Facing the inquiry of Kazekage Rasa, Kawanishi immediately produced a scroll he had prepared long ago.
"Lord Kazekage, it is my honor to be of some help to the development of the Hidden Sand Village."
"This scroll records a secret technique for refining a special type of chakra. As long as the corresponding chakra is refined according to this technique and injected into the Scorpion Jade, its vitality can be activated."
Kawanishi handed the scroll to Rasa. His face showed not a hint of heartache, only the pride and honor of making a contribution to the Hidden Sand Village.
Regarding Kawanishi's posture, Rasa immediately broke into a satisfied smile.
Furthermore, if what Kawanishi said was true, then this Scorpion Jade and the secret technique to control it undoubtedly possessed immense strategic value for the Hidden Sand Village. As the leader of the village, Rasa had to keep things of such strategic significance firmly within his own grasp.
It was naturally for the best that Kawanishi was willing to hand it over proactively. Conversely, if he had been unwilling, Rasa would have certainly sought other ways to obtain it.
With a satisfied smile, he patted Kawanishi on the shoulder and said appreciatively:
"Kawanishi, was it? I admire your magnanimity in sacrificing for the village. It is a lesson for everyone and should serve as a model for the new generation of young people in the Hidden Sand Village."
"Therefore, I hereby specially appoint you as a Special Jonin of the Hidden Sand Village. You will join the Supreme Research Lab and take charge of the research on Wind Scorpions and other biological entities. In the future, if you need any research materials, funding, or wish to learn any specific ninjutsu, you may speak to me directly."
At this moment, Rasa had clearly forgotten his initial evaluation of Kawanishi. In his words, he now treated him entirely as a rising star of the Hidden Sand Village.
"Thank you, Lord Kazekage."
Faced with such a heavy reward, Kawanishi naturally acted quite excited, displaying a perfectly timed touch of fear and trepidation.
Despite the act, Kawanishi's excitement was entirely genuine. However, it did not stem from the rewards granted by Rasa, but rather from the Great Lord Jashin.
Kawanishi knew clearly that everything he obtained originated from Lord Jashin. The Great Lord was watching him. Only by sacrificing everything to Lord Jashin could he obtain even greater power and gain the Lord's recognition!
Rasa did not notice the abnormality in Kawanishi's eyes. He handed the secret technique scroll over to the Anbu, ordering them to select suitable test subjects to practice the technique and ensure the intelligence provided by Kawanishi was correct. On the other hand, the Anbu ninjas also began a detailed investigation into Kawanishi's life experiences from childhood to the present.
Over the next few days, Kawanishi could clearly sense that the way the surrounding villagers looked at him had changed. Rasa had fashioned him into a genius ninja of the Hidden Sand Village who had independently developed a powerful secret technique and made a massive contribution to the village.
Under this promotion, Kawanishi's weight in the conversations of the villagers underwent a world-shaking change. He went from being ignored to becoming the center of their discussions. Some children even took Kawanishi as an idol to learn from and a goal to chase.
This feeling really isn't bad at all...
Kawanishi greedily enjoyed this spotlight-like sensation. He never imagined that turning from a sewer rat into a genius discussed by everyone required only one thing: becoming a loyal believer of Lord Jashin.
"Praise Lord Jashin."
Kawanishi uttered an incomparably sincere exclamation.
The month-long experiment finally concluded. The Anbu in charge of the matter confirmed one thing: the secret technique provided by Kawanishi was indeed effective!
Listening to the Anbu ninja's report, an irrepressible excitement surfaced on Rasa's face.
"So you're saying that as long as one has the chakra levels of a Chunin, they can learn that secret technique, activate the Scorpion Jade, and obtain that power?"
The Anbu before him nodded, confirming the Kazekage's statement. This meant that the close-quarters combat strength of the village's Chunin could be increased by a large margin, provided they practiced Kawanishi's technique and implanted the Scorpion Jade.
"And what about the acquisition of the Scorpion Jade?"
Rasa was the Kazekage, after all, and viewed problems comprehensively. Although the Scorpion Jade could greatly enhance a ninja's melee capabilities, it wouldn't be of much use if the quantities were too small.
Fortunately, the Anbu ninja gave an answer that left Rasa quite satisfied:
"Almost one out of every three mature Wind Scorpions grows a complete Scorpion Jade. Furthermore, no major side effects have been found among all the subjects who received the Scorpion Jade transplant."
"Additionally, Senior Hisao has confirmed that the exoskeletons of these Wind Scorpions can be used as puppet materials after refining. Even the Wind Scorpions themselves are excellent puppets."
"Good, good, good!"
A rare smile appeared on Rasa's stiff face. However, this smile quickly vanished as he asked again, "How is the investigation into Kawanishi going?"
Hearing the change in Rasa's tone, the Anbu lowered his head and reported, "We investigated Kawanishi's resume and recent activities. We found no traces of other villages."
Rasa crossed his hands and nodded slightly, saying calmly, "Have the results of Baki's investigation into these Wind Scorpions come out yet?"
The Anbu ninja hurriedly presented a mission file containing Baki's report on the investigation.
"No man-made traces have been found for the time being."
In other words, it cannot be determined yet how these Wind Scorpions were formed...
After much thought, Rasa finally issued an order. "First, select a squad from the Anbu to begin practicing this secret technique. After ensuring its safety, we will popularize it among the other ninjas."
There was no other choice; the attraction of this secret technique was simply too great. Once its safety was confirmed and it was deployed on a large scale, it could completely and drastically improve the overall strength of the Hidden Sand Village. It held great significance for the village and even the entire Land of Wind.
The only thing that still made Rasa hesitate was the origin of the Wind Scorpions. Until now, they did not know how these creatures had emerged from the desert. Nevertheless, in the face of such massive benefits, Rasa chose to take the chance. Perhaps this was a door opened by heaven for the Land of Wind?
"Understood."
The Anbu ninja receiving the order disappeared quickly, leaving Rasa alone in his office to ponder.
During the following period, the Hidden Sand Village issued a large number of missions. Countless squads were busy entering and exiting the desert to capture Wind Scorpions. Due to the ban issued by Rasa, no one yet knew the significance of capturing these scorpions. Despite this, under the attraction of the rewards, the ninjas still untiringly scoured the vicinity of the Hidden Sand for Wind Scorpions.
In just over ten days, the Wind Scorpions near the village had completely disappeared, forcing the ninjas to go deep into the desert for their hunt.