Sunagakure Plaza, evening.
The wind whipped up the sand, sending it spiraling through the air.
A group of children sat in a circle on the sand, with puppet parts of all sizes laid out before them.
Isogai crouched in the middle, holding an improved chakra conduction line, his forehead covered in sweat.
Chakra conduction lines were a new technology from Konoha that had already spread throughout Sunagakure.
"Why isn't it working again?"
He pressed down hard on the puppet arm's joint. The chakra line glowed with a faint blue light, but the arm only twitched twice before coming to a complete stop.
The children nearby were also fiddling with their own puppets, but their situations were much the same.
"Mine doesn't work either. The chakra circuit always gets stuck at the third joint."
"Mine's worse. It exploded the moment I started it."
"What's so different about Konoha's technology? I followed the blueprint, so why won't it work?"
Isogai gritted his teeth and stared fixedly at the puppet arm in his hands.
His grandfather was a member of the Elders Council, a core figure among the conservatives.
If he embarrassed himself in front of his peers today, his grandfather would definitely scold him when he got home.
But if he succeeded instead, there would be a reward.
"One more try."
Isogai took a deep breath and adjusted the chakra line's position again.
But the puppet arm still did not react.
"Forget it, Isogai. This stuff is hard to begin with," a girl beside him advised.
"No!" Isogai's voice grew somewhat hurried. "I have to figure this out!"
Just then, a figure appeared at the edge of the plaza.
It was a stranger dressed in an ordinary Sunagakure ninja uniform, wearing a face mask.
He stood there quietly, watching the children.
Isogai