Chapter 71: sasori: "Isn't it normal for me to make a Unit-01 by hand?"

"Kenichi, you're here!" an excited voice rang out. Kenichi looked up and saw that it was sasori.

sasori looked the same as always, except this time he was holding a sealed scroll, his eyes filled with excitement. Kenichi wasn't sure what had happened.

"sasori, did you hear the leader's orders?" Kenichi yawned. He had come to the Village of the Hidden Rain specifically to meet with sasori. After all, his lab was located in the Land of Fire, and it would have been problematic if sasori had entered on his own.

If they were discovered, it would inevitably raise the suspicions of the Hidden Leaf. After all, sasori was a well-known ninja from the Hidden Sand Village.

And right now, the Hidden Leaf and the Land of Fire were like frightened birds. If sasori was found, people might suspect that the Hidden Sand Village was planning something against the Leaf.

If it led to an escalation of war, that would be a real problem.

It wouldn't just be a small ripple—it could rewrite the history of the ninja world.

"Yes, I heard. We're to observe Jūzō Biwa," sasori said, his expression turning slightly more serious at the mention of the leader's orders.

"But enough about that. Kenichi, check out this puppet I made!" sasori quickly waved off the topic, looking unconcerned. He unfurled the scroll in his hands, and a large puppet tumbled out.

Kenichi curiously examined the puppet. It was made entirely of metal and was enormous. Even though it was still lying on the ground, it was clearly over two meters tall.

"What is this?" Kenichi glanced at sasori. This guy's efficiency was terrifying. In just a few days, he had already created a prototype.

"I call this Unit-01. It's a metal puppet I built based on your theories, Kenichi!" sasori manipulated the puppet, making it stand up.

Standing over two meters tall, with a body entirely made of metal, it looked incredibly intimidating. But once it stood up, Kenichi noticed it seemed a bit... bulky.

Its waist was nearly a meter thick.

And the name "Unit-01"? Was that serious? Kenichi felt a little stifled. He wasn't sure how to even begin to respond. Was there going to be a Unit-02 and Unit-03 later on?

"So, how's its combat capability?" Kenichi asked, refocusing on the most important point. In the ninja world, strength was everything. Without sufficient combat power, no matter how impressive something was, it would be useless.

A puppet needed to have significant combat strength to be considered a success. Otherwise, it would just be a large target.

"I've tested it. Its defensive capabilities are excellent, and its agility increases with chakra consumption. However, to reach the same agility as a regular puppet, it needs twice the chakra. And it can't perform ninjutsu—it's limited to close-range combat," sasori explained with a more serious tone.

Hearing this, Kenichi's interest waned. While taijutsu (hand-to-hand combat) was indeed effective in the ninja world, a puppet without ninjutsu capabilities would have a significant disadvantage in combat.

But seeing how excited sasori was, Kenichi couldn't help but think that sasori really was a talented ninja. After all, creating something like this on his own was no small feat.

With some improvements, this puppet could probably become even more formidable.

"I remember there are some metals that can conduct chakra. Maybe you could try using that kind of material next time. Also, enhancing its defense against ninjutsu might be useful," Kenichi suggested as he and sasori continued discussing ideas for improving the puppet.

Meanwhile, in the Hidden Rain Village, Nagato stood with his arms crossed, watching the scene unfold. He couldn't help but feel a bit of regret. If he'd known that Kenichi could lead people astray like this, he might have refused to let him join the Akatsuki in the first place.

But Kenichi was undeniably powerful, and he had mastered the formidable Sage Mode. This had also helped Nagato realize the limitations of the Preta Path's chakra absorption ability.

"Nagato, are you sure it's okay to leave that guy alone?" Konan asked, glancing at her friend.

"Yes. Although he doesn't seem very serious, at least he completes the organization's tasks. That's enough," Nagato nodded. As long as the missions were carried out and Kenichi had sufficient strength, that was all that mattered.

Kenichi, on the other hand, was unaware of what Nagato thought of him. Though he vaguely sensed someone watching him, he didn't really care. After all, he hadn't done anything wrong.

As he and sasori continued discussing their ideas for building a giant robot, they slowly made their way toward the Land of Water.

The Land of Water was separated from the Land of Rain by the Land of Fire, which was a bit of a hassle. But fortunately, Kenichi knew the Facial Transformation Jutsu, so he helped sasori change his appearance.

The two of them slipped into the Land of Fire without a hitch.

"Kenichi, this jutsu of yours is amazing," sasori said as he touched his face, now that of a middle-aged man. It was impossible to tell who he had been before.

"It's a simple but useful jutsu," Kenichi smiled. His teacher's jutsu was truly powerful.

The only downside was that it couldn't read memories. Otherwise, their disguises would be even more convincing.

"Hidden Leaf..." sasori's eyes grew cold once they entered the Land of Fire. Kenichi knew why. sasori's parents had been killed by the Hidden Leaf's hero, Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of the Leaf.

"sasori, we need to focus on the mission first," Kenichi reminded him. If sasori got too worked up and tried to cause trouble in the Leaf, it would be a disaster.

The Akatsuki had kept a low profile in the early days, appearing to be a mercenary group with no apparent larger goals. Their true objective—capturing the tailed beasts—remained hidden.

If they were exposed too soon, the first thing the Five Great Nations would do is destroy the Akatsuki.

"I know," sasori took a deep breath and followed Kenichi as they dashed through the dense forest.

It was unlikely they would run into any Leaf ninja in this part of the Land of Fire, given that tensions with the Hidden Cloud Village were escalating. Small skirmishes had already broken out.

The conflict hadn't yet spread widely, and the battles were confined to small nations between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.

"By the time we return, maybe I'll be able to drop a fuel-air bomb on the battlefield," Kenichi glanced in the direction of the Hidden Leaf, feeling a bit nostalgic for his small home there.

He wondered what had become of it. It had probably been confiscated by the village by now.