"Let me show you!"
Hoshino curled his right hand into a claw, and five Chakra Threads extended from his fingertips, connecting to the puppet's head and limbs.
The puppet immediately jumped out of the box and stood on Gaara's palm, waving its arms and legs as it began to perform.
First, it imitated Gaara's usual frown. Then it pulled all sorts of exaggerated, silly faces. Finally, it even began to dance Sunagakure's traditional dance of blessing.
Temari couldn't help laughing. "It's so cute! Hoshino, I want one too. Will you make me one?"
"Wait, move aside!"
Hoshino pushed away the little head that had leaned in and continued making the puppet perform all sorts of movements.
Gaara's ears had turned slightly red, but he couldn't take his eyes off the puppet.
He felt a warm current flow through him.
It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
Even the Tailed Beast Chakra that had always been affecting him seemed to grow much more docile at that moment.
"Gaara!" A radiant smile spread across Hoshino's face.
"If you feel lonely, tell it, and it'll tell you jokes. If you're scared, hug it, and it'll sing to you too."
"Look!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the puppet stopped dancing and looked up at Gaara.
Its eyes shone with a gentle light, and it softly began to sing an old Sunagakure nursery rhyme.
It was a tune Gaara's mother had once hummed, one he had thought he'd long since forgotten.
Gaara's eyes grew slightly moist as he carefully cupped the puppet in his palms, as though it were the most precious treasure in the world.
Watching her brother's expression, Temari felt a surge of complicated emotions.
She had never seen Gaara so relaxed.
"Hoshino..." Gaara suddenly spoke. "Thank you."
Hoshino froze for a moment, then broke into a huge smile. "You're welcome! But you have to promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Don't ever say you're going to kill us again. It really hurts our feelings!" Hoshino said with a show of seriousness.
The corners of Gaara's mouth lifted slightly, forming an almost imperceptible smile.
"Okay!"
Hearing the barely audible word, Temari couldn't help widening her eyes, as though she had seen something unbelievable.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Dusk had deepened, and the sandstorm's lingering force still raged. Wind and sand beat against the windows with a rustling sound.
"It's so late, I'd better slip away! If Lord Kazekage comes back and finds me here, he'll probably toss me into the desert to feed the scorpions."
Hoshino glanced at the sky and spoke a little sheepishly.
"Ah! Father will be back soon. Hurry, hurry! I'm done for if we get caught!"
Hearing this, Temari seemed to snap back to her senses. She slapped her little head, grabbed Hoshino, and ran outside.
Before leaving, Hoshino waved at Gaara.
"Gaara, remember what I said! The puppet will always be with you, and we... we'll always be with you too."
Their footsteps faded into the distance, and the room fell quiet again, leaving only the sound of wind and sand beating against the windows.
Gaara looked down at the puppet in his hands, a flicker of loneliness passing through his eyes.
He was used to being alone, used to being feared, used to curling up alone in a corner at night, listening to Shukaku's whispers.
But today, everything had changed.
The puppet gently took hold of his finger and said in a childish voice, "Gaara, don't be sad. We'll all always be with you."
The corners of Gaara's mouth lifted into a faint smile.
He carefully held the puppet to his chest and whispered, "Thank you... I'm not alone anymore."
The puppet blinked and softly hummed the old Sunagakure nursery rhyme.
The singing was gentle, as though it carried his mother's presence, making Gaara feel a sense of peace he had never known before.
"I'm needed too..." Gaara murmured, a tear sliding from the corner of his eye.
This time, the tear was no longer cold.
"Grandma Chiyo, I'm home!"
Hoshino pushed open the door, kicked his shoes aside, and trotted inside.
Grandma Chiyo was sitting upright at a low table, working on an unfinished puppet component.
Hearing Hoshino's voice,
she slowly raised her head. Her weathered face gradually relaxed, and an exceptionally rare smile appeared.
"Xiaoye, why are you home so late again? Dinner's on the table, remember to eat!"
"Grandma, I stayed out playing a little longer today and lost track of time."
Hoshino went to the table and wolfed down his meal. Seeing that Grandma Chiyo suspected nothing, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After Hoshino finished eating and washed the dishes,
Grandma Chiyo beckoned him over. "Xiaoye, come take a look. How do you think this puppet mechanism should be made?"
Hoshino hurried to Grandma Chiyo's side, his gaze falling on the unfinished puppet component.
Tools and spare parts lay scattered around them.
He bent forward slightly and studied it for a moment, then picked up a joint-shaped component and turned it as he spoke.
"Grandma, I think we could look at the structure of an insect's leg for this joint's design."
"Look, insect leg joints are flexible and can make all kinds of complex movements, and also..."
"..."
As she listened to Hoshino speak so knowledgeably about all manner of puppet-related subjects,
Grandma Chiyo nodded from time to time, her eyes full of approval.
Growing absorbed in his explanation, Hoshino picked up a pen and paper from beside him and quickly drew a sketch.
"Look, we could design the joint with multiple linked axes and pair it with a retractable support structure."
"That would not only give the puppet a greater range of movement, but also let it adjust flexibly in battle to meet different offensive and defensive needs."
"At the joint connections, we could embed this kind of... so you can control it more easily."
Grandma Chiyo took the sketch, her eyes fixed on the lines and annotations, full of amazement.
"Xiaoye, you really are clever. Your talent is greater than... never mind, I won't say it!"
Hoshino smiled sheepishly. "I just like tinkering with ideas. Whatever I see, I end up connecting it to the Puppet Technique."
In truth, he had skillfully incorporated his understanding of mechanical structures and energy conduction from Divine Machine Hundred Refinements into puppet design.
As the saying went, all methods shared the same origin.
Divine Machine Hundred Refinements and the Puppet Technique were highly compatible to begin with.
At that moment, Grandma Chiyo set the sketch aside and looked kindly at Hoshino, speaking solemnly.
"Xiaoye, you'll be starting third grade soon, won't you?"
"Yes!"
"I've made you hide your talent. You don't blame me, do you?"
"Of course not!" Hoshino shook his head repeatedly. "I don't know why, but you must be doing it for my own good!"
"I'm glad you don't blame me!" Grandma Chiyo smiled.
"Starting tomorrow, you won't need to hide anymore. Show your talent to your heart's content in Sunagakure! The future is yours!"