Nin-To-Five : Chapter 62

Sunagakure

Ryoma, Jonin of Sunagakure, Vice-Captain of the Puppetry Corps

“Thank you all for coming, I know this was on short notice.” Ryoma spoke as clearly as he could to the gathered crowd. Rows of chairs had been set up before a raised platform, which had a podium mounted near to one side and in the front of a large canvas sheet. He was standing behind the podium with a few scrolls before him.

Nearly the entire puppetry corps was seated or standing around the edges of the warehouse, looking at him. It wasn’t quite everyone- there were a few puppeteers who were still on missions and would need to be caught up after they returned, but it was everyone who had been in the village over the past week or so. 

Four hundred and twenty six people in all, most were Chunin, the next largest group being Genin and Special Jonin, followed by a small handful of Jonin. 

“Now I know that most of you probably aren’t very familiar with me, so we’ll begin with introductions.” Ryoma continued, raising a hand up to his chest and patting it once. “I am Ryoma, and Captain Gentai has asked me to step forward as the new Vice Captain of the Puppetry Corps in light of Vice Captain Nichibotsu’s death. I will do my best to live up to the expectations and honor of the position.”

There was some nodding and murmurs of generalized approval at the words- it was the kind of thing that one was expected to say after receiving a promotion under such circumstances. No one really cared all that much, but everyone would care a lot if he didn’t say something like that, so it was best to get it out of the way quickly.

“In light of the recent attack on the village, and after discussion with Captain Gentai regarding the matter, I have made a decision that will hopefully further the combat power of the puppetry corps as a whole.” Ryoma nodded. “One of the strengths of the corps system as established by Lord Reto is the ability to share innovations across a group. One of the problems facing the current puppetry corps is our gradually declining focus on puppetry and reorientation towards the use of chakra strings exclusively.”

“If this trend continues, then the puppetry corps may eventually discard the use of combat-puppets altogether, which would be a little bit awkward for our naming scheme.” Ryoma made sure to put a note of dry humor into his tone here. He was pretending to acknowledge an internal problem here, but that was just an excuse to cover up their preparations to invade Kiri.

Invading Kiri… He was going to have to brush up on fighting in aquatic environments. 

There were a few scattered chuckles at his comment, and a handful of sheepish expressions. The Jonin at the front of the seating all shrugged shamelessly, not at all bothered at being called out directly like this.

“With this in mind, I’ve decided to directly share my puppetry techniques with the rest of the corps. It is-” He was cut off as a roar of commotion rose up from the gathered ninja. Exclamations of shock and alarm, questions shouted out at him, other noises that people make when unexpected things occur, all slightly deafening in their repurposed warehouse space.

He raised a hand and waited for them to quiet down. His brows pinched together, it was like he was saying he was killing himself for them here- some of those cries and shouts sounded pretty concerned.

“This is not a decision made lightly-” That was a lie, Ryoma didn’t care one whit if his allies used his techniques or not. “-But with the recent direct attack on the village in mind, it is critical that our ninja become as powerful as possible.”

“Further-” He glanced down at the scroll on the podium, pretending to check the official orders again. “-The Lord Kazekage has directly commissioned the puppetry corps to create eight more giant puppets of the kind that I use myself and train eight individuals in their use. So this was already going to happen to a degree, I’m simply taking the initiative to share more than is demanded.”

There were reactions more in line with what he had been expecting at that, nods of understanding and a few grumbles of irritation. He raised a hand and sent out a few chakra strings to take hold of the large canvas sheet and pull it away, revealing a sort of hand-drawn powerpoint slide he had drawn up a few hours ago. 

“I have a series of scrolls that will be held in the central puppetry corps HQ, that any member of the corps may browse as they wish. They detail the construction, prerequisite techniques, use, and utility of my three core puppet types- those types being bolters, puppetarmor, and puppetwalkers- names subject to change because I never bothered coming up with good ones.”

A string suspended a long wooden pole, which pointed at the three pictures on the large page and the columns of info beneath each. “Of these categories, bolters are the simplest to create and use, puppetwalkers are the next simplest to control but expensive to manufacture, and puppetarmor is the most difficult to control and most difficult to create components for.”

