Because Kakashi called out, everyone looked at Karna.
This guy had a strange vibe, but for sure he wasn't a ninja. He didn't have a headband or anything else to show his identity.
Even with everyone staring, Karna's face didn't change at all.
And his eyes didn't seem to focus on anything. He wasn't looking at anyone in particular, just staring blankly at a spot.
Gaara wasn't really sure who this guy was either. After all, he hadn't been awake for long, and he only knew that Karna seemed to know Hatake Satoru.
"Oh, he's Karna," Hatake Satoru said, tilting his head in a way that didn't really explain anything.
"I wasn't asking for his name..." Kakashi said, a little speechless, looking at Hatake Satoru. What was he being so vague about?
It was strange enough that this person was here at all.
Chiyo was someone they knew was coming, and Gaara was the one who had been kidnapped.
This person who suddenly appeared, with strange clothes, just seemed wrong!
"I don't know why, but he looks kind of familiar, but also like I've never seen him before."
"Yeah, that's right..." Hozuki Mangetsu and Yamato frowned as they looked Karna up and down.
This guy looked vaguely familiar, but also felt very strange. What was going on?
"He's here... and Satoru knows him. He must be a good person, right?"
Naruto wasn't very suspicious about it. He wasn't as cautious as Kakashi, and just assumed Karna was on their side.
He was excited to shake his hand.
Kakashi watched Karna's movements. He didn't seem to mean any harm, just shaking hands with Naruto.
He seemed to react to words, too.
But there was something strange about this person, maybe because he didn't talk or show any emotion?
"You guys think he looks familiar, how about like this?"
Hatake Satoru reached out and touched Karna's neck, leaving only his head visible.
Karna had to tilt his head back a little, and his eyes moved away and closed. He looked like a life-size doll that could be posed.
Kakashi frowned slightly as he thought about what he suspected.
It probably wasn't what he thought it was....
"He... hey!! Before, I didn't see him have a body!"
Hozuki Mangetsu realized what was going on, looked him up and down, and then shouted out in surprise.
"It's... that doll."
Yamato also remembered the head.
He had seen it on Hatake Satoru's desk before. It hadn't been open-eyed then, and it didn't have all this gold armor.
So when they suddenly saw it like this, they didn't recognize it at all.
"Doll?!?"
Naruto still holding Karna's hand, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Gaara also turned his head in disbelief. He had thought Karna was just a quiet person.
He didn't expect him to be a doll puppet.
Kankuro was a puppet master, so Gaara knew about these things.
But Karna's level of detail and realism was completely different from the puppets that Kankuro used.
"But he looks just like a real person, and shaking his hand... it doesn't feel that unusual."
"If he was a person, it would be fine, but knowing he's a doll makes it kind of scary!?"
Naruto carefully poked at what he was holding. It wasn't that different from a human hand, but it was very cold.
He had thought that was just how the person was, but now he realized it was a lifeless object.
Naruto's first thought was to let go of Karna's hand, but after Hatake Satoru let go of Karna's neck and raised his hand, the person just stared at Naruto with a blank face.
It felt like he had a soul, like he was a real, living person.
How scary!?
Naruto felt a bit frozen, not knowing whether to let go or not.
"...You really can come up with the unexpected."
"He's just a puppet?"
Kakashi's face showed a hint of disbelief. He had expected that Hatake Satoru wouldn't just stay put in Sunagakure.
But he didn't expect this guy to not only set up a research lab, but also learn the Sunagakure's puppet techniques.
But... this puppet seemed to be far beyond the existing technology of the Sunagakure.
And Hatake Satoru didn't have Chakra, so it probably wasn't a normal puppet technique.
"Well, I'm a busy person these days~"
"Making some puppets to help out, isn't that just natural?"
Hatake Satoru smiled proudly.
"Don't underestimate this guy. He's the one who made that explosion earlier."
Hatake Satoru patted Karna on the shoulder and said cheerfully to everyone.
"...".
"...".
Everyone around gave a look that said, "Of course it's you."
Not only were his own skills wild and unrestrained, but the puppets he created were the same.
Hozuki Mangetsu and Yamato were curiously interacting with Karna, like humans seeing artificial intelligence for the first time.
Compared to Naruto, who was scared because the doll was too human-like, they had mostly gotten over it.
After all, Hatake Satoru often made realistic human heads and bodies and threw them around, making it look like a crazy serial killer's crime scene.
They just thought it was really interesting when Karna moved.
Seeing that everyone was unreliable, Kakashi sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
"Haah... Have the Akatsuki people retreated? Or what..."
"If you destroyed all the Akatsuki members here, I would be grateful."
Kakashi tried to look away from the puppet. Even he was surprised by such a human-like puppet, but the situation here was the priority.
"All the Akatsuki members, long time no see, Kakashi, you like to dream now! There's only one person here~"
"The Sunagakure's former genius puppet master, Sasori of the Red Sand."
Hatake Satoru glanced at Kakashi and pointed with his thumb at the scattered wooden frame in the distance behind them.
"Eh? But the person who kidnapped Gaara, wasn't he the one riding a big bird, who makes explosions?"
Kakashi walked forward a few steps and looked over Sasori's body.
His whole body had been turned into a human puppet, with cracks on his face and chest, and wearing the Akatsuki organization's ring on his hand.
It was definitely his body.
"That guy left first because he was badly injured; this guy was left behind to cover the retreat."
Hatake Satoru scratched his cheek and said honestly.
Kakashi looked around thoughtfully. There really didn't seem to be any more problems.
"I understand. I'll report it."
"Now that the Kazekage is okay, let's go back to the Sunagakure.".
---
Read 30 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---