Chương 54: Chapter 36

Claw Country Ryoma, Jonin Left arm gauntlet shattered, panopticon helmet shattered, front torso armor cracked. He was pretty sure that he was suffering fractures in all of those areas as well, but the chakra pill made it hard to tell at the moment. He jumped again, leaping over a broad expanse of terrain and wincing at the sharp pain in his ribs and arm when he landed. He did not let himself stop moving, tucking the toad-gourd under one arm and withdrawing a scroll.

It was getting difficult to keep the fingers on his damaged arm moving, which would cripple his ability to perform handseals. He scrolled through the… scroll. Eventually he reached the slot in question, tapped a thumb on the slot, and withdrew a medical pill. He forced his damaged mask open and crunched it down as he leapt again. The pill was a general utility pain killer, antibiotic, and metabolic booster.

The pain killer and antibiotic components were self explanatory, but the metabolic booster actually increased the rate at which ninja healed by a fractional but measurable percent. Primary ingredients of the medical pill included garlic extract, caffeine, honey for taste, and opium. It wasn't anything near what an actual medical ninjutsu could do, but it would keep him functional long enough to catch up, complete the objective, and then crash hard. Surprising no one, Jiraiya of the Sannin hit very hard.

Ryoma was going to be feeling this for a while after. He glanced down at the Toad Gourd, staring up at him with unblinking and unimpressed eyes, and briefly considered trying to figure out how to unseal Captain Arada right now. On one hand, it would give him strong backup to aid extraction. On the other hand, he was still pretty close to the village, and getting Arada out right now might just provoke counter-orders to go back and complete the objective, undoing all his hard work to retrieve him from the Toad Sage.

Ryoma really didn't feel like letting that happen, so the best move would be to catch up to Sato and be far enough away that the Captain declares the objective infeasible before trying to figure out how to unseal him. He tucked the scroll back into his flak vest, carefully testing all of his fingers as a numbness began to slowly spread out through his chest. His subsequent leaps and dashes through the Claw countryside provoked slightly less pain than before.

It would be a full day and a half before they reached the next objective, and he was going to crash long before that. Once he had crashed, he'd be pretty useless for the rest of the mission. First, he needed to find and link up with Sato again. The Mk2 had a Sensor-Shiki with a range of about three kilometers mounted in the cockpit, but summoning it into this situation was explicitly against Arada's orders, and probably not for the best regardless.

He should really get around to learning how to perform that jutsu on his own, tactical information was always going to be useful. In the meanwhile… He bit his thumb, forcing his hands through the right signs and palmed the ground as he landed.

"Summoning, Great Bolter!" The basic bolter was a masterpiece of technical refinement. Ryoma was pretty sure he was never going to top the utility of something so cheap, disposable, and omni-useful. Even the upgraded bolters that incorporated poison gas canisters weren't strictly an upgrade with the increased cost. The 'Great Bolter' design was perhaps the complete opposite of the basic bolter. It was a big expensive puppet that contained everything he knew about various ninja arts.

The primary reason that it existed at all was so he could have something like the mk1 without needing permission to pull out the mk2, a great big puppet full of expensive things that let him fight lots of weaker ninja and smaller summons. He had three great bolters currently stored in a workshop-bunker underneath the inn. He landed on the top of a massive wooden frame, three meters tall, three meters wide, and five meters long.

It contained an armored box that connected to six blocky legs, a swivel mount on top to hold a large cannon-adjacent structure, several eyes built along the sides, and a decent amount of interior space for him to hide in. It was basically a tank with legs. He slipped through the hatch in the roof and settled into the 'drivers' seat below, groaning with the motion and reaching out with strings to take control.

His vision expanded out omnidirectionally once more, and the legs flexed to push the massive puppet into a standing position. Then, the legs folded in and the wheels folded out, turning the wooden tank with legs into a wooden tank with wheels. Another application of his strings, and the rotor for each set of wheels began to turn, driving the Great Bolter onwards through the countryside without an engine. The roads were very bumpy and his suspension wasn't great.

