Chapter 60: The Future of This Shinobi World Is Almost Unthinkable
That Sasori could use a single heart as the chakra power source to drive the Hundred Puppet Performance, the Hiruko body, and even the Third Kazekage puppet—
Was proof enough of how terrifyingly refined and extreme his techniques truly were.
After all, the source of chakra had long been clearly defined:
the energy generated by roughly 130 trillion cells within the human body, fused with spiritual energy.
And Sasori—
Having turned his entire body into a puppet—
Seemed to possess only one living organ left in the strictest sense:
His heart.
---
Thus, even without knowing exactly what the Gelel Stone was, once Sasori analyzed the engine that Mukade and Kazahana Dōtō had constructed using it to power the giant puppet—
All the irritation he had been suppressing under Mukade's smug bravado finally exploded.
And it exploded as merciless ridicule.
---
"Such exceptional materials…
Such an extraordinary chakra power source…"
"And yet you produced something this flashy and hollow."
"Failure."
"This oversized thing might frighten the uneducated, but it has zero real combat value."
"You didn't even bother installing a proper weapon system."
"Failure."
"Let me see… oh?"
"The internal cockpit is this crude and impractical?"
"Failure upon failure."
---
Once the discussion entered his domain—
The domain he had been willing to abandon flesh and blood for—
There was no doubt left as to how deeply Sasori loved and revered the art of puppetry.
Seeing Mukade—who had briefly impressed him—waste such priceless materials so extravagantly…
And worse, attempt to show off in front of him?
In front of Deidara's utterly bewildered gaze, Sasori became uncharacteristically venomous.
With surgical precision, he dismantled Mukade's creation piece by piece—
leaving the man's face darker than charcoal.
---
"Uh… is this really the Sasori-danna I know?"
Having already realized he never truly understood Sasori after seeing his real body,
Deidara now stared in genuine disbelief at this sharp-tongued version of his partner.
So much so that he instinctively turned to the organization's "elder," Kakuzu, seeking confirmation.
---
"Kid," Kakuzu said coldly,
"there's a lot you still don't know."
Even though he himself hadn't known Sasori had this side either—
Kakuzu, being Kakuzu, would never admit that.
Watching Sasori and Mukade argue so fiercely it was nearly coming to blows, Kakuzu sneered and answered with forced composure.
---
"Huh?"
Deidara might be a little airheaded—but that didn't mean he was stupid.
Seeing the look on Kakuzu's face, a trace of irritation crept into Deidara's tone.
"Even if Sasori-danna turns out like this, he's still an excellent partner."
"And as for you…"
Deidara shot Kakuzu a sideways glance, deliberately letting his disdain show.
"I remember you had a partner too, didn't you?
What was his name… Hidan, right?"
"So—where is he now?"
"…Uh…"
Kakuzu froze.
Only then did it occur to him that back when he accepted the commission Oda Nobunaga had passed through Kinoshita Jirō, he'd decided to keep the entire bounty for himself.
So he'd casually told Hidan to wait where he was.
Just… wait.
A long time had passed since then.
A cold bead of sweat slid down Kakuzu's temple.
If Deidara hadn't mentioned it, Kakuzu genuinely might never have remembered Hidan again.
---
At the same moment, far away at the spot where they'd separated—
A place now so abandoned grass was growing on Hidan's head—
Hidan sneezed violently.
He looked up at the sky, having long since lost track of how many days had passed, and roared:
"KAKUZU, YOU BASTARD!
HOW LONG DO YOU PLAN TO MAKE ME WAIT?!"
---
Back at the fortress, Kakuzu broke out in cold sweat as Deidara laughed himself half to death.
Meanwhile, Sasori and Mukade's argument over technical philosophy had reached a boiling point.
Kazahana Dōtō—who had worked alongside Mukade before and had also been forcibly recruited by Oda Nobunaga—naturally took Mukade's side and joined the debate.
Watching Sasori single-handedly dismantle both men verbally, listening to the sparks flying from their collision of ideas—
Oda Nobunaga's smile grew broader.
He glanced at Orochimaru beside him, who was clearly itching to jump in as well.
At that point, Oda decisively cut in—
revealing the blade hidden at the end of his words.
---
"Mr. Sasori, rather than arguing endlessly with no one convincing anyone,"
"I believe I have a better proposal."
"Verbal debate is too thin to carry weight.
Physical results speak far louder."
"Instead of arguing here, how about the Land of Fields provides the funding and materials?"
"Let the researchers prove themselves with real achievements."
"Whoever produces a result powerful enough to crush the others—wins."
"As it happens, I also have a few… modest ideas regarding puppetry."
---
Oda gestured, and Zasuke stepped forward, presenting design drafts:
Autonomous self-detonating spider puppets
Unmanned aerial puppets
Heavy self-propelled kunai artillery—
a shinobi-world interpretation of mobile siege weapons
If the Gelel Stone could power a giant bipedal humanoid puppet—
Then creating chakra-modified self-propelled artillery or armored war machines didn't seem excessive at all.
Frankly, if Oda hadn't yet failed to locate Shinnō of the Sky Ninja—
He would've already begun dismantling the chakra cannon on the Sky Fortress.
After all… Sasori was right here, wasn't he?
---
"Oh, and one more thing," Oda added casually.
"Can giant puppets be miniaturized?"
"Like that elderly puppet shell you were wearing earlier?"
If he was already asking, Oda saw no reason to stop.
With enough refinement, Sasori's Hiruko could practically become a shinobi-world knockoff Iron Man.
Sure—this might push the ninja world into wildly uncharted territory.
But Oda Nobunaga had never been a traditional shinobi.
And history would eventually declare that the age of ninja itself had been surpassed.
---
Sasori's eyes flickered—somehow conveying an unmistakably human expression despite his puppet body.
He studied the proposals in Zasuke's hands, then listened to Oda's shameless demands.
"Give me sufficient resources.
Unlimited support."
Casting a sidelong glance at Mukade and Kazahana Dōtō, Sasori—clearly harboring his own agenda—agreed without hesitation.
Truth be told, after witnessing so many new technologies today, Sasori had already planned to upgrade Hiruko anyway.
Now a wealthy patron had come knocking on his door, eager to foot the bill.
Unaware that agreeing meant he would never be allowed to leave—
Sasori naïvely planned to use Oda as seed capital.
Naturally, Oda Nobunaga saw through him instantly.
But Oda believed firmly that even the most stubborn reactionaries could be "reformed."
So he clapped his hands, beaming.
---
"Then let us welcome Mr. Sasori to the Land of Fields."
"Since timing is everything, let us proceed immediately."
"From today onward:
The First Research Division shall be led by Mr. Sasori
The Second Research Division by Mr. Orochimaru
The Third Research Division by Mukade and Kazahana Dōtō"
"I greatly look forward to the development all of you will bring to our nation."
---
"Oh?"
Orochimaru hadn't expected to be included.
As Oda announced this arrangement, Orochimaru stared at him for a long moment—
Then noticed Sasori smirking as if to say I beat you.
Orochimaru's lips tightened.
A long-forgotten emotion—competitiveness—ignited in his chest.
Even knowing this was Oda's provocation, Orochimaru refused to believe Sasori could ever stand on equal footing with him.
And as for Mukade and Kazahana Dōtō—
Having been demoted from rising stars to third division heads overnight—
They were hardly pleased either.