Inside the Hidden Sand Village, the mission report for Roran had reached the hands of the Council of Elders and Rasa.
The high-ranking officials were utterly stunned as they looked over the data detailing the sheer number of intact puppets Shiraishi had seized, alongside the blueprints and facilities for Roran's military factories.
Roran was a nation that had existed since before the Warring States period. The wealth and power it had accumulated over centuries far exceeded that of a Hidden Sand Village currently being choked by the Land of Wind's Daimyo.
Even though Rasa was now a "crippled" Kazekage, he couldn't help but gasp at the scale of the spoils.
A puppet legion of this size was enough for the Sand to launch another war on the scale of Kikyo Mountain. The heavy losses in puppet inventory sustained during the Great War could now be entirely replenished.
The Sand high command could never have imagined that a seemingly unremarkable, tiny nation like Roran, hidden in the desert, would harbor such staggering military potential.
Previously, when the Commander of the Jonin Class insisted on deploying personally, they thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill. Now, it was clear that Shiraishi's actions were guided by remarkable foresight.
"Roran... this was quite unexpected."
"The mineral resources surrounding the Dragon Vein are also abundant, containing many rare metals currently in short supply. This will bring a considerable financial windfall to the village."
Ebizo smiled as he passed the report to the other officials, his eyes filled with nothing but approval for Shiraishi. Rasa's mood had started to lift at the news of the resources, but seeing Ebizo's faction cheering so openly for Shiraishi caused his heart to sink back into gloom.
Ebizo noted the Kazekage's reaction and shook his head inwardly. With such a narrow temperament, how did Chiyo and I ever choose this man to lead the village?
In the official report submitted to the Sand, all information regarding the Leaf ninjas was completely omitted and suppressed by Shiraishi.
It was obvious that Shiraishi did not want the topic of time travel to become public knowledge, fearing it would cause unnecessary trouble.
If another rogue ninja like Mukade appeared, seeking the power to cross time, the resulting chaos would be uncontrollable. Space-time power was a force that had to be handled with extreme caution.
As for the name Naruto Uzumaki, in this era, Shiraishi was the only person who remembered him. Currently, through his chakra resonance, Shiraishi was conducting intermittent monitoring to observe the shifts in future history.
The ninja Yamato was now moving freely under the hypnotic suggestion of the Moon-Wheel Bat. Since Shiraishi didn't fully understand Yamato's daily routine, direct control of his brain would be too easy to expose.
Konoha had long-standing countermeasures against the Sand's Hidden Brain Sand Control, so Shiraishi remained carefully hidden, acting only as a silent observer in Yamato's future era.
"Is your puppet still not repaired?"
On the way back into the village proper, Shiraishi suddenly asked Shikasa about his gear. During the Roran operation, Shikasa had been using basic, low-level puppets. The elite puppet he had used back in the Land of Rivers seemed to still be out of commission.
"The core mechanisms of that puppet were destroyed. I'm currently looking for a replacement," Shikasa replied.
Seeing that his partner lacked a suitable primary combat unit, Shiraishi pulled out a scroll and released a seal. Instantly, a cold, clay-based puppet stood before them. "How do you feel about this one?"
Unlike the standard grunts of Anrokuzan's legion, this puppet's components were not only bolstered by the Dragon Vein but were made of incredibly resilient materials. Designated as No. 002, it was likely a backup body intended for Anrokuzan's own consciousness.
Since it was a combat puppet designed for the Minister himself, its performance was leagues ahead of common models.
Furthermore, Shiraishi had made several modifications on the journey home, integrating pieces of Kaguya clan bone into its frame and fusing the regeneration core with specific chakra frequencies, giving it a limited form of the Macabre Bone Pulse.
A combat puppet combining the Bone Pulse and the Dragon Vein was the weapon Shiraishi had forged for Shikasa. Feeling the immense power humming within the machine, Shikasa looked delighted. "This thing is too cool! Does it have a name?"
"I think it was called 002?"
Shiraishi wasn't great at naming things, so he just gave Shikasa the original serial number. He was met with a look of pure disdain. "No way. That name is trash. Let me name it... I'll call it Super Red-Butterfly!"
An expectedly eccentric name... though it's not much better, is it?
The trio soon reached the village to hand over the paperwork to the Kazekage. However, this was merely a formality; before Shiraishi even set foot in the village, the detailed reports and the bulk of the loot had already been handed over to Ebizo.
The conflict between Shiraishi and Rasa was now public knowledge. After the cold, professional handover of the mission, Shiraishi left the Kazekage's office immediately, not exchanging a single unnecessary word with Rasa.
One reason Shiraishi was in such a hurry to leave was the status of the Gold Card. The reading process for this card from Roran was incredibly slow—longer than any Gold Card he had ever acquired. It took an entire day to finish the decryption.
A card born from the specific temporal energy of the Dragon Vein likely held value far beyond conventional skills.
When the progress bar finally hit 100%, Shiraishi understood the delay. This Gold-tier card was double-sided. As the patterns on the front materialized, the back revealed a completely different color and design.
A dual-faced skill card—this was the first time Shiraishi had encountered such a thing. This single card contained two distinct skills. Their cultivation modes were completely different, yet their proficiency would influence one another.
From the attribute distribution, the front side was a Psychic-type skill, while the back was a Dark-type skill.
Psychic on the front, Dark on the back?
Dark-type skills were a brand-new attribute for Shiraishi. Much like the Fairy-type, the prerequisite for mastery was Natural Energy.
Though they both utilized nature energy, "Dark-type," as the name implied, leaned toward a more sinister or chaotic power.
As the skill demonstration video opened, he saw a character manipulating a large golden hoop. Beneath the hoop, a vast, dark space manifested.
A black sphere of energy floated silently in the air; it didn't move or pulsate, yet one could feel the terrifying space-time power hidden within that void.
This black sphere could create a tunnel at any point in space, allowing the user to switch positions instantaneously for a surprise attack.
This is... a Space-Time Ninjutsu!
Shiraishi was certain. This was a teleportation jutsu, but it required a specialized tool—the Hoop—to accurately activate and maintain a stable transfer.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: Patreon.com/kazama677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 60 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.