somewhat reluctant.
It was Mukai who thick-skinnedly took Granny Chiyo's food box and brought her a chair.
In front of Sasori and Mukai, Granny Chiyo was always a kindly old woman,
nothing like the iron-fisted elder she was in the village,
or the Puppet Old Hag who struck fear into her enemies on the battlefield-a nickname Hanzō had given her.
She listened to Mukai's explanation and examined the rechargeable supercapacitor,
as well as the process of using electric current for ion adsorption in brine.
After tasting the purified, boiled water, Granny Chiyo patted Sasori and Mukai on the head and said:
"You two have made the village a remarkable ninja tool!
Sasori, did you forget?
What place wouldn't mind something being too expensive?"
Sasori was just about to dodge Chiyo's hand as she patted his head
when her words made him realize:
"The daimyō! The daimyō and the nobles wouldn't care about the money!
Even the nobles in the Land of Wind don't all have good freshwater wells!
Even ordinary water would taste better after being purified!
Besides, this thing Mukai calls a supercapacitor
can also be used for self-defense!"
Chiyo nodded approvingly and contentedly withdrew the hand she had been patting his head with.
Once the subject turned to technical matters, Sasori forgot how awkward he usually felt.
She carefully examined the structure of the entire water purification system and asked Mukai how difficult it was to charge.
When she heard that only Sasori and Mukai could make it together for now,
and that only Mukai could control chakra precisely enough to charge it, the smile on her face grew wider:
"That's even better!
Then sorry for the trouble, but I'd like you two to make a few more sets of this purification device and the supercapacitors that go with them.
It's not just the daimyō and nobles who need them.
The ninja forces stationed at the desert fortresses and the teams at the coastal fortresses all need this water-purifying ninja tool.
The village will allocate Chakra Metal to you,
and every set you make will count as a C-rank mission!"
This rate was already generous treatment from Granny Chiyo.
Normally, for a ninja tool with so many limitations, Sunagakure, now struggling financially,
would never offer the reward for a C-rank mission.
Granny Chiyo simply wanted to use this preferential treatment to repay Mukai for helping Sasori.
But Mukai shook his head and declined the generous offer:
"Elder Chiyo, this device needs Chakra Metal and a special kind of insulating paper.
There's no suitable substitute for it yet, so we can't produce them in quantity for the village.
But I'm willing to give the village the technology for making this ninja tool.
If the village can make and sell them, that would be a good source of income too."
As he spoke, Mukai placed the finished supercapacitor in Sasori's hand:
"As for this supercapacitor,
I'm giving it to Sasori for self-defense!
Would this be enough to pay off what I owe you?"
Sasori had seen the power of this improved supercapacitor.
As a puppeteer who was physically weak, close combat had always been Sasori's weakness.
His parents had also been killed when Konoha's White Fang closed in on them for that reason.
This weakness had always been difficult for puppeteers who needed Chakra Threads to control their puppets to overcome.
Now that he had a supercapacitor capable of releasing a burst of Lightning Release in an instant,
he would have much more room for error in close combat.
And by controlling the supercapacitor with Chakra Threads or using it with a puppet,
he could launch many unexpected attacks.
Sasori had thought that the ninja tool Mukai had been so intent on making
was meant to earn money. He had not expected Mukai merely to teach him that Lightning Release could be produced without chakra,
and then give him the carefully made supercapacitor as well.
Looking at the exquisite supercapacitor in his hand, Sasori froze on the spot.
Even though Mukai was an engineering student, he still understood the basics of social relations.
He had no one to rely on in Sunagakure and could not always depend on Sasori's care.
Courtesy called for reciprocity!
He nudged Sasori with his shoulder and said generously:
"I'll leave writing down the manufacturing process to you.
We both took part in making it anyway.
I have to go home now. See you when we go on the mission the day after tomorrow!"
Mukai waved generously and left, without taking a single cloud with him.