He used the stick to point at the bolters. “To encourage everyone to actually study and train in these techniques, there will be a standardized test at the end of every month to check progress. There is no punishment for failure except the potential mockery from your peers. Everyone should be able to create and use a bolter by the end of a three month period, and at least some puppeteers will be reasonably proficient with the use of puppetwalkers by the end of a six month period.”

“Puppetarmor requires the prerequisite technique of chakra strings manifested from the feet to operate effectively- so don’t worry if no one gets that right by the end of this standard testing period. It took me the better part of a year to get those to a combat-ready state.”

He shrugged carelessly. “There is the nominal risk that, with the proliferation of these techniques, enemy ninja will develop counter-tactics to them. To counteract that, I’d encourage taking any of these ideas and methods and putting your own unique spin on them. Not to the point of making them ineffectual, of course, but being less predictable is a strong advantage to have.”

“Now…” He looked at his notes again. “Before we get into specifics or the demonstration match, are there any general questions to address from anyone?”

Perhaps predictably, there was an explosion of questions immediately after.

He sighed. 

—

A lot of the rest of the meeting was just him answering questions over and over again, followed by a demonstration ‘match’ between himself and Captain Gentai, followed by another rousing round of questions before the meeting was called done. It wasn’t much of an actual fight, it was more just Gentai using his puppets to stand in for enemy ninja while Ryoma outlined scenarios in which a bolter would be useful.

A lot of those scenarios ended with a bolter heroically sacrificing itself to blow up an enemy ninja. 

“You handled the meeting well, Vice Captain Ryoma.” Gentai declared with a firm nod and reassuring frown. They were walking together out of the warehouse, a couple of ninja left behind to clean the place up before locking it down for the night. 

“The talking part isn’t too hard- I have some experience as a teacher. There’s a fair bit of overlap.” Ryoma shook his head, reaching up to rub the side of his neck. “Trying to convince them that a Bolter isn’t anything special but still useful was the hard part.”

“The ideas are somewhat contradictory.” Gentai nodded, scowling thoughtfully. “A puppet is not like a kunai or shuriken, so a puppet deliberately built with the mindset of disposability is new.”

“Which is silly, considering the whole point of a puppet is to break so the puppeteer doesn’t have to.” Ryoma groused, dropping the hand and shaking his head. “Do you know when they expect the production district to be rebuilt?”

“At least two months before it becomes fully operational at the most optimistic estimates, double that is probable. That’s what I was told.” Gentai nodded firmly. “Are you considering your future housing arrangements already?”

“Nah, I’m still living out of the Honored Elder’s guest room.” Ryoma shook his head. “No, I’m thinking about how I’m going to rebuild the Great Dragoon. The corps silos are probably going to be busy for a while, and my home facilities are buried under the sand right now, so I’m probably going to have to build it all by hand.”

Ryoma chuckled. “If I could store my workshop in scrolls too, I don’t think I would’ve even noticed the loss!” 

Gentai took a moment to reply. “...Why can’t you, Vice Captain Ryoma?”

Ryoma paused his chuckles, then glanced up at the immense captain. “Well it's a workshop- it's too big to fit in a storage scroll. At least, no storage scroll I can make.”

“Can you not utilize multiple storage scrolls to fit the various tools and stations?” Gentai asked, before reaching back to gesture at the massive scrolls he had strapped across his own back. “I myself require three such scrolls to contain my full arsenal of puppets.”

Ryoma continued walking for a few moments, silently considering the idea. It would have to be rather compact, and he’d need to have some way to carry the scrolls around… Which could be solved with a redesign of the Great Bolter to include internal shelving. He’d have to take things out entirely and set up them around though, no internal space left for workstations…

Unless he just redesigned it for utility instead of any kind of combat. It's not like he strictly needed it for combat now that he was anticipating backup puppetwalkers controlled by other people. The Great Dragoon’s only real weakness was a lack of ability to make field repairs and if he shifted his priorities with the…

“I had been thinking too generalist again, I think.” Ryoma commented after a long few seconds of considering the idea. “My Dragoon is a generalist combat frame. My Great Bolter is a generalist combat frame first and utility transport second- but I don’t really need two combat walkers.”