He was very glad that he couldn't feel much at the moment. He focused on breathing as he drove along towards the final objective, disregarding most stealth for simply moving faster and with less strain at the moment. As big and comparatively loud as the Great Bolter was- it was massively more quiet than any conventional vehicle, mostly because it didn't need an engine of any kind and was mostly wood by weight.

Only a thin layer of steel plating on the exterior, the joints, and frame were actually metal, making it quite a bit lighter than it should be as a result. He twitched the single-bulb electric light on, near the back of the interior. Great Bolters were only barely worth building, being a great big target with limited mobility and armor only thick enough to bounce off low grade attacks.

All the same old problems that the old Wood Dragoon had, but worse because they were somewhat larger and not quite as bad because they were much faster overland. He had been thinking of making a flying model using propellers, but experimenting with flight wasn't something he had much time for recently. He could save flight for the mk2 of the Great Bolters.

The inner frame rocked like a ship in a stormy sea as the legs unfolded and the Great Bolter jumped, aided by onboard shiki-thrusters, clearing a section of broken road and smashing back onto the ground beyond it, clumsily shifting back to wheeled mode afterwards. Tools and utensils behind him clattered, and the bedframes rocked about noisily. The interior was essentially a micro apartment.

With no need to account for an engine, he could fit in all his quality of life features like one bed, some storage, and a single stovetop. He continued to roll along the road that was in no way designed to handle a vehicle of this scale, keeping an eye out for- Ah, there he is. The Great Bolter pushed out its legs again, slamming clawed hands into the ground as it skid to a stop along the road, leaving grooves in the earth as it did.

Ryoma rocked around in the command chair as it did, eventually coming to a stop with vision swimming. Shaking the dust out of his ears, he pushed up from the seat and popped out the hatch.

"Sato! Get in!" He called out to the dark wilderness.

"Forty-seven-B" He called out the predesignated password. A few moments later, the ever-squinting genin poked his head out of some distant foliage.

"Ryoma- what the hell is that?!"

"Puppet-transport! Get in, we need to move!" He growled, sliding back down into the command chair immediately after. A few moments after, the nervous genin landed on the top of the Great Bolter, cautiously moving to the hatch and poking his head through. After a moment of nervous inspection, he slipped through. Ryoma made the hatch slam closed behind him, immediately pulling the legs of the Great Bolter up and spinning the wheels along again.

"Eah-!" Sato exclaimed as he was rocked by the sudden acceleration, balancing himself out after a moment.

"What th- there's a whole apartment in here! Did you make a train with legs?!"

"More or less." Ryoma grunted, tongue feeling heavy in his mouth, the numbness had already reached his head. He grabbed the Toad Gourd from under his arm and tossed it back.

"-Captain Arada is sealed in that- try getting him out." Sato fumbled with it.

"Captain Arada is- He got captured!?"

"Briefly." Ryoma explained with a pained furrow to his brows.

"Start by uncorking it or something- I don't know how it works and I'm going to crash sooner or later from the chakra pill."

"Chakra- fucking-" Sato growled, shaking his head and sitting down on the floor of the Great Bolter to inspect the Toad Gourd.

"I'm not a sealing expert, how the hell am I supposed to figure this out?!" He complained.

"It's not a seal, it's a barrier." Ryoma corrected, head rocking about from the holes in the road.

"Just pop the cork and see where that gets you!" A pop behind his head, followed by a burst of smoke and the sound of sandals landing on wood. Someone fell back on the floor, coughing with the new smoke that filled the interior.

"... Genin Sato, Jonin Ryoma." The growly voice of Captain Arada came out behind him.

