Mulling it Over

What was a Missing Ninja? A pilgrim to foreign lands, a blade in the dark waiting to pounce on a target, an enemy to the villages of the world? Truthfully, they were none of these and yet all of these. It was the individual that decided what or who they would be and to whom. Being a rogue truthfully wasn't any different from being a normal person.

People were who they were based on the perspective of others. To the Hoshigakure shinobi the Kirigakure shinobi trying to foil the mission were the bad people. To the Kiri shinobi it was the Hoshi shinobi who attempted to foil them. It was an odd flowing of labels, but all it truthfully was perspective. What an odd thing perspective a never endling list of contradiction. You were the hero and villain, the kind, the mean, even the weak and the strong. It all depended on whose perspective you chose to look upon.

Why did this perspective seem so important? Well it largely dictated how others recieved the person. Even if people didn't like it they were social creatures and truly no one could be the villain to everyone. Perspective kept people in a unique category, something so ironic required at least some retrospection. Closing his journal the Nara would sigh. What concept would he review next and what respective would he take on the subject? Truthfully, the Nara had no idea it was too late to keep his mind focused with sleep dragging down his eyelids.

WC: 253

Puppet designs were rather complex as Ryuzaki recalled. Having gotten a promotion from his guild he had access to their storeroom of complex designs. Some vastly more complex than Trapman's. Of course it also gave him ideas to improve upon Trapman's initial design. Using a different type of explosive for the mine's housed within the puppet.

One of the blue prints was for a puppet that surrounded the user and had a metal scorpion like tail which could deliver a paralyzing poison. The concept was interesting, but the design could be improved. For one it was quite bulky, something more form fitting would be better for dodging and even help to not overencumber the wearer. Though that could have been by design. As Ryuzaki's fingers and movements were faster than his puppet. Perhaps the engineer was much slower than Ryuzaki.

Putting down that blueprint the missing ninja would work on his own. This looked more akin to a suit of armor like Iron Man than a typical puppet. The joints used regular iron, but these would be replaced with the Meteoric Iron Ryuzaki bought. Then some of the wooden components could be replaced with Senju wood from Konoha. He would need someone to purchase those for him however.

What would he do for mechanisms? That was where he got stumped the most. These designs allowed for more in a single puppet. The engineers were more capable of compacting things, something Ryuzaki wasn't sure he was capable of. He had a few ideas for mechanisms, but he would take a day to think about them.

WC: 264

Immediate ideas that came to mind when thinking of the mechanisms inside puppet, were the basics. A flamethrower, kunai laucher, and explosives. Ryuzaki copied and made the necessary adjustments to the blueprint of Trapman including the updates to the frame and metal joints. However by the end of the blueprint the Nara found himself wanting more.

Starting from scratch Ryuzaki had to start somewhere and he needed full body measurements of himself. He went to a tailor getting every measurement. Next he would begin the blueprint allowing enough space inside to keep himself comfortable, yet with enough material on the outside to keep it durable. The joints and inside had to be hollow and chakra conduction rods had to go throughout the whole puppet.

But what about the mechanisms inside the suit where would they be housed? Externally seemed to be the best solution, yet what would they be? An external flammable was too likely to turn the weapon on its user so that was out. Perhaps a cloaking system that bent light, hid smells, and removed noise via a puppets usual ability to hover. There would be a ton of work going into that mechanism alone, but it certainly had a myriad of uses.

The drawing of the puppet wasn't quite as bulky as originally thought. It added about half of a foot of wood, metal, and padding to the suit. The inside preferably would have a few fans operated by chakra to keep it cool inside with space for extra insulation in case it became cold.

WC: 258

Three more mechanisms to go on the puppet. The cloaking device would need some work to fully function. What else could be added to this bulwark. Perhaps something to halt attacks akin to a shield? An injection system that could boost the wearer's abilities or some type of conduction coil. That was what was needed for the moment it was an excellent idea. If needles inside the puppet could inject a stimulant that would be perfect.

The injection system was simple enough it just would be a pain to reload the drugs each time, unless there was an added resevoir for when liquid was removed more would trickle down from the custom made syringe. This system was odd and Ryuzaki didn't know enough about the effects of various substances to entertain the idea for long. This design was likely to result in his death like an external fuel source was. Chakra enhancing coils could be done however and added to the puppets inlay. This design was much more promising and focused more heavily on engineering.

The coils required some pretty dense wiring for the type output Ryuzaki could give out now. Thin cables would melt far too quickly. Braided copper was a possibility. The conductivity of meteoric iron required testing, but if it was anything akin to normal wire it may not be the best choice. Electricity and chakra were just forms of energy, but when it came to conducting copper was usually the best choice when combined with an insulator. Theoretically chakra would have a similar mode of conduction.

Three more mechanisms to go on the puppet. The cloaking device would need some work to fully function. What else could be added to this bulwark. Perhaps something to halt attacks akin to a shield? An injection system that could boost the wearer's abilities or some type of conduction coil. That was what was needed for the moment it was an excellent idea. If needles inside the puppet could inject a stimulant that would be perfect.

The injection system was simple enough it just would be a pain to reload the drugs each time, unless there was an added resevoir for when liquid was removed more would trickle down from the custom made syringe. This system was odd and Ryuzaki didn't know enough about the effects of various substances to entertain the idea for long. This design was likely to result in his death like an external fuel source was. Chakra enhancing coils could be done however and added to the puppets inlay. This design was much more promising and focused more heavily on engineering.

