Kankuro's Puppet?

The afternoon sun over Konoha was just right.

To ordinary people, this vibrant sunlight was only a little glaring, but to Ye Tian, it was a rare tonic.

Atop a utility pole in the village, Ye Tian sat cross-legged like a lazy cat, his eyes half-closed. At a height ordinary people could scarcely reach, he greedily absorbed and exhaled the Sun Essence Fire. Though this level of "sun essence" was a hundred thousand miles inferior to the Pure Yang Qi of the cultivation world, in this world where Spiritual Energy was scarce, it could barely be used to temper his frail body.

"Whew... It may be slow, but at least it never runs out."

Ye Tian slowly exhaled a mouthful of stale air. Just as he was about to change positions and continue his "photosynthesis," a burst of noisy commotion suddenly rose from the street below.

"Boss! That technique you used just now was incredible! That figure... Damn!"

"Hehe, of course! That was my masterpiece, the Sexy Jutsu!"

From the street corner, Naruto in his orange tracksuit and the little brat Konohamaru in goggles came charging out like wild horses that had broken loose. The two had clearly just engaged in some rather improper ninja technique exchange and were currently in a state of extreme excitement.

However, joy turning to sorrow was an eternal truth.

Because he was running too fast and talking over his shoulder, Konohamaru did not watch where he was going and slammed headfirst into someone standing in the middle of the street.

Bang.

Konohamaru yelped and fell onto the ground.

"Ow... Hey! Don't you watch where you're going, you jerk?!" Konohamaru rubbed his backside, instinctively putting on the airs of the Hokage's grandson.

But this time, he had kicked an iron plate.

Standing before him were three strangers dressed in foreign attire.

The youth at their head had purple paint all over his face and wore a black bodysuit. A long object wrapped tightly in bandages was strapped to his back, making him look like some strange performer.

It was Kankuro, the puppeteer from Sunagakure.

"Ow... You little brat."

Kankuro's gaze darkened. He reached out, grabbed Konohamaru's long scarf, and lifted him into the air like a chick.

"Stop! Let him go!" Naruto panicked at the sight and tried to rush forward to save him.

"Hmph." A cruel smirk curled Kankuro's lips. His fingers twitched, and several hair-thin Chakra Threads instantly tripped Naruto around the ankles. Before Naruto could react, he crashed face-first onto the ground.

"What an annoying little brat. Are Konoha's Genin all this pathetic?" Kankuro tightened his grip, choking Konohamaru until his face turned blue as his feet kicked helplessly in the air.

Temari, carrying a massive iron fan, watched coldly from the side. With her arms crossed, she said, "Kankuro, don't take it too far. If he finds out..."

"Shut up! A rude brat like this needs a proper lesson, so he can learn what pain is." A bloodthirsty expression appeared on Kankuro's face as his other hand slowly clenched into a fist, seemingly ready to give Konohamaru a vicious blow.

The atmosphere instantly tightened to the extreme.

Yet just as everyone thought Konohamaru was about to suffer.

Ye Tian, seated atop the utility pole, slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze did not linger on Konohamaru or Naruto. Instead, he stared fixedly at the bandage-wrapped Puppet on Kankuro's back—Crow.

[Ding! Low-grade spirit material detected.]

[Item Name: Mechanical Puppet (Inferior Version)]

[Material Analysis: The main body is made from thirty-year iron birch wood. The joints contain trace amounts of Chakra-Conducting Metal. The internal hidden weapons have been soaked in mixed poison.]

[Evaluation: A crudely made trash artifact with abysmal refining techniques and no spirituality whatsoever. However, considering the material possesses a certain degree of poison resistance and memory, it has slight recycling value. Disassembly and recovery recommended.]

The system notification made Ye Tian's eyes light up.

"It may be trash, but that conductive metal in the joints is good stuff. Once refined, it can be used to repair the hilt of my Flying Sword."

Ye Tian licked his lips, looking at Kankuro as though he were a mobile recycling station.

"Since he came all this way to deliver materials, he shouldn't expect to leave in one piece."

Ye Tian casually pulled out a pebble the size of a fingernail from his pocket.

This was no ordinary pebble.

During his spare time over the past few days, he had inscribed a miniature Immobility Spell onto it. Because the material was so poor, it could only take effect for an instant, but that was enough for this situation.

"Go."

Ye Tian flicked his finger.

Whoosh!

The pebble became a blur too fast for the naked eye to catch. It made no sound as it cut through the air and struck the pressure point on the wrist of the hand Kankuro was using to hold Konohamaru.

"Argh!"

Kankuro suddenly felt an electric numbness shoot through his wrist. Then his entire arm instantly went numb, as though it no longer belonged to him.

His fingers loosened uncontrollably.

Thud.

Konohamaru landed hard on his backside, gasping for breath as he clutched his throat and coughed violently.

"Who?! Who ambushed me?!"

Kankuro was shocked. Covering his still-trembling wrist, he looked around in fury and alarm. For that instant, he had felt as though his meridians had been severed. Such precise technique was not something an ordinary brat could pull off!

"Cough, cough... Young people these days are awfully hot-blooded."

A weak voice came from above.

Everyone looked up.

A thin figure drifted down lightly from the utility pole. Rather than landing in a cool ninja crouch, he touched down like a falling leaf, his feet barely brushing the ground without raising a speck of dust.

Leaning on his signature branch cane, Ye Tian covered his mouth and coughed twice. His face was pale as paper, and he looked as if a gust of wind could knock him over.

"Who are you?" Kankuro watched this sickly-looking fellow warily.

