Chapter 109 (Patreon)

First, to prevent disabled shinobi from other villages from regaining their combat strength after receiving the prosthetics, the materials used to construct them had to be as ordinary as possible.

Second, tamper-proof seals would be placed over all the flexible joints.

This would prevent other villages from studying the technology, replacing the ordinary materials with superior ones, and restoring their disabled shinobi to full combat readiness.

That way, Konoha could earn money without inadvertently strengthening its enemies.

Using ordinary materials also meant that future repairs and replacements would provide another considerable source of income.

Sunagakure was far more experienced in producing puppets and mechanical devices, so it would inevitably create imitations eventually. However, that was a problem for the future. What mattered now was securing the first and largest share of the market.

When it came to making money, neither Shikaku nor Fugaku had any objections. The proposal passed without difficulty.

Since Roy was the one who had given Kushina the idea, it naturally fell to him to oversee the prosthetics’ research, development, and production.

Early the following morning, he had Kaorui visit the Uchiha compound and speak with Mikoto.

While the three children played nearby, Kaorui repeated the instructions Roy had whispered into her ear.

“You want to negotiate a partnership with the ninja cats?”

Mikoto looked somewhat surprised.

The ninja cats were a clan of feline summons that had worked with the Uchiha for generations.

Their combat ability was nothing remarkable, but they excelled at crafting weapons and conducting business. In certain fields, their craftsmanship even surpassed that of the Land of Iron and Takumi Village.

“That’s right. Kushina asked me to approach them about jointly developing a prosthetic limb…”

After Kaorui briefly explained the plan, Mikoto agreed to pass the proposal along. In her opinion, the profit-loving ninja cats would never turn down such a lucrative opportunity.

After leaving the Uchiha compound, Kaorui visited the largest ninja tool shop in Konoha.

The owner was a stoic, middle-aged man Roy had never heard of. His daughter, however, was quite well known in the original story.

Tenten.

She was the only member of the Konoha Eleven who did not possess a surname.

Many people had wondered about Tenten’s background, and even the Infinite Tsukuyomi had revealed just how wealthy her family truly was.

A family with that degree of wealth and influence could not possibly lack a surname without a reason.

When Roy asked Kushina about it, he received an answer that was unexpected, yet also perfectly reasonable.

They were descendants of the Senju—the founding clan that had abandoned its surname and scattered among Konoha’s population to fully integrate into the village.

The more Roy thought about it, the more sense it made.

In the original story, Tenten possessed a seemingly endless supply of ninja tools, many of which were clearly not ordinary mass-produced weapons. The summoning scrolls she used were also extremely valuable, suggesting that her family was wealthy and operated its own ninja tool research and development facility.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, she had even picked up Bashōsen, one of the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths, and used it to destroy one of the reanimated Kakuzu’s elemental masks.

That feat alone proved that she possessed considerable chakra reserves, especially given how much chakra Bashōsen consumed with every use.

She was a true one-woman arsenal.

Then there was the fact that she was the only member of the Konoha Eleven without a surname, as well as someone who already knew about and admired Tsunade before she had even entered the Academy.

Every clue suggested that her background was anything but ordinary.

Roy had sent Kaorui here specifically because he wanted access to Tenten’s family’s ninja tool research facility.

Although the ninja cats were also skilled craftsmen, they were not human. To create prosthetics suited to the human body, they would need to work alongside Tenten’s family and develop the technology together.

Speaking on Roy’s behalf, Kaorui explained the proposal to Tenten’s father, Tenrin.

Tenrin initially had no desire to accept the offer.

His family supplied nearly half of Konoha’s armaments, so they were certainly not short on money. Expanding into an unfamiliar industry might bring them more trouble than profit.

However, once he learned that the proposal came directly from the Fifth Hokage, he changed his mind and agreed to assign several members of his research team to the project.

Development would take place at the Public Welfare Research Institute. When the time came, Kushina only needed to inform its director, Hiruzen.

