Over two hundred sets of advanced Ark Puppet Armor, about one-tenth of them further strengthened and modified by Chiyo, Sasori, and Ebizo, had been upgraded to A+ rank.
Kage-level powerhouses from the Sand Village, such as Rasa, Karura, the Third Kazekage, and Pakura, had all clashed with Jonin equipped with the advanced Ark Puppet Armor.
The strength of these Jonin varied naturally. Some regular Jonin, after equipping the puppet armor, could reach the level of Elite Jonin.
In such situations, they were basically capable of exchanging a few blows with Kage-level powerhouses for a short period.
If three to five people teamed up, they could barely hold their own against a Kage-level powerhouse for a while. If seven to eight people teamed up, neither side could gain an advantage. If more than ten people teamed up, they would have a decent chance of winning.
Taking Rasa as an example, his own strength wasn't outstanding among Kage-level powerhouses; he was even considered to be at the lower end. Furthermore, his hands had been sealed by the Third Hokage's sacrifice using the Reaper Death Seal during the Third Great Ninja War. Even though Sasori had crafted him a pair of chakra metal hands capable of using Ninjutsu, his strength had still declined significantly.
Now, after learning Sage Art, his strength had risen a step, recovering his power, and even surpassing his past self. He was now considered to be in the lower-middle tier among Kage-level powerhouses.
He was the first Kage-level powerhouse from the Sand Village to participate in testing the armor's power.
During that experimental battle, Rasa was defeated by ten Jonin equipped with the advanced Ark Puppet Armor.
The next to undergo the test, Karura, seemingly to save Rasa's face, deliberately did not defeat the ten Jonin equipped with the advanced Ark Puppet Armor.
Qingshui wasn't present at the time; this was told to him by Pakura. Based on Pakura's judgment, Karura was significantly stronger than Rasa was now and should have been able to win.
As young female Kage-level powerhouses of the Sand Village, after the competition between Qingshui and Rasa, the relationship between the two women had improved considerably. Although they weren't inseparable best friends, they were quite good friends and had sparred in private.
While they hadn't engaged in life-or-death battles, they had fought quite seriously, and their strengths were actually comparable.
Qingshui had a relatively clear understanding of Pakura's strength, estimating it to be at the upper-middle tier of Kage-level. At her eighteen years of age, even without considering other factors and based on the normal development and strengthening speed of ninjas, by the time she reached Karura's current age, she would definitely be at the upper tier of Kage-level.
In the test, she was only suppressed and showed signs of defeat when the fourteenth Jonin equipped with the advanced Ark Puppet Armor appeared.
Currently, among the Kage-level powerhouses of the Sand Village who were not Puppet Masters, besides Qingshui, the strongest was the Third Kazekage.
Although his strength had slightly declined in recent years due to his age, the Third Kazekage had learned Sage Art and re-established his summoning contract with Shinya. His strength was now even two points stronger than at his peak, and he could almost contend with nearly twenty Jonin equipped with the advanced Ark Puppet Armor by himself.
This was the performance of ordinary Sand Village Jonin after equipping the armor.
As for Elite Jonin like Kurokawa, Fukami Senran, and Ishido, who were second only to the higher-ups in the Sand Village, they were among the first to come into contact with Breathing Styles several years ago and had sufficient accumulation in this area. They had now basically all learned the new style of Sage Art developed by Qingshui, and their strength had risen another step.
The advanced puppet armor did provide an increase in strength for these powerhouses, but it was relatively limited. Therefore, they were equipped with reinforced versions customized by top Puppet Masters based on their individual circumstances, which had improved their various abilities to a certain extent. Combined with flight capabilities and excellent defensive abilities, these twenty-odd Elite Jonin each possessed strength close to the Kage-level.
This was extremely terrifying and had greatly strengthened the top combat power of the Sand Village.
But it was also within reason.
As Elite Jonin, they were only one step away from the next level. If someone could learn a powerful forbidden jutsu like the Flying Thunder God, or synthesize a Kekkei Genkai, they could truly take that final step and become beings at the upper echelon of the Ninja World's hierarchy.
However, the further one progressed, the more difficult advancement became. Especially for the vast majority of Elite Jonin, by the time they reached this stage, they were already quite old and had almost lost the potential for further progress.
And a reinforced Ark Puppet Armor, customized by a top Puppet Master for each Elite Jonin's specific situation, perfectly filled that final gap in an external form.
