Lifting the curtain, a giant, complete puppet lay flat on the ground.
"This is... a giant humanoid puppet?"
Shin'un entered the tent and carefully observed the giant puppet in front of him with a hint of amazement.
Its body is streamlined, with two long arms lined with sharp barbs. The thick but not bulky steel armor covers its entire body like a suit of armor, and its angular metal eye sockets quietly watch the top of the tent.
Unlike the beast-shaped giant puppets with their metal shells directly exposed, this humanoid giant puppet has a complete gray-black paint job on its shell, along with simple silver-white stripes all over its body as embellishments, which enhances its visual appeal while also maintaining its practicality.
The dents on the steel shell from battle, and the scraped-off coatings, did not diminish its visual appeal; rather, they added a unique aesthetic to it.
Unfortunately, a deep hole in the lower abdomen of this puppet ruined its original beauty, making it a truly regrettable sight.
"It has a very unique beauty, doesn't it?"
Orochimaru walked from behind to Shin'un, who was standing and observing, and looked at the giant humanoid puppet lying flat on the ground with admiration.
"That's right."
Shin'un nodded, looking at the giant puppet before him with mixed feelings.
"Um?"
Suddenly, Shin'un seemed to see something and took a few steps forward to the giant puppet.
Approaching the giant puppet arm, Shin'un noticed that a steel plate on the arm seemed a bit loose. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that all the rivets around the edge of the steel plate had been removed.
Seeing this, Shin'un grabbed the edge of the steel plate with both hands and exerted force. Sure enough, the heavy steel plate was lifted open, revealing the thick skeleton and dense wiring inside the giant puppet.
Slightly taken aback, Shin'un approached the cave entrance to take a look, then turned to look at Orochimaru.
"Teacher, what is this?"
"My guess is that the hole was specifically made for inspecting the inside of the giant puppet's arm."
Orochimaru crossed his arms and stated his conjecture to Shin'un in a confident tone.
"Also, don't raise that steel plate any higher; just leave a small gap."
"Really?" Hearing his teacher's words, Shin'un nodded, not paying much attention. He glanced at the steel plate, which was almost half a person's height, and asked curiously:
Is this the only entrance?
"How is that possible?" Upon hearing this, Orochimaru glanced at Shin'un with a look that subtly conveyed disdain, and explained:
"Of course, there's more than one; this giant puppet has sixteen similar holes on its surface."
"These openings vary in size and function, and I haven't figured them all out yet, after all, I've only had this giant puppet for less than three days."
"However, I understand only part of it."
"For example, the giant puppet has an opening the size of a human head under its left armpit, inside which are several dials that can fine-tune the maximum angle of the left arm's swing and integrate part of the skeletal structure of the left upper arm..."
"There's also a fist-sized opening at the ankle, which allows for adjusting and replacing certain..."
Shin'un stood there, mouth agape, eyes wide, staring in astonishment as Orochimaru proceeded to explain the giant puppet's various parts.
"Besides, this puppet is very different from the pure wooden puppets used by Sand Ninja puppeteers in the past; it has many more complex internal circuits..."
Several minutes later, Orochimaru perhaps realized that talking to Shin'un was like casting pearls before swine, and he gradually stopped, looking at Shin'un with a strange and meaningful gaze.
Feeling that the teacher was looking at Shin'un as if he were an idiot, Shiina Kō, who had been standing at the tent entrance, quickly moved closer to Orochimaru and spoke up to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Teacher, how could you research so many things so quickly?"
Upon seeing that it was Shiina Kō was speaking, Orochimaru smiled and nodded subconsciously, but then shook his head.
"Although I have indeed figured out a lot of things, these are all things that are already on the surface. I just need to explore and summarize them."
After saying that, Orochimaru looked at Shin'un next to the giant puppet.
"As for important information like the Optimal Control Position, which is hidden quite deeply, although I can vaguely guess some of it, I can't be sure at all, so I can't say I understand it."