"Report." Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"The Toad Sage captured you in a Toad Gourd, team leader. After a brief skirmish, I was able to retrieve the gourd and escape, whereupon I summoned the Great Bolter for transportation." Ryoma began to explain, eyes closed and vision focused entirely through the puppet-eyes that lined the Great Bolter's frame. Those were not subject to his own physical frailties, and much more stable right now as a result.

"I met with Genin Sato, who was able to free you after a brief time with the Gourd- I took a chakra pill and medical pill earlier. I suspect I have fractures in my left arm, ribs, and a concussion." The entire frame of the Great Bolter rocked as they swerved around a hilly road, the wood groaning as it was strained. Captain Arada stepped into his line of sight, the old glower leaning close to his face.

"Open your eyes." Ryoma obeyed, and the captain looked into them for a few moments, before nodding and pulling back.

"Your suspicions were correct, you are suffering a concussion."

"Oh, that's good." Ryoma replied, closing his eyes again and rocking in the padded seat as they sped down a hillside.

"... The objective was not destroyed, then." Arada continued with a grave tone.

"It was not, Captain." Ryoma replied with an unsteady shake of his head. Oh boy- he could really feel the medicine now. He made a conscious effort to slow his driving speed, just in case of a crash.

"I was in no way prepared to handle the Toad Sage on my own- extracting you was difficult enough."

"... Where are we going now, Jonin?"

"Towards the last objective- Jonin Tsubame should meet us there." Ryoma started, before his face scrunched up more and he leaned forwards slightly. She was going to be pretty mad at him, for getting into a fight with one of the Sannin.

"I'm going to crash before we arrive, Captain. I'll be pretty useless for anything once I do."

"Acknowledged." Captain Arada replied, arms crossed and eyes glaring at nothing in particular.

"Genin- be ready to carry him again once he collapses. We cannot afford to slow our pace." Sato groaned in time with the Great Bolter, as they sped around another road-corner. —"Team Arada reporting a partial mission success." Captain Arada growled in the air-conditioned safety of the Kazekage's office. Ryoma's predictions ended up being pretty accurate.

He had crashed sometime later that same night, woke up a few times hungry and in pain, and finally regained most of his functionality somewhere in the northern Suna desert on their way back from destroying the second bridge. Partially draped across Tsubame's shoulders with his left arm in a splint and ribs bound with layers of bandages, Ryoma must have made for a pretty sorry sight as they made their way back to their supreme commander's office.

Tsubame had made sure to silently express her displeasure at his state with an unshakable ambience of irritation. The Kazekage stared at the Shiki Corps Captain for a few moments longer, eyes narrowed.

"... Report."

"Both bridges were destroyed, but the destruction of Naito Village was interrupted by Jiraiya of Konoha, who intervened on behalf of the civilians present." Arada shook his head in an irritable fashion, planting his fan on the stone floor.

"No significant damage could be performed on the village before he forced us to retreat." The Kazekage turned a stare towards him, then shook his head slightly.

"The Kyojutsu was not deployed, at least." He stated bluntly. The Great Dragoon, currently stored in a high-security bunker underneath the Puppet-Corps HQ, had at least one person constantly monitoring it. Through this, the Kazekage would always be aware of if it was summoned into the field or not.

"No, Lord Kazekage." Ryoma shook his head tiredly, then nodded towards Arada.

"Upon the Toad Sage arriving at the field, Captain Arada specifically forbade its deployment. I believe this was the correct move, and support the decision." The Captain glanced towards him, then forwards again.

"Injuries?" The Kazekage continued with a frown, leaning forwards in his chair and reaching forwards to take up one of the written reports.

"Jonin Ryoma is the only one with notable injuries- He suffered a concussion, severe bruising, and suspected fractures in the battle against Jiraiya of Konoha." Arada explained shortly, his long mustache twitching as he spoke.

"Several days with the Medical Corps is my estimation." The Kazekage silently read through the first written report, before closing his eyes and furrowing his brow.