With the personnel and facilities secured, Roy no longer needed to concern himself with the project’s daily operations.

When he and Kaorui returned home, they discovered that Kushina had already finished work for the day.

Yugito was there as usual, but to their surprise, Chiyuki was also present—and she was wearing a maid outfit.

Chiyuki in a Maid Outfit

“Lady Kushina, what’s going on?”

Kaorui looked at her in confusion.

Kushina knew that Roy was the one asking the question. Kaorui was merely voicing it aloud because Yugito was present.

“I have to work during the day, and it’s too exhausting for you to look after Naruto and Karin while also preparing three meals every day,” Kushina explained. “So I asked Chiyuki to come and help us. She happened to be looking for work anyway.”

Her explanation was perfectly reasonable.

Nonō had previously been at home to lend a hand, but now that she was working as an instructor at the Ninja Academy, they truly did need to hire someone else.

Even so, Roy caught the faint trace of mischief in Kushina’s eyes.

There was something suspicious about that look.

Before long, Honoka arrived as well, bringing Haku and Fūshin with her.

With so many people around, Roy had even less of an opportunity to ask Kushina what she was truly planning.

During dinner, Yugito listened curiously as they discussed contacting the ninja cats and negotiating with an arms dealer.

She suspected that Konoha was secretly developing an even more powerful type of ninja tool.

The supposed prosthetics were most likely nothing more than a code word they were using because an outsider like her was present.

Kumogakure was working toward a similar goal. The village planned to develop a weapon powerful enough to be used even by ordinary people.

Training shinobi required an enormous investment of time and resources, yet years of effort could be wiped away in a single war. If powerful weapons that required little or no formal training could be mass-produced, the loss of shinobi lives would be greatly reduced.

Yugito had not expected Konoha to begin researching the same field.

At this rate, there was no telling what future wars would look like.

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Eventually, the Public Welfare Research Institute completed its first batch of prototypes.

The basic structure of the prosthetic limb was simple. However, because it relied on chakra threads for flexible movement, a number of small mechanisms and specialized components had to be incorporated into its joints.

Those mechanisms were the true core of the technology and had to remain strictly confidential.

“We’ve already had someone test the prototypes, and the results are close to what we originally envisioned,” Hiruzen explained. “However, there is still one problem. Most shinobi have no way to learn how to use chakra threads. That could seriously affect our sales.”

Hiruzen did not know how Kushina intended to solve that issue.

They could hardly include a chakra-thread training manual with every prosthetic they sold.

Even if they did, there was no guarantee that every customer would be capable of learning the technique.

Pulling an object with chakra threads was one thing. Manipulating it with enough precision to function like a real limb was something else entirely.

In other words, any shinobi capable of controlling one of these prosthetics freely would already possess the skills required to become a competent puppeteer.

Roy had anticipated the problem and discussed a solution with Kushina beforehand.

Expecting every disabled shinobi to master chakra threads was unrealistic. Instead, they could use sealing jutsu to inscribe the formula that generated the chakra threads directly onto each completed prosthetic.

The user would only need to channel their chakra into the formula. After that, they merely had to learn how to move the threads connecting their body to the artificial limb.

Furthermore, the prosthetic was designed to closely replicate a real limb. Its joints could not bend in unnatural directions, making it far easier to control than a puppet.

The inspiration for this solution came from the original story.

Kabuto had once used Orochimaru’s blood to summon Manda on his behalf. Later, Suigetsu had activated a prepared summoning scroll connected to Sasuke and Manda.

The person activating the scroll did not need to know the Summoning Jutsu itself. They merely had to provide the chakra needed to trigger the formula.

Kushina inscribed the prepared sealing formula onto the prosthetic and handed it to Hiruzen for testing.

Without producing any chakra threads himself, Hiruzen simply channeled chakra into the formula.

A moment later, several chakra threads emerged, linking his body to the artificial limb exactly as intended.