The reason is simple: only the Hidden Sand Village has advanced puppeteer knowledge.
Puppeteers were created by the Second Kazekage and developed into a new type of ninja profession by Monzaemon Gate. From its inception to the present, it has not been more than thirty years. Other ninja villages at most have some basic knowledge of puppeteer systems. Truly powerful puppeteers are only found in the Hidden Sand Village.
"The elite class of the ninja school, led by Jonin Morimiya, a typical Wind Release ninja, should not be able to teach him these things. In fact, even if someone could teach, achieving this at this age indicates limitless potential in the future."
The Jonin continued speaking to Ebizo.
"Alright, can you transfer him to your Sixth Division?"
"Yes, Lord Ebizo. Two years ago, Baiya almost wiped out over seventy percent of our puppeteers in the Sixth Division. We still haven't fully recovered, so when I saw a promising talent, I couldn't resist..."
"Alright, I understand."
Ebizo removed his hand from his gray beard and examined it again.
Such a genius was worth nurturing.
Moreover, he was only two years older than Sasori, making them peers.
Perhaps he could try to have him interact with Sasori.
After all, Sasori had become increasingly reclusive since his parents' deaths.
"It's not possible to directly transfer him to your division. I will select eighty of this new generation of puppeteers for the training list. It will be up to the leaders of each division to decide who will enter the Puppet Brigade and which division they will join."
...
...
"Puppet Brigade Training Program?"
A week after Hardy submitted the puppet maintenance task, he received this notification at home.
"Yes, you must seize this opportunity. The Puppet Brigade is the elite force of the village. For nearly ten years, almost all puppeteers who became Jonin came from here."
A ninja in his fifties, with bandages on his shoulder, placed a form on the table. This was Hardy's former team leader, Morimiya, a seasoned Jonin from the Hidden Sand Village. Due to injuries, he and Hardy had withdrawn from the front lines of the Rain Country at the same time.
Of course, Hardy was not under Morimiya on the battlefield. As a Jonin, his tasks were beyond what a year-old graduate like Hardy could handle.
"I am not a puppeteer. I became a Jonin relying on Wind Release ninjutsu and swordsmanship. My assistance in puppetry is limited. So, if you wish to advance further in the future, you must seize this opportunity."
Morimiya looked at the young man in front of him.
He was well aware of his student's potential.
His talent in ninjutsu was above average, and his swordsmanship was decent. Following the usual path, becoming a Jonin was definitely within reach. If he didn't meet an untimely end and endured a few more years, he might even reach the level of a high-ranking Jonin in certain aspects. He had a chance of becoming a Jonin, but it wasn't high.
However, in puppetry, Hardy's talent was so high that it amazed Morimiya. He believed that if Hardy could receive a sufficient inheritance of high-level puppeteer knowledge, becoming a Jonin was inevitable.
There might even be a slight chance of becoming a significant figure like Elder Chiyo in the future.
"Thank you, Morimiya-sensei."
Hardy took the form from Morimiya's hand and thanked him.
"There's no need to thank me. When you graduated and were assigned to a team, it was the most intense time on the battlefield. The formidable puppeteers in the village at that time..."
Morimiya shook his head.
"What happened to those puppeteers?"
Hardy curiously asked.
"At that time, Elder Chiyo handed over the Puppet Brigade to her son and daughter-in-law, who were also skilled puppeteers and considered two candidates to succeed the Fourth Kazekage's banner in the future. Unfortunately, in one battle, their puppet brigade encountered a team from Konoha's White Fang, resulting in heavy casualties, including the deaths of those two."
"The Jonin designated to lead your team was also temporarily assigned to the Puppet Brigade after the war, so they had to find a high-ranking Jonin like me to lead you."
Mo Mi patted Hardy's shoulder and said,"Five major ninja villages, each with a current active ninja population reaching five figures.Each graduating class of genin will not be as small as in anime, with only twenty-seven people, as some will be eliminated.In reality, these twenty-seven individuals have higher talent potential or deep enough backgrounds.Only they will have a jonin to lead them after graduation.
Hardy is one of them.His talent, compared to top-tier geniuses, has a gap but is above average.Combined with the advantage of early development, he squeezed in."
That night, at the desk, Hardy absentmindedly played with puppet parts, watching the progress bar slowly advancing at the bottom of the panel.
"It seems that the puppeteer training application has been approved."
97%, 98%, 99%...The progress bar slowly and steadily reached 100% and then instantly cleared.
"System updating...New functions opening...System update complete!"
The panel changed at that moment.Besides the original chubby puppet's panel, a new sub-panel appeared on the left, displaying Hardy's three-dimensional image.
"Is this... my own data chart?"
Hardy looked at the changes on the panel in amazement and immediately checked his attributes.
"Name: HardyAge: ElevenOccupation: Ninja (main), PuppeteerOccupational attributes: Nin: 4, Tai: 3, Gen: 3, Sen: 5, Str: 3, Spd: 4, Int: 4, Seal: 5."
"This... the Ninja Eight?"
The Ninja Eight is a way to evaluate a ninja's overall abilities using numerical values, and ninja schools use this method to grade ninjas' various abilities.These values can roughly reflect a ninja's level, but cannot represent everything.
For example, a ninja may not be good at genjutsu, but their ability to dispel genjutsu is strong.So their genjutsu index may not be high, but it could still be around six or seven points.On the other hand, someone with a genjutsu attribute of ten may find it difficult to be good at dispelling genjutsu.
Typical examples are Might Guy and Jiraiya, who are not good at genjutsu but excel at resisting it.Nevertheless, the values of the Ninja Eight are still very meaningful.
Curious, Hardy lightly touched the "Nin" word with his mind.Unable to add points, a new sub-window popped up, displaying the branch attributes of the Nin value:
"Wind Release Ninjutsu: LV1Puppetry: LV2."
"If it's just this, it seems to have limited help for me."
Hardy unwillingly clicked on each corner of the panel.After clicking on Wind Release Ninjutsu, he saw the two C-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu he currently possessed:
"Wind Release: Great BreakthroughWind Release: Gale Palm.LV2"