In the border of Sunagakure, men donning white cloth that tightly wrapped around their head, peered into the distance using a pair of binoculars — they were scouts stationed on the border.
They were on high alert recently, as the prospect of Iwa invading had become a very possible reality.
And whilst diligently performing their duty for the village, a sudden flash of light radiated from the distance, followed by a harsh shockwave that rippled through the air, rapidly encroaching them.
Boom!
Sand kicked up into the air and the rushing gust pushed against them intensely as they stumbled back trying to maintain their base.
"Argh! What is that!" One of the men grunted using one arm to cover his face.
"What devestating power!"
Then the dust settled. They opened their eyes trying to narrow down on the source of the shockwave.
Then they saw it, a mushroom cloud bloomed high into the air and before they could even decipher what it was, another flash accompanied with its preceding shockwave had once again erupted.
"What could that be?!"
"Did Iwagakure release their Jinchurki…"
They were flabbergasted, power of that magnitude was completely unforeseen — the only feasible explanation was that the jinchuriki of Iwagakure running rampant near the border.
"But why would they release them now?!"
"What are you guys doing! We must report what happened to Lord Kazekage!", One of them yelled out as he hurriedly tied a scroll in which he rapidly scribed details of what happened, placing the scroll onto his messenger hawk.
He raised his hand to the air as the talon of said hawk released its grasp on his finger as it flapped its wings, heading southward.
Moments Later
The door to the Kazekage's office slammed opened — the man responsible was the one in charge of the messenger hawk's post. He rushed in to deliver the news to the Kazekage.
"Lord Fourth! We received an urgent message from the scouts stationed on our border!"
"The scouts are reporting multiple large scale explosions — destruction that could only be described as originating from tailed beast themselves.
"There's a probable chance that Iwagakure has released their Jinchuriki near our border!"
Rasa's eyes widened, he knew that he sent Sora, who had created a new weapon, on a secret mission to infiltrate and damage their supply routes.
But was it really capable of being on this magnitude?
His mind raced between the two possibilities. Did Sora cause this destruction or did Iwa release their most powerful weapons unto them. He seriously hoped it was the former of the two conclusions.
But he couldn't risk the chance of an invasion so he stood up promptly:
"We must quickly mobilise our forces to the border, prepare for an invasion!"
However, before he could perform any of the required logistics for the occasion he was interrupted by a loud buzzing noise, emanating from the opening leading to his balcony.
"What is that noise?!"
He rushed to his balcony and peered out. Hovering in front of the Kazekage's balcony brazenly, was a young man with his red hair fluttering in the wind wildly, upon being noticed he waved at him.
"Lord Fourth I completed the mission!" I say as I launch the scroll with the mission report in his direction.
"Huh?! What… was it really you who caused all that destruction!?!", he said as he caught the scroll.
I landed inside and kept Hornet propped up on the roof.
"Lord Fourth, I've written all details of the incident inside my report."
"So the reports of the explosions, it was all you?!"
"Yes Lord Fourth, I having nothing more to add."
I knelt up and leaped onto my puppet which I moved to hover in a suitable place.
A crisp breeze swept across the Kazekage, his shock was palpable and he stood there for a moment trying to comprehend what really just occurred.
Meanwhile as I zipped off, a crowd of onlookers formed as they witnessed me flying through the air.
The villagers hadn't seen my puppet yet so I should've expected to elicit this sort of reaction but they were bound to see it eventually.
I hope the Kazekage doesn't mind that I didn't report personally, after all I've been sent on this precarious mission and didn't have the chance to rest this week.
Eventually I made it back home and finally got the rest I deserved.
Meanwhile, Rasa sat at his desk, reading the scroll.
He couldn't believe what was written inside and the sloppiness of his writing really exacerbated his distrust in the contents of the scroll.
But the reports from the scouts and what Sora had written down had lined up.
So he got up and called for an emergency council meeting unsure of what to do with Sora.
…
Suna Council Room
"Chiyo! your grandson is a puppeteering genius akin to Chikamatsu himself!"
One of the elders of the council said delighted.
The council room was erupting with overlapping voices of praise, what was once a desperate situation had now become an opportunity.
They had formally been briefed on Sora's expedition and were, too put it lightly, dumbfounded.
A young kid, sent alone into enemy territory, singlehandedly disrupted preparations of an oncoming invasion himself. Turning the tide of war in their favour using a revolutionary new weapon.
This was completely unheard of, naturally the council was ecstatic.
"Lord Fourth, we have successfully destroyed their supply lines, this has now been independently verified by multiple of our stationed shinobi. Whatever Lady Chiyo's grandson created for this level of power, it must be lent to us in order ensure the safety of the village!" An elder exclaimed
"Sora has developed puppets which have pushed us to the forefront of power amongst the other great villages!"
"Tojuro is correct", Rasa said. "Lady Chiyo, we must find a way to procure those weapons in mass"
"It's not just that, if we can make flight widely accessible to our shinobi, our military force will become unstoppable!"
