The flying puppet

This trip was well worth it. Not only did my Puppet Technique improve tremendously, I even learned how to make poisons and antidotes. Back in Konoha, only Tsunade would have been capable of teaching me this, and she might not even have been willing to teach me how to use poison.

Sasori deserved some praise here. Young as he was, he was bold enough to experiment with any poison. He could not even explain how some of the poisons he developed worked, but they were ferociously potent, much to Anyo's liking.

The two kindred spirits would play around with poisons after studying puppets, enjoying themselves immensely. Sometimes, Anyo even went into the desert to catch venomous creatures and bring them back. By now, the two had probably developed over a hundred kinds of poison.

Several more months passed in the blink of an eye. Chiyo returned to the village, travel-worn and looking more than twice as haggard as before. It seemed the war was not going very well. That made sense; in this era, a single ninja village could not possibly defeat Konoha alone.

When she returned, Anyo and Sasori were riding the Eagle Puppet they had made, flying back and forth through the sky and having a wonderful time.

"Sasori, come down. Granny's back." Watching from below, Chiyo felt rather frightened, afraid the two might fall.

Hearing her voice, Anyo did not dare hesitate. He controlled the eagle and brought it down in a steady, gradual descent. After these months of research, the eagle had become completely stable. Though it could not fly as fast as a real eagle, its speed was still respectable. Most importantly, it did not need to eat and only required regular maintenance, which left Anyo very satisfied.

"Granny." Sasori obediently went up and hugged Chiyo's leg.

Chiyo scooped him up affectionately, then looked at Anyo and said, "You must be the student my younger brother took in. Yes, you've done very well lately. You've kept my grandson very happy. I even heard about it while fighting at the front."

"Not at all. Sasori is a good friend of mine. We learn from each other and improve together."

To be honest, after coming to Sunagakure, Anyo's greatest gains had come not from the teacher he had apprenticed himself to, but from this child prodigy, Sasori. Anyo had a feeling that this little fellow would definitely become a top Puppeteer and poison master in the future.

In Granny Chiyo's arms, Sasori agreed. "That's right. We're good friends, and we're learning to make puppets together. Look at this Eagle Puppet. We developed it together."

Chiyo stepped forward and examined it carefully, then nodded approvingly. "Yes. Though some of the workmanship is a little rough, it's already quite impressive that you managed to make it fly."

Sasori smiled shyly. "We have your Power Core to thank, Granny. Otherwise, it couldn't fly for so long."

"The Power Core? You stole my Power Core and installed it in this basic puppet?" Chiyo's voice rose several notches.

Sasori protested, "I didn't steal it. I took it. Didn't you say everything you own would be mine someday, Granny?"

"Oh." Chiyo could no longer muster any anger and could only say, "All right, all right. What's done is done. In that case, let me modify this eagle some more. We can't let a Power Core go to waste like this."

Anyo's eyes lit up at her words, and he seized the opportunity. "Lady Chiyo, may I watch?"

Sasori wheedled as well. "Granny, I want to watch too."

Chiyo replied with a chuckle, "All right. Come along, both of you."

She truly lived up to her reputation as a top Puppeteer. When it came to skill, experience won out. A brief analysis was enough for her to understand their puppet-making workmanship. Then she took out various materials and worked on modifying it. After her repairs, the eagle was a whole size larger than before, and its appearance was even more lifelike. With its wings spread, it exuded a powerful sense of pressure.

"Now that's a work of art." Sasori stared in awe, praising it endlessly.

Chiyo was very satisfied with this creation as well. With a faint smile, she said, "Kurotsuchi, take it up for a test flight."

"Yes." Anyo was eager too. Controlling the Chakra Threads, he took the newly transformed eagle roaring into the sky.

Wind rushed past his ears with a loud whoosh. The enormous wings swept arrogantly across the blue sky as the eagle looked down upon the earth. Then its iron-like talons spread, and it stretched its neck and beat its wings, even letting out a cry like a real eagle's that reverberated through Sunagakure's valley.

"This speed is incredible."

An expert's touch showed at once. This eagle was far more than twice as capable as the previous one. It flew both swiftly and steadily, and its sharp beak and talons could now attack. It was no longer merely a simple flying puppet.

Watching from below, Sasori could hardly contain himself and shouted, "Brother Kurotsuchi, take me along!"

"Sure."

Anyo brought the eagle diving down. At its lowest point, he stopped abruptly, pulled Sasori aboard, and shot upward.

At once, Sasori's jubilant laughter filled the sky.

"It's been so long since I heard Sasori laugh this happily."

"Yes."

The man and woman who had previously observed Anyo in secret had walked up behind Chiyo at some point.

Chiyo's expression stiffened slightly. She sighed and asked, "Are you leaving?"

"Yes, Mother. The fighting at the front is intense, and now that you've returned, there's no one there to lead them. Lord Kazekage has decided to send us into battle."

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Sasori?"

"No. He's having fun right now. Let him keep enjoying himself. Once we return victorious, we'll spend some proper time with him."

Chiyo urged them repeatedly, "All right. Remember, you must come back alive."

"Don't worry. We learned your Puppet Technique directly from you. We have nothing to fear even if we encounter a Kage Level opponent."

With that, Sasori's Parents glanced at Sasori high in the sky, then turned and left Sunagakure. Anyo happened to catch sight of this as well.

After playing with Sasori for a while, Anyo sealed the Eagle Puppet into a scroll and went to find Chiyo alone.

Chiyo stared at her younger brother's student in shock. "What? You want to go to the battlefield too? Why?"

Anyo said naturally, "I've been studying in Sunagakure for so long. I want to do my part for the village."

Chiyo tried to dissuade him. "The battlefield is no game. You could easily die."

Anyo replied firmly, "How can a Ninja be afraid of death? Besides, I have this powerful puppet you made. With me there, I could travel between the squads delivering intelligence. Wouldn't that be convenient?"

His words genuinely tempted Chiyo. After weighing the matter for a while, she gritted her teeth and said, "All right, you may go. Remember to be careful on the battlefield, follow your superiors' orders, and don't blindly throw your life away."

"Yes."

Seeing Chiyo agree, Anyo breathed a sigh of relief. He had been in Sunagakure for so long that it was time to part ways. And the battlefield was a place where people could disappear most easily. It was time for his identity as Kurotsuchi to disappear.