Dust filled the air on the streets of Sunagakure.
There were very few pedestrians, and occasionally a few figures hurried past, their faces haggard and their steps heavy.
A long queue stretched as far as the eye could see in front of the relief food distribution point in the central square.
The villagers were ragged, emaciated, and their eyes were filled with exhaustion and helplessness as they silently waited for the little bit of food they could have to sustain their lives.
Upon closer inspection, it can be observed that the proportion of villagers with prosthetic bodies is also increasing.
The reason is that installing prosthetic bodies not only helps them conserve some of the energy their bodies consume, but also allows them to maintain their work efficiency for extended periods.
Especially after the Reform Society Network.
The Reform Society Network deeply integrates villagers' work data with their prosthetic bodies, and then uses Spirit Puppet and prosthetic eyes to accurately monitor and record information such as villagers' work hours, efficiency, and output, directly linking it to the allocation of resources they can obtain.
This made installing prosthetic bodies almost the only option for villagers to make a living.
At the mine, supervisors would monitor the workers based on online data. Those who had prosthetic bodies and performed well would receive a small amount of extra rations, while those with poor performance would face deductions or even lose their jobs.
In order for their families to have even one more bite to eat, the villagers have no choice but to rely on prosthetic bodies, constantly pushing themselves to the limit in the harsh environment.
The online 'reporting' section has strained and created suspicion among villagers.
For a meager reward, some people will report others for poor work performance or violations, and trust between neighbors will vanish.
Although the Council of Elders was still secretly resisting, it could not stop the Reform Society from becoming increasingly powerful through the internet.
In this process, the gap between the rich and the poor in Sunagakure widened, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
Inside the Reform Society building.
Hoshino, Rasa, Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara gathered in the conference room.
Beside the huge conference table, the five people had different expressions, but all of them exuded an indescribable pressure.
"At the Four Kage Summit weeks later, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Konoha agreed, Kirigakure refused, and Pain also agreed to open a town as the meeting place."
Hoshino broke the silence by speaking.
"Before this meeting begins, eliminate the Council of Elders and unify Sunagakure."
Rasa nodded slightly and said resolutely, " The Council of Elders has always been a stumbling block on the road to village reform. It's time to completely eliminate this hidden danger."
Kankuro, however, was somewhat worried, "Is half a month enough time?"
Temari chimed in, "The villagers are already living in poverty and have many grievances against us. Are we sure it's okay to deal with the Council of Elders at this time? It might attract the attention of other ninja villages."
Hoshino laughed, "Don't worry, they won't! I've already leaked the specific information about the Kikaichū Kikaichū. Until other ninja villages have the ability to control them, they won't dare to attack us."
Gaara said seriously, "Tell me what to do, and I will do my best to cooperate."
Hoshino said, "Uploading information about weapon modules to the Reform Society Network, increasing working hours, reducing the distribution of relief food, and..."
An afternoon passed in the blink of an eye.
After the meeting concluded, everyone else left, but Hoshino remained in the office.
Since Rasa's term of office has ended, it is now Hoshino's turn to be on duty.
Thanks to the efficient operation of the Reform Society Network, information is transmitted quickly, work is processed much faster than before, and there are far fewer hassles.
In addition, there is a rotation system.
Initially, the five people were responsible for their respective departments.
However, as time went on, things began to become intertwined, with power gradually merging and permeating each other.
This is also the result Hoshino wanted to see.
The merging and permeation of power may seem to cause chaos and conflict, but this change in the power structure can bring the five-person team together more closely.
After all, no matter how firm one's beliefs are, they can never withstand the allure of enormous profits.
Within the Reform Society's power structure, the core interests of the five top leaders and the middle and lower levels are different.
Because the positions of the top five cannot be obtained through promotion, it means that no matter how hard the middle and lower levels try, they cannot join the ranks of the top five.
For the five giants, standing at the pinnacle of power, what they pursue is absolute authority and dominance over the entire Sunagakure in the Shinobi World.
For lower- and middle-level ninjas and junior managers, although they have certain abilities and status, their promotion opportunities are extremely limited. Therefore, they can only strive for some practical benefits within a limited scope.
It may seem cruel, but it is the model that Hoshino believes is most suitable for Sunagakure's current development.
Everyone in this complex network of power has their own interests and desires, and they are intertwined and interdependent, making it impossible for anyone to easily escape control.
