Gift from Another World

In Konoha Year 40, time passed amid the wind and sand of the Hidden Sand Village and the clanging of the Maintenance Unit. His body was still smaller than those of children his age, but that infant-like fragility was slowly fading. At the very least, the persistent low fever and coughing no longer plagued him as often. Yet the true transformation was not in his constitution, but in the unique gift from another world that he had gradually come to recognize and control.

At first, it had only been a vague feeling.

Whenever Shaliu or the Maintenance Unit's craftsmen repaired puppets, Shaye discovered that he only needed to watch once for the complex disassembly sequence, the precise structure of every component, even the angle and force used with each tool, to be etched clearly into his mind as though carved there by the finest blade. Even when he looked again the next day or the following week, every detail remained perfectly clear.

This was not the imitation of an ordinary child. It was an absolute memory that was almost like duplication.

He tried recalling the knowledge from his previous life. Mechanical schematics he had once needed to consult repeatedly, complex mathematical formulas, stress parameters for various materials, even operating manuals for machine tools... Knowledge he had thought long buried beneath the dust of thirty years now seemed stored on an ultra-high-definition hard drive, ready to be retrieved, read, and analyzed at any moment.

Is this... photographic memory? Shaye was deeply shocked. He realized that transmigration had brought him not only a frail body, but also this vast, astonishing mental power and memory. The knowledge and experience accumulated over thirty years in his previous life had not vanished. They had been brought here in their entirety, and had become accessible at any time, incomparably clear.

Not only that, but his learning ability and comprehension had reached a terrifying level.

When the Maintenance Unit's craftsmen discussed how the grain direction of chakra-conducting metal affected energy efficiency, he could not only remember every word; his previous-life knowledge of circuit-board routing and electrical transmission loss would automatically surface, allowing him to compare and verify it. He instantly understood the underlying logic—optimized paths for energy transmission were always similar, whether for electricity or chakra.

When an old master complained that a certain ball joint wore out too quickly and constantly jammed, Shaye looked at its structure and immediately thought of the concept of ball bearings from his previous life. This world might not have standardized industrial bearings, but he understood the principle and began considering whether more wear-resistant materials or a different method of lubricating the contact surfaces could solve the problem.

He even began attempting a deeper form of "observational learning."

His gaze was no longer limited to the puppet's complete outward form. Like a high-precision scanner, it delved into the details. He would stare for long periods as a craftsman used a specialized carving knife to engrave hair-thin chakra circuits into metal.

His pupils narrowed slightly, taking in every ray of light and every detail. To him, it was no longer merely cold engraving, but the path of energy itself. Every rise and fall of the carving knife, every variation in depth, every turn, corresponded to the resistance and guidance chakra would encounter when flowing through it in the future. He noticed that the best craftsmen possessed a unique rhythm and steadiness when they worked. Even their breathing seemed to merge with the cadence of their carving, ensuring absolute precision and smoothness in the energy lines.

Control... Shaye seemed to gain some insight. It isn't just memory and understanding. You also need ultimate control to perfectly realize a design.

He subconsciously raised his small, still weak hands and tried to imitate that steadiness. He discovered that although his muscles lacked strength, his control over the minute movements of his fingers was astonishingly powerful. If he wanted a finger to move one millimeter, it would not move even one-tenth of a millimeter more. This precise correspondence between intention and bodily execution far surpassed that of an ordinary child, and even exceeded that of many adults.

It was a projection of powerful spiritual control from the depths of his soul onto his physical body. Though his bodily hardware was holding him back, his software was undoubtedly top-tier.

He began consciously making use of this advantage.

Shaliu would sometimes bring back discarded, relatively safe puppet parts for Shaye to use as toys. Other children might have simply banged them together for fun, but Shaye would spend hours repeatedly taking them apart, assembling them, and examining every latch, every gear engagement, and every bearing's rotation with his steady little hands. His movements were slow yet exceptionally precise, as though he were not playing at all, but conducting rigorous scientific research.

He would stare at the incomplete chakra circuits on the parts, gently tracing their patterns with a small finger as he simulated in his mind what might happen when energy flowed through them: where it would pass smoothly, where it might be obstructed, why the lines suddenly thickened here, why a corner there was curved rather than made into a right angle...

The mechanical engineering knowledge of his previous life and this world's Puppet Technique and chakra system began to undergo a wondrous chemical reaction within the furnace of his vast mental power.

He was no longer merely a passive observer. He began to "design" in his mind.

When he saw the Maintenance Unit agonizing over how to reduce the weight of a heavy puppet joint while maintaining its strength, he would think, What if they used a hollow structure with internal reinforcing ribs from my previous life? It would be difficult to manufacture, but not impossible...

When he saw chakra circuits burn out from prolonged high-load operation, he would consider, Energy overload is like electrical overload. Do they need a mechanism similar to a fuse? Or better heat-dissipating materials? Or perhaps optimized circuit distribution to prevent localized overheating?

An unprecedented learning machine was silently operating at full speed in a corner of the Hidden Sand Village's puppet forces logistics Maintenance Unit. Its database was the scientific and engineering knowledge accumulated over thirty years in his previous life. Its sensors were those black eyes that perceived every detail. Its processor was his incomparably vast mental power and extraordinary memory. And its goal was to understand and master one of this world's core power systems—the Puppet Technique.

Shaliu occasionally noticed his son's unusual concentration and those overly precise movements that did not seem childlike. At first, he took them merely for a child's curiosity and imitation. But gradually, a hint of confusion and surprise would flash through his eyes. He discovered that the order in which Shaye handled the parts was sometimes even more logical than that of some newly arrived Genin apprentices.

In the end, however, he attributed it to the child having spent so much time in the Maintenance Unit, learning through constant exposure. Perhaps... there was also just a little talent involved? This occasionally allowed a faint ray of comforting light to shine into his grief-stricken heart.

Shaye, meanwhile, was completely immersed in the joy of discovery and the thrill of absorbing knowledge.

A weak body? It did not matter.

A bad start? It did not matter.

As long as he had this "gift," as long as he had this knowledge, as long as this world full of mechanical charm existed.

He believed that one day, he would use these seemingly powerless little hands to grasp the strength to change his fate, and perhaps even... touch that dream shining like the stars.

(End of Chapter)