"Itachi, when did you get back?" Obito asked in surprise as he looked at him.
As a student of Kagetsu, Itachi was always brought along whenever their team had missions outside the village.
"I returned yesterday after finishing the handover," Itachi replied with a slight nod toward Obito.
He, Kabuto, and Asuma often traveled back and forth between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire under Kagetsu's guidance.
So whenever he came back and had time to rest, he would always keep his younger brother Sasuke close by his side.
"Who's that?" Obito asked, his eyes shifting toward the little boy next to Itachi.
Obito and Itachi weren't exactly close, but as members of Team 7, they were still somewhat connected through their sensei's relationship with Kagetsu's team.
Itachi, who was calm and composed even at a young age, had once been praised by Rin — something Obito had always envied.
Unfortunately, being as steady and mature as Itachi just wasn't in his nature.
At the moment, Obito's gaze was fixed on something Sasuke was tightly gripping in his hands — a small puppet.
Though it was tiny, the joints and seams where the parts connected made it look very similar to the puppets Obito had seen in the hands of some Suna puppet masters. Thɪs chapter is updated by novęlfire.net
"A toy I brought back for Sasuke from the Land of Wind," Itachi explained softly, following Obito's gaze to the puppet in Sasuke's hands — a crocodile-like wooden toy.
Seeing Kakashi and the others showing interest in the puppet, he added, "This kind of toy is really popular in Sunagakure. A lot of the Suna kids have them."
"This puppet was custom-made for me by a puppeteer from the Sand Village. Some of the more dangerous weapons have been removed, but it's perfect for training chakra control, mental focus, and finger dexterity."
"Right now, the ninja academy in Sunagakure is already using an upgraded, miniaturized version of this puppet to train its students."
"I've heard about that," Kakashi said, suddenly recalling something.
"Sunagakure even established a special puppet department—kind of like a Technology Development Department—specifically for this puppet. They research and improve puppet designs, and they've also started making puppet toys that they sell across the entire ninja world.
When I was on a mission in the capital of the Land of Fire, I saw a lot of those."
In the past few years, the relationship between Konoha and the Sand Village had progressed rapidly—it was as smooth as oil and honey.
For example, the sale of puppet toys was something that came about after one of the Kazekage's visits to Konoha.
After discussions and trials, they decided to test the market with it.
Using the same techniques meant for creating deadly puppets to make children's toys—that was like a dimensional reduction strike!
And if these puppet toys were enhanced with flashy ninjutsu? That would be a guaranteed hit!
At the very least, nobles and merchants from various nations absolutely loved them. They didn't care where the technology came from—all they knew was that kids adored these toys.
Over the past two years, the puppet toys had become extremely popular. There were even some bold counterfeit versions that had started to circulate.
Although these knockoffs couldn't match Sunagakure's original products in craftsmanship and technology, they were cheap and came in large quantities—that was their advantage.
As the Kazekage, Rasa was once furious about the situation and even sent out the Anbu to destroy some of the bootleg products. But that was the most he could do.
Some small-time merchants without any backing were cleaned out without much fuss, but once things reached a certain scale, almost every operation had the support of a noble from some nation.
Especially in the case of Sunagakure — they could only carry out these activities within the Land of Wind. In other major nations, there were far more complications to consider.
So, following Kagetsu's suggestion, Rasa made a bold decision. He continuously upgraded the puppets, distinguishing them from the crude, mass-produced ones, and turned them into luxury items to be sold to the children of merchants and nobles. He also introduced a so-called puppet battle game.
Among the children of nobles, merchants, and even ninja, the puppet battle game became wildly popular.
Each time Sunagakure released a new puppet to join the game, it triggered a wave of excitement and demand.
Now, the sale of puppet toys—despite profits being shared at various levels—was actually enough to cover Sunagakure's financial deficit and even turn the situation around into profit.
As for the earlier mockery from other villages—"Ninja of mighty Sunagakure abandoning proper missions to play at children's games"—neither Rasa nor anyone else in Sunagakure paid it any mind anymore.
After all, Sunagakure had suffered too many economic hardships in the past. They had never experienced such days of prosperity until now.
Money could train more ninjas, upgrade laboratory equipment, and eliminate shortages of critical supplies throughout the village.
Most importantly, as the Kazekage, Rasa no longer had to personally use his kekkei genkai to pan for gold in the desert!
"Actually, all of Sunagakure's high-end puppets now have a profit-sharing agreement with us in Konoha," Kabuto said, raising his hand slightly when he noticed that Kakashi and the others seemed unaware of this detail. He spoke up on his own initiative.
"We... Konoha is involved in this too?" Kakashi and Obito were stunned. They had never imagined that their own village had a hand in all of this.
"To be precise, it's the Puppet Toy Division of Sunagakure that needs to share profits with the Technology Development Department," Kabuto explained.
"For example, Sasuke's customized rare puppet toy uses both the Ninjutsu Engraving Technique and Chakra Sealing Energy Technology developed by the Technology Development Department.
Until those techniques are cracked, these puppet toys can't be copied or pirated. Right now, the closest collaborators we have in Sunagakure are the former Puppet Corps."
"Ninjutsu Engraving?" Obito instinctively looked toward Kakashi's back. He remembered that Kakashi had a sword capable of releasing Lightning Style jutsu when infused with chakra.
Even though its power couldn't compare to the Thunder Sword from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a sword that could release Lightning Style techniques was still considered a valuable ninja tool.
"It's a technique developed by Kushina-san, based on Minato-sensei's Flying Thunder God dagger," Kabuto continued.
"It really doesn't need any scrolls—the puppet itself can release all kinds of ninjutsu on its own.
Sunagakure's puppet masters have already chosen and customized a set of ninjutsu to be engraved on their puppets.
This helps them boost their combat power and gives them an edge during battle due to information gaps."
"Is it really okay to let Sasuke play with such a dangerous toy?" Obito asked instinctively, glancing at the puppet in Sasuke's hands.
As if sensing something off in Obito's tone, young Sasuke immediately shoved the puppet behind his back and hid behind his older brother.
"I never said I wanted it! Sasuke, you're too sensitive!"
Obito looked a bit embarrassed, realizing his intention to trick a child into giving up a toy had been exposed—especially with Rin and Kakashi standing right there...
"These toys can at most release small fireballs or something like that. Their chakra output and transformation have been strictly limited. The ninjutsu they use is mainly for show—flashy and cool. Even ordinary children generally won't get hurt from them."
Kabuto said with a smile.
As for how he knew so much about it—well, that was because he had once been thrown into that very department by Yakushi Nono for training.
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