After reading this data, Hardy became even more puzzled.
A puppet at the Chunin level, and it was left to a Genin puppeteer like himself to repair?
Suddenly, Hardy remembered some information he had heard from the guidance Jonin a while ago.
This might be a good thing.
Due to years of continuous wars, the puppet forces seemed to be recruiting more.
Hardy picked up the mission scroll and carefully examined it.
The mission was commissioned by the puppet forces.
Not by a specific team within the puppet forces, nor by an individual.
This was different from before.
Could it be that he had attracted attention and entered the training sequence of the village's puppet makers?
Was this mission a test for himself?
The puppet forces, any puppeteer from the Hidden Sand Village, wanted to join.
It was a force that could rival the Anbu in strategic position, with a legacy of more puppet jutsu and ninjutsu, as well as richer resources.
And...
Hardy looked at the progress bar at the bottom of the panel that remained still.
Forget it, let's finish the work first.
He took out a pencil and started writing and drawing on paper.
After about ten minutes, a brand new modification plan was completed.
"The left mechanical claw hinge is broken, the right toothed cutter bearing is damaged and needs to be replaced, model..."
"The mouth's thousand-burst launcher is rusted, clean with acid No. 3."
"It is speculated that the rusting is due to the user placing poisoned needles soaked in poison for a long time, causing corrosion by the poison in some parts. Apply an antidote coating to the relevant parts..."
Hardy had never directly touched a Chunin-level puppet before, only watched others use it.
Its internal structure was much more complex than the Fatso puppet, with some new designs that caught Hardy's eye.
"Besides the limbs, there is a chakra hub in the core position of the torso, and the glass lens connected should be used in conjunction with some kind of perception ninjutsu. During combat, if other chakra hubs are damaged, this hub can be transferred using a sliding mechanism."
Hardy took out a notebook and made notes.
This was a new design he had never seen before. He made notes and would study it slowly after repairing it.
If he relied on his current knowledge to check one by one, it would probably take a day.
But now, it took less than an hour.
Hardy looked at the puppet construction diagram on the notebook that had been modified multiple times, then looked at the panel, put down the pencil and wooden triangle ruler, and focused his mind on the panel, modifying the puppet construction diagram according to his modification plan.
This was almost like a holographic projection, allowing him to modify it freely and simulate it perfectly to find any unreasonable or incompatible parts.
With this ability, Hardy could improve the modification plan to almost perfection within two hours.
This efficiency was tens of times, or even higher, than other puppeteers of the same level, as they found it difficult to improve a puppet to near perfection.
Those who could do this were basically higher-level puppeteers.
This was also why he could transform the Fatso puppet, a teaching tool, into a qualified Genin combat puppet.
"Oh? The No. 11 puppet awaiting repair, Little Boy, has been fixed? So quickly? Is this the first one to be submitted?"
Ebizō raised his head from piles of documents, showing a hint of fatigue on his face.
With the Third Kazekage out, as the second person in the village, the elder Chiyo was also absent, so now the Hidden Sand Village was overseen by Ebizō.
Ebizō's position in the Hidden Sand Village was similar to Danzō Shimura in Konoha, serving as an elder and the head of the Anbu. He mainly handled intelligence work.
"Little Boy's basic functions have been restored. It took four days, and even if I personally intervened, I might not have been able to do it faster. Moreover, he has made some modifications to this puppet, and even..."
The captain of the sixth division of the puppet forces, Ishihito, handed a few sheets of paper to Ebizō.
"He even proposed the next improvement plan, but it will require more resources."
Ebizō took the papers and examined them with his chin resting on his hand.
He was one of the top puppeteers in the Hidden Sand Village.
In terms of puppet jutsu, the current strongest in the ninja world was Chiyo. She had reached a high level in both puppet manipulation and puppet making and was designated as the successor of the ten-member group of the Kugutsu clan by the Nara clan.
Next was
Hidden within the text are the deceased son and daughter-in-law of Ebizo.
When it comes to manipulating puppets, Ebizo is inferior to Chiyo, but in terms of puppet crafting, Ebizo surpasses Chiyo.
"The modifications are excellent. Although the techniques used are basic, they are enough to enhance the performance of the young boy puppet by more than six percent. The idea of modifying the puppet's joint structure and chakra hub flow nodes to switch the puppet into a shield form is very interesting. It even has the embryonic form of the Mechanical Shield Seal ninjutsu."
Ebizo stroked his gray beard, showing some excitement in his eyes.
Even in his eyes, this was a perfect design.
This must have come from the hands of a naturally gifted puppeteer!
Apart from his own grandnephew, could there really be such a puppetry genius in the village?
"This child has only taken the basic puppet elective course at the ninja school. The previous instructor, Jonin Morimiya, is not a puppeteer. Besides the basic skills of lower-level ninjas, he can probably only guide in taijutsu and Wind Release ninjutsu. So, I believe this child has great potential and is suitable for the Puppet Brigade's reserve training program."
The Jonin pointed to the maintenance plan for Hardy.
"Is the background confirmed?"
Ebizo asked the Jonin.
"The orphan of Mid-ninja Sashin, whose mother was a civilian and died in childbirth. So, this child was sent to the orphanage for the children of fallen ninja at the age of one and a half. The only initial resource was the inheritance from the parents received upon entering the ninja school."
The Jonin's meaning was twofold.
First, Hardy's background was clear and respectable.
Second, there was a limited possibility of him having access to advanced puppetry knowledge, which could prove his potential as a puppeteer.
As for Hardy being turned into a spy by another ninja village and acquiring advanced puppetry knowledge from there, the possibility was virtually zero.