I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 309 Puppeteer: Monzaemon
"You're awake,"

When Xiao opened his eyes again, he saw the familiar hospital ceiling.

"I"

The boy lying on the operating table blinked, and his memories began to return.

"Another defeat?"

After activating 'Berserk God', Takashi immediately entered a berserker mode where he couldn't distinguish friend from foe; however, his memory was intact. Looking back now, the battle with Busujima-senpai was extremely dangerous, both for him and for her.

The last memory is of a flash of lightning; it must have been my defeat.

But why did he appear at a familiar hospital?
The reason they are familiar is because of the people around them:

"Dr. Yingchu, what's wrong with me—"

“You were sent here by Senior Kuroki, and you’re practically ripe.”

The refined-looking doctor next to him seemed quite interested.

"It's amazing it recovered; I really want to dissect it and see!"

Xiao was already used to the doctor's constant talk about anatomy.

"Thank you, doctor. The treatment fee will be sent over shortly."

"Don't you want to rest a bit more?"

Regarding Dr. Yingchu's suggestion,
Xiao waved his hand as he turned over on the operating table.

"After listening to your advice, doctor, all my illnesses have been cured."

This doctor wasn't just talking; if someone agreed to let him perform an autopsy, he really would. His repeated questioning of the patient was perhaps his last act of 'humanity'.

"Mr. Shura, here is your sword."

Stepping out of the operating room, one finds people from the Nogi Group waiting there.

Upon seeing Xiao emerge, they immediately stepped forward to present him with clothes and the 'decapitation sword' wrapped in bandages.

"Thanks,"

Although he lost again, Xiao could clearly feel it:
"The gap between us is getting smaller and smaller."

Besides the senior student, there are also:

"Senior Kuroki."

"Could you help me contact Master Kuroki Gensai? I want to thank him in person."

"No problem, we'll get right on it."

These men and women, dressed in black suits and white shirts, looking every bit the professionals, immediately nodded in agreement. They were the people from the Nogi Group who were specifically in charge of 'Shura's' daily life, so such a small matter was naturally left to them.

Thanks to that Master Kuroki, otherwise they would have lost their jobs!

Where can you find such an easy job where you only need to handle 'Shura' affairs every day?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Just as a boy who had repeatedly failed in battles was leaving the hospital, a 'doctor' also arrived at the Hanakain family home.

However, this 'doctor' is somewhat special.

"You must be tired from your journey."

"Please come in quickly,"

At the entrance to the 'town' of Hanakain, two family members dressed as Onmyoji bowed and gestured an invitation.

The newcomer had short white hair and a short white beard, wore a white robe and wooden clogs, carried a large wooden box on his back, and had a blank face; he exuded the aura of an 'old craftsman', which made the people of the Huakaiyuan family carefully invite him in.

The reason the Hanakain family could take such an attitude was certainly not because the other party was a 'doctor' or a 'craftsman'.

This person is an extraordinary being, and he was invited by the family head, Youjun.

"Master Monzaemon,"

A guide, an Onmyoji, asked in a low voice, "The other party is a puppeteer whom the family has invited from who-knows-where using their 'connections'; a supernatural being who creates bodies for the family's fallen warriors. Who would dare to be disrespectful?"

"Master, are you going to the head of the family, or..."

"Let's get to work."

The puppeteer's cold, expressionless reply seemed to show no respect whatsoever to the renowned head of the Hanakain family, Yu, the guardian of the island nation.

"Okay, this way please."

The two Onmyoji from the Hanakain family dared not say anything more.
Leading this ill-tempered puppeteer to the back of the family hospital:

The morgue!
That's right, this area has been renamed 'Kakaiin-cho', and there is also Kakaiin's own hospital here, as well as its own morgue.

The room temperature was maintained at 2.8 degrees Celsius. This low temperature environment helps slow down the decomposition process of the body and also helps maintain the condition of the body for subsequent examination and identification. The life and death of the people in the Hanakain family do not require the intervention of a forensic doctor, but it is still necessary to maintain the condition of the body.

Because this master has arrived.

"I'm going to start working,"

Upon entering the morgue, the 'puppet master,' still expressionless, began to shoo people away.

"Yes, Master. Please press this button if you have any instructions."

The two Onmyoji were quite sensible and immediately took their leave.

For a 'traditional' and extraordinary profession like theirs, family secrets are the core of the core, and naturally, no one will have the opportunity to learn them: this morgue not only has no electronic devices, but it is also equipped with thick lead plates to ensure that it cannot be eavesdropped on by any technological means.

"let's start,"

As the man named 'Monzaemon' muttered to himself, the wooden box behind him opened.

Numerous tools protrude from the wooden box like the legs of a spider, including modern instruments such as scalpels, surgical scissors, tissue forceps, and sutures, as well as ancient tools such as saws, drills, and rulers.

Next second,
These tools were then extended toward a headless corpse.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Hmm, Monzaemon must be very unhappy right now, right?"

In the living room of the main family home of the Flower Garden not far away, Yu sat on the sofa and stroked her chin.

"why?"

The girl next to her tilted her head and asked, while Yu gave a casual reply.

"Because with that 'master's' skills, it's a complete waste of his talents to make him a 'human puppet' for our family's low-level Onmyoji."

Of course, the actual situation is:

Yu's shadow clone also resisted touching the corpse.

It's not a real puppeteer like in the legends, though it's disguised. It's like 'Totosai' forging his first extraordinary weapon. It's really hard to say what kind of 'human puppet' this shadow clone named 'Monzaemon' can actually create.

And only Scorpion would be indifferent to playing with corpses;
Normal people feel somewhat uncomfortable: although the difference between Yu and a 'normal person' is only a fingertip universe.

The reason for sending a shadow clone to personally handle the operation was because the 'human puppet' skill was not to be leaked.

Human puppets are a secret technique of Sasori of the Red Sand in the Naruto world: they can transform the dead into puppets with chakra cores; and they are made with the chakra of the deceased in their lifetime, so they can completely preserve all the ninjutsu and bloodline limits of the deceased. This is the greatest advantage of human puppets.

Simply put, it is a puppet that is fearless of death and injury and possesses the strength it had in life.

Even Scorpion himself was turned into a human puppet by him!
If such a technique were to fall into the wrong hands, it would undoubtedly cause chaos in the world: extraordinary individuals could be turned into puppets that obeyed orders—it's obvious that all extraordinary individuals would rise up and attack each other relentlessly.

It's best to keep it in your own hands.

Yu personally sent a shadow clone, both to create a secondary body for the Onmyoji who died in battle for his family, and also to practice his proficiency with this ninjutsu.

As for what use this technique will have in the future?
Who cares about him?
Since I'm just killing time anyway, there's no harm in maxing out my proficiency in all the ninjutsu.

Known as the 'strongest modern' Onmyoji, Yu has plenty of time to improve his proficiency in all the ninjutsu he has mastered: although he is not happy with the shadow clones, these memories will eventually return to Yu, so it is ultimately 'himself' who is doing it personally.

In the morgue of the Kakaiin family, 'Monzaemon', with countless spider-like long-legged tools behind him, began the process of creating a cyborg puppet.

(End of this chapter)