Ye Tian did not answer. Instead, he slowly walked over to Konohamaru and stood in front of him. Then he lifted his eyelids and inspected Kankuro... and the Puppet behind him with the look one gave a country bumpkin.

"Friend from another village, coming all this way to Konoha just to bully children doesn't seem very appropriate, does it?"

Ye Tian smiled, then pointed behind Kankuro. "And... if I'm not mistaken, the joints inside that big thing on your back seem to have rusted? I can hear that teeth-grinding friction from all the way over here. Tsk, tsk. You really need to keep up with maintenance. Want me to sell you some lubricant at a discount?"

Kankuro's expression changed instantly.

To a puppeteer, a Puppet was half his life. Being publicly told by an outsider that his Puppet had rusted and was poorly maintained was the greatest insult to his professional pride!

"You bastard... What nonsense are you spouting?!" Kankuro gritted his teeth and abruptly spread his fingers.

Buzz!

Five pale blue Chakra Threads shot from his fingertips and connected to the Puppet on his back.

Yet in Ye Tian's Spirit Eye Technique vision, these so-called Chakra Threads were unbearably crude.

If the Object Manipulation Technique used by a low-level Cultivator was silk, then Kankuro's Chakra Threads were like thick hemp ropes coated in mud. Not only was their energy impure and mixed, but his control was also incomparably stiff.

"Too crude. It's painful to watch."

Ye Tian secretly shook his head. With this level of control, a slight tremor from my Divine Sense could sever his connection to the Puppet outright. I could even seize control of that Puppet and make it stab him instead.

However, in order to maintain his "frail and sickly" image, Ye Tian did not act directly.

"What? Did I hit the mark, so now you're embarrassed and angry enough to attack?" Ye Tian took half a step back in apparent fear, but he "accidentally" stepped on a stone and swayed.

"Die! Crow!"

Kankuro had been thoroughly enraged. Just as he was about to throw out his Puppet and teach this sharp-tongued invalid a lesson.

At that moment.

Whoosh!

Another pebble came flying with a sharp whistle, smashing heavily into the back of Kankuro's raised hand.

Smack!

The powerful strike directly interrupted Kankuro's attack.

"Isn't it a little too arrogant to cause trouble in someone else's village?"

Along with that cold, proud voice, Sasuke sat on a nearby tree branch, tossing another pebble in his hand with an unbearably cool expression.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Ye Tian glanced at the tree-dwelling Sasuke and laughed inwardly. This guy is still so good at showing off. But fine, it saves me from acting personally and exposing my strength.

Kankuro truly snapped this time. First, he had been toyed with by a sickly invalid, and now another pretentious bastard had appeared.

"You Konoha brats... Every last one of you is pissing me off!"

He reached for the bandages on his back, preparing to get serious.

"Stop, Kankuro."

A voice cold enough to contain not the slightest warmth suddenly rang out from above everyone's heads.

It seemed to come from the depths of hell itself, carrying a suffocating stench of blood.

Everyone froze.

Ye Tian narrowed his eyes slightly and looked toward a higher branch.

A red-haired youth hung upside down from the branch, his arms crossed over his chest. His pale green eyes, ringed by heavy dark circles, looked down coldly upon those below.

Sandstorm Gaara.

"You'll disgrace the village." Gaara looked at Kankuro, his tone carrying undisguised killing intent.

The formerly arrogant Kankuro broke into a cold sweat the instant he heard that voice, like a mouse seeing a cat. He meekly withdrew his hand. "But... those guys started it..."

"Shut up." Gaara had no interest in hearing an explanation. Then he transformed into a spray of sand and appeared on the ground in an instant.

He gave Sasuke a long look, seemingly somewhat interested in the person who had been able to interrupt Kankuro.

Then his gaze swept over Ye Tian.

But it was only a passing glance.

In his eyes, this sickly fellow, whose Chakra fluctuations were pitifully weak, was not worth his attention.

What he did not know was that at that very moment, the "weak invalid" was staring at him with burning eyes.

"So this is the One-Tail's jinchuriki..."

Ye Tian stared at Gaara's distinctive dark circles. Not only did he feel no fear, but an inexplicable sense of familiarity rose within him.

"Look at those heavy dark circles. Look at that violent yet constantly overflowing mental energy..."

"He's practically one of those cultivation world grindlords who stay awake for decades straight to break through a bottleneck!"

Ye Tian marveled inwardly. This kid is a fine prospect for cultivation! That talent for never needing sleep and staying awake at all times would be wasted if he didn't cultivate! Give him a copy of the Great Dream Heart Sutra, and he could definitely become a generation-defining ghost immortal!

Of course, what attracted Ye Tian most was still the gourd on Gaara's back.

Even from several meters away, Ye Tian could smell the dense Earth Spiritual Energy emanating from within it.

"Several hundred pounds of Supreme-Grade Spirit Sand..."

Ye Tian could not help swallowing. His fingers rubbed together unconsciously as a hundred different "robbery" plans began forming in his mind.

"We're leaving."

Gaara ignored everyone's gazes and turned to leave.

Kankuro and Temari hurried after him, not daring to linger for even a moment.

Watching the three depart, Sasuke jumped down from the tree, his expression grave. "That guy... is strong."

Naruto and Konohamaru were still too shaken to recover.

Only Ye Tian remained where he was, leaning on his cane with a meaningful smile on his lips.

"I don't know whether he's strong or not."

Ye Tian murmured softly, his voice audible only to himself.

"But I know he must be rich."

The Chunin Ninja Exams...

This grand feast, gathering "fat sheep" from every nation, was finally about to begin.