Mechanical Puppet

Swish, swish, swish!

Tokiju's figure leaped continuously across the treetops. This was his first time traveling in the style of a ninja, and he found it incredibly awkward.

Back when he watched the anime, he thought this looked incredibly cool, but in actual practice, Tokiju only found it absurd.

Who the hell invented this ridiculous way of traveling? It was completely against nature.

Every jump, every landing, consumed so much mental energy; one slight lapse in concentration and he would miss his footing or even sprain an ankle.

In just this half-day alone, Tokiju had already tumbled out of the trees dozens of times.

At the very beginning, Uchiha Hikari would still show some concern.

But as the frequency increased, her concern gradually transformed into disdain, until now, she didn't even bother to acknowledge him.

Anyway, this guy had thick skin and calloused flesh; a fall from this height wouldn't hurt him at all.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Hikari stopped paying attention to the embarrassing mess before her and began to enjoy the scenery alone.

Seeing that she had no intention of waiting for him, Tokiju grew anxious and began to chase after her frantically.

Leaping between branches was already taxing enough, but now, with his heart in a panic, he made even more mistakes, falling until Tokiju was almost numb to the pain.

You might ask why he didn't just give up on the branches and choose to run on the ground?

Are you kidding? He ran on the ground before he transmigrated, and if he kept running on the ground after, wouldn't that mean he transmigrated for nothing?

Regardless, he wasn't in a rush right now; he had plenty of time to practice.

It was just jumping between branches; such a small matter surely couldn't stop the great Tokiju.

Fortunately, Uchiha Hikari wasn't a demon; after putting a significant distance between them, she still waited for him a little.

Looking at Uchiha Hikari, who stood before him with her arms crossed and a cold expression, Tokiju felt extremely awkward.

Just as he was about to go up and say something, he heard her say coldly, "Can you even do it, you scrawny weakling?"

After dropping that line, she turned around and continued on her way.

In the two years she had spent with Tokiju, she had learned many little insults from him.

Now that such a perfect opportunity had arisen, she naturally had to say it to get a good kick out of it.

Hearing this, Tokiju was so angry he gritted his teeth. Listen to that—was that even human language? What did she mean by "can you do it," and what was this "scrawny weakling" business?

She actually dared to use his own words against him. Just you wait; I'll use five thousand years of cultural heritage to teach you a lesson later.

Just as he was about to engage in a shouting match, he saw that Uchiha Hikari's figure had already vanished.

With nowhere to vent his frustration, Tokiju cursed inwardly, wishing he could pin Uchiha Hikari down and teach her a lesson, to show her what a real man was made of.

After smashing a nearby tree trunk with a punch, Tokiju took a few deep breaths. Looking in the direction she had left, he muttered to himself, "Just you wait. The day I come of age, I will definitely pin you, this naturally evil little Uchiha brat, to the bed and give you a thorough rubbing!"

After a bout of venting, Tokiju's mood calmed down, and the corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily.

If it were in the past, Uchiha Hikari would never have said something like that.

This feeling of being able to annoy each other was something Tokiju hadn't experienced since graduating in his previous life.

Now that he savored it for a moment, it actually felt quite nice.

After nearly twenty years of lonely life, if Uchiha Hikari hadn't been by his side, Tokiju's spirit might have collapsed long ago.

Deep in his heart, perhaps he had long since regarded her as his spiritual pillar.

Shaking his head helplessly, Tokiju continued to chase in the direction she had gone.

As time passed, the sun hung high overhead; it was now high noon.

After some traveling, Tokiju finally caught up to Uchiha Hikari—or to be precise, he didn't catch up; she had been waiting for him on purpose.

Uchiha Hikari sat quietly by a small stream, a campfire crackling beside her with a few small fish roasting over it, clearly just caught from the water.

Tokiju walked up silently, not holding a grudge over what happened earlier.

After all, a man shouldn't be petty with a woman over every little thing.

After sitting down by the fire, Tokiju immediately took a cup of milk tea from his system space and tossed it to Uchiha Hikari.

Through these years of living together, Tokiju had come to understand her preferences.

Among all the snacks Tokiju obtained through the system, milk tea was her absolute favorite.

Well, she was a girl, after all; it was understandable.

Taking the milk tea, Uchiha Hikari immediately began to sip it in small mouthfuls, a look of bliss on her face.

Seeing her like this, Tokiju smiled and picked up a roasted fish to gnaw on.

Through his accumulation over the years, Tokiju had signed in many food items from the system, but they were all alcohol and snacks.

Although they tasted great and could be fully absorbed by his body, if possible, he still wanted to eat food with a bit of "human touch."

Just like this roasted fish; although it lacked any seasoning and was as simple as could be, it still made Tokiju feel satisfied.

After a simple and satisfying lunch, Tokiju and Uchiha Hikari sat together in the shade of the trees to rest.

Although Tokiju could continuously absorb sunlight to strengthen himself, being exposed to the sun for so long was not exactly comfortable.

The sun is fair to everyone; regardless of who you are, if you dare to stare directly at it, it remains just as scorching and just as blinding.

During his downtime, Tokiju did not remain idle, instead spending his time organizing his System Space.

Suddenly, he caught sight of that mechanical puppet.

He had already taken this puppet out while inside the Sealing Space; it was a special puppet that required a portion of one's focus to control.

However, because it was useless for breaking the Sealing Space, he had simply molded its appearance before tossing it back into the System Space to gather dust.

Later on, however, out of sheer boredom, he had taken the puppet out again and played with it for a long time.

As a result, he was now able to multitask with ease, especially when it came to controlling this mechanical puppet.

The time spent playing with the puppet lasted quite a while, until Tokiju finished breaking the seal on Uchiha Hikari, at which point he tossed it back into the System Space once more.

After all, now that he had a cute, adorable girl, who would still want to play with a cold, lifeless puppet?

Seeing the puppet again now, a sudden inspiration struck Tokiju: he could use this puppet to go undercover in the Akatsuki.

Thinking of this, Tokiju immediately recalled the plot regarding the Akatsuki.

The Third Shinobi World War had just ended not long ago, so Yahiko should have already been killed by the schemes of Shimura Danzō and Salamander Hanzō.

As for the chuunibyou Nagato, he was likely hiding in the shadows with Konan, creating the Six Paths of Pain while constantly looking for an opportunity to take revenge on Salamander Hanzō.

If he went over now, he might actually be able to become a founding member.

Action followed thought; Tokiju immediately took the puppet out.

Looking at the tall puppet before him, dressed in black robes and wearing a high-tech mask, Tokiju nodded immediately: "Not bad, you can't even tell it's a puppet anymore."

If anyone who knew the character saw it, they would recognize at a glance that the puppet's appearance was identical to the Saber-class Servant Sigurd from the game FGO.

After all, Tokiju had molded this mechanical puppet exactly after Sigurd's first ascension form.

Uchiha Hikari naturally knew about this puppet, as Tokiju had taken it out many times to show off in front of her.

However, seeing it suddenly brought out again left her feeling a trace of confusion, wondering what kind of mischief Tokiju was up to this time.