Chiyo did not care about Sasori's words as with small tears in her eyes she hugged his puppet body. She wrapped her arms around the wooden shell without any hesitation and held on tightly.
Years of separation and worry poured out in that single embrace. The room fell quiet while grandmother and grandson stood together after so much time apart.
"Oh Sasori, I have so longed to see you." Chiyo said. Her voice shook as she spoke the words against the hard surface of the Hiruko puppet.
Sasori answered in his usual flat tone. "I wish I could say the same, old hag." He did not return the hug and kept his arms at his sides. Even so he did not push her away.
Chiyo chuckled softly at the familiar roughness. "I can see that you are still trying to hide your emotions behind that puppet body of yours." She pulled back just enough to look at the face covered with cloth and smiled through her tears.
'Oh if only she knew that even under that is a puppet. I wonder what would be her reaction then.' Shota thought.
The truth about Sasori's real body would shock the old woman if she ever learned it. For now Shota decided it was better to stay silent and let the family moment continue.
Rasa coughed to interrupt the reunion and received a sharp glare from Chiyo for the timing.
The Kazekage cleared his throat again and forced the conversation back to official matters. He looked directly at the returned puppet master and spoke in a clear voice of authority. "As for you Sasori, it has been decided that you would be the new R&D head of the puppet department if you returned to the village."
The position gave Sasori full control over research and the creation of new puppets. It also placed large resources under his command.
Shota was sure Sasori was smiling inside his puppet body now. The offer matched the kind of work the genius loved most. Free rein over materials, tools, and ideas would please him greatly.
Rasa continued without pause. "And Lady Chiyo had decided to retire from the position of captain of the puppet corps and so you would be replacing her too. That means you would also have to undertake missions befitting of your rank."
This time the Kazekage was the one with a smile. The added duty of field missions would keep Sasori from disappearing completely into his workshop.
Shota could not help but smile as well. This meant that Sasori could not just sit in the village working on his puppets and spending the village money.
An S rank shinobi doing missions meant that they had one more person to handle the most dangerous of tasks as well as the missions that paid and mattered the most.
And it seemed Sasori was not mad about it either. He mumbled his thoughts out loud for everyone to hear. "I can collect materials myself during the missions and I could always test how good my art performs."
The practical benefits of gathering fresh parts and testing new designs in real combat pleased him.
Everyone looked at him strangely after those words. Pakura's genin team shivered.
Shota decided it was the right moment to offer a useful idea. "I have a suggestion for the new R&D head of the puppet department and the Kazekage." He spoke in a respectful tone and waited for permission to continue. Rasa gave him a small nod that meant he should go ahead.
Shota explained his plan carefully. "Sasori nii san can make puppet limbs that function well with the body. We have so many crippled shinobi without a limb like a hand or a leg or even just a finger which they lost during the past war. Nii san could help us replace their limbs with puppet limbs. And not just any limbs but limbs with weapons installed in them."
The suggestion aimed to restore strength to injured fighters and give them new ways to protect the village. He paused only long enough to let the idea sink in before adding the next part. "And since he could make his puppets use ninjutsu I am pretty sure that he could do the same for the shinobi who have lost their hands or fingers so that they could also use ninjutsu as easily as before."
Pakura mumbled her own thoughts on the matter. "That would mean that our village fighting force would increase by at least a couple hundred shinobi."
The number of disabled veterans who could return to active duty was large. Restoring them would strengthen Suna in a short time.
Rasa mumbled a different benefit that mattered to him. "And we would not have to pay them pensions anymore for early retirement."
The money saved from pension payments could be used for other needs. The practical side of the plan pleased the Kazekage.
'You would think that someone who could use gold dust would not be worried about money. But what do you know?' Shota thought.
Shota added one more useful point. "He can also teach a couple other people to make these similar limbs, the same as him in the puppet corps."
Sharing the skill would create more craftsmen who could repair and improve the new limbs. The knowledge would spread and benefit the whole department.
Sasori asked the expected question in an irritated voice. "And brat why would I do that?" He disliked the idea of teaching others his personal methods. The art belonged to him alone in his mind.
Shota was prepared for this question and answered at once. "Do you not want others to have your art become a piece of their own? And for others to also appreciate your art and learn your art?"
The words appealed directly to Sasori's pride as a creator. Spreading the beauty of his work would make more people understand true art. Sasori had no reply to that argument. After a short silence he spoke a single word of agreement. "Very well."
Rasa accepted the decision without delay. "I will then pass the budget and motion for it in the council tomorrow."
He then looked at Shota with a serious expression. "You have learned the Fuinjutsu seal used on the seven tails jinchuriki?" The question carried clear importance for the future of the village.
Shota nodded once to confirm that he had learned the sealing method during the mission in Takigakure.
Rasa continued with the next order. "Your training with Chiyo san would start tomorrow. We would need you to increase your proficiency with Fuinjutsu. You would be sealing the One Tail in my son after he would be born this year."
Shota nodded, not much surprised by the assignment.
--------Author Notes---------
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