They can only strive to consolidate the power of the Reform Society and elevate the status of Sunagakure within the rules he sets for a common goal.
The emergence of the Reform Society Network further solidified this power structure to its extreme.
Hoshino stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, looking down at the night view of Sunagakure.
In the distance, the mines were brightly lit, and the cyborg laborers continued their mechanical work. The faint light of the Spirit Puppet flickered in the darkness, like countless cold eyes, watching over this village ruled by technology.
He tapped the table lightly, bringing up the real-time data stream from the Reform Society Network.
On the screen, a dense array of information scrolls by: villagers' working hours, resource allocation, complaint records, prosthetic body maintenance needs... everything is quantified, monitored, and optimized.
Power is not obtained by giving, but by controlling.
The Reform Society Network was not only a management system, but also a cage, locking everyone's fate firmly under the Reform Society's rules.
Villagers depend on it for survival, ninjas depend on it for advancement, and even the remnants of the Council of Elders have to eke out a living under this system.
A private laboratory on the fourth basement floor of the Reform Society building.
After repairing the damaged Swift Release Puppet, the main body straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead, which had appeared due to his focused work.
The laboratory was dimly lit, filled with all sorts of strange experimental devices and unfinished puppet parts, and the air was thick with a pungent metallic smell.
While it's not yet possible to turn Kekkei into detachable weapon modules, adding them to the existing Human Puppet system shouldn't be a problem.
However, in Hoshino's opinion, the Swift Release Puppet was already perfect, and adding other Kekkei limits would only disrupt his own combat rhythm.
After all, no matter how many new ones are added, they will never reach the level of the Super Kage Level; that is not a realm that can be reached simply by accumulating quantity.
Various experiments were being carried out in an orderly manner in the laboratories on all floors.
Under Shinnō's leadership, the aerial fortress and Zero-Tails have officially commenced research, and other projects are also progressing steadily.
The black market supplies brought back have been sorted and distributed to several departments. The prisoners are being held in cells awaiting further instructions, and the Kikaichū outside have all self-destructed.
Although it was somewhat heartbreaking, given that those Kikaichū had already evolved to a very high level, Hoshino was precisely worried that they might evolve the ability to break free from their restraints.
Being careful in everything you do is never a bad thing.
Anyway Kikaichū evolve very quickly, so it's not difficult for them to adapt and evolve during battle.
Putting down his work, Hoshino fell into deep thought.
In the struggle between the Reform Society and the Council of Elders, the Council of Elders will undoubtedly lose, and the Reform Society will then reach a new level.
And what about him?
After testing his own strength, even after removing numerous magical artifacts and puppets, his actual combat power was still only at the Chunin.
In its unequipped state, let alone Rasa.
Even compared to Gaara and Temari, he is far inferior, and even slightly less so than Kankuro.
This is absolutely outrageous!
This body has very low potential!
No wonder people always say that no matter how much a commoner ninja trains, he can basically only reach the Chunin.
With a bit of luck, you might become Special Jōnin, but forget about Jonin a full Jonin, let alone Kage Level, Super Kage Level, or Six Paths Level.
That's not something a ninja without bloodline or talent should consider.
He now has two paths to choose from.
Firstly, it focuses on the Chakra system, supplemented by the Divine Machine Hundred Refinements. It emphasizes Chakra, treating magical artifacts and other items as external tools, without modifying itself, thus maintaining its purity.
However, he quickly rejected it.
After all, Hoshino could see the end of the future without even continuing down this path.
Even with Special Jōnin, he's still incredibly strong, especially with his magic weapons and puppets. He's considered a powerful figure among the Kage Level, but he's just not satisfied.
The upper limit of Chakra is very high; one can even become a cosmic-level powerhouse, and one can even live forever. Who would want to die if they could live?
The second path is to fully transform oneself and take the path of mechanical ascension.
At first glance, this seems like an extremely crazy idea, but in Hoshino's eyes, it contains infinite possibilities.
By implanting advanced prosthetic components into his body, he can significantly enhance his various abilities.
Not only can it increase Chakra reserves, but it can also accelerate Chakra recovery, allowing him to continuously unleash Ninjutsu in battle.
Moreover, he has already summarized a gradual path to immortality, which is highly feasible; all that's missing is his decision to accept the transformation.
Actually, when you think about it carefully, there's really nothing to worry about.
