To be frank, Daigan still couldn't find a flight method that could provide sustained propulsion. Striking a balance between efficiency and practical value was difficult, and it would take a while longer to experiment and feel his way forward.
Strictly speaking, the puppet "Phantom" wasn't a plane or a glider. It was simply a puppet with a certain capacity for flight.
Inside the cramped "cockpit," there were no proper control mechanisms at all. A puppet didn't need that sort of hassle.
Only at the front was there a one-way transparent window made of high-hardness crystal, allowing Daigan to see a bit of what lay outside.
By having a shadow clone and the puppet "Phantom" smash Wind Release: Gale Palm into each other at the same time, the resulting air shockwave would hurl Daigan's puppet into the sky. It would then trace a steady gliding arc, making two passes over the training ground.
The first time, Daigan didn't dare go all out. The initial takeoff speed wasn't high; after a little over ten seconds and less than 2 km of flight, he touched down.
The second time, he unleashed everything. Compressed air fired the puppet "Phantom" like a cannonball—within a minute, it shot straight out of the training ground's boundaries and landed at the foot of a distant mountain.
"This... so fast!"
The only issue was that the puppet's sturdiness seemed a bit lacking. While it was in the air, it creaked and groaned, and Daigan kept worrying it might shake itself apart.
Aside from the fact that "Phantom"'s structure really did suit gliding, another key factor was Daigan's constant fine-tuning of the surrounding air fluctuations to slightly reduce drag.
But...
Glancing back, he saw a billowing mass of misty cloud rising at the edge of the training ground, slowly dispersing under the sun.
"That's... a sonic boom cloud?"
Right then, a low, heavy roar echoed into Daigan's ears.
"The commotion's too big."
Because the takeoff speed had been too high—faster than sound traveling through air—it produced violent vibrations.
When breaking the sound barrier, the compressed air couldn't spread outward in time, creating a low, shocking, intensely powerful explosive report.
Air compressed rapidly over a short interval cooled nearby water vapor into clustered fog—forming a sonic boom cloud.
And because the speed was too high, the sound only caught up when he landed, finally reaching Daigan's ears.
At supersonic speed, a person couldn't hear the sonic boom at all. Sound couldn't catch up to Daigan's forward motion; only after landing did he realize he'd been moving that fast.
"No wonder. 'Phantom''s material is already pretty good, and it's still barely holding on.
"But logically, Wind Release: Gale Palm shouldn't be able to hit with that much power. So why..."
Even though this training ground was loaned out for Sand Ninja use—and explosions during ninjutsu practice were normal—there was still the risk of drawing attention. Daigan decided he should leave as quickly as possible.
As he headed back without making a fuss, still thinking, Daigan's right hand unconsciously clenched a mass of rampaging Wind Release Chakra. It spread, wrapping his entire hand and wrist, then creeping up his forearm.
He gave his right arm a few light swings, thoughtful.
Wind Release can interfere with air, but it isn't actually wind produced by real airflow!
Besides using Wind Release: Gale Palm to provide the initial launch impulse, Daigan had also wrapped the entire puppet "Phantom" in Wind Release Chakra. At first, he'd only meant to lower air resistance so it could fly faster and farther.
Now, it seemed that little trick worked far better than expected.
Wind Release Chakra can be used as wind, but treating it as nothing more than wind is shallow.
Daigan felt as though he'd stumbled onto an unexpected gain.
All this time, he'd paired Wind Release with the air to perform techniques, yet he'd never made use of the value inherent in Wind Release Chakra itself.
Lightning Release Chakra could stimulate body cells, boosting speed and reaction time.
Wind Release's cutting attribute, when paired with high-speed movement, amplified its unstoppable edge. It could even split the air—and with it, any and all resistance.
That was why, among the five elemental releases, Wind Release under equal conditions had the greatest power and the longest attack range. None of it was without reason.
With that thought, Daigan let Wind Release Chakra envelop him and increased his pace.
"My steps really do feel a little lighter."
He couldn't feel it deeply because he wasn't moving fast enough, but at extreme speed, having Wind Release open the way might make him even swifter than Lightning Release.
If a Wind Release Chakra Mode really existed, it should be insanely strong.
Maybe only by wielding Wind Release to the point of mastery—almost merging with it—could someone truly experience that terrifying power.
And it wasn't just Wind Release. Any release, pushed to its absolute limit, was formidable. It was just that almost no one could do it.
After hiding his presence and returning to rest in a ward at the Konoha hospital, Daigan still replayed things with a faint sense of regret.
The area around Konoha was too conspicuous, and there were plenty of barriers. He had to be careful; the last thing he needed was to stir up trouble by accident.
The flight test for the puppet "Phantom" was only half done. Low-altitude gliding had been average—neither good nor bad—but its ability to soar at high altitude still hadn't been verified. That was what Daigan most wanted to try.
There was also something else on his mind: flying that fast put a real burden on the body. He'd just eaten, then pulled two "rocket flights" in a row, and his stomach had churned so hard he nearly threw everything up.
Humans were ground-dwelling creatures, after all. If he wanted to fly, he'd have to adapt properly over time.
He'd made some noise and had expected someone to come asking questions, but it turned out he'd been overthinking it. Even after he rested and ate dinner, nothing happened at all, leaving the excuses he'd prepared with nowhere to go.
As the evening lights came on, Temari actually came to find Daigan—a rare event that made him instantly overjoyed.
"Don't get the wrong idea! I'm just here to notify you. The Fourth Kazekage will arrive in Konoha the day before the third test and will watch the Chunin Exam. Don't cause trouble then."
Five days. In other words, Daigan had less than a week left to prepare.
"You call the Kazekage 'the Fourth' instead of 'Father'?"
"Why are you asking so much? Mind your own business!"
Temari snorted irritably, clearly disdainful of answering something that touched on privacy.
Looks like the Kazekage's family has its own mess to deal with.
"I was going to ask Kankuro to tell you, but who knew that guy would lock himself in his room, messing around with his crappy puppets, refusing to come out no matter what..."
"Young people, you know. The rebellious phase. They've always got ideas."
All he'd done was express a bit of doubt about Puppet Technique, and he'd done it in such a roundabout, tactful way. Was Kankuro really still hung up on it?
Maybe Kankuro was developing some powerful move, planning to show off how amazing Puppet Technique could be.
She might be sharp-tongued, but Temari was still fairly pleased that Kankuro could focus on training and improving his strength.
It just rubbed her the wrong way that the change hadn't happened under her guidance as his older sister.
Even though she was the eldest at home, her two younger brothers never seemed to treat her as a sister they could lean on. That was genuinely depressing.
"I've said what I needed to say. I'm leaving..."
She spoke as if she had no intention of exchanging small talk, already turning to go.
"Wait!"
Daigan called after her.
"What? I'm not here to answer questions either..."
"About the Chunin Exam—Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto has withdrawn. In the fourth match, it'll be you versus me. Did you know that?"
"I know. Any problem?"
Whether the Chunin Exam would even make it to the fourth match was questionable. And even if it did, in Temari's eyes, it didn't matter whether it was Yakushi Kabuto or Daigan—both were about the same.
"I don't have a problem. I'm going to win either way. But you—have you thought about what you're going to do?"
Daigan said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and it set Temari's temper on fire.
"You think you've got me beaten for sure? What arrogance..."
She clenched both fists, forcing down the urge to smash that face flat.
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