Konoha's Three Ninja

Shaye spent his second year in this world in a corner of the Puppet Repair Unit. He was still frail, but compared to infancy, he had become far more energetic. Whenever he was awake, he quietly observed everything, absorbing all the knowledge he could about this ninja world through his overly mature black eyes—especially anything related to puppets.

The atmosphere in the repair unit was always affected by the distant war. Tension, exhaustion, the gloom that came whenever bad news arrived, and the brief bursts of excitement when an important puppet was successfully repaired and sent to support the front lines formed the rhythm of this place.

That day, the workshop felt especially oppressive.

New battle-damaged puppets were delivered one after another, and their damage was more horrific than ever. Many had not merely been cut by blades or struck by blunt weapons. Some bore strange traces of poison corrosion; others had been torn apart by tremendous force, their fractures ragged and brutal; still others looked as though they had been half-melted by some powerful acid. The ninjas of the repair unit buried themselves in their work, their silence heavy with unspoken pressure.

Shaliu's face was covered in oil and sweat, his brow tightly furrowed as he carefully used tweezers to extract several poisoned senbon from the chest cavity of a charred puppet. His movements were slower and more cautious than usual.

"The reports from the Land of Rain..." A young ninja who had just returned from delivering supplies spoke in a low voice to his companion, panting and trembling with lingering fear. "It was awful... They say they ran into that 'demigod'..."

"Demigod?" The file in his companion's hand stopped.

"Salamander Hanzo... the leader of Hidden Rain." The young ninja lowered his voice even further, as though afraid the owner of that name might hear him. "Our forces and Konoha's forces both seem to have suffered badly at his hands..."

Shaye's ears twitched slightly. Though he spent most of his time pretending to be a quiet toddler, his attention had never relaxed. Salamander Hanzo? He had a vague impression of that name. He seemed to be an exceptionally powerful ninja in the Naruto world.

Shaliu had heard the whispers as well. He raised his head and swept the two young ninjas with a stern gaze. They immediately fell silent and returned to work. Yet the atmosphere of worry and fear had already spread through the workshop like dust, impossible to dispel.

A few days later, an even more detailed and astonishing battle report finally reached the upper ranks of Hidden Sand Village through special channels. Like water splashed into hot oil, its contents quickly caused an uproar among the village's higher-ups and certain special divisions, such as the puppet corps' logistics department.

Elder Chiyo came to the repair unit. Her expression was as calm as ever, but a deeply complicated emotion had appeared in her eyes—gravity, wariness, and even a barely perceptible... admiration?

She summoned Shaliu and several other squad leaders. She did not avoid speaking in front of Shaye, who was quietly playing in the corner with harmless little puppet parts Shaliu had polished for him. Perhaps, in her eyes, a two-year-old child could not possibly understand such matters.

"The situation on the Land of Rain battlefield has basically become clear." Chiyo's voice was steady, yet carried unquestionable authority. "Salamander Hanzo truly lives up to his reputation."

Everyone in the workshop instinctively stopped working and held their breath to listen.

"With his strength alone, he suppressed Konoha's elite force sent to the Land of Rain," Chiyo continued. "In particular, he defeated head-on Konoha's highly regarded three-man team—Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade."

The three names drew a faint chorus of sharp breaths. Even in the distant Land of Wind, the ninjas of Hidden Sand had heard, to some extent, of these three rising Konoha talents who had made names for themselves during the Second Shinobi World War. They represented the formidable strength of Konoha's new generation.

"Apparently, the battle was extraordinarily fierce. Ibuse the Salamander, Hanzo's summoned beast, released deadly poison that covered the entire battlefield. Tsunade's medical ninjutsu and poison antidotes played a crucial role, but they still could not completely withstand it. Jiraiya and Orochimaru's attacks were fierce, yet they could never truly break through Hanzo's defenses and Water Body Flicker Technique." Chiyo recounted it as though she had witnessed it herself.

Shaye pricked up his ears. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade... He knew those three names all too well. So this was the war where they became famous.

"And the final result?" Shaliu could not help asking.

Chiyo glanced at him and said evenly, "The result was that Hanzo acknowledged their strength. Even though he could have continued expanding his advantage and perhaps even killed them, he chose to stop the battle."

The workshop fell silent enough to hear a pin drop. Everyone found it unbelievable. Showing mercy to enemies on a battlefield? That was simply absurd.

"Why?" another squad leader murmured.

"Because Hanzo is an outstanding leader, not merely a powerful ninja." Chiyo's tone held a trace of emotion. "He saw the situation clearly. Although he gained the upper hand on that local battlefield and even suppressed Konoha's three elites, Konoha's overall war potential was far beyond Hidden Rain's. If they continued entangling themselves, the Land of Rain would only bleed dry. He chose the path most beneficial to Hidden Rain—displaying his strength, then seeking a dignified end."

She paused before speaking the words that would soon spread through the ninja world and become part of legend. "He bestowed the highest 'praise' upon the three Konoha ninjas who survived at his hands—he granted them the title of 'Three Ninja.'"

"Three Ninja..." Shaliu repeated the title, feeling its immense weight. This was recognition from the "demigod," a name earned through strength beneath Death's scythe.

"From this day onward, the name Konoha's Three Ninja will resound throughout the ninja world." Chiyo's final tone was difficult to read. "For us, this is by no means good news. Konoha's prestige will only grow greater because of them."

Having delivered the news, Chiyo turned and left. The workshop sank into a long silence. People digested the astonishing report, feeling both reverence for the battle between powerful figures and worry over their village's future.

In the corner, Shaye silently set down the small part in his hand.

Konoha's Three Ninja... So that was how they came to be, he thought. Survivors of a brutal battle, bearing a title granted by an opponent—a title carrying compromise and acknowledgment. The logic of war truly differed completely from that of peacetime.

He could not help thinking of the kunai his father often wiped clean, the broken puppets in the repair unit, and the tension that never seemed to leave the air.

In this world, strength was everything. Without strength, even survival could not be guaranteed, let alone his dream of building a Gundam.

Salamander Hanzo, Konoha's Three Ninja... Those names were like distant thunder, reminding him of the danger and vastness of this world. Yet he was still only a toddler trapped in a frail body, unable even to refine chakra.

A powerful longing began to grow inside him.

He wanted to understand chakra, to learn puppet techniques, to gain strength. Not merely to survive, but so that one day, he could personally touch that seemingly unreachable dream.

He looked at the cold puppet parts scattered throughout the workshop, his gaze becoming even more focused.

Perhaps they held the key to his future.