He huffed, amused at himself. “If I redesign the Great Bolter as a mobile workshop, I can make field repairs to the Dragoon and increase its longevity in the field, removing the need for a backup frame at all while gaining increased utility and independence.”

“That was a pretty good suggestion, Captain Gentai, thanks.” Ryoma nodded gratefully at the man, who frowned in a supportive manner and nodded firmly back.  

“Do you have enough funds to support the redevelopment of your Great Bolter puppet and the reconstruction of your Great Dragoon, Vice Captain Ryoma?” Gentai asked in his very professional and precise regular manner. “I remind you that you receive a salary equivalent to c-rank mission pay on a per-month basis due to your new position as Vice Captain.”

Thirty-five thousand ryo a month, to be precise. It was pretty good passive income, more than enough for his daily needs. Ryoma shook his head. “I probably have enough…” He grimaced before thinking that statement over again.

He still had some of those gold bars that the Kazekage gave him to pay for the Senjuwood as cover, and the most recent mission paid out a hundred thousand on its own, plus salvage…

“I was informed by my daughter Toyoko that you paid nearly twenty million Ryo for the first iteration of the Great Dragoon.” Gentai stated with a politely worried frown. 

“It ended up being eighteen million and change- but most of it was just commissioning other corps for their jutsu and shiki.” Ryoma explained with a shake of his head as they passed between shaded desert alleys and back onto the main road. It was getting late into the day, and the evening sun had long vanished behind the broad rock face that surrounded Suna on all sides. “The actual cost of the materials was a fraction of that- a few hundred thousand ryo after commission.”

The sensor-array in the cockpit alone had cost him five million to get ahold of from the barrier corps. Stingy bastards.

“So long as I don’t do any new commissions for it, I should have enough.” Ryoma finally decided. “I have some stuff I can sell for liquidity if I need to, but with the salary covering my daily expenses, I can handle it.”

“Of course. Please let me know if you are in financial distress, Vice Captain Ryoma, I will endeavour to aid the situation.”

“You don’t need to go that far, Captain. I’m not irresponsible enough to end up totally broke.” Ryoma huffed, smiling at his captain in an appreciative manner. “Worst comes to worse and I just rely on my Bolters for a few missions and build up my savings account again.”

It was, after all, what he designed them for.

—

“Vice Captain Ryoma.”

Ryoma raised a lazy hand to wave at the approaching ninja, a familiar white demon mask attached to a lean masculine frame. 

Sho in his casual wear, with mask pulled up to the side of his head and armor ignored, but otherwise wearing mostly the same outfit as before. His eyes had a sharp, intense quality that quietly evaluated and judged everyone they looked at.

Sho raised his hand in greeting. “Have you been waiting long?” 

“A few minutes.” Ryoma shrugged, pushing off the side of the wall and gesturing at the entrance of the restaurant. “I think everyone else showed up early, but didn’t feel like entering until the time came.”

“Prudent.” Sho commented without saying much. The two men passed through the raised doors of the restaurant and approached the greeter. A woman wearing an abbreviated costume of samurai armor, with a curved breastplate and black hair pulled into a large topknot. 

“Hallo!” The woman greeted with a bubbly quality. “Just two?” 

“We’re part of a larger group- reservation ‘Ryoma’.”

“Ah! Yes, let me show you to the table!”

They followed the lady through two doors, ending up at a large grilltop where a serious looking chef was going through the show-routine of cooking a feast. Rice, vegetables, various kinds of meats, and a handful of servers coming around with trays of sushi.

One of the people at the table brightened as they approached, raising both hands and waving them in greeting. “Ah- Ryoma’s here!”

Mari, enthusiastic as the last time he spoke to her. Ryoma gave a cool nod in greeting as they reached the table and pulled out chairs for themselves. 

“And Vice Captain Sho.” Nagare quietly reminded her bubbly friend, nodding at the demon-masked man. 

