Giving Puppets... Life

With their pay in hand, not only was Tsunade feeling a little carried away, but even Jingyi's fingers itched.

Of course, he would not be going to the casino. He wanted to buy a batch of quality materials and components for making puppets.

Jingyi had no interest in becoming a second-generation big spender.

Although Konoha had few puppet ninja, the village had legitimate channels for purchasing materials.

After work, Jingyi said to Tsunade, "You go buy groceries at the market. I'm going to buy a batch of materials and parts. What I prepared isn't enough, so I need more."

"Go on, go on. Don't waste time. I have something important to do tonight."

Tsunade waved him off carelessly, urging Jingyi to get moving and come back quickly.

As for what important matter it was, there was no need to guess. She had money in her pocket, so her hands were starting to itch.

Unless she lost every last coin in her pocket, Tsunade would never calm down.

He bought the materials, then went home to cook.

After dinner, Tsunade lay on the sofa, curiously watching Jingyi enter a busy state.

He took all sorts of materials from a sealing scroll, including an animal corpse.

It was a tiger more than three meters tall and over six meters long without counting its tail. In his previous life, such a massive creature would certainly have made countless people cry that it had become a demon.

But in the Shinobi World, a creature of that size was nothing remarkable.

There were plenty of creatures in the Shinobi World as huge as small mountains.

The living room had limited space, so Jingyi could only begin by choosing relatively smaller materials.

As for the larger ones, he could only wait until his days off and find an open area to make them.

Otherwise, once he brought out the corpses, they could crush the house from overcrowding.

Watching Jingyi implant various materials into the tiger's body, Tsunade, who had been lying on the sofa, sat up.

She was very curious why Jingyi wanted to make such a puppet.

Puppet masters were not exclusive to Sunagakure. All five great shinobi villages had puppet ninja, though Sunagakure simply had more of them.

However, puppet ninja from every village mostly made humanoid puppets.

Even when they made animal-shaped puppets, they rarely used animal corpses. Most simply assembled them directly from components.

As a result, the puppets made that way were not aesthetically pleasing.

Puppets made from corpses were even harder to describe.

Puppet ninja who did that were not well liked, either. After all, no one wanted to associate with someone who played with corpses, except for those puppet ninja from Sunagakure.

Very soon, the various parts were assembled. Several chakra threads danced in Jingyi's hands, and the corpse lying on the floor slowly rose.

The tiger that had once been a corpse stood up. Its body, over three meters tall, carried considerable pressure.

Unfortunately, its movements were very stiff.

A failed product.

Tsunade lost interest after only one glance.

To her, Jingyi's puppet had focused too much on reproducing the form of a living creature, which directly turned it into a failure.

It lacked the various attack methods that ordinary puppets should have. What use could a puppet like this possibly have?

As a disposable item?

That would be far too wasteful.

Jingyi stood before the puppet thoughtfully, raising a hand to place it on the puppet's body. He closed his eyes as though sensing something.

What was this brat up to?

Watching Jingyi think for a while, then fuss with the puppet for a while, Tsunade could not understand why he was wasting his effort. This puppet was obviously already useless.

Either keep it as a memento or dismantle it for salvage.

If he salvaged it, he could at least get a tiger hide and some reusable components.

People always had special feelings for their first creation. Even if it was a failure, they were reluctant to give it up.

Tsunade felt that she could understand Jingyi's feelings.

She thought Jingyi's current feelings were like how she had felt the first time she successfully formulated a highly effective medicine.

"You can study it slowly by yourself. I'm heading back first. I still have two classes tonight."

Having been left on the sidelines and bored for quite some time, Tsunade saw that Jingyi's mind was entirely focused on the puppet, as concentrated as Orochimaru when he conducted experiments.

Tsunade knew there was no point in staying, so she might as well slip away early.

"Mm."

Jingyi responded casually, his gaze fixed on the puppet. He did not even turn around to bid Tsunade farewell.

"Take it easy. Medical ninjutsu combined with Chakra Enhanced Strength and taijutsu already gives you the ability to protect yourself. There's no need to waste too much time on puppets."

Bang!

Looking back at the closed door, Jingyi's lips curled slightly upward.

Was making puppets truly a waste of time?

He raised his hand and placed it on the puppet.

As chakra entered the puppet's control core, the puppet, which had originally needed chakra threads to control it and moved stiffly, suddenly lit up its two dim eyes.

The puppet had come back to life.

This was the Root cause of Jingyi making puppets.

The Tenseigan could grant life to puppets, so he did not need to make traditional puppets like those of Sunagakure.

After being granted life, the tiger puppet moved around the living room as flexibly as a living creature. Even difficult, tricky movements posed no problem. The only issue was that the floor was not strong enough; it kept creaking and could be crushed at any moment.

"Lie down."

The puppet immediately lay down and stayed put obediently.

For the sake of the floor at home, Jingyi decided that he should make puppets outside the village in the future.

Although there were many secluded places in the village, that old bastard, the Third Hokage, sat in the Hokage Office whenever he had nothing to do, holding a crystal ball and peeping everywhere.

Jingyi did not want to expose the secret of his puppets at this time.

He would make another flying puppet, save the remaining materials, and leave the village during the holidays to slowly make them somewhere secluded outside.

He could also test the puppets' strength while he was at it.

For the following period, Jingyi devoted most of his energy to making puppets. Fortunately, he still went to work normally every day and did not let the puppets affect his job.

Time passed quickly, and the end of the year arrived. Lush Konoha was blanketed in white snow, and everyone on the streets wore thick cotton clothes.

Somehow, Jingyi felt that the Tenseigan's fetal movement was coming soon. It might begin after the New Year.

But weather like this was best for lying at home and sealing oneself beneath a blanket.

"Ha..." Jingyi yawned as he carried the things he had bought from the market.

Being dragged out early in the morning to run to the market was truly irritating. But since he had run into Tsunade, an unreasonable bandit, there was nothing he could do.

Kushina and Nawaki would at most shout a few times. Tsunade was different; that female bandit would charge straight into the bedroom and pull off his blanket.

After returning home, Jingyi began ordering the lazy Tsunade and Nawaki to work.

Once the barbecue grill was set up, Tsunade was responsible for lighting the charcoal, Nawaki and Kushina were responsible for errands, and Jingyi was responsible for grilling the meat.

The marinated meat quickly gave off the fragrance of barbecue after being placed on the grill. As various seasonings were sprinkled over it, Tsunade, Kushina, and Nawaki all began swallowing saliva.

This barbecue smelled incredible.

When the heat seemed about right, Jingyi picked up a brush and started brushing on oil. After waiting a few minutes, he announced, "You can start eating."

Before his words had even finished, Tsunade, already unable to wait, grabbed a fork, speared a huge piece of meat, and took a fierce bite.

"Whew, it smells so good. Hiss—hot! If you don't become a medical ninja, kid, you could open a barbecue restaurant and definitely make a lot of money."

"I want some too."

Nawaki copied her, grabbing a fork, spearing a piece of meat, and biting into it. He was immediately scalded and grimaced in pain.

"Kushina, don't copy them. They eat like starving ghosts."

Jingyi speared two pieces of beef, cut them into smaller pieces, placed them on a plate, and only then handed it to Kushina.

"Thank you. Jingyi, you're so nice."

Kushina was delighted, her beautiful big eyes curving into crescents as she smiled.

You're the starving ghost!

Tsunade nearly choked on those words and shot Jingyi a fierce Byakugan glare.