The Third Kazekage nodded in satisfaction.
Akasuna's gaze swept over the Kazekage's body.
He looked toward the window.
Not far away, on a rooftop, a completely black crow was lightly preening its feathers with its beak. Its pitch-black pupils met his eyes.
He curled the corners of his lips slightly and calmly looked away.
Konoha's White Fang...He sounds powerful!
He touched the stitches on his head. So soon, he could change into a new body? He really liked the body of the Kazekage in front of him.
"Pakura, Rasa."
The Third Kazekage quickly named two individuals among the jonin. A man and a woman stepped forward from the ranks and stood before the Kazekage.
"Kazekage-sama!" they called out respectfully.
The Third Kazekage looked at Pakura and Rasa standing before him.
Both were elite ninjas of the village.
Though still young, they possessed powerful bloodline limits.
"You two will each lead a squad of ninjas and immediately head to the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain," he ordered.
"Yes!"
Pakura and Rasa replied in unison.
The Kazekage nodded and continued, "Though Hanzō's poison is formidable, we have already developed an antidote. Since Hanzō is no longer a threat to you, taking Ame in a short time shouldn't be a problem!"
His gaze swept between Pakura and Rasa with oppressive intensity.
"Yes!"
Pakura and Rasa responded immediately.
---
In the Ame camp, Mizu was organizing the troops and packing supplies.
A figure silently appeared beside him.
Shiratori watched as the Ame ninjas packed explosive tags, poison fog, and toxin-coated tools. From that alone, he knew exactly what they were preparing for.
"Why are you here? Why aren't you resting?"
Mizu paused, standing in front of Shiratori, staring at him.
Shiratori looked at Mizu.
"I've already rested. I can help now."
Mizu frowned.
"We don't need your help here. Go back and rest."
Shiratori acted like he didn't hear him and asked again, "Are you going to set traps? Let me go with you!"
"No."
Mizu rejected him without hesitation.
"You'll be of no help to our squad."
He turned toward a nearby ninja and began checking necessary weapons and tools.
Shiratori followed closely behind. "I can help!"
Mizu turned around. "Do you know how to set traps?"
Setting traps wasn't without danger. Shiratori had only just recovered; he still needed plenty of rest.
"I can make puppets!"
"I can control puppets!"
"Puppets can definitely help!"
Shiratori said immediately. His eyes sparked with anticipation as he looked at Mizu, who paused, not just him, but even the other ninjas in the trap squad looked at Shiratori in surprise.
"How could you possibly know puppet jutsu?"
The ninjas in the trap squad were skeptical.
Very few people in the entire shinobi world knew puppet techniques.
Apart from Chiyo and her family, they had never heard of anyone else in the shinobi world who could control puppets.
"I really can use puppet techniques!"
Shiratori earnestly defended himself.
"Before, when I secretly went with Chiba-nii to the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, we were attacked by a puppet ninja from Suna, Akasuna. I saw him use puppet techniques."
Seeing that they didn't believe him, he hurriedly explained.
The ninjas looked at each other after seeing his expression.
Why did it feel like he wasn't lying?
"He isn't lying."
A firm voice sounded from behind Shiratori. He turned around, and to his surprise, it was Tetsuma.
He even brought Shiratori's puppet with him.
"..."
Tetsuma walked up to him and explained, "Before you left, you left Number One in my workshop. I didn't know whether you'd want to bring it to the battlefield, so I took the liberty of bringing it along."
Number One walked up beside Shiratori. He stared at it in shock.
Something was off.
Number One had self-awareness.
That thought flashed across his mind.
If Number One were just a puppet that followed commands, it would never have come with Tetsuma without a direct order.
Unless, Number One wanted to come to the battlefield on its own and chose to follow Tetsuma.
What did that mean?
It meant that aside from being unable to speak or make facial expressions, Number One's body had its own consciousness and could make independent decisions.
Tetsuma awkwardly said, "It even helped me a lot on the way here."
That sealed it.
Shiratori was now certain, Number One did possess independent consciousness.
"This is a puppet I created. Of course, Tetsuma helped me a lot too," he said to Mizu in front of him.
Tetsuma immediately clarified, "I only provided some tools, that's all. This puppet was entirely made by him."
Mizu's pupils contracted as he stared intently at the puppet standing beside Shiratori.
Number One stepped forward and extended its hand toward Mizu. He stared at the puppet's outstretched hand, his eyes shifting to Shiratori.
"This… is a puppet?"
He had seen puppets made by Suna puppet masters before. But this one was completely different.
Shiratori smiled at Mizu and explained, "My puppets are a bit different. They don't need chakra threads to follow my commands."
"..."
Mizu began to wonder if he was dreaming. Or had he entered some kind of genjutsu?
"How… how is this possible?"
The ninjas stared in disbelief at the puppet in front of them.
He looked at Number One and said, "Go say hi to everyone!"
The puppet walked toward the ninjas, who all reflexively stepped back in unison.
Number One waved at them.
"..."
They had to be hallucinating.
"I can make even more puppets! Please let me come with you!" Shiratori pleaded.
Mizu pressed his lips together. If Shiratori could truly create puppets that didn't need chakra threads, then those puppets could be incredibly useful in war.
"Go report to Hanzō-sama first," Mizu said, looking at him.
"Got it!"
He waved at Number One. "Come with me."
The puppet nimbly followed behind Shiratori, swaying its head left and right as it greeted the ninjas still watching it with uncertain eyes.
His creator said to greet these people!
On the way to Hanzō's command tent, Number One never once lowered its waving hand.