Puppet Show

The puppet play progressed smoothly. Ruri directly selected three ninjas from the medical team capable of using chakra threads to form a puppet troupe. To prevent a shortage of manpower and to cultivate emerging puppeteers, he also selected three students from the Ninja Academy as apprentices under the guise of internships. These three children were all commoners, and having the opportunity to learn novel ninjutsu before graduation would be beneficial for their future development.

The construction of the puppets was handed over to the Sanjo Clan. As they were already capable of crafting fine ninja tools, this sort of carpentry work was no trouble for them. Although the puppets lacked the durability required for combat, they were more than sufficient for basic puppet technique training and performances.

Ruri gave Jianming and the others three days for special training. Three days later, the excavated lake became the birthplace of puppet theater, and the first public performance of the puppet play was to be held there!

Humans often fear the unknown. If it were something entirely alien, the villagers might have found it difficult to accept the puppet play, perhaps even finding moving puppets terrifying. Fortunately, there had been a brief period of peace before the Warring States period, during which a form of doll theater similar to puppet plays existed. Coupled with Ruri's prestige in Takigakure, the number of villagers who came to watch the first performance did not dwindle despite their lack of knowledge about puppet theater.

The stage and seating, constructed by the Hagane Clan using Steel Release, were of excellent quality. Although such a massive project required the labor of most of the clan, Hagane Maomori was quite satisfied. The clan lacked outstanding ninjas and was suffering from a generational gap, but fortunately, the Takikage placed great importance on civil development, and Steel Release happened to be well-suited for this. As long as Takigakure continued to develop, the Hagane Clan would not decline, even without a Jonin.

The black curtain rose, revealing an execution platform on stage, upon which knelt a puppet alongside two puppet soldiers.

At this moment, a narrator's voice rang out, carried far into the distance with the assistance of a Wind Release ninja: "There was a man who possessed everything in the world—wealth, fame, and power. He was the 'Pirate King,' Gol D. Roger!"

"Gol D. Roger?"

"What a strange name."

"What is a Pirate King?"

"Everything in the world's wealth?"

The audience below began to whisper. Some were confused, others dismissive, but none left immediately. Regardless of the quality of the puppet play, it was a novel and interesting way to pass the time—certainly more entertaining than going home to make babies.

"Do you want my treasure?! If you want it, go and take it! I left everything I have in that place, go find it in the sea!" The puppet kneeling on the stage suddenly raised its head, its mouth opening and closing as it shouted this deafening line!

"Not bad, the effect is basically there." Ruri nodded. This special effect was something the Wind Release ninja had worked a long time to achieve. To make a normal human voice sound like the Pirate King Roger using Wind Release required the skills of a master audio engineer.

"HEY!!" Suddenly, hundreds of puppets appeared beneath the execution platform, emitting a sound like a mountain of cheers. Some puppets even jumped up, waving their arms and shouting!

Such a scene gave the nearby villagers quite a fright. These were hundreds of puppets, and the sound was truly overwhelming!

In reality, this effect was produced by only three people. Because the Wind Release chakra blocked the sound from dispersing, it layered their voices one by one, making it sound like the shouting of hundreds or thousands. As for the puppets, most were merely empty shells rushed out by the Sanjo Clan to fill the space. Though the scene looked grand, they couldn't actually move; only the few jumping puppets were being manipulated by Jianming and his team.

The head of the Roger puppet was severed by the soldier puppets, and the black curtain on stage fell, signaling the end of the scene.

The opening was extremely short and relatively easy to operate. It was a scene designed to help everyone get into the flow. Simple actions like raising a head, waving arms, or decapitation were things Jianming could handle alone. In the original work, most puppeteers could only use one puppet in combat, but that was a limitation of battle; they all had the capacity to manipulate several puppets at once in daily life. It was no surprise that Jianming, as a pioneer, could achieve this.

During the intermission, the audience began to discuss again. Whether it was the incredible puppet performance or the heart-shaking shouts, they all felt something they had never experienced before. Some even began to harbor thoughts of wanting to go see the sea for themselves.

As the provider of the script, Ruri was not very interested. It was too different from the original One Piece. If not for the ninjutsu used to amplify the sound and atmosphere, it probably wouldn't have been even one-tenth as good. That these villagers were interested was simply because there was no other entertainment in this world... By comparison, this puppet-play version of One Piece could be called a masterpiece.

The second act began. The execution platform on stage transformed into a tavern. A group of puppets sat at the bar, and unlike the first act, there was a fat man behind the counter wiping a glass.

"Isn't that the owner of the izakaya? Why is he here?"

"I heard he recently developed a new type of alcohol, was it wine or lychee wine?"

"Let's just watch the play, I think it's quite interesting..."

A short, black-haired puppet walked into the bar and shouted: "I, Monkey D. Luffy, will prove to you all today that I can also become a pirate!" As he spoke, he bent his arm and slashed his face with a knife.

"Hahahaha!"

"This puppet is so funny!"

"Look at that movement, it's hilarious!"

"Monkey D. Luffy? He has a 'D' in his name just like the previous Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Is there some connection between them?"

The villagers had a low threshold for humor and showed unprecedented interest in this novel performance they had never seen before. Although the puppet's movements were not realistic, they could understand the meaning behind the actions, and there were even some analytical plot-seekers among the audience.

"Fool, what are you doing!"

"To Luffy's courage, brothers, cheers!"

"Keep drinking, keep drinking!"

The pirate puppets in front of the bar continued to drink amidst the commotion. The red-haired pirate captain, wearing a straw hat, slammed a large sum of money onto the table, signaling the owner to serve drinks. At this moment, the fat izakaya owner turned around and actually took several bottles of wine from the cabinet, saying: "New izakaya wine, certified by Lord Takikage. Even Luffy says it's good after drinking it! Everyone is welcome to taste it!"

The Luffy puppet walked to the bar, his hand covering the mouth of the bottle. Underneath, a hidden chakra thread extended to open the cork, and instantly, a rich aroma filled the air!

"It smells so good... it smells sweet..."

"The izakaya's wine? To think there is such fragrant wine!"

"Wine? I love grapes, I must go and try it!"

This was the wine Ruri had arranged to be developed, which had now finished brewing. By taking advantage of the puppet play's buzz, the advertising effect was highly successful. Unsurprisingly, the izakaya would be packed within a few days. Of course, the fat izakaya owner had paid a hefty advertising fee to appear in the puppet play, and Ruri did not pocket it; these fees were given to Jianming and the apprentices.