Rasa had a slight impression of this man, Kawanishi. He was a young man with mediocre talent who had basically no hope of ever being promoted to Jonin; becoming a Special Jonin would already be his limit. Aside from that, the only other thing Rasa could remember about him was the incident in the Land of Rain where he had been sent fleeing in panic by Leaf ninjas. A Jonin had even been lost during that encounter.
Naturally, Rasa had sent others to the Land of Rain to investigate afterward. Unfortunately, the Land of Rain was currently in the midst of a civil war, acting like a bottomless black hole. The ninjas sent there not only failed to gather any intelligence but also suffered significant casualties. Coupled with the series of events occurring within the Land of Wind, Rasa had logically shifted his attention from the Land of Rain back to domestic affairs.
So, what was this kid doing here seeking him out?
After entering, Kawanishi remained quite respectful as he bowed to Rasa. "Fourth Kazekage-sama."
Rasa did not even look up, asking casually, "I heard you have vital intelligence to report?"
That's it, that feeling of not even acknowledging my existence...
Kawanishi secretly sized up the Fourth Kazekage. This was not the first time he had seen this Lord Kazekage, but this time, there was something indefinable in the way he looked at the man. Suddenly, he gave a faint smile. "Lord Kazekage, I indeed have very important intelligence to report regarding those monsters in the desert."
Rasa finally shifted his gaze from the documents on his desk to Kawanishi. With a trace of surprise, he asked, "What intelligence?"
One could tell from Rasa's reaction that he viewed this matter with considerable importance. Kawanishi did not beat around the bush and said directly, "I discovered a special organ inside the Wind Scorpions. As long as a few modifications are made and it is transplanted into one's own body, one can obtain a special power."
"Oh? A special power?"
Hearing Kawanishi's introduction, Rasa's interest was instantly piqued. He was very curious about what kind of power Kawanishi had obtained. Facing Rasa's inquiry, Kawanishi did not hesitate to release the ability he had gained from Lord Jashin. Sharp appendages and a massive purple scorpion tail were instantly revealed.
The moment Kawanishi's body underwent the mutation, two Anbu ninjas appeared instantly in front of Rasa, ready to block any attack for him. Two other Anbu appeared to Kawanishi's left and right rear; if he made any sudden move, these two would strike first and kill him. Rasa himself even controlled his Gold Dust to float up, ready to form a shield for defense or a spear for an attack.
Seeing this posture, Kawanishi hurriedly raised his hands. A look of awe naturally appeared on his face as he explained, "Lord Kazekage, I only wanted to show you my special ability."
After confirming that Kawanishi had no intention of attacking, Rasa waved his hand, signaling that the danger was cleared. The four Anbu disappeared instantly, leaving Rasa to size up Kawanishi's mutated body with curious eyes.
"Explain your ability."
In response, Kawanishi pulled a pale purple, suet-like jade stone from his pocket.
"This is a special organ I found inside a Wind Scorpion's body, which I have named 'Scorpion Jade.' As long as it is transplanted into a human body and catalyzed with a secret technique, it allows the body to grow these new limbs."
After speaking, Kawanishi even brandished his appendages and tail before continuing his explanation. "These organs are quite hard, more so than the ninja tools we usually use. They would even make excellent materials for puppets and weapons."
As Rasa listened to the explanation, his eyes gradually lit up. He stood up directly and led Kawanishi toward the Hidden Sand Village training grounds.
"Come, let's go test the performance of this thing."
Rasa impatiently summoned a Special Jonin in charge of inspecting and testing puppets and ninja tools to test Kawanishi. This ninja was named Hisao Takashima. He had served in the Hidden Sand's Ninja Tool Department for nearly twenty years, yet he had never seen such a unique weapon on a person.
"In any case, let's test its hardness first."
The Special Jonin named Hisao directly tested the appendages and tail on Kawanishi's body using standard inspection methods. He found that the strength of these limbs reached the level of average ninja tools. Ordinary kunai hitting them didn't hurt at all; they couldn't even leave a scratch. To cut through these appendages, one would at least need to use chakra flow techniques.
This meant these limbs could completely replace ordinary ninja tools. Since they possessed the strength of ninja tools, it was naturally feasible to use them as materials for manufacturing puppets. This discovery made the forty-something-year-old Hisao dance with excitement.
"If that's the case, we can use this material to mass-produce puppets. We won't have to worry about a shortage of materials anymore!"
One must realize that a major factor restricting the development of Hidden Sand puppeteers was the lack of puppet materials. After all, the materials required to build a single puppet were enough to make hundreds or even thousands of kunai, making it a massive expense. Furthermore, to train a qualified puppeteer, what the Hidden Sand had to pay was far more than just one puppet. It would likely take ten, twenty, or even thirty!
Under the environment of the Land of Wind's heavy military budget cuts, the Hidden Sand Village could only shift its focus to ordinary ninjas who had shorter training periods and were more cost-effective. Consequently, the profession of puppeteer had been steadily declining in recent years. As a puppeteer himself, Hisao was naturally unwilling to see this situation continue. Kawanishi's discovery today undoubtedly opened a window for him.
If they could truly succeed in using materials from Wind Scorpions to manufacture puppets, the number of puppeteers the Hidden Sand could produce annually could at least double! Not only that, the Scorpion Jade performed excellently in actual combat, fully capable of compensating for the lack of close-quarters combat skills in some ninjas. After all, having eight extra limbs and a tail provided a huge advantage in melee.
If this thing could be popularized, Hidden Sand ninjas would be born with a massive advantage in close combat. They could selectively focus their energy on other areas, such as practicing more ninjutsu. Rasa, as the Kazekage, quickly realized the significant strategic value of the Scorpion Jade. Therefore, the way he looked at Kawanishi changed from indifference at the start to... fervor.
"Kawanishi, is this secret technique something everyone can practice?"
Rasa looked at Kawanishi with great anticipation.