Moreover, Hardy noticed that Scorpion's practical experience was lacking.
If any attack reached him, the young boy seemed a bit flustered.
So Hardy changed the focus of the battle.
"Black Secret Technique: Snake Fangs."
Two more sharply polished cone-shaped fangs shot out from Tom's mouth, making a whooshing sound as they rushed towards Scorpion's head.
Hardy wasn't worried about hurting Elder Chiyo's precious grandson, as there were two Jonin watching nearby.
But Scorpion, with little practical experience, seemed a bit at a loss at this moment, quickly dodging the snake fangs and momentarily pausing his puppet's operation.
A good opportunity!
Seizing the moment, Hardy controlled Tom to break free from White Ant's entanglement and charge towards Scorpion.
Tom's performance was superior to White Ant's, being modeled after a nimble feline, and positioned as an agile puppet, far surpassing White Ant in speed.
Previously, Scorpion could entangle him with excellent puppet manipulation, but now, seizing the opportunity, he almost instantly broke free from White Ant and pounced on Scorpion.
"Uh!"
In desperation, without a puppet to protect him, Scorpion chose to draw out a kunai to block in front of him.
Iwagakure and Suna no Sato were ready for support.
Tom had already pounced on Scorpion, one hand with a kunai blocking in front of him, wedged in Tom's mouth, while the other hand shot out a chakra thread, attempting to control White Ant with one hand and pull it back to protect himself.
"You have lost, Scorpion."
Hardy raised his hand slightly, controlling Tom to reveal the final mechanism.
Tom's mouth remained open, making a clicking sound as it extended a mechanism.
A wooden cylinder.
"Inside this is a snake venom sac. Through my design, when opened, it can spray all the venom at the enemy at once when they get close, causing not only skin burns but also nerve paralysis, disrupting chakra flow."
Scorpion lowered his eyes.
"I lost. Your puppet... is very good."
Scorpion fell silent for two seconds, then added.
"Better than mine."
Iwagakure and Suna no Sato exchanged glances, then approached, one separating Scorpion and Tom, the other pulling Hardy away.
"Although I knew you had a strong puppet-making ability, I didn't expect it to be this excellent."
Iwagakure put his arm around Hardy's shoulder, praising him.
"Is the little boy Iwagakure's puppet?"
"No, this puppet is not."
The original owner of the puppet and I were in the same squad in the puppet brigade, but he was killed in battle two months ago. However, this puppet was left behind, and the village bought it from the original owner's family. Finally, it was assigned to you for maintenance," explained Ishiko simply.
"I see," Hardy nodded knowingly.
"Cough, with your and Scorpion's performance, there is definitely no problem entering the puppet brigade, so... do you want to join the Sixth Squad? As long as you join, this little boy puppet will be yours," Ishiko blinked at Hardy, tempting him.
"The Sixth Squad? What's the difference between it and the other squads?" Hardy asked curiously.
"In strict terms, the six squads of the puppet brigade are not much different, all at the same level. However, in practice, each squad will have certain differences in focus," Ishiko explained, leading Hardy to sit on a rock and began to elaborate.
"The puppet brigade is fully staffed with 150 people, divided into six squads of 25 people each, which are further divided into five small teams. The first and second squads have stronger overall combat power, with the most number of high-level and special high-level ninjas. Among them, there are teams composed entirely of special high-level ninjas who follow Elder Chiyo to execute the most dangerous missions on a daily basis."
"The third, fourth, and fifth squads also have excellent combat capabilities. Although they are not as strong in high-end combat power as the first and second squads, they often undertake important breakthrough tasks on the battlefield. Ninjas may be killed by explosive tag traps, but puppets won't."
It sounded dangerous.
"What about the Sixth Squad..."
"The Sixth Squad also performs these tasks sometimes, but usually only when manpower is insufficient. Most of the time, the Sixth Squad is responsible for the maintenance, manufacturing, and research and development of puppets for the entire puppet brigade. It is the most suitable place for you," Ishiko said.
Hardy was feeling intrigued.
"Can I inquire about some information before deciding?"
"Of course! If you choose the Sixth Squad, you will gain more there."
Ishiko blinked at Hardy, retracting the sealing scroll.
"I will keep it for you temporarily."
...
...
DC World.
Arkham Asylum.
The cold blue light shone through the glass, creating a silent and enclosed scene, which felt oppressive.
"Oh, let me see, not bad, today's dinner actually has half a German sausage, oh, this stewed mushy dish even has bacon hidden underneath, quite sumptuous," in the next room, the man in the black mask said mockingly, then wolfed down the food in his bowl.
He said it was sumptuous, but in reality, there was just a bit of food, not much in quantity.
If there was more, these prisoners might have the energy to escape.
He was not wolfing down because he was hungry, nor because it was delicious, but because it was so bad that he didn't want to eat it, so he had to swallow it quickly while his taste buds were slow to react, to end the meal as soon as possible.
In contrast to the man in the black mask, Hardy endured the terrible taste, chewing slowly and swallowing the food.
This was to aid digestion and better nutrient absorption.
He needed to refine chakra, so he had to absorb every bit of nutrition as energy.
"Phew!"
The man in the black mask spat into the empty bowl, then placed it on the wall cabinet next to the glass door.
An hour later, someone would take the utensils out from the other end of the wall cabinet for cleaning.
Not long after, Hardy finished eating and made the same move.
"Damn, when will this end! I should really let that guy in the tight suit taste it too, what do you think, puppeteer?" the man in the black mask cursed as if venting, shouting to the next room.
"Whatever, just don't eat bat sashimi when you get out later, to avoid poisoning," Hardy replied indifferently to the man in the black mask, manipulating something small hidden behind his back where the camera couldn't see.
A puppet only two centimeters in size, with Hardy's own tooth as the main body, and body parts such as nails and strands of hair pieced together.