On the outskirts of Konoha, at the edge of one of the village's training grounds, stood a massive boulder as tall as an adult. Hidden beneath it was an underground chamber—Sasori's second secret base.
Inside the base's main hall, a two-meter-tall humanoid mecha with a gold-and-white exterior stood secured to a rack built into the wall.
Five children stood before it: Sasori, Yahiko, Konan, Nagato, and Nonō.
"This is amazing, Sasori!" Yahiko exclaimed, his entire body trembling with excitement as he stared at the mecha.
Nagato was just as captivated. Neither boy could resist the appeal of such an incredible machine.
Konan and Nonō were a little more composed, but their eyes still shone with surprise and admiration.
Sasori really was incredible. He had actually managed to build something so large and impressive all by himself.
"I built this mecha as a gift for Kizaru, so all of you can present it to him with me," Sasori said. Coming from a wealthy family, he had always been generous with his friends.
"No."
Yahiko shook his head. The excitement on his face faded slightly, replaced by a serious expression.
Looking straight at Sasori, he said firmly, "We can't stand by, contribute nothing, and let you pay for everything, Sasori. I don't have much money right now, but tell me how much the mecha cost to build. Once we've saved enough, we'll repay you."
With that, Yahiko pulled a frog-shaped wallet from his pocket. Kizaru had given it to him as a New Year's gift.
He opened the wallet and took out all the pocket money he had carefully saved. Yahiko had already made up his mind to do this when they left the second base after their previous visit.
"There's thirteen thousand ryō here. It's everything I've saved. Please take it." Yahiko held the money out to Sasori as he spoke.
Sasori hesitated, unsure whether he should accept an amount that was worth less than a single week's allowance to him.
Before he could decide, the other three also took out their savings and offered them to him.
"Please take it, Sasori. This is what we want," Nagato said with a smile as he stepped forward.
Sasori looked at the money his friends were offering him, then at the sincere smiles on their faces. After a moment, he silently nodded and accepted it from each of them.
Watching from the side, Shukaku tilted his head with an arrogant huff. All their savings combined would not even cover ten percent of the mecha's cost.
"Sasori, how much did this mecha cost altogether?" Yahiko asked happily once Sasori had accepted their money.
"More than five million ryō," Sasori answered after a brief hesitation, quoting only half of the true amount.
The smile froze on Yahiko's face.
"You're incredibly rich, Sasori!"
The price had not only stunned Yahiko. Nagato, Konan, and Nonō were equally shocked.
Five million ryō! How long would it take for them to earn that much?
"I'll cover whatever remains. My parents knew I was preparing a gift for Kizaru, so they gave me plenty of money," Sasori quickly explained, not wanting money to become a burden on his friendships.
To Sasori, his friends were far more important than money. Any money he spent could easily be replaced, but if he lost a friend, winning them back would not be nearly as simple—and the loss would hurt far more.
Yahiko and the others exchanged glances. They could all see the same thought in one another's eyes: they refused to take advantage of their friend.
"Then we'll work hard and earn the rest!" Yahiko declared, clenching his fists with determination.
The others nodded. None of them gave up simply because the amount was so large.
Sasori nodded along with them, though he had already decided that once the gift had been delivered, he simply would not bring up the money again.
"Sasori, is the mecha finished?" Nagato asked. He stared eagerly at the imposing machine, wanting to see what it could do in actual combat.
"There's still one thing missing." A troubled expression appeared on Sasori's face.
"What is it? Can we help?" Konan asked with concern.
"It still needs a power source." As he spoke, Sasori glanced at Shukaku. "My own mecha uses the chakra Shukaku provides, but I haven't found a suitable power source for Kizaru's."
He paused before adding, "Even without one, Kizaru can still operate the mecha by supplying it with his own chakra."
Understanding what Sasori meant, the others nodded. Konan looked toward Shukaku, and an idea suddenly came to her.
"Shukaku is a tailed beast, and so is Matatabi. Why don't we ask her?"
Konan turned to Sasori. "Would that work?"
"Yes. All the mecha's materials are fireproof," Sasori replied with a nod.
