Chapter 356: Testing and Ideas (Patreon)

"Lord Charles was joking. My puppetry skills are only considered excellent among people of my age; I can't be considered exceptionally powerful."

Kankuro modestly stated. He was well aware of Charles's abilities, and in the future, whether it was Elder Chiyo, the rogue ninja Sasori, or the Second kazekage who developed puppets, all of them could potentially be brought to this side.

Among these individuals, Kankuro dared not claim to be exceptionally powerful.

However, Tony didn't pay much attention to Kankuro's modest words. During their time in the magical world, he had seen Kankuro manipulate puppets for attacks. While his overall strength might not match Tony's armored suit, it was still impressive.

"How old are you this year?"

"Fourteen."

Hearing this age, Tony couldn't help but sigh. Ninjas with extraordinary abilities could kill on the battlefield at the age of fourteen, while children in this world were still in school at that age.

"At this age, kids here are still in school."

Parker, who came with Tony, spoke, "Tony, ninjas usually graduate from the ninja school at the age of twelve. Some exceptional geniuses can even graduate at the age of six or seven and become qualified lower-level ninjas."

Hearing that some extraordinary ninjas could graduate at the age of six or seven, Tony looked at Kankuro in surprise.

"Yes, some exceptionally talented ninjas can indeed graduate from the ninja school at six or seven."

Tony was surprised by the ninja system. A child graduating from school at six or seven or even twelve was very unusual, but he refrained from making judgments since he had limited knowledge of the ninja system.

After all, these ninjas had been using this system for a long time, indicating its uniqueness.

"Okay, let's not discuss this."

"Follow me. I'll show you my masterpiece."

After saying this, Tony stood up, leading Kankuro towards his underground laboratory. He wasn't worried about Kankuro stealing his technology since they operated in different systems.

…

Meanwhile-

The clown-disguised man, after learning Gaara's name, memorized it and glanced back at the fallen bodies on the ground. Without hesitation, he left the scene of the incident.

As the two departed, the three lifeless bodies lay alone in the alley. A female resident nearby came down to throw out the trash. Approaching the alley's garbage bin, she spotted the three corpses not far away and immediately let out a piercing scream.

"Ah~!"

After the scream, she ran out and quickly dialed the emergency number.

Brooklyn police responded promptly upon receiving the call, arriving at the scene in the alley. Several officers, upon seeing the three bodies on the ground, exchanged glances.

The bizarre manner of death, with numerous bloody holes all over the bodies, indicated that this attack was not ordinary.

The crime scene was sealed off, and investigators examined the traces left behind.

Inspecting the damaged advertising sign and the marks left when the clown fell, the officers began their investigation.

They checked the alley and found no surveillance cameras inside. However, there were cameras on the street at the intersection. Although they couldn't see what happened in the alley, they could retrieve information on who entered the alley during that time.

Just as the officers were about to request access to the street cameras, Hawkeye and a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived at the scene. After presenting their credentials, Hawkeye said, "Guys, your job here is done. We're taking over."

A young police officer, seemingly unhappy, was about to protest, but an older officer beside him quickly pulled his arm and, after confirming the credentials, said with a smile, "Alright, it's all yours."

"Pack up!"

Sitting in the police car, the young officer still voiced his dissatisfaction, "Why let them take over? We could have solved this case by just checking the surveillance footage and identifying the perpetrator."

"Tarl, this case is obviously not ordinary. Have you not seen the blood-stained rubble embedded in the wall and the pierced holes all over the victims? It tells us that this is not a case we can handle."

"Even if we retrieve the video, find the suspect, and write up the case, it will eventually be transferred out of the department. Cases involving superpowers are not within our jurisdiction."

"Superpowers?"

"Iron Man, Ninja Immortal?"

After glancing at Tarl, the older officer didn't say anything more but focused on driving back to the police station.

After taking over the scene, Hawkeye and his team loaded the bodies of the three thugs onto a vehicle. Even the wall covered in sand and rubble was ordered to be taken away.

It was evident that they didn't intend to leave any trace. While S.H.I.E.L.D. was cleaning up the scene, Gaara's good mood was disrupted by the recent events. Instead of strolling through the streets of Brooklyn, he returned to the Sunagakure Puppet Shop.

Upon returning to the puppet shop, Gaara walked to the counter and suddenly asked, "Has anyone visited the shop today?"

Hearing Gaara's question, Temari was a bit surprised. She hadn't expected her brother to be concerned about this. She replied, "Yes, Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D. came and bought four puppets."

"How did you know someone came?"

Gaara pointed to the four empty spots on the shelf behind Temari, indicating that the puppet inventory was depleted.

Seeing her brother pointing in that direction, Temari smiled and said, "Kankuro didn't make any extra puppets, so I haven't restocked this section."

"How was your outing today? Did you gain anything?"

Gaara stood in front of the counter, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I finally understand why Lord Charles despises the thugs so much."

"They are truly despicable creatures, utterly disgusting."

Temari suppressed her smile. If her brother is having such thoughts, he might have encountered something unpleasant. She hoped that he wouldn't unleash widespread destruction in Brooklyn.

The consequences could be troublesome and time-consuming.

“What happened?”

Gaara briefly recounted his experiences today to Temari. Upon hearing Gaara's words, Temari visibly sighed in relief.

Killing three thugs posed no problem; it wouldn't have any significant impact. She had killed her fair share of scum in previous missions.

“Dealing with the filth among the humans through physical destruction is the right approach. Lord Charles will appreciate it; after all, he detests them a lot.”

