"What is that?"
An ANBU shinobi looked up and saw the Three-Zhang Bat Wings high in the sky.
"It looks like Kazekage-sama."
The ANBU shinobi beside him said.
"No, I mean the larger one beside Kazekage-sama."
"It seems to be a bat."
"A bat? Where would such a huge bat come from? Could it be Kazekage-sama's new summoned beast?"
Hongshan Lie's technique had no problems, but his courage seemed somewhat lacking.
Perhaps because he had never been high in the sky before, he naturally felt a sense of dread and had not fully displayed the performance of the Three-Zhang Bat Wings.
However, even this level of performance was already quite good.
"It can absolutely be used on the battlefield. And it will pose an enormous threat to the enemy."
Rasa hesitated for a moment.
"Lie, let me try."
Hongshan Lie froze for a moment and reminded him,
"Kazekage-sama, the controls of the Three-Zhang Bat Wings are different from ordinary puppets. They do not require chakra threads, but the difficulty of operation is still there. It is considerably harder than operating a mechanical sand ship."
"And it is in the air, so there is a certain level of danger."
Rasa nodded.
"Don't worry."
Hongshan Lie controlled the Three-Zhang Bat Wings and returned to the rooftop. He quickly climbed down and began explaining it to Rasa.
But in truth, there was no need.
Rasa had provided the blueprint.
Before giving it to Hongshan Lie, Rasa himself had already carefully examined it once.
He entered the cockpit of the Three-Zhang Bat Wings.
It could more or less accommodate two people.
If their bodies were small, even three would not be a problem.
Both hands and feet had fixed positions, each responsible for different functions.
As Rasa poured chakra into it, the Three-Zhang Bat Wings abruptly shot into the sky.
Whoosh!
A sharp sound of breaking air rang out.
Hongshan Lie's eyes widened.
At first, he was somewhat worried, but as he continued watching, he realized that Rasa's piloting of the Three-Zhang Bat Wings was much better than his own.
Faster.
More agile.
"As expected of Kazekage-sama."
"It's his first time using it, yet he pilots it so well."
A thought could not help but rise in Hongshan Lie's heart.
"If Kazekage-sama chose to become a puppeteer, would he also become a top-tier puppeteer?"
"Perhaps he could even surpass Lord Shamon from back then."
"Kazekage-sama is a true genius!"
Rasa continued testing it.
"It feels completely different from using Gold Dust."
"The operating difficulty is undoubtedly higher. With Gold Dust, a single thought is enough for it to directly follow my intentions. But with the Three-Zhang Bat Wings, both hands and feet must be used together."
"If the balance is not maintained properly, it can easily crash."
"For ordinary shinobi, they would probably need to focus entirely on piloting. So the task of attacking would have to be left to another shinobi."
"A two-person combination would be the best choice."
Not long after, Rasa returned to the roof of the Kazekage Building.
Hongshan Lie hurriedly came forward.
"Kazekage-sama."
Rasa smiled and patted Hongshan Lie's shoulder.
"You did well."
Hongshan Lie did not dare take credit.
"It is all because the blueprint Kazekage-sama gave me was good. I merely followed the blueprint and did a small, insignificant task."
Rasa shook his head.
"There is no need to be overly modest. Even with a blueprint, making it according to the blueprint is not so simple. Not everyone could make it well. The quality of this Three-Zhang Bat Wings is quite good."
"Produce them according to this standard. Does the Mechanical Department have enough manpower?"
Hongshan Lie did not answer directly. Instead, he asked first,
"Kazekage-sama, how many Three-Zhang Bat Wings do you need?"
The Three-Zhang Bat Wings were different from mechanical sand ships.
Mechanical sand ships were things that could be used to earn money.
Selling them would not bring much negative impact to Sunagakure.
But the Three-Zhang Bat Wings were different.
The Three-Zhang Bat Wings would be far too effective on the battlefield.
And they were not limited by terrain.
Their strategic value was too great.
It might not be comparable to Konoha's Byakugan, but it was still not something Sunagakure could easily sell. Sunagakure definitely had to first maximize the value of the Three-Zhang Bat Wings for itself.
"Three hundred."
Rasa set a number.
Three hundred Three-Zhang Bat Wings meant six hundred shinobi needed to be paired with them.
Sunagakure had more than ten thousand shinobi.
Most were ordinary shinobi.
Some were puppeteers. Some were medical shinobi. Some were sealing shinobi.
Genin made up the majority.
The number of elite jonin was extremely small.
The jonin could almost be counted at a glance.
Chunin were already the backbone force.
This was why Devil Fruits made the other shinobi villages so fearful and envious.
An ordinary Devil Fruit could substantially improve a chunin's strength.
And a high-level Devil Fruit could substantially improve even a jonin's strength.
"The Three-Zhang Bat Wings are somewhat difficult to pilot. Even after training, they are still better suited for shinobi at chunin level and above. Three hundred will be enough for now. As for the time frame, set it within half a year."
Hongshan Lie thought for a while.
"Kazekage-sama, if that is the case, the Mechanical Department only needs around ten more people."
Rasa nodded.
"That is fine. Apply to Elder Chiyo for the personnel."
…
…
Night fell.
Rasa came to the study on the third floor.
A card was taken out by Rasa.
It was none other than the One-Day Ninja Experience Card (Iwagakure Chunin Version).
"Use!"
As Rasa's thoughts moved—
The next moment, Rasa felt his consciousness rush into the sky at extreme speed.
After that, it flew even faster toward the north, toward the direction where Iwagakure was located.
"Name: Katsuchi."
"Gender: Male."
"Age: 26."
Before long, Rasa's consciousness arrived in Iwagakure.
He woke up inside the body of a male chunin.
"So this is Iwagakure."
It was a completely different style from Sunagakure.
Whether Iwagakure or Sunagakure, neither village's environment could compare to Konoha's.
Konoha had abundant water and fertile soil. It was suitable for all kinds of planting. No matter what was grown, the harvest would be quite good.
Sunagakure was built around an oasis.
But the oasis was limited, and water was even more limited.
Now, with the construction of the Sun Disks, four habitable zones had appeared, easing a fair amount of Sunagakure's pressure.
Iwagakure's environment could be considered somewhere between Sunagakure and Konoha.
There were forests, and there were also barren mountain peaks.
It was famous for being rich in mineral resources and had quite a few trade dealings with the Land of Iron.
They sold raw materials to the Land of Iron, then bought back standard ninja tools forged by the Land of Iron.
By selling mineral resources, Iwagakure had also reached a level of wealth. It could be considered a resource-based shinobi village.
"Their situation is indeed much better than Sunagakure's."
"But even with such a situation, they still stared at Sunagakure and kept attacking and plundering us. That was far too excessive."
Rasa remembered several incidents where Iwagakure had attacked Sunagakure.
After looking around for a while, Rasa withdrew his gaze.
"Begin the operation!"
"Using Katsuchi's identity, I will properly spread Kitsuchi's reputation."
"And properly provoke Onoki."