Chapter: Image Rights

Satsuki's Rinnegan was spinning wildly, radiating a suffocating sense of oppression. She surveyed the room, scanning every corner, every object, and every place where something might be hidden.

After the initial shock of that glance, she had clearly realized that the head on the table was just a puppet, not the real Naruto.

However, this did not quell her anger.

On the contrary, this made her even angrier.

Who? Who dared to create a puppet of her husband? Who dared to desecrate the one she loved most in this way?

Moreover, the person making the puppet was likely nearby. The scale of the workbench and the ongoing assembly suggest the Puppet Master may have just been working. The person hid the moment they came down.

Then, her gaze settled on a corner of the room.

There stood an unremarkable clothes rack. It was made of wood, had an ordinary design, and an old coat was draped over it. It looked like any of the odds and ends that could be found anywhere in this workshop.

Satsuki raised her hand, and the lightning in her palm suddenly surged!

That was no longer the gentle lightning used for lighting, but real Lightning Release Chakra, powerful enough to pierce through everything. Blue arcs of electricity leaped wildly, crackling and illuminating the entire basement as if it were daytime!

She set her sights on the clothes rack—

"Wait a moment--!"

The clothes hanger suddenly shook, and then a familiar figure appeared out of thin air, falling awkwardly to the ground.

Kankuro.

He lay there prostrate, in a standard dogeza (prostration) position, his forehead pressed firmly to the ground, his hands outstretched forward, his whole body trembling like a leaf.

"I can explain! No—!"

Kankuro's voice was trembling with sobs.

He sensed that murderous aura!

That undisguised killing intent emanating from Satsuki was enough to freeze one's soul! She truly wanted to kill him! It wasn't a threat, not a warning, she genuinely intended to attack!

Kankuro's heart was filled with bitterness.

He knew this day would come sooner or later.

From the day he began creating the first "Naruko" puppet, he knew what the consequences would be if this were exposed.

But he did it anyway, because he couldn't bear to see his brother so dejected, and he couldn't bear to see Gaara lock himself in his room, refusing to eat or drink, just sculpting Naruto's statue with sand day and night.

Later, Gaara discovered the first puppet, and the ecstatic look in his brother's eyes made it impossible for him to refuse.

And so a second one was made.

He had thought he could delay it a little longer. The second puppet wasn't completely finished yet; some details needed adjustment, and some mechanisms needed debugging.

But who knew Naruto would suddenly show up tonight?! And with Satsuki?! And he even discovered the secret door?!

Kankuro's heart had completely turned cold.

Naruto quickly stepped forward and put his hand in front of Satsuki to block her. He could feel the violent chakra fluctuations around his wife. Although the scene in front of him was indeed very strange, so strange that it made him feel a chill down his spine.

But no matter what, Kankuro is Gaara's older brother, a high-ranking member of Sand Village, and their ally. We can't really let Satsuki kill someone here.

He tried to make his voice sound calm, even though he was experiencing a mix of strange emotions.

"So..." Naruto's expression was somewhat strange, "Although it was wrong of us to suddenly barge in—I admit that, we shouldn't have come down without saying hello."

"But that thing..."

He raised his hand and pointed to the disassembled "himself" on the workbench. "What exactly happened?"

"This... this..."

Kankuro lay on the ground, his brain racing, two voices clashing fiercely in his mind.

A voice said, "Gaara be exposed! Tell the truth! It's all for him anyway, let him face it himself! You're just a puppet, that way you won't be resented!"

Another voice suggested taking full responsibility. Say it was his idea, his mistake, a moment of confusion. That way, Gaara could continue to be friends with Naruto, and his younger brother's fragile heart could still find solace...

The two voices battled fiercely in Kankuro's mind for two seconds.

Two seconds later, he made his decision.

"Actually--!"

Kankuro suddenly raised his head and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"This was all my terrible idea!"

His voice echoed in the basement, carrying a resolute determination. "Yes, it was my own momentary lapse of judgment!"

He lay prone on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold earth, unable to bear looking at Naruto and Satsuki's expressions.

"Because Naruto's reputation in the Ninja World is just too amazing! The titles of disciple of the Hokage and son of the Hokage, and hero of Konoha, have spread throughout the entire Ninja World!"

"So I was thinking... if I had a puppet like Naruto's, I could use it to intimidate others! Later, when we encounter any tough opponents on missions, I could just bring out the puppet and scare them away! That would avoid a lot of unnecessary battles!"

"I know this was wrong! I shouldn't have violated Naruto's portrait rights! I shouldn't have made Naruto's puppet without permission! I... I was wrong! I'm sorry!"

He lowered his head deeply, his forehead hitting the floor with a dull thud.

"I see. So, this was your idea?"

Satsuki's voice was as cold as if it had been squeezed from a layer of ice. She looked down at Kankuro lying on the ground, the light in her Rinnegan flickering, her gaze as if she were looking at a dead man.

Kankuro shivered, but since things had come to this, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue acting.

"Yes... that's right!" He nodded vigorously, "Really, isn't it..."

"Stop joking!"

Satsuki suddenly raised his voice, Kankuro's words came to an abrupt halt. Kankuro froze on the spot, and every word Satsuki spoke next made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his whole body turning ice-cold.

"That's Gaara asked for!"

Satsuki's Rinnegan stared intently at him, her eyes blazing with an indescribable rage. "It's definitely him!"

"Borrowing power from others? Do you think I'm a fool?!"

Her voice grew louder and louder, her angry questions echoing throughout the basement.

"Just a figurehead? To scare people?"

She suddenly raised her hand and pointed at the "Naruto" figure disassembled into parts on the workbench.

"If that's really the case, then why are even the private parts detailed so much?!"

Meanwhile, at the basement staircase entrance.

Gaara and Temari, who were about to go down to check the situation, froze the moment they heard this roar.

Temari was still resting on the edge of the hidden door, her expression frozen between astonishment and confusion.

And Gaara.

The Kazekage of Sand Village was visibly losing color from his face.

He probably already guessed what was going to happen next.

Kankuro's secret studio.

Those puppets that hadn't been hidden yet.

And... those overly detailed aspects.

Gaara stood still, motionless.

He began to seriously consider whether it was still possible to turn around and run away immediately, hiding Naruko outside the village and pretending not to have heard anything.