The red-haired puppet raised his hands and put them in front of his eyes. He then lowered his head to look at the regeneration core in his abdomen and a human-like ecstatic expression appeared on his face. “Is this…”
Tonan looked at Sasori in front of him and said with a smile, “Do you like it? This is a superhuman puppet that I specially made for you. The whole body is made with bionic materials. It’s waterproof, fireproof, and rustproof. Both hands are equipped with a heavy-caliber chakra gun barrel, which can release ninjutsu of any attribute. There is also a vortex booster around the regeneration core, which you can deploy, and it can erupt out with a larger amount of chakra for a short time.”
Hearing Tonan’s explanation, Sasori raised his head and stared at him with a baffled look. He finally said, “You did this for me…” Soon afterward, he trembled with excitement. He stretched out his hands to caress his new body and frantically said, “It’s truly perfect… I can feel it. My body’s sense of touch has become more precise. And the surface of this puppet feels like real skin.”
Tonan smiled lightly and explained, “I stripped off this skin from someone else’s body and soaked it in a special medicine, which greatly enhanced the skin’s toughness. I also added many bionic neurons to your puppet body. Now, your sense of touch is at least five times greater than that of the average person. You are now a perfect work of art.”
“A perfect work of art…” Sasori felt that these words were tailor-made for him, so he couldn’t help repeating them. However, in the next moment, his eyes condensed. He stared at Tonan and asked in confusion, “Why did you go to such lengths to help me? Aren’t we enemies?”
Tonan, however, just spread out his arms and a magnificent brilliance seemed to appear on his face. He said, “Art has no national boundaries.”
“Art has no national boundaries…” Sasori lowered his head when he heard Tonan’s words and then repeated them several times. A gentle smile played on Tonan’s lips. He pulled Sasori over and pointed at several large puppets placed in the open space. “Come, come with me and look at these. This is the skin I made for you with the remaining materials.”
Sasori looked over and with a foolish look on his face, he stammered, “This… so… so beautiful…”
Tonan took a few steps forward and stood next to the large puppets. He began to introduce each of them to Sasori one by one. “This is an insect-type skin. It has thermal sensation and low-altitude flight functions, which can make it easier for you to hunt down enemies. This is a bird-type skin.”
“It has an aerodynamic and streamlined shape, suitable for long-distance flights. This is a cheetah-type skin. It has a four-limb joint gear drive, and a nine-level gearshift and it increases dynamic equilibrium. And this is mecha-type skin. It’s not much different from your human puppets but it is made up of materials with increased sturdiness. Moreover, a hydraulic pressure device boosts the power of the limbs so it has extraordinary strength.”
Huff, huff… Hearing Tonan’s descriptions, Sasori’s chest kept rising and falling. His entire body was quivering with exhilaration. “Are these all for me?”
Tonan smiled a little and replied, “They are all yours. Do you like them? This is your payment for sharing your knowledge.”
Sasori gulped and subconsciously walked over to the large puppets. He reached out his hand and caressed them like a fool in love. After a long time, he calmed down and looked at Tonan with reverence. He placed his hands on his knees and bowed deeply. “Tonan-kun, you are truly an artistic genius. Please forgive me for my previous ignorance. You are right, knowledge should be shared so that new ideas can be born.”
Ding! Gained Sasori’s acknowledgment. Hearing the system’s prompt, Tonan’s eyebrows couldn’t help but twitch. What’s the use? Now, Sasori just had one regeneration core left. After his death, he would only provide some chakra and spiritual energy at the most.
He had already acquired his most precious thing, which was the knowledge of human puppets and mechanical manufacturing. He could use some of this to enhance his strength. As for Sasori’s status as a Sand ninja, these things didn’t matter to him.
Tonan really had no loyalty whatsoever to Konoha. For him, Konoha was just his private pasture and Sasori was livestock on someone else’s pasture. As for whether helping him transform into a puppet would help the enemy… In Sasori’s current state, would Saosri still be his enemy?
Sasori would continue to pursue his so-called puppet techniques, which required the use of a large number of strong corpses for experiments. How could it be possible for him to go back to Suna… He would only become Tonan’s right-hand man in the future, especially after the war was over…
After a long time, Sasori looked at Tonan with a puzzled look. He said, “Tonan-kun, aren’t you afraid that I’ll return to Suna and help them deal with Konoha?”
The corners of Tonan’s mouth rose a little. He patted Sasori’s shoulder and answered, “It’s just a war. Think about it, which war has exterminated a village? The essence of war is to use conflict to eliminate excess resource consumption. You are a devout artist. You should pursue a higher level of art.”
“You see, things like human puppets don’t need to eat or drink and can live forever. If the standard of materials can be lowered, it can be popularized in the entire world. At that time, will there be any wars?”
These words pierced through Sasori’s heart and his concern for Tonan’s identity completely disappeared. “Tonan-kun, your thinking is exactly the same as mine. If you want me to help you transform, you can be completely assured of my technique.”
Sasori looked at Tonan with an eager look on his face. Tonan patted his shoulder lightly and shook his head. He said, “No, you are a pioneer of art. But I’m quite a greedy person, and I want the most perfect one. When your art reaches its peak, come and help me transform.”
Sasori nodded and said, “Then, you have to live. If one day you feel that you are going to die of old age, don’t endure it. Now, I’m immortal, and I’ve enough time to pursue the highest level of art.”
Tonan withdrew his hand and folded his arms in front of his chest. He said, “You should stay here for the time being. I have enough experimental materials here. I, however, like to study living ones. After they are dead, you can use them for your puppet research.”
“Thank you very much.” Sasori looked at Tonan gratefully. At this moment, Tonan had completely become a like-minded partner in his heart.
Right then, a panic-filled yell came from outside interrupting their conversation. “Enemy attack!”
Sasori frowned and asked in a deep voice, “Do you need my help?” Tonan looked up at the laboratory wall. The three tomoe in his eyes spun and his eyesight penetrated through the entire Kikyo Mountain. Then he saw a large number of ninjas rushing towards the mountain in the distance.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and leisurely replied, “No need. You, after all, used to be a Suna ninja. It’s not a good idea to make you attack your former village’s ninjas.”
Sasori bowed to Tonan again and said, “Thank you for your understanding.”
Tonan nodded slightly and handed Sasori a scroll. He then turned and walked out of the laboratory. “Store these skins and go to a farther place to experience them. If a Leaf ninja stops you, you can directly tell them you are with me.”
Sasori stored the huge puppets and jogged to keep up with Tonan. “I’ll follow you. Since they’ve already reached here, the situation isn’t so optimistic. I don’t want you to die on the battlefield.”