"Unable to confirm?"
Shiina Kyo was somewhat puzzled upon hearing Orochimaru's words.
"Isn't this giant puppet lying right here?"
"If you want to be sure, just take it apart and take a look, then it'll be clear."
Smiling and shaking his head, Orochimaru led Shiina Kō to Shin'un's side and pointed to the steel plate that Shin'un had half-lifted, saying:
"It's equipped with an instant Explosive Tag; it will explode immediately if the steel plate is opened any wider."
"Moreover, the giant puppet is covered in these Explosive Tag, which are interconnected. Any attempt to disassemble it will cause them to explode simultaneously, blasting the giant puppet to pieces."
"Fortunately, the first dismantling of the giant puppet took place on a battlefield, which prevented any casualties..."
"Um!!!"
On the other side, upon hearing Orochimaru say that the steel plate under his command was connected to Explosive Tag, Shin'un immediately raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes, quickly and carefully putting the steel plate back in its original place.
After the steel plate was safely returned to its original position, Shin'un sighed, and then looked at Orochimaru beside him, who was smiling and talking to Shiina Kō.
"Teacher, why didn't you say so earlier that there were anti-disassembly Explosive Tag inside!"
Hearing Shin'un speak, Orochimaru glanced at him and said doubtfully, "Didn't I tell you not to raise the steel plate any higher, just leave a small gap?"
"Oh, this~"
Shin'un's lips twitched; he felt speechless.
"Oh, by the way, look over there."
After being interrupted, Orochimaru seemed to suddenly remember something, and raised his arm to point to the other side of the giant puppet.
"What?"
Although he didn't know what Orochimaru wanted him to see, Shin'un still jumped onto the chest of the giant puppet lying flat and looked to the other side.
"This is?"
"These are two weapons belonging to the giant humanoid puppet. One is a strange weapon capable of unleashing large-scale Ninjutsu, and the other is a simple longsword."
Orochimaru leaped onto the giant humanoid puppet along with Shin'un and introduced it to him.
"A strange weapon capable of unleashing large-scale Ninjutsu?"
Upon hearing Orochimaru's explanation, Shin'un stared at the strange weapon with a somewhat odd expression.
"Yes, didn't your letter yesterday mention that beast-type puppets can unleash large-scale Wind Release Ninjutsu?"
"This strange weapon uses the same attack method."
As he spoke, Orochimaru extended his right hand and pointed to the huge hollow metal pipe at one end of the strange weapon.
"See that hollow metal pipe? Under the control of Sand Ninja puppeteer, it can unleash a large-scale Wind Release Ninjutsu with immense power and range."
Shin'un nodded again, his emotions a complex mix.
Such a weapon has not yet appeared in the Shinobi World, so Orochimaru naturally did not recognize it, but he was very familiar with it.
The dark metallic exterior, the shoulder at one end, the hollow metal pipe on the other side, the straight aiming line at the top... everything was all too familiar to him.
"An enlarged and thickened version of the rifle?"
Shin'un's eyelids twitched. Under Orochimaru's bewildered gaze, he glanced at the giant humanoid puppet lying quietly at his feet, then at the gun that could unleash large-scale Wind Release Ninjutsu, and gradually fell into deep thought.
"... What's wrong?"
Seeing Shin'un holding his forehead, looking deep in thought, Orochimaru asked him a question, somewhat puzzled.
"Teacher... it's nothing."
With great difficulty, Shin'un shook his head as he stood up, trying to clear his mind of the chaotic thoughts swirling around him.
"Oh, right."
As if suddenly remembering something, Shin'un looked at Orochimaru beside him.
"Teacher, didn't you say you wanted me to come to your tent because you had something to discuss?"
"Ah~" Orochimaru, who had been quietly staring at the giant Orochimaru at his feet and was lost in thought, suddenly realized what Shin'un was saying.
"That's right, I called you here to explain some things."