Inside a sand-earth house on the outermost edge of the Hidden Sand Village.
A black-haired boy about ten years old was sitting on a chair, tinkering with an arm.
This arm was, of course, not a human arm, but a prosthetic limb.
Behind him was a female Puppet with an explosive figure, almost indistinguishable from a real person.
"I finally managed to research and create a missile. It really took some effort. If I hadn't known the Asura Path Pain could launch missiles, I would have thought they were all explosive tags. Installing one inside the arm... OK, not a trace can be seen. Perfect~"
The boy examined the incredibly lifelike arm, very satisfied, with a hint of pride on his face.
However, the boy sighed, "Ah, but one missile isn't quite enough. The future Sasuke seems to know a Ninja Tool Summoning Jutsu. He can instantly summon Ninja tools just by touching the seal on his arm. I'll see if I get a chance to learn that Ninja Tool Summoning Jutsu in the future and add it to my precious item. That way, I won't be restricted."
The boy's name was Shindai, a Genin from the Hidden Sand Village.
However, Shindai's Genin status was questionable. Shindai had never attended the Hidden Sand Village's Ninja Academy nor participated in any assessments. His uncle had forced it upon him, and Shindai didn't want to be a Ninja.
Oh, right, Shindai's uncle was the Third Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village.
Shindai was a member of the Third Kazekage's clan and possessed the Magnetic Release Bloodline Limit.
However, Shindai had no memory of his parents at all.
Because before Shindai was even two years old, his parents had sacrificed themselves while on a mission.
After that, the Third Kazekage adopted Shindai.
But calling it adoption, 'free-range raising' would probably be more accurate.
The Third Kazekage would just send someone to deliver food to Shindai every day, just enough to keep him from starving.
Have you ever seen someone feed a two-year-old child flatbread so hard it's inedible?
Shindai had experienced it.
Fortunately, children in this world already had all their teeth by the age of two, otherwise Shindai truly believed he wouldn't have survived until now.
Shindai still remembered how he had almost choked to death back then, and only managed to swallow it after drinking water in time.
However, Shindai still felt that his survival until now was a miracle.
This wasn't because the Third Kazekage deliberately made things difficult for Shindai; he was genuinely too busy and couldn't look after Shindai at all.
When Shindai turned three, the Third Kazekage visited him and gave him three scrolls.
One was a scroll detailing Chakra cultivation methods and basic Ninjutsu like the Three Body Technique, one was a Magnet Release scroll, and the other was a Puppet Technique scroll.
Without any Teacher's guidance, he was just left to practice on his own, with no regard for whether Shindai could learn.
Later, Shindai would barely see the Third Kazekage once a year.
And Shindai stayed holed up at home, not going out. Even when someone came to deliver food, Shindai would have them leave it at the door and only retrieve it after they had left.
This was because Shindai was truly terrified of dying inexplicably.
After all, this world was too dangerous; it could be said that everyone was cannon fodder.
Shindai's talent was formidable. Without a Teacher, he managed to learn how to refine Chakra and master the Magnet Release scroll and Puppet Technique scroll the Third Kazekage had given him.
Furthermore, because Shindai possessed knowledge not from this world, he had his own unique understanding of Puppet Technique.
It wasn't Shindai bragging, but in the Ninja World, he could be considered a minor genius.
But...
Even if he was a genius with the Magnetic Release Bloodline Limit, what use was it?
He was just high-level cannon fodder.
This world was all about background.
The protagonist group was powerful, right? As the protagonist group, they shouldn't die, right?
Hey, Neji, one of the Konoha 12, just died inexplicably like that.
Later, during battles, they'd either create a meteorite crater, flatten a mountain, or even split the Moon in half. How could anyone possibly play like that?
It was impossible to play at all.
So, let those protagonists handle the fighting. Anyway, the protagonists would definitely save the world in the end. He would just develop peacefully, ensure his own survival, and live his own little life well.
When Shindai was six, the Third Kazekage visited him once and discovered the Puppets Shindai had made. The Third Kazekage praised them repeatedly, believing that the Puppets Shindai created were no less impressive than those made by Sasori, who was known as the genius Puppet designer in the Hidden Sand Village.
The Third Kazekage thought Shindai might possess extremely high talent and wanted Shindai to directly go to the battlefield for combat experience.
This idea of the Third Kazekage scared Shindai so much he bristled.
He was only six years old! Sending him to the battlefield at six, was that something a person could do?!
Moreover, it was currently the early stage of the Third Shinobi World War, and local skirmishes had already begun.
War, ah, that was a meat grinder for human lives.
Shindai believed that if he dared to go, he would dare to die, so he absolutely didn't dare.
Shindai had originally wanted to show off his Magnet Release to the Third Kazekage but immediately gave up.
If the Third Kazekage found out, he would have to go to the battlefield even if he didn't want to.
Shindai had no feelings for the Hidden Sand Village. His parents had died early, he had always been left to fend for himself, living alone as a shut-in on the outermost edge of the Hidden Sand Village since childhood. He could count the people he had met on one hand, and he only had one friend.
Therefore, Shindai had absolutely no sense of readiness to sacrifice himself for the Hidden Sand Village. He just wanted to properly strengthen his own power, have a little self-preservation ability in the future, marry one... marry two gentle and beautiful wives, and happily live out this life.
So Shindai immediately threw a tantrum, saying he had hemophobia and couldn't stand blood, and that he couldn't fight at all. Let alone Magnet Release, he couldn't even learn ordinary Ninjutsu; he only knew how to make Puppets. Shindai even hid himself.
Of course, hiding was useless. Shindai was immediately found by the Third Kazekage and then given a good beating.
The Third Kazekage tested Shindai. Under Shindai's deliberate efforts, all his Ninjutsu attempts failed, and he was even terrible at controlling Puppets.
Only then did the Third Kazekage become disappointed in Shindai, thinking that Shindai only had some talent in making Puppets and was a waste in other areas.
The Third Kazekage could only abandon the idea of sending Shindai to the battlefield. He had Shindai make Puppets for Puppet Technique Ninja in the Hidden Sand Village and then have Shindai become a breeder in the Hidden Sand Village.
Because the Third Kazekage and Shindai had few clan members, he had Shindai branch out and produce more Ninja with the Magnetic Release Bloodline Limit in the future, which would also indirectly increase the Hidden Sand Village's strength.
However, Shindai was too busy researching and making his own Puppets; how could he have time to make Puppets for others?
So far, Shindai had only made two Puppets for other Ninja.
But honestly, anything made by Shindai was a masterpiece. Even though they were just Puppets Shindai casually made in a day, they were countless times better than the Puppets made by Puppet masters in the Hidden Sand Village.
Shindai picked up the arm on the table and carefully attached it to the female Puppet behind him.
After installing it, Shindai examined it, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Perfect~"
This female Puppet had a curvy figure, which was very pleasing to the eye. Its face was a feminized version modeled after Shindai's own face.
It wasn't Shindai bragging, but his appearance after growing up would definitely be that of a standard handsome guy, so the feminized face modeled after him was also incredibly stunning and beautiful.
And the name of this female Puppet was also very similar to Shindai's. Shindai named her 'Kannazuki'.