The coils required some pretty dense wiring for the type output Ryuzaki could give out now. Thin cables would melt far too quickly. Braided copper was a possibility. The conductivity of meteoric iron required testing, but if it was anything akin to normal wire it may not be the best choice. Electricity and chakra were just forms of energy, but when it came to conducting copper was usually the best choice when combined with an insulator. Theoretically chakra would have a similar mode of conduction.

WC: 260

Each mechanism more complex than the next in this iron man suit. The conduction system was intricate enough without the upcoming cloaking device. Perhaps his original premise for the thing was faulty it didn't have to be internal. Why couldn't it be a held box that not only he could move, but that could also be thrown for someone else to use? He could keep a storage spot in the puppet in case Ryuzaki wished to use it and not have to hold it to wield seals.

In the event he was required to cloak another the ability to remove the cloaking box and focus chakra into it would be useful. Prison breaks would be marginally easier if he could cloak himself and his target. Getting away in a flash would no longer be the sole ability of those who could teleport. Grabbing hands with their friends and leaving never to be seen again now in some far off land where no one would care to look.

What exactly the make of this box was the difficult part. Deciding what it would do was simple, how it would do that was difficult. Sound dampeners and a bit of the water element to refract light. There were other senses the box had to defend against though like infrared, X-ray, smell. When it came to detecting things some doujutsu had amazing ability. It was a wonder hiding was even possible in this day and age, with so many fantastic doujutsu bloodlines available. Surely the cloaking box required much work before it was entirely functional.

WC: 262
TWC: 1297

Cloaking device done it was about time to move along with this project. Quite some time had been spent on the puppet already and yet the blueprint wasn't even seventy-five percent done. There was still so much more to add like weapons to the outside and things to reduce impacts. Would it be a shield or some type of chakra layer that was near the puppet? A shield was too stationary and offered only a limited range of motion. Which aesthetically it was superior, mechanically it was entirely inferior.

Activation of a small chakra shield would take just as much energy as a field of chakra. How the hell that was the case was unknown. A great engineering mystery of the universe. Small and big things took the same energy even though keeping something small rationally would take far less. With big layer of chakra decided how would it be implemented? A circle of shadow was a property of Trapman, but this ability needed to effect techniques not people. It would have to raise up like the shadow sewing technique.

Maybe it would shred techniques much like shadow sewing. Where the number of tendrils attached to a technique determined its debuff. That way the whole wad didn't need blown against one technique. It was a better idea than a huge debuff on one thing as a smaller one could weaken the thing enough for the suit to not take damage anyway. That was doable it didn't require a shadow box like Trapman had it could just be done through the puppets own shadow.

WC: 263
TWC: 1560

This last mechanism on the puppet was proving difficult to make. As he didn't have any ideas that weren't already done. He could repeat a mechanism, but it'd have to be great for a mechanism so nice you'd build it twice. It would take quite a bit of drawing, mulling, and finger tapping to come up with an idea great enough for the development process to move along. So, much tapping that others in the room became annoyed and started offering bad ideas just to get Ryuzaki to stop. It didn't work until finally someone mentioned an amplifier. "That is actually not a bad idea."

What would be amplified and how would it be done? There were options to be had. His dabbling in the sensory spec was enough to be able to improve his own senses or improve camoflouge. He knew enough about ninjutsu to enhance his shadow or elemental jutsu and techniques. Puppetry mechanisms could also be enhanced, but did he have enough mechanism's available to maximize its use at the moment? Ultimately, that answer was no he'd have to wait for the next puppet to build a puppet amplifier.

A sensory amplifier would be the way to go. Something that improves active camoflouge or enhances senses. Like motion detecting, heat detection, enhanced hearing, and smell. Any sense that feasibly could be improved the amplifier would have to aid. Along with any active camoflouge Ryuzaki might be using. Like an assist to Dustless or Hiding in Camoflouge. Chakra amplification rodding in the arms of the puppet to create a denser chakra would work perfectly for this.
WC: 269
TWC: 1829

With a long stretch and a even bigger yawn the blue print was complete. Full of eraser marks and lines that didn't erase quite well. All that was left was to draw up the final draft of the design, aquire the appropriate materials, tools, and the get to the building step. As Ryuzaki stood and left some people grinned now able to sit in piece without some kid causing a bunch of noise while thinking.

It wouldn't be straight back to the hotel for Ryuzaki even though it was late and he was exhausted. There were people the ninja had to see to get paid for his weekly earnings through some less than savory business transactions. Ryuzaki would approach the derelict house and knock on the door. The person who answered opened the door a crack and peeked out, a chain prevented the door from opening further. "Was the owl away from the nest?" Closing the door you could hear the chain unlatch before it opened again and a bag of money was thrust into the Nara's arms before the door was slammed shut in his face.

This a few days ago would have been acceptable. Now it was not, the guild must be treated with respect and as a new enforcer he had to demand it. In the back of the home the door was so broken you could walk right in. Seeing the person who'd slammed the door he shadow possess him and walk towards an object in a way that lead the man to a hammer and Ryuzaki to a pillow. Picking up the pillow he would swing it the way one would swing a hammer onto their hand, before ending the possession. "Next time have a greeting and never slam the door in my face!" the small boy would say through the man's sobs of pain.

WC: 312
TWC: 2141