"I see." After a few moments of slightly awkward silence, the Kazekage opened his eyes again and reached down into his desk, withdrawing several slips of paper. Their payment-slips, accounting notes to hand off to the banking office in the Logistics Division.

"Completion of two B-rank missions, therefore two-hundred and thirty thousand Ryo divided four ways…" The Kazekage paused for a moment to do the division, then wrote down a sum on the four otherwise identical notes.

"Fifty seven thousand, five hundred each." With that, he pushed the slips forwards and then leaned back in his chair, withdrawing a box of pocky, shaking out a stick, and setting it between his lips with a deep frown.

"Dismissed."

"Thank you, Lord Kazekage." Captain Arada spoke respectfully. They took their slips and left the office behind them, door closing on the troubled visage of the Kazekage.

"Glad that's over, at least." Sato groaned, rubbing the side of his head. Ryoma almost told him 'it's not over yet', but decided to refrain this time. With his injuries being what they were, he was certainly going to miss the first few days of what was about to happen. Which was good, in one sense.

"I need to get to the Medical Corps." He grumbled.

"I will escort you there." Tsubame said immediately, turning directions and moving away from the other two. Ryoma waved to them lamely in goodbye, as he was half-dragged through the hall, down the stairs, and out into the shaded streets of Suna. With the bridges destroyed but not the village, the site would serve as a limited cache of extra supplies to sustain a rapid low-stamina counterattack from Iwa, if they so chose.

That was problematic for Suna, because it meant they wouldn't be able to deploy all the units they would prefer to the upcoming campaign, and would need to reserve some for a worse-case scenario counterattack. That meant that-"Hey sensei! Are you- are you hurt?!" A young voice called out, drawing Ryoma's gaze towards it. A bit away in the shaded streets was a pair of ninja, a male and a female, both with flak vests.

The female carried a long black sword and had pink hair, and the male had a sword on his belt and blonde hair. Ryoma didn't really recognize either of them. He gave a little nod.

"Yo."

"He is." Tsubame replied shortly, staring at the pair.

"I am escorting him to the Medical Corps HQ." The blond ninja raised his hands and laughed awkwardly.

"Ahah- well don't let us slow you down!" The pink-haired girl nodded seriously.

"We can say hello later- we'll visit you while you're there, sensei." Ryoma still wasn't sure who they were, but they were familiar. Probably one of the remedial classes he taught- but there were a lot of kids in those classes. Jin and Mio, or something like that.

"That's probably fine." He gave a vague shrug, before nodding forwards. Tsubame resumed her half-carry towards the Suna equivalent of the hospital.

"Have fun on your date." He waved behind himself. The sputtering from both was amusing to listen to. Jan and Mia? He eventually dropped the mystery as they arrived at the doors of the Medical Corps HQ. Half medical ninjutsu, half druglab, all a bunch of people that everyone wanted on their side. Tsubame pushed the doors open as Ryoma waved at the guard outside.

"Hello, checking in?" A man at the front desk asked with a polite smile.

"If it wouldn't be an issue." Ryoma nodded.

"Suspected fractures on arm and ribs and a concussion- all field treated a few days ago."

"I see." The man replied, making a note of something on a pad.

"If you follow me, I'll take you to the operating theater."

"No need, I'll see the scamp." A woman called out with a grin in her voice. The voice was raspy and aged, but the woman who spoke was flawlessly youthful, walking towards him from around a corner.

"The Kazekage called over before you showed up- told me to get someone ready for your treatment." Brown hair tied back in an elegantly lazy bun, white robes covered by a red sash, and skin bearing absolutely no trace of human imperfection. All except the eyes, which were almost unnervingly human when set in the otherwise flawless face. Medical Corps Captain Aoi, who had thoroughly interrogated Ryoma about full-body replacement puppetry once, and seemed to be doing well for herself with it since.

"Giheheh- I'll take care of you, boyo~."

"Thanks." Ryoma replied blandly. The best way to deflect teasing was to pretend to not notice it at all.