"Then let's go find Matatabi!" Yahiko immediately suggested.
"There's no need to look. I'm already here."
The moment Yahiko finished speaking, Matatabi's voice came from the passage at the rear of the hall that led to the base's exit.
She emerged from the darkness, swept her gaze over the gathered children, and then focused on the mecha standing directly ahead.
In essence, the machine recreated the relationship between a tailed beast and a jinchūriki within a suit of armor. It allowed the shinobi wearing it to borrow a tailed beast's chakra and fight like a jinchūriki.
The tailed beast, however, would not remain imprisoned inside the jinchūriki's body. Outside of battle, it would still be free to move wherever it pleased.
Sasori truly had invented something extraordinary.
"Matatabi, when did you get here?" Konan asked. Having formed the closest bond with the Two-Tails, she hurried over to greet her.
"I followed all of you into the base," Matatabi replied. She then looked at Shukaku. "Shukaku knew I was here. He simply chose not to tell you."
"Gyahahaha! Why should the great Shukaku tell them anything?" Shukaku scoffed, shaking his head dismissively.
Shukaku really was impossible. Kizaru was the only person around whom he ever showed any restraint!
After silently complaining about Shukaku, Matatabi passed through the group and stopped beneath the mecha.
At the center of its chest was a round yellow crystal the size of an adult's head. Looking up at it, Matatabi asked, "Sasori, you carved the sealing formula into the crystal on the mecha's chest, didn't you?"
"Yes. I wanted to make it smaller, but the sealing formula was too large. I compressed it as much as I could, but it still ended up this size," Sasori replied, sounding slightly dissatisfied.
In his eyes, the mecha would have looked better—and been closer to perfect—if the circle on its chest had been smaller.
"You've done an excellent job," Matatabi praised him.
In the thousands of years she had spent wandering the world, Sasori was the most innovative shinobi she had ever encountered.
The tailed-beast mecha he had invented was something capable of overturning the very foundations of the shinobi world.
If the other hidden villages learned of its existence, they would undoubtedly fight to obtain it.
After all, the resources and expense involved in raising a jinchūriki were immense.
By comparison, training someone to operate a tailed-beast mecha would be far easier, and establishing cooperation with the tailed beast would be much simpler as well.
As a tailed beast herself, Matatabi understood better than anyone why cooperation between tailed beasts and humans was so difficult.
The answer was freedom.
No living being capable of thought would willingly accept being imprisoned and treated as someone else's weapon.
The tailed-beast mecha solved that fundamental problem. A tailed beast would only need to enter the machine during battle and fight alongside the shinobi operating it.
At all other times, it would be free to leave the mecha and move around as it wished.
Under those conditions, a tailed beast would naturally harbor far less anger and resentment, making communication and cooperation much easier.
At the very least, Matatabi knew that if she were asked to enter the mecha and fight beside Kizaru, she would readily agree. In fact, she would be more than happy to do so.
"Can I enter it now?" Matatabi was also curious about the mecha, and she looked eagerly at Sasori as she asked.
"Of course," Sasori replied with a nod.
With his permission, Matatabi's body transformed into a stream of chakra and flowed into the crystal embedded in the mecha's chest.
As her chakra continued pouring into it, the round crystal began glowing blue, its light steadily growing brighter.
Once Matatabi had entered it completely, her chakra flowed through the mecha along the pathways Sasori had designed. The eyes on its head lit up first, followed by the movement of its arms.
Finally, Matatabi took control of the mecha and leaped down from the rack built into the wall. She landed on the floor and tested it with a few simple movements while the children watched excitedly.
"The chakra conductivity is good," Matatabi's voice came from within the mecha, "but the material may not be durable enough. Kizaru's physical abilities are too powerful, so the mecha might not be able to withstand his full strength."
Sasori did not argue with her assessment. He immediately pulled a small notebook and pen from his pocket and began writing down her observations.
"Did you notice any other problems?" he asked.
The moment Sasori entered his research state, his entire demeanor changed. His expression became intensely serious, and an unapproachable air settled around him.
•••
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