Inoichi Yamanaka managed to look interested.
"The technical name for it is 'M12 Force Application Vehicle replica' but 'Warthog' is a lot easier to write in the reports," said Naruto, unintentionally scoring a few points with the jonin who knew how much time could be spent on reports. "It is an all-terrain vehicle - meaning it'll go through snow, mud, sand, and so on and maintain a pretty good pace. It seats three people, four if you've got genin and they're not particularly large. Four inch armor plating, MAG suspension. The engine can run for four days before needing refueled. It weighs three tons and can reach a top speed of 120kph (75mph) along an open road. Which means that you can get from here to the capitol in four hours and... Yes, Kakashi Hatake?"
Kakashi lowered his hand, wondering why he felt like he was in school or something. "So why use this instead of tree-hopping? Less chance of being ambushed if you're not following a road."
"Good question," said Naruto with a nod. "When you go from tree-to-tree for four days, what condition will your team be in when you arrive?"
"Winded at least," said Kakashi, eyeing the odd wheeled thing.
"Whereas on one of these, one driver can keep going while you rotate people on watch and people sleeping," said Naruto. "You can also stow equipment here. Weapon systems will come later. Of course, depending on terrain, you might be faster with the tree-hop. Really boggy swamps and such will slow you down considerably. This is just keeping options open. And if one of your team is injured, this could save their lives by getting 'em back fast."
"How many of these are there?" asked Kurenai Yuhi.
"One," said Naruto. "Jiji wants me to build five though and customize them. At least two will be available to genin teams, doing assignments near Konoha."
"You said 'refueled'?" asked Hayate.
"Yes," said Naruto. "Water. The purer the better. Engine burns hydrogen. Eventually they'll be armed, but that'll take awhile."
The various jonin-sensei glanced at each other.
"Now, who's ready to let me show you how to run one?" asked Naruto eagerly.
None of the jonin moved.
"Okay, so why DID none of the jonin want to learn?"
"Beats me," said Naruto. "You're picking this up pretty fast."
"Eh, I know this terrain pretty well, and this is real simple to operate. Right, Akamaru?"
"Yap!" said the dog whose head was sticking out the side of the vehicle and quite obviously enjoying the ride.
WHUMP!
"Try to avoid the bigger rocks," advised Naruto.
"Why? We went right over it," pointed out Kiba.
"Yeah, but I'm the guy who has to pound out the dents and fix the suspension," griped Naruto.
"Eh, it beats our typical D-Rank mission. If I have to hunt down and catch that damn cat one more time..."
"So anyway, you got the basics," said Naruto, "go ahead and get back to where we started. I'll go over the sensors and nav system sometime."
"'Nav'?"
"Navigation system," said Naruto. "I've been scanning in area maps and the Warthog keeps track of where you are and can show you on a map."
"Oh, that might be cool," admitted Kiba. "Hey, let's try that hill!"
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(Posted Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:50)
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