Flying Puppet?

The Wood Clone controlling the puppet said, "It's more than just pretty good..."

Swish, swish... The five fingers on each claw spread apart.

Then they shot out again.

They circled the two Wood Clones and closed in.

Extremely fine steel wires glinted coldly, appearing and disappearing one after another.

The sight was enough to make one break out in a cold sweat.

Swish! The two Wood Clones reacted swiftly, both leaping up.

Their feet adhered to the ceiling.

The wires pulled along by the ten fingers missed them.

"Retract!" The Chakra Threads pulled taut.

The ten steel wires rapidly retracted along with the detached fingers.

Even the wrists flew back along the wires and reconnected with the puppet.

It was a dazzling display.

Immediately afterward.

Its head, arms, chest, abdomen, thighs...

Numerous mechanisms opened layer by layer.

Spiral blades emerged, covering the puppet's entire body.

They gleamed coldly, a somewhat chilling sight.

Click... click...

The Wood Clone's ten fingers moved slightly.

Under the control of the Chakra Threads,

the puppet's legs miraculously joined together.

They formed a cone, while blades appeared on all sides of its hands.

The white puppet spun like a top.

Whoosh, whoosh-

Bang... bang...

"Its performance is pretty good in every respect, but I can't test it any further..."

Looking at the room in shambles, the Wood Clone nodded in satisfaction. "If I test all those mechanisms and hidden weapons and accidentally wreck the whole room, the original will chew me out."

Meanwhile-

Rikuto returned from Kurenai Yuhi's home, feeling refreshed.

As for breakfast, Kurenai Yuhi, a good wife and loving mother, had already volunteered to take care of it, so he had nothing to worry about.

Yesterday, he had given Kurenai Yuhi that Genjutsu scroll, though she had repeatedly declined it.

But at his insistence, she had accepted the gift.

As far as Rikuto was concerned, he had already committed the information it contained to memory.

Keeping it would have been a waste.

Besides, when it came to the "Sister Kurenai" he had already set his sights on,

he had no intention of keeping it to himself.

Instead, he would put in as much effort as possible and do everything he could to improve her strength and give her more ways to stay alive.

The world of ninja was cruel.

All manner of Ninjutsu, Secret Techniques, and Forbidden Techniques emerged endlessly, making them impossible to guard against.

Even someone at the Kage level could fall victim to one if they were even slightly careless.

They could suffer a crushing defeat.

And the price could often be their life.

Not to mention an elite Chunin of "ordinary strength" like Kurenai Yuhi.

If Sister Kurenai can smoothly master those advanced Genjutsu, including the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, her strength should be no less than a Jonin's!

With the Genjutsu her maternal great-grandmother left behind, along with the insights and experiences related to them, Sister Kurenai's aptitude is good enough that once she slowly absorbs all this precious knowledge, becoming an elite Jonin in the future shouldn't be a problem! Rikuto thought to himself.

He had heard the commotion in the room.

After helping Chiya Nao, who was already awake but growing weaker, wash up, he helped the elderly woman sit on the living room sofa.

Then he went straight to the training room.

"Is it all finished?"

Looking at the mess,

and at the humanoid puppet that was nearly identical to the design he had drawn,

Rikuto's mouth twitched, and he felt somewhat helpless.

He looked at his Wood Clones.

"Yeah, we've done our best to finish it. The rest is up to you, original!"

The three Wood Clones spoke in unison.

At the same time, they each turned into a human-shaped piece of wood.

They merged into Rikuto's body at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Phew..." After receiving the memories sent back by the Wood Clones, Rikuto let out a long breath.

But unlike when he had trained in those Genjutsu, he did not collapse from exhaustion.

He sat down to rest for a while, taking the opportunity to inspect the puppet the Wood Clones had just finished and fixing a few details they had missed.

"Not bad. I'll call it Rikuto No. 1!"

Rikuto, who was terrible at naming things, stroked his chin and thought for a long time.

He finally finished naming the new puppet and put it away.

By the time Kurenai Yuhi brought over two piping-hot breakfasts,

he had fully recovered his energy.

His exhaustion was gone.

Chapter 29: Flying Puppet? [Please support]

Swish...

In the sunny countryside,

Tenten, who had just finished her morning training, was preparing to head to the Ninja Academy.

But suddenly,

a dark shadow came at her.

Her eyes narrowed sharply, and she jumped in fright.

But she reacted swiftly and immediately leaped backward.

When she saw the "figure" that had attacked her, her eyes widened.

A white humanoid puppet stood there.

Chakra Threads connected to it.

And not far away

was a familiar figure.

"Rikuto..."

Before Tenten could call out,

the white puppet had already charged at her.

As though it had truly come to life, it swung a fist at Tenten.

Bang! Tenten dodged immediately.

At the same time, she had kept up her Taijutsu while training with Rikuto.

Unwilling to be outdone, she kicked out without holding back.

Bang!

The white humanoid puppet swung its leg too.

The two figures clashed.

Bang... bang...

As time passed,

Tenten realized she could not defeat the puppet at all.

Having tried everything and worked up a sweat all over, Tenten raised her little hands and panted, "Stop, stop, I give up!"

"Tenten, this level won't do. Looks like we need to step up your training!" Rikuto said with a smile, Chakra Threads extending from his ten fingers as he controlled the white humanoid puppet.

"I've already been working really hard. I'm not a genius like you, Rikuto..."

Tenten said irritably.

But without stopping to wipe away her sweat, she trotted over.

Her eyes shone as she gazed at the white humanoid puppet, both surprised and delighted. "Rikuto, is this the puppet you made?"

"This is the puppet I just finished. I call it 'Rikuto No. 1.' You can use it for training from now on!"

With practiced ease,

Rikuto sealed the puppet inside a storage scroll.

He also took out a small scroll and handed it to Tenten.

One was the storage scroll Tenten had given him earlier, used to store the new puppet and its associated parts and materials.

The other was an ordinary scroll containing information about the puppet, making it easier for its user to operate.

Under Tenten's delighted gaze, he smiled and said, "This contains its structural diagrams, the details of all its functions, how to control it, some mechanisms to watch out for, maintenance methods, and so on..."

"I've also included spare replacements for some important parts, so if anything breaks, you can replace it right away!"

"Take your time studying it, and come ask me if there's anything you don't understand!"

"Rikuto No. 1? That's amazing!"

She took the scrolls.

Tenten was overjoyed.

She gazed at Rikuto with admiration. "You're really amazing, Rikuto!"

She had not expected him to finish making the puppet so quickly.

And from her firsthand experience just now, she knew exactly how formidable it was.

Rikuto had merely controlled it and used it to compete with her in Taijutsu.

He had not yet used its actual mechanisms.

Rikuto No. 1 and the puppet doll from before were as different as heaven and earth.

Even without seeing its true combat form, she found that it had already far exceeded her expectations.

"But, Rikuto, are you really not planning to go to the Ninja Academy anymore?" Tenten asked curiously.

By now, it was not just her—the entire Ninja Academy already knew.