He is a true genius, with innate talent and potential ceiling as a puppeteer in the world of Naruto. In the future, he will be the strongest puppeteer in this world.
Among the eighty participants in the training selection, the two youngest are currently performing the best.
Looking at the lifelike Tom carved from white ironwood in front of him, Hardy smiled.
[Puppet Name]: Tom
[Comprehensive Parameters]:
Height: 61 cm
Weight: 14.31 kg
Materials: White ironwood, reinforced bone materials...
Energy Source: None
Operation Method: Chakra threads
[Puppet Rating]: C
[Comprehensive Evaluation]: Small quasi-living puppet, excellent agility, well-designed, possessing standard Chunin-level combat power, can be partially modified by replacing better materials to further enhance combat power.
Hardy extended his hands, and chakra threads connected to Tom, manipulating it to perform several actions.
Feeling the smooth operation, Hardy couldn't help but feel more satisfied.
Tom's combat power was probably not much worse than the chubby one.
Unfortunately, there was no blue dye. If he could take Tom back, Hardy would definitely paint this puppet cat blue.
To be able to create such a puppet in less than an hour, I am indeed a genius!
"Your name is Hardy?"
Sazan walked up to Hardy, examining him and asking.
"Yes, Jonin Sazan."
Hardy stopped his actions and stood straight in front of this superior.
"Well, good name. You made the puppet quickly. Do you not have a puppet design drawing?"
Sazan tried to show his gentle side.
While Hardy looked nervously at this Jonin who seemed fierce and ready to scold, as if he were a top Jonin in the yakuza.
"Well..."
His guess was confirmed as Sazan grinned widely, revealing a smile that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Um... If you think not having a design drawing is bad, I can supplement one right now."
Hardy looked at the Jonin with a cruel smile and hesitantly spoke.
"No! Not having a design drawing is good, very good!"
Sazan patted Hardy's shoulder, laughing heartily.
Hardy felt his shoulder ache.
Is this uncle really a puppeteer? With arms that can carry horses, some might believe he's a Jonin specializing in physical skills!
"I originally planned for you to showcase and battle each other after making the puppets. Now that others are not ready, how about I have a match with you to see how well your puppet performs?"
Sazan patted Hardy's shoulder a couple more times, laughing heartily.
"Let me do it, Sazan. If you bring out your puppet, will there be any space left for Hardy's display? Let me do it."
Ishi smiled as he walked over, pushing Sazan aside, taking off the sealing scroll on his back, and releasing a puppet that Hardy was very familiar with.
[Puppet Name]: Little Boy
[Comprehensive Parameters]:
Height: 1.35 meters
Weight: 29.18 kg
Materials: Reinforced wood, lightweight composite materials, high-strength alloy
Energy Source: None
Operation Method: Chakra threads, with five chakra connection hubs
[Puppet Rating]: B-
[Comprehensive Evaluation]: Auxiliary combat puppet, well-designed, complete structure, possessing the combat power of a newly promoted Chunin.
[Detailed Data]: ...
This was the puppet he repaired a week ago!
"Why are you carrying this puppet?"
Sazan widened his eyes.
He knew this was not the puppet Ishi usually used.
As a Jonin, Ishi's puppets were much stronger than this.
"You'll see in a moment."
Ishi said to Hardy.
After blinking and looking around, he spoke up:
"Let's go to a more remote place to fight, so as not to disturb the people here."
After saying that, he intended to pull Hardy and walk to another place.
"No need," a clear child's voice rang out.
A small red-haired boy manipulated a puppet made of white ironwood with six arms.
"My puppet is done, it's called White Ant, and it can be your opponent."
Scorpion controlled White Ant to jump in front of Tom, then turned to look at Hardy with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
His puppet was made faster than his own, but he didn't know about the quality.
After his parents' death, a faint expectation arose in his heart, which had always been as still as water.
Being young and precocious, he had no true friends among his peers because he found them all too foolish and childish. Moreover, as the grandson of Elder Chiyo, his noble status limited his interactions with peers even more.
So he could only invest his energy in his hobbies.
That is, puppetry.
The ninja games of his peers were too childish for him to engage in, and there was no one among his peers who could keep up with his progress in puppetry.
Genius is always lonely unless you meet other geniuses.
And Hardy piqued Scorpion's interest.
He seemed to have found a kindred spirit.
"So you finished it so quickly? Truly worthy of being Elder Chiyo's grandson."
Iwagakure stopped in his tracks, and Suna no Sato also looked at Scorpion's puppet in amazement.
This puppet seems pretty good too!
Hardy also looked at Scorpion.
Is it really him?
He had long suspected the identity of this red-haired boy, as their ages and hair colors matched, and being able to participate in such elite puppetry selection at such a young age indicated extremely high puppet talent.
Apart from Scorpion, it would be hard to find a second one in the vast Hidden Sand Village.
"Then let the two of you have a match!" Iwagakure decided.
So, Hardy's opponent changed from Iwagakure to Scorpion.
Unlike Konohagakure, there were no troublesome things like seals of confrontation or reconciliation in their battles. With Iwagakure as the referee, they both controlled their puppets to start the fight.
"I wonder if this White Ant has any similarities with the Black Ant made by Scorpion in the original work. But for now, it seems that White Ant's rigid functions are slightly inferior to Tom's, but it should still have the combat power of a lower-level ninja. According to the panel division, it should have a strength of C-."
After a brief exchange, Hardy couldn't help but admire.
Indeed, Scorpion, able to make such a puppet in such a short time, showed considerable skill in puppet manipulation despite his young age. Even with a certain gap in the puppet's performance, he managed to compete evenly with Hardy.
Yes, Hardy realized that his decent puppet manipulation skills were surpassed by Scorpion, who was two years younger, relying on the performance advantage of his puppet to bully a child.
He was just a fake genius disguised by external aids, while Scorpion was a true genius!
Fortunately, external aids are external aids because they are really effective compared to talent.