Chiyo sighed, "I had no idea that this was the power of his creations… it's as much of a shock to me as it is to you. That being said, only Sora knows how to create his puppets and he's quite secretive never sharing the details to me."
"You must make him lend the technology he created for the sake of the village."
"It's meaningless. I've tried to use his Mantis puppet before, if his new one is just as complicated. No puppeteer besides me or Sora would be able to operate it with the intended proficiency."
"And what about this so called 'missile' he created, he should at least teach others how to create it"
"Lord Fourth, I've seen him develop his weapons firsthand, teaching someone alone would take longer than the course of the war."
Rasa shook his head dejectedly, he hadn't wanted a little kid to control such a large amount of power. But he's too valuable of an asset to lose.
"-Sigh- so it's come to relying on Sora after all." Rasa said as he shook his head.
"How about we have him attack Iwagakure next!" An elder suggested
"No! We can't it's too risky, Sora has already contributed enough to the village." Chiyo responded.
Rasa intervened, "Settle down, I'll hold the same celebration for Sora as I did for Pakura. After all he is the hero who has stopped Iwa."
One Day Later
Atop the Kazekages Office, walking onto the balcony was a young kid, one who was unwillingly thrust into the beaming sunlight.
"Everyone! Here is your new hero! The one who has singlehandedly stopped Iwagakure's schemes!" Rasa said projecting his voice into the large crowd below.
"Our battle is not over however, in these turbulent times, Sora had used his puppets and invaded Ishigakure alone — a true genius of his calibre should serve the village to the upmost of his capabilities!"
Oh… so that's what this is about, it seems that Rasa is trying to raise my standing in the village in order to make me loyal.
I was confused when Pakura burst into my room, as it wasn't for a mission, rather it was for a celebration. I was dragged out of my house and stood in front of the Kazekage where he congratulated me.
And here I am now staring down at the cheering crowd.
I waved at them with a smile that betrayed my feelings.
Whatever plan the Kazekage has brewing does not settle well with me.
—-
It's been a day since my inauguration as hero.
As expected, I'm now being summoned by the Kazekage.
I should've expected this after all, with the carnage my weapon caused, he was bound to question me or at least try to extort… I mean advise me to lend my weapons for the sake of the village.
However with my lack of resources and money, this is practically an impossible feat.
Making one missile is a daunting task let alone enough to supply the village, each one of my weapons or puppets were made with fine craftsmanship and the funds used were accumulated over years.
The shameless Kazekage broke the silence.
"Sora, are you certain there is no way to teach the production method of your missile to others?"
I paused, as my eye slightly twitched.
How shameless can this guy be!
"Yes Lord Fourth, if I tried it would take years, there's also a limited supply that I can create with the scarce resources available to me."
"How about you create missiles for our soldiers to use?"
"It would take me months to craft…"
"Well then, if we are unable to mass produce this weapon we should at the very least take out the threat that is Iwagakure."
"How much missiles do you have left, if we don't act now it's only a matter of time before Iwagakure and Kirigakure schemes together once again."
"I don't have much missiles left."
Reacting to my response Rasa looked disappointed.
"Our scouts have reported sights of Kirigakure shinobi traversing near the border, it seems they are bound to scheme against us yet again, prepare for a battle in the near future, the strength of your technology will be of great assistance. You're dismissed."
Just like that Rasa waved me off, I flickered out off the Kazekages office and returned to where I came from.
…
At the stone gates of Iwagakure, a lone figure approached. Blue hair, spiked and untamed, an eyepatch hiding his left eye, he was Ao of Kirigakure. His presence turned the heads of guards immediately; an envoy from the Mist rarely arrived without blood in the water.
"Envoy of Kirigakure," one of the Iwa shinobi greeted stiffly. "The council has been expecting you."
As Ao walked through the village, he could feel it — tension thick as smoke, whispers hanging in the air, the wary eyes of villagers. Something had shaken Iwa to its core.
At last, the doors to the council chamber opened. Seated at the far end was the Third Tsuchikage, Onōki, his small frame hunched but his gaze sharp still maintaining some vigor, flanked by grim-faced elders.
Ao bowed slightly before speaking. "I've come to discuss an alliance. Sunagakure humiliated us both."
Onōki's nodded :
"No need for pleasantries. We already know of Kirigakure's failure to procure a treaty between Sunagakure."
One of the elders leaned forward, voice low. "Sunagakure has unveiled a weapon unlike anything before — explosions that rival the Tailed Beasts themselves."
Ao's single visible eye narrowed. "Then it's true… my sources weren't exaggerating."
Onōki slammed his hand on the armrest. "Whether it is puppetry or something more, it cannot be ignored…"
"A threat of this magnitude cannot be ignored!"
The chamber fell silent, the weight of his words sinking in.
After a moment of silence Ao spoke up.
"So what's you're ultimatum?"
Onōki scoffed, "We'll give you what you want, revenge on Suna and in return we'll manage to stifle their military progress."
Ao instantly agreed to this proposal and after a while they finalised their alliance.