Gaara waved his hand dismissively and didn't say much more.

…

Tony Stark's underground laboratory at the seaside mansion-

Kankuro, looking at the series of Mark armors displayed nearby, couldn't help but express his admiration.

Tony's armors could fly in the sky, a capability that made Kankuro envy him.

“What powers them?” Kankuro asked.

Tony tapped the latest version of the arc reactor on his chest and explained, “Arc reactor, the power source for the armor.”

“Can I see your puppets?”

Kankuro hesitated for a moment after hearing Tony’s request. For a puppeteer, their puppets were the most crucial secret, something they couldn't show to others.

However, considering his purpose in coming here today, to exchange knowledge with Tony Stark and learn more about the materials and suitable alternatives in this world, Kankuro understood that revealing some aspects of his abilities might be necessary.

With a movement of his fingers, Kankuro's chakra threads connected to the Crow, untying the bandages.

“This is my puppet, Crow.”

Watching the puppet move in response to Kankuro's finger movements, Tony curiously asked, “How do you make it move on its own?”

Tony's naked eye couldn't perceive the chakra threads.

Kankuro moved his fingers, and the Crow responded to the gestures of his fingers.

Seeing this scene, Tony, unable to see the chakra threads, was somewhat puzzled. He assumed it was a result of Kankuro's ninjutsu ability to control the puppets.

“J.A.R.V.I.S., scan this puppet.”

In the next second, the Crow was scanned by J.A.R.V.I.S-controlled instruments, creating a detailed three-dimensional image in front of everyone.

Observing the presented 3D image, Tony immediately started operating it, breaking down the Crow puppet's components.

“Not bad. This puppet is a killing machine.”

“Every mechanism and part is designed for slaughter.”

The Crow puppet had a dagger on its wrist for attacking, a cone in its mouth for striking opponents, and some circular hidden weapons around its joints.

“What's this?” Tony inquired, looking at the scanned Crow, which had been disassembled into various components.

Watching his puppet being thoroughly dissected, Kankuro felt a bit stunned. Was this the assistance of technology?

Unfortunately, the puppets left by Sasori wasn't with him. Otherwise, scanning it and learning to make it based on the breakdown would have been much quicker.

“This is a smoke bomb with poison.”

"It can not only can block the opponent's vision but also can paralyze them with poison."

"Surprisingly, there are many shurikens inside, as well as needles."

"God, there are six blades on its spine, and each limb's tip has a dagger."

While Tony marveled at the weapons on the Crow, he couldn't help but exclaim. The entire puppet seemed to be crafted into a killing machine with every part designed to be a deadly weapon.

The internal space was filled with various hidden weapons and killing tools, leaving no room for anything else.

Looking at J.A.R.V.I.S.'s indication that the weapons might have coatings and poisons, Tony asked, "Are all the weapons poisoned?"

"Yes, for better lethality, the puppet's weapons are all coated with toxins, ensuring fatal consequences upon contact with blood."

Watching the virtual breakdown of the Crow puppet, Tony touched his chin and then asked, "I see that your materials are mostly wood, and the attack methods involve poisons and cold weapons."

"Have you ever considered using firearms?"

Upon hearing Tony's suggestion, Kankuro hesitated. His time in this world had been very short, only around 20 days, so while he had some knowledge of the weapons here, it was limited.

"Ordinary firearms might not have the killing power of my shurikens."

Tony shook his head, "I'm not talking about those primitive things."

After seeing Kankuro's Crow, Tony came up with an idea. If a miniature arc reactor were installed in the Crow's mouth, exclusively used for firing energy beams, its power would immediately be elevated several notches.

Moreover, the reactor's energy wouldn't need to supply other parts which would greatly enhance its endurance and make it more than a disposable attack weapon.

However, Tony hadn't made up his mind yet on whether to install an energy cannon on Kankuro's Crow. Instead, he asked, "What kind of damage can your Crow's shurikens achieve?"

"I have a granite ornament here. Use your puppet's shurikens to test how much damage they can do."

Tony brought Kankuro to a granite piece about one person high and thirty centimeters thick.

"Try if your puppet's shurikens can penetrate it."

Kankuro moved his fingers, immediately performing his secret technique releasing several shiruken from the puppet’s mouth.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

The shurikens, ejected at an extremely high frequency with the enhancement of chakra, instantly pierced through and shattered the granite block, which was over one person high.

Watching this scene, Tony was momentarily stunned. The shuriken's power was astonishing; even machine guns couldn't penetrate granite of this thickness, at most leaving a white mark.

However, Kankuro's shurikens easily pierced through it.

Tony picked up one of the shurikens on the ground and found nothing special about its materials. He could only sigh inwardly at the incredible power of chakra.

"Indeed, the power of your shurikens surpasses that of ordinary firearms."

"But looking at the materials used in your puppet, mostly wood, do you have specific requirements for weight when controlling it?"

"I think many metals can be used as substitutes, enhancing its defense and attack capabilities."

After contemplating for a moment, Kankuro realized that the materials for his Crow puppet were mostly wood.

While the wooden puppets in the Shinobi world could withstand massive forces without harm, the quality of wood in this world might not be the same.

"Mr. Stark, the materials used for puppets in our world are specially crafted wood with higher hardness than ordinary steel. If there are lighter, more durable materials, I would be very willing to upgrade my puppet."

"That's simple."

"J.A.R.V.I.S., check the hardness of the Crow puppet's materials and find materials of equal weight but higher hardness."