Ryoma took the seat next to Tsubame, who was giving him a piercing stare that warned of consequences if he took any other chair. He gave her a huff and rolled his eyes. 

“Customers! Do you need a moment to check the menu?” The chef, in the middle of tossing eggs into the air and catching them with his knife, asked as they sat. 

“Full serving ‘Samurai’ Hibachi feast for me.” Ryoma ordered at once, being a little bit indulgent today. “Water to drink.”

“A serving of chicken hibachi and a bowl of miso.” Sho likewise had prepared his order ahead of time, it seemed, bringing his hands together and lacing the fingers. “Sake to drink, chef’s choice.”

“Samurai feast and chicken, water and sake!” The chef roared in a fiery, upbeat manner.

“You ordered so fast! Have you been here before, Ryoma?” Mari asked, leaning forwards and slapping the table in his direction.

“A few times- Captain Gentai insists on doing something for everyone’s birthdays, and we ended up here for mine.” Ryoma shrugged.

“Everyone in the puppetry corps?” Sho asked, eyes squinting over the logistics of the task.

“It's normally just a card or something. He tries to do more for you the longer you’ve been in the corps, but there’s only so much time in a day.” Ryoma wiggled his hand in a ‘so-so’ manner. 

“I see.”

“Heyhey- Ryoma, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Mari asked with a faux annoyance.

“Mari, this is Sho, Vice Captain of the Weaponry Corps. We went on a mission together recently.” Ryoma moved his hand to gesture at Mari. “Sho, this is Mari. We went on a mission together three years ago.”

“So cold!” Mari complained, then brightened up immediately. “And it’s ‘Vice Captain Mari’ to you, mister! I’m moving up in the world!”

“Vice Captain Mari.” Ryoma replied in a blandly professional manner. Mari immediately shivered and shuddered.

“Eugh- don’t say it like that!”

“You just told him to.” Nagare pointed out, picking up and biting down on a large sushi roll. Much to his despair, it was absolutely slathered in mayo.

“Yeah but he said it like a weirdo! Which he is but not in this way. He’s a weirdo loner type not a weirdo formal type” Mari wiggled her fingers together before shaking her head violently and pointing dramatically at him. “More importantly! Do you have a girlfriend yet?”

Mari gave a sly smile and raised a hand to the side of her mouth. “There’s a lady in security who is single, and a real cutie, I could introduce you to her, eh, eh?”

“He is currently in a relationship, unless things have changed recently.” Tsubame answered at once, giving Mari a flat look. 

“I have a girlfriend, yeah.” Ryoma nodded.

Mari almost fell out of her chair with how powerfully she staggered at the information. 

“You have a girlfriend?! When! How! Tell me all about it!”

“For a couple days now, yeah.” Ryoma nodded, hiding a smirk beneath his veil and sipping the glass of water stealthily deposited at his table. “Or a few weeks, depending on how you count it.”

“You never tell me anything!” Mari curled up and roared at the tabletop. 

“What about you? I hear there’s something going on between yourself and the Kazekage.” Ryoma countered using a bit of office gossip that he overheard briefly once.

“We aren’t talking about me right now, we’re talking about you.” Mari quickly denied, waving both hands to refuse the topic. “You and your amazing new love life that I need to know everything about immediately, okay?”

“Well now it’s funnier if I just tell you nothing instead.”

“Nooo!” Mari wailed in despair. “Please tell me!”

“The sake is good.” Sho commented quietly to the side.

Nagare nodded. “It is. The aged maki rolls are good too.” She reached forwards and took hold of one of her plates, sliding it towards the man. “You can have one of mine.”

Sho accepted the offer gratefully, and took a single sample from the plate.

“Are your living arrangements acceptable, Ryoma?” Tsubame asked quietly, ignoring how Mari wailed and wiggled for more info on his romantic pursuits.

“I’m living with the Honored Elders right now- they offered me a guest room until new housing goes up.”

“Please inform me when you move out. I’d like to take the apartment next to yours.”

“Alright.”

“Ryoma! Stop ignoring me!”

“No.”