The days of being a puppeteer in Konoha

Chapter 5: First Class (Part )

At this point, how could the little ninjas not realize that they had fallen into a trap?

But they did not blame themselves for being too stupid and naive. Instead, they were all indignantly denouncing the teacher of the puppetry class.

Because it goes without saying that the person who locked them up here must be this guy they have never met before.

Very good, he even deceived the students. This really fits their stereotype that puppeteers are sinister and cunning.

Xi Rihong, who always prided herself on being extremely smart, was so angry that she stamped her feet at the thought of falling into such a simple trap.

"It's just like what dad said. All puppeteers are bad people. This teacher actually used such despicable means to trick us into coming to class."

At this moment, a clear male voice suddenly sounded in the warehouse:

"Using puppets to lure the enemy deep into the trap and destroy them is one of the most basic tactics of puppeteers. How can it be called a despicable method?"

"As the beginning of this puppetry course, I think it is the most suitable."

For some reason, although the words were not loud, they were clearly heard by all the little ninjas, causing everyone to suddenly quiet down.

They looked in the direction of the voice and found that a black-haired young man with a high ponytail had appeared on the stage at some point.

He was about twenty years old, handsome, wearing a dark blue wide-sleeved kimono, with a reassuring smile on his face.

The little black cat then came to the young man's side and rubbed his trouser leg with its cheek affectionately.

Is this guy really a puppeteer?
Many young ninjas couldn't help but wonder in their hearts.

Because the elegant big brother in front of them was completely different from those puppeteers with ugly faces and strange patterns painted on their faces that they had heard about since childhood!

But their doubts were soon dispelled.

Because the black-haired young man then began to introduce himself:
"My name is Kimura Hideki, and I'm a puppeteer."

"Starting from this school year, I will be in charge of teaching the puppetry course at the school."

"You can call me Kimura-sensei or Hideki-sensei."

As he spoke, Hideki slowly glanced at the young ninjas in the audience.

Although there are some familiar faces among them, Hideki is more concerned about the number of students...

Forty-six people.

There are not many students in the Ninja School. Generally, there are three or four classes in each grade, with more than 20 students in each class.

Therefore, having more than 40 participants in a training course is already a good result.

Of course, now they have just been tricked, and they may not be so easily fooled in the next class.

Therefore, how to make everyone willing to stay in just one class is the biggest problem that Hideki will face.

Just like now, in response to Hideki's self-introduction, everyone was just reluctantly responding out of resentment of being deceived:
"Hello, Mr. Kimura..."

However, some of the girls are quite positive.

Xihi Hong, who has always been obsessed with looks, put her hands in a praying position, and her red agate eyes were sparkling:
"Teacher Hideki is so handsome~"

Who was just saying that there are no good puppeteers?
Asuma, who was standing by, couldn't help but complain in his heart when he saw this, and the look he gave Hideki became more unfriendly.

Then he seemed to have thought of something, and with a twist of his mouth, he raised his hand and said:
"Mr. Kimura..."

"You just said 'use puppets to lure the enemy deeper', but this is obviously just an ordinary cat!"

The little ninjas nodded slightly upon hearing this, feeling that what the teacher had just said was indeed a little imprecise.

But Hideki just smiled slightly when he saw this, and then said leisurely in the tone of a card player:

"That's not necessarily true~"

"Perhaps this seemingly cat-like thing is not as simple as everyone imagines..."

The little ninjas showed disbelief when they heard this, and they all fixed their eyes on the little black cat on the stage who was still licking its fur intently.

But no matter how they looked, they could not find any flaws.

Is the teacher scaring us again?
Many young ninjas began to grumble in their hearts.

That’s right, aren’t all puppets hideous-looking killing machines?

How could such a cute little kitten be a puppet?
——However, before they could raise any objections, Hideki, with a slightly raised corner of his mouth, raised his right hand and lightly snapped his fingers.

Then, the next moment, the little black cat that was licking its fur suddenly froze in place, as if time had stopped at that moment...

Even the bright spot in the cat's big eyes disappeared, as if it had lost its vitality all of a sudden.

The lively little black cat suddenly became dead. This weird scene made all the little ninjas speechless. After a while, the whole classroom started to explode!

"Wait, what's going on?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"No way, this cat is really just a puppet?"

"Woo woo woo, my little kitty..."

The little ninjas were either curious or resistant or emotional or sad, but they all expressed the shock of having their worldviews refreshed by shouting and yelling.

When everyone gradually quieted down under Hideki's smiling gaze, he spoke:

"As you can see, this cute little cat is just a puppet controlled by me."

"If you still don't believe me, I can open it and show you..."

"Don't be so polite, teacher!"

"We believe it. Isn't it enough if we believe it?"

The little ninjas all shook their heads like rattles, fearing that if they were too slow to refuse, this unconventional teacher would really cut the cat into pieces on the spot.

Whether it is a real cat or a fake one, the picture is probably unbearable to watch...

"Is that so... Then we'll have to talk about it later."

Hideki looked regretful, but he was laughing in his heart.

And everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Then they were even more surprised to find that the kitten on the stage suddenly came alive again.

Then it gently jumped onto the teacher's right shoulder and lay on it with a well-behaved look on its face.

This made the little ninjas envious again, and they thought it would be nice to have a puppet cat like this one.

You don’t even have to clean up the shit every day…

It turns out that no matter whether the cat is alive or dead, as long as it is cute enough, it is a good cat!

"Teacher, teacher!"

At this time, Uchiha Obito suddenly raised his hand and asked a question that everyone was eager to know:

"If we continue to take this course, can we have a puppet cat like this in the future?"

Hideki looked at the expectant eyes of the audience and said to himself:
You are just dreaming!

This black cat-type puppet beast is his latest creation after many iterations on the basis of the small puppet beast. It almost represents his current level of puppet making. How could he let each of you have one?
However, in order not to dampen everyone's enthusiasm, Hideki nodded and smiled:
"How to make this kind of small puppet beast is indeed a future teaching content."

As for which version the small puppet beast is and when it will be released in the future, that is another question...

"Great!!!"

The young ninjas had no idea of ​​the hidden meaning in Hideki's words, so even a simple-minded guy like Obito had already started cheering.

The others also showed conflicted expressions.

They originally had no favorable impression of puppetry, but now their thoughts began to change.

After all, it seems that puppetry is not as bad as they have heard...

Seeing this, Hideki on the stage finally felt relieved.

Although he had formulated a complete plan to change the young ninjas' views on puppetry, it would all be in vain if no one showed up for class in the first place.

Therefore, Hideki had no choice but to take a risky move. He first used puppet beasts to trick the little ninjas into coming to class, and then used this to arouse everyone's interest in puppetry.

So even without Asuma's criticism, his pre-prepared shadow clones had already blended into the crowd, ready to ask similar questions at any time...

It now seems that this risky move has worked quite well. Although most people have not yet made up their minds to join, they are at least willing to continue listening.

But a risky move is still a risky move and cannot be used every day.

The key to whether everyone is willing to stay lies in the teaching content.

So Hideki clapped his hands to get everyone quiet, and then spoke loudly:

"Since everyone has no other questions, let's officially start the class."

(End of this chapter)