Finally, Satoru still wandered around Hidden Sand Village, experiencing its unique characteristics.
Actually, there wasn't much unique about it; he still had a Shadow Clone in Hidden Sand Village.
However, the Shadow Clone hadn't been recalled yet, so it hadn't experienced those things.
This could be considered his main body experiencing it firsthand, not just the Shadow Clone's experience.
It must be said that the development of Hidden Sand Village is truly intertwined with Konoha; many things have been 'borrowed' from Konoha.
Everything follows the advanced path.
"This is..."
Then, Satoru saw a massive factory.
Its footprint was even larger than his Technology Development Bureau.
But while the factory was large in scale, the buildings were quite sparse, which was different from Konoha.
Perhaps this is due to the vast land and sparse population, as it is a desert after all.
Having so much space is normal.
Here, Satoru saw many puppet processing factories.
They specialized in manufacturing puppet parts, with no place for puppet assembly.
It could be said to be quite advanced.
"This is our Hidden Sand Village's Puppet Development Bureau, and it will expand further in the future, surpassing your Konoha's," Kankuro said proudly.
It was already larger than Konoha's Technology Development Bureau, and once it continued to expand, it would surpass Konoha's.
Hmph, hmph, hmph, their Hidden Sand Village would one day lead the world.
It must be said that since the establishment of the Ninja Association, too many puppet talents have emerged.
Many old retirees couldn't help but get involved in developing puppets.
Moreover, the collaborative approach stimulated their ability to develop puppet-related technologies.
Unlike before, due to intelligence concerns, no Ninja wanted their trump card to be known by others, which could lead to enemies discovering it and ultimately their demise.
Now it's different; during peacetime, and with dedicated combat units, they only need to focus on scientific research.
For those who research puppets, collaboration is truly wonderful.
"Is that Kankuro? Your mech has entered its final stage. Do you want to try it out?"
Just then, an elderly man strolling by appeared, saw them, and walked over to speak.
The person was Ebizo.
With the world changing so much, she could no longer remain in seclusion; she wanted to see the world.
Upon hearing this, Kankuro's face lit up with joy: "What a coincidence, that's great! I want to try it out. Do you guys want to come see my final creation?"
He said to Satoru and the others.
"Let's go see it. I also want to see Hidden Sand Village's puppet development," Satoru said.
Gaara nodded, following behind the eager Kankuro.
"Wait for this old man; my body isn't so good," Ebizo followed step by step, only able to watch them get further and further away.
"Today's young people are simply more energetic than I was back then, Sister. Do you see?
The Ninja World has entered an era of peace, and Ninja can even discuss their important Ninjutsu with each other.
Compared to before, when the desert was hidden, it's truly wonderful.
Ah... Sister, you're in the Pure Land, so you probably can't see it, but I'll be down there soon. When I do, I'll learn more about the world's changes and report back to you."
Ebizo's eyes gleamed, like a child seeing a lollipop... He walked into a massive building within the Puppet Development Bureau.
Satoru immediately saw a puppet as huge as the Nine-Tailed.
Hmm—a mech.
Giant Kabuto... Satoru's vision went dark when he saw the shape of that mech.
How could it be so similar... "Hahaha, isn't it cool? I specifically used red, special anti-Chakra paint, and those big eyes, I referenced Shukaku's eyes. The legs use Hidden Sand Village's most advanced technology; it can walk on wheels or on feet."
Kankuro looked at the mech, his expression incredibly excited, as he showed off to Satoru.
"Hey, hey, Captain Satoru, what's wrong?"
Seeing Satoru staring motionless at the mech, Kankuro thought he was shocked and waved his hand in front of his eyes.
"Nothing, I just didn't expect you to have this talent. Was this your idea?" Being called Captain Satoru by Kankuro made him feel even worse.
Kankuro: "Huh? What do you mean 'my talent'? Is there any Ninja in the Ninja World with higher puppet talent than me? I am the Ninja World's number one puppeteer."
"Yes, a puppeteer who can't even pass the One-Star Puppet Ninja exam," Satoru said.
Kankuro's face darkened: "That's because the Ninja Association's standards are too high. Once my puppet is complete, I'll be a One-Star Puppeteer, maybe even reach Two-Stars."
"No, it's clearly not fully complete yet, which means you still have a long way to go.
However, your idea is good—giant puppets—even if I don't know if your Chakra can control it."
Although the Ninja World's technology is good, puppets ultimately need to be manipulated with Chakra.
Otherwise, Ninja would have developed giant puppets long ago. Besides the excessive material consumption and insufficient combat power, the most important factor is Chakra.
Such a large body cannot be controlled by an ordinary person.
"Hmph, hmph, have you forgotten the inspiration your son gave us during our Village exchanges?
It's about using the Land of Snow's Chakra device to accumulate Chakra.
Then I can meticulously control it, as long as I refine it; I don't need to have Chakra like Gaara myself."
Kankuro became even more smug when he heard him say this.
This wouldn't stump him, the Ninja World's genius puppeteer.
"Is that so? Why don't I remember? I must not have participated."
Satoru thought about it; it was probably during a previous exchange when he was in Kaguya's dimension researching Kaguya, so he wouldn't have known.
And it wasn't anything important anyway.
His son had already thoroughly researched the Scientific Ninja Tools of the Land of Snow.
Kankuro's ability to utilize them was also a testament to their skill.
He wondered if the Ōtsutsuki could handle the mech, if they didn't know about it. They probably could.
After all, he heard Sasuke's Susanoo was pierced by a single taijutsu kick, getting a thorough blow.
He was well aware of Susanoo's defensive power; it couldn't be compared to the mech in front of them.
He didn't know about future developments, but for now, this one probably wouldn't work.
However, purely for defense, it could stand up to the first stage of Susanoo.
Judging from Satoru's perception.
"I'm going to try it out; you guys wait here." Kankuro was already impatient and walked forward.
At this moment, many working Ninja were looking at the mech with excited faces.
They slowly moved away the various setups around the mech.
Seeing Kankuro, they all started to greet him.
"Didn't you say you were going to welcome Captain Satoru? You really couldn't wait, could you? It's just finished, come and try it out."
They said to Kankuro.
Kankuro leaped, landing near the puppet's chest: "Let them see how powerful I am."
Then, Chakra connected to the device above, and an entrance large enough for one person opened in the chest; he walked inside.
This time, he was going to make a grand showing.