The next day.
After Qingshui visited and inspected various parts of the Sand Village, gaining a clearer understanding of the current situation, he convened a high-level meeting of the Sand Village.
He needed to establish the future development direction of the Sand Village with a few high-ranking officials and also make certain moves based on the current situation in the Ninja World.
Ebizo was the first to break the silence.
"In the recent period, the informants from the other villages have been very active. The Anbu stationed outside have also discovered that Konoha, Cloud Hidden Village, Stone Hidden Village, and even Mist Hidden Village are all having extremely frequent high-level exchanges with each other. If nothing unexpected happens, they have already secretly formed an alliance to contain and confront us."
On the screen of the Genjutsu virtual projection, all the high-ranking officials of the Sand Village were shown all the relevant information collected by the Anbu and intelligence departments.
"It seems that the puppet armor we've recently showcased has made these ninja villages very uneasy, especially Stone Hidden Village."
Chiyo chuckled as she looked at the section concerning Stone Hidden Village.
Stone Hidden Village was the most anxious.
Once the Sand Village made a move, to ensure the stability of their rear, the Land of Earth, which bordered the Land of Wind, would inevitably be the first to suffer.
They were also the weakest among the major ninja villages and could not withstand an invasion from the Sand Village.
Why wouldn't Onoki be frantically worried!
"It's perfectly normal. Just the standard puppet armor displayed openly to those spies and informants already exceeds two thousand sets. This is equivalent to turning at least two thousand Chunin into Special Jonin. For any ninja village, this is a huge leap in strength. With just these two thousand Special Jonin, plus a few high-ranking officials, it would be enough to annihilate the Stone Hidden Village!"
The Third Kazekage also chuckled.
The other villages couldn't even imagine that the standard puppet armor the Sand Village was currently showcasing was just the tip of the iceberg!
Whether it was the Jonin and Elite Jonin who received stronger puppet armor, or the three large-scale war machines with Super Kage-level combat power currently under construction, these were the true hidden trump cards of the Sand Village!
If it weren't for the concern that the other ninja villages would unite to attack the Sand Village, and the potential for huge casualties even if they won, the Sand Village could easily wipe out a major ninja village right now.
Rasa said calmly:
"We still need to guard against it. In the past month, there have been several incidents of robbery targeting the puppet armor. A total of eleven squads on missions were robbed by groups of disguised rogue ninjas and missing-nin. If it weren't for the summoning seals set on each set of armor, allowing them to be summoned back after being lost, the puppet armor would have already fallen into the hands of other villages."
"Have you identified who was responsible? Or are all the villages involved?"
Rasa replied:
"Except for the Rain Hidden Village, all the other villages were involved. However, Hanzo has sent envoys who want to reach a cooperation agreement with us to purchase puppet armor. They are currently being housed in the envoy's residence, and Karura's people are responsible for the specific reception matters."
Karura nodded gently.
"I was actually planning to mention this matter later."
"Tell Hanzo we don't sell it. However, if he wants it, he can rent it with money. Perhaps renting two to three hundred sets would be enough for them. As for the specific quantity and price, I'll leave this matter to you, Karura. See how much the Rain Hidden Village can offer, and try to extract as much value from them as possible. This isn't like other ninja tools that can be sold cheaply to them."
The summoning seal on the Ark Puppet Armor was an improved version by Qingshui. The system permissions within it were all held by the Sand Village. As long as they wished, they could lock its permissions at any time and summon it back.
If the Rain Hidden Village wanted to crack it, putting aside whether anyone in the Ninja World could even break the Ark Reactor inside, the numerous restrictions set within it alone were not something the Rain Hidden Village could overcome.
There were other seals inside the armor as well. If it weren't for the Puppet Masters in the Sand Village's Puppet Force who were responsible for repairing and manufacturing the armor and knew how to remove the seals, anyone else who damaged or violently broke open a seal would simply cause the armor to be reverse-summoned back to its origin. Furthermore, if the summoning seal itself was also removed or damaged, the armor would activate its self-preservation program.
The explosive power of a complete primary Ark Reactor was far greater than that of an explosive tag or anything similar. Even a Kage-level expert, who was not adept at defense or evasion, could lose a significant portion of their skin if caught off guard.