Without bloodline and talent, the path to Chakra is already blocked.
The reason I hesitated before was because I was afraid that someone would crack the core technology, and then no matter how far they went, they would be easily countered by others.
After all, Hoshino never thought he was much smarter than others; he just had the advantage of being ahead of the curve and being bold.
The world is never short of brilliant geniuses.
Even Hiruko Orochimaru's level, Hiruko, whose talent was also average, was able to develop the Chimera Technique, which had a considerable potential.
A forbidden technique that theoretically allows one to ascend to the heavens in one step.
"The so-called risk of core technology being cracked is just an excuse I'm making for my own retreat."
Why does the main body stay in the laboratory?
Don't you want to go out?
Of course not, who would want to stay in such a depressing environment forever?
It's precisely because they're afraid of encountering top-tier experts after going out, exposing their own weakness, and thus leading to their death and dissipation.
Staying in the laboratory, where the level of security is extremely high, and where you can remotely control puppets to sense the outside world, is like having an invisible protective shell on yourself.
But this protective shell is also a cage that imprisons him.
Each time he looked out of the laboratory and sensed the powerful aura emanating from other strong individuals through the puppet, his sense of powerlessness grew stronger.
Hoshino sighed deeply and slowly closed his eyes.
Before coming into this world, he had died once, so he was terrified of death and felt that there was nothing shameful about hiding in the laboratory and using puppets to fight enemies.
At most, we'll lose a puppet; the main body will be fine.
But now... he can't go on like this anymore.
What's the point of hiding here? The Shinobi World's plot is about to go completely out of control, and the power levels are about to collapse.
No matter how powerful those Human Puppet, they can't exceed the Kage Level cap.
Once the era of conflict reaches the Super Kage or even the more terrifying Six Paths Level, relying solely on puppets, Sunagakure himself will be vulnerable in the storm.
In a world where strength reigns supreme, one's own strength is the foundation of everything; without strength, all ideals and ambitions will vanish like bubbles.
He wanted to live on and see the vast universe.
Hoshino suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with determination.
It's time for a change.
He murmured softly, his voice low but filled with unwavering determination.
At this moment, he was no longer the coward who cowered in the laboratory out of fear, but a brave man about to break free from his cocoon and face the challenges head-on.
Hoshino lay down in the specially designed medical pod. The pod slowly closed, and the mechanical arm inside extended, precisely inserting a syringe carrying the Kikaichū into a blood vessel in his arm.
As the Kikaichū was injected into his body, Hoshino felt a sharp pain, as if countless fine needles were piercing through his blood vessels.
This is the first step in the transformation, further deepening the symbiotic relationship with the Kikaichū.
Inside the body, a habitat and circulation system for Kikaichū is constructed, allowing Kikaichū to multiply and inhabit in large numbers.
At the same time, through the modification of the blood vessels and nervous system, the Kikaichū are able to achieve efficient information transmission and energy exchange with various parts of the body.
When faced with battle, Kikaichū can rapidly emerge from the chest cavity.
Through modified blood vessels and nervous system, they can quickly reach various parts of the body to perform tasks such as attack, defense, or reconnaissance.
Furthermore, during the process of the Kikaichū circulating within his body, it can absorb and transform external Natural Energy to replenish Hoshino 'Chakra, further enhancing his endurance.
As the Kikaichū began to wreak havoc inside the body, a piercing alarm sounded inside the specially designed medical pod.
Hoshino's body trembled violently, and faint traces of Kikaichū could be seen crawling under his skin, like countless black lines meandering beneath his skin.
"My heart is racing, my blood pressure is extremely unstable, Chakra is completely out of control!"
One of the clones was intently focused on the monitoring data, its forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.
Hoshino didn't trust anyone else, especially for such a crucial surgery, so even though her understanding of biology was limited, she still chose to do it herself.
"Ah!!!"
Hoshino gritted his teeth, a low growl escaping his throat, as excruciating pain overwhelmed him like a surging tide.
"We must never give up; this is the only way to become strong."
He focused his mind and used his Chakra to try to guide the Kikaichū, striving to make them move towards the pre-planned habitat.
After several long hours, the Kikaichū finally found a suitable place to live inside its thorax and began to build a miniature nest.
At the same time, the clone initiates a modification program for the vascular and nervous systems.
During this process, Hoshino felt new pain again, as if countless tiny insects were gnawing at his nerve endings.