Sayo and Fourth Kazekage Rasa returned to Hidden Sand Village one after the other. Both bore the dust of a fierce battle and minor wounds, but the atmosphere was vastly different from the tension when they left. A subtle and heavy silence hung between them.
Well-informed high-ranking officials, such as Elder Chiyo and Ebizō, had long since learned through special channels about the thrilling contest in the desert and its outcome. They waited in the Kazekages Office, their faces solemn with a hint of imperceptible anticipation.
When Sayo followed Rasa into the office, all gazes instantly focused on him. Rasa walked straight to the main seat and sat down, remaining silent, only signaling with his eyes for the meeting to begin.
Ebizō coughed lightly, breaking the silence first: "Kazekage-sama, Jonin Sayo, it seems... you have already reached a decision?"
Rasa did not answer directly but cast his gaze toward Sayo, his eyes complex.
Sayo stepped forward, his posture straight. Despite his exhaustion, his eyes were startlingly bright. He looked around at every top decision-maker of Sunagakure present, his voice clear and firm, breaking the final silence:
"Kazekage-sama, Elders. The Kirigakure's conditions are the most thorough trampling of Sunagakure's dignity; we absolutely cannot accept them!"
His words were resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.
"However," he changed the subject, his gaze sharp as a knife, "empty talk of faith cannot solve the Village's realistic dilemma. I understand that we need a strong response, not only to protect our companions but also to obtain the compensation we deserve, and even more so to declare to the entire Ninja World that Sunagakure is by no means a soft persimmon that can be manipulated at will!"
He took a deep breath and made a shocking decision:
"Therefore, I, Sayo, hereby issue a military order!"
The moment the words "military order" were spoken, even Elder Chiyo's pupils contracted slightly.
Sayo's voice rose sharply, filled with unyielding determination: "I will fight across the sea and go personally to the border of the Land of Water! I will use my own methods to break through the Kirigakure's defense line head-on and force them to bow their heads! I want to use an indisputable victory, rather than the humiliation of sacrificing companions, to seize dignity and benefits for Sunagakure! One battle to decide the outcome!"
"If I fail, I, Sayo, am willing to bear all consequences and accept any punishment! If I win, I ask Kazekage-sama and all Elders to permanently withdraw that dangerous idea and fully support my plan to reform the Land of Wind!"
His resounding words echoed in the office, filled with heart-stopping courage and confidence.
Fighting across the sea! Challenging the coastal defense of an entire Ninja Village alone (though with a mechanical armor)! What arrogance, and what boldness!
Rasa suddenly raised his head, staring fixedly at Sayo. He had not expected that Sayo would choose not to continue resisting within the Village, but rather to prove his faith and resolve the Village's dilemma in a more extreme and direct way!
Elder Chiyo's aged eyes erupted with astonishing brilliance. She looked at Sayo as if seeing the most dazzling possibility for the future of Sunagakure. Ebizō, meanwhile, stroked his beard in shock, lost in thought.
"Fighting across the sea... what do you need?" Rasa's voice was low. He did not question whether Sayo could do it, but directly asked the most critical question. After the desert battle, he already understood that this youth could not be measured by common sense.
"I need to upgrade 'mirage'!" Sayo answered without hesitation. "The current 'mirage' is sufficient to handle land battles, but long-range ocean warfare, breaking through the Kirigakure's strict coastal defense, requires stronger power, a more robust structure, longer endurance, and... water combat and aerial maneuverability! I need to build a true, unprecedented giant fighting Puppet!"
He turned to Elder Chiyo and said respectfully and sincerely: "Elder Chiyo, your attainments in the Puppet Technique are supreme. I need your wisdom to help me perfect the final design!"
Elder Chiyo did not hesitate at all and nodded heavily: "I will do my utmost! The future of Sunagakure is worth investing everything in!"
Rasa did not hesitate anymore and made the most decisive decision as Kazekage: "Good! All resources of Hidden Sand Village, all material warehouses, are fully open to you! Whatever you need, just go and take it! The Village will fully support you!"
The resolution of the highest level was issued and executed at an astonishing speed.
The giant war machine that was Hidden Sand Village began to operate efficiently again for a common goal.
Sayo worked tirelessly, locking himself in the expanded Research and Development Department laboratory, with scrolls filled with precise data, structural diagrams, and Sealing Formulas spread across the table. Elder Chiyo hardly left his side, using her decades of experience to fill gaps and optimize every detail of Sayo's wild yet incredibly ingenious designs.
His father, Sharyu, also came to help, leading the most experienced old hands from the Maintenance Squad, responsible for the processing and assembly of the most precise components. The logistics department opened a green channel, and cart after cart of precious Chakra metal, special wood, anti-corrosion Materials, and even rare components recovered from war trophies were continuously sent into the research workshop.
Xu, who had become a Medical Ninja, took the initiative to undertake logistical support work, leading her companions from the medical squad to provide medical support and nutritional supplies for all the researchers and craftsmen who were working tirelessly.
The entire Puppet Research and Development Department, and even the Ninjas and craftsmen in related fields across Hidden Sand Village, were mobilized. The workshop was brightly lit day and night, and the sounds of hammering, cutting, and the humming of Chakra smelting were incessant. Everyone knew they were participating in a feat that would make history!
As time passed, the skeleton of a giant object gradually took shape in the specially built extra-large workshop. It was taller, more majestic, and more complex and precise in structure than the previous "mirage". Standing at an astonishing height of seventeen meters, it was a behemoth in the true sense!
Watching the steel giant that was gradually being covered in armor, revealing a cold and powerful force, his father Sharyu could not contain his excitement and shock. During a break, he asked the question that everyone was curious about: "Sayo, this unprecedented Puppet... what is its name?"
Sayo was staring at the cold steel body, his eyes shining with the light of dreams and faith intertwined from two lifetimes. Hearing his father's question, without even thinking, a name engraved deep in his Soul blurted out:
"Gundam! Its name is Gundam!"
"Gundam..." Sharyu and the surrounding craftsmen repeated this strange and powerful-sounding word. Although they did not understand its meaning, they could feel the weight and expectation carried by this name.
"That's right, Gundam!" Sayo turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone who had poured their heart and blood into this, his voice firm and powerful. "It will carry our faith and future, cross the sea, and seize true peace and dignity for Sunagakure!"
In the huge workshop, everyone involuntarily stopped their work and looked at the steel giant that was about to be completed, their eyes filled with hope and determination.
The miracle named "Gundam" was slowly awakening in the desert of the Land of Wind.