Perhaps if Kushina Uzumaki of Konoha were given a few years, she might have had a chance to unlock these seals. But even if she did, the armor's control would still remain with the Sand Village, allowing them to make it self-destruct. Even if, by some means, Konoha managed to suppress the self-destruct function, they wouldn't possess the capability to manufacture an Ark Reactor. Once the energy within was depleted, it would simply become a piece of scrap metal.
Qingshui felt that it was debatable whether Konoha would even survive until that day.
Whether it was the absolute control over the Ark Puppet Armor or the absolute confidence in the Sand Village and their own strength, Qingshui wasn't concerned about the leakage of those standard Ark Puppet Armors.
After all, they had many things far stronger than those.
Qingshui continued:
"Furthermore, no matter what, we can't let the other Hidden Villages keep eyeing these things day in and day out. We need to find something to distract them, at least to the point where they wouldn't dare to openly snatch them anymore."
"What do you plan to do?"
Ebizo asked.
"It's simple. We'll find a weaker major Hidden Village and crush them like a soft persimmon to establish our might. With the village's current strength, and with some preliminary work, we can start putting it on the agenda."
Qingshui waved his hand over the genjutsu holographic projection in front of him, effortlessly opening a map with markers.
The location he marked was none other than - the Land of Earth, the Stone Village!
Qingshui intended to make an example of the Stone Village!
Third Kazekage: "Fourth Kazekage, what do you plan to do?"
Qingshui's lips curved into a confident arc.
The way to make an example, of course, was...
"Destroy their village, annihilate their nation!"
The Sand Village's higher-ups were somewhat surprised, but not a single one questioned Qingshui. Instead, they all began to eagerly anticipate it.
Ever since they defeated Konoha during the Third Great Ninja War, establishing their position as the new overlord of the Ninja World, the Sand Village's strength had undergone a qualitative leap from top to bottom compared to the past.
The entire Sand Village now had a collective desire to vent, showcase their strength, and earn a large profit.
What was the point of painstakingly developing military strength if not for profit?
They needed to protect their existing interests and strive for more.
While ordinary ninjas sought to achieve merit and climb the ranks, the higher-ups, with Qingshui at the core, had already reached the ceiling, with little possibility of climbing further. However, they would still instinctively pursue other interests, strive to accomplish deeds, and surpass their predecessors.
With Qingshui present, the Sand Village was capable of steamrolling the Ninja World. Although their subordinate forces were not yet sufficient to maintain strong rule over the entire Ninja World, adding at least one more major country would not be a problem.
Qingshui continued:
"Regardless, once our army moves, Konoha, Cloud Hidden Village, and even Mist Hidden Village will find ways to stop or delay us. Even our ally, Hanzo, might become wary of us and waver in his stance.
Therefore, the first point is that our offensive must be swift. We need to capture the main forces of the Stone Village as quickly as possible. We also need to intercept support from other forces to the Stone Village and any attempts to tie us down from various directions.
Third Kazekage, I will still have to trouble you to make a trip to the Land of Rain to stabilize Hanzo. Preferably, they can help us block any potential threats from the direction of the Cloud Hidden Village. As a token of sincerity, whatever territory in the Land of Earth they can conquer during this war will be theirs!"
The sincerity Qingshui offered to the Land of Rain was substantial, yet it contained a hidden trap.
What was the scale of the Land of Rain, how many ninjas did they have, and how much territory could they absorb?
Just annexing several small countries during the Third Great Ninja War had already pushed them to their limit. Without the support of the Sand Village, the new overlord of the Ninja World, they certainly wouldn't have been able to achieve that.
Similarly, the extent of the Land of Earth's territory that the Land of Rain could conquer would largely depend on how much support the Sand Village could provide them.
This was because they lacked sufficient logistical capabilities to support operations far from their homeland.
Of course, to truly get their allies to exert effort, they had to give them what they deserved. At the very least, the Sand Village could not let the Land of Rain suffer losses; they had to provide the promised benefits.
Even if it meant renting out more Ark Puppet Armors to the Rain Hidden Village, it wouldn't be out of the question.
"The threat facing the Rain Hidden Village is not just from the Cloud Hidden Village. To make them exert their full effort, perhaps besides logistical support, we also need to eliminate their concerns. I propose that I lead fifteen hundred men to the border of the Land of Rain to form a joint army with them, assisting in resisting the pressure from the direction of the Cloud Hidden and Konoha villages."
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