Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 201 Hidan: I don't like fighting and killing; I want to be an "office worker" in the future.

call!

Chiyo walked out of the Kazekage Building and was greeted by a vast expanse of yellow sand.

The wind and sand blew like knives from the distant dunes, slapping against her slightly weathered face and sticking sand to her dry, cracked lips.

"I should have thought of that sooner."

Chiyo took a deep breath through her nose. The air felt like it was on fire, and the heat ignited her lungs as she inhaled it. The stuffy feeling made her dizzy.

Yes, I should have thought of that earlier.

How could a genius who receives so much attention and admiration be willing to become a useless person?

For Luo Sha, any glimmer of hope was a lifeline, and he would cling to it desperately.

"Tch." Chiyo frowned, a look of weariness and boredom crossing her face. "They're all really messing things up."

She is already in her forties, which is considered "old age" in the ninja world where the average lifespan is fifty years, and her physical condition has long begun to decline.

Given her achievements and qualifications, she should now retire and enjoy her golden years with her family.

Chiyo originally planned to retire from the front lines after the Second Shinobi World War, like the two Hokage of Konoha, to go fishing when there was trouble and to cause trouble for the Kazekage when there was none.

However, she was really worried about Sunagakure in the present situation.

Transforming living people into puppets seems rather impractical, especially if the experiment has any flaws...

Chiyo always felt uneasy when she thought of Rasa's appearance.

"Mother-in-law?"

A timid voice suddenly came from above. Chiyo snapped out of her daze and subconsciously looked up. When she saw the earthen house in front of her, she realized that she had unknowingly walked home.

The person who spoke was a boy with red hair and a somewhat dejected expression.

"scorpion."

Chiyo smiled kindly as she looked at the boy standing by the second-floor window.

That's her grandson, who's five years old this year.

Scorpion seemed happy to see Chiyo, a smile appearing on his face. He turned and came down from the second floor to open the door for Chiyo.

"Welcome home, Mother-in-law."

As Chiyo entered the house, the clamor of the wind was immediately shut out from outside the door.

Looking up at the scorpion gazing at her, Chiyo slowly squatted down, becoming the same height as the scorpion before her.

As he crouched down, the sand on his body formed thin streams that slowly dripped to the ground.

"Good boy/girl."

Chiyo smiled kindly, her wrinkles smoothing out, and reached out to ruffle Sasori's red hair, asking, "What's wrong? Are you hungry?"

It seemed different from what he had imagined. The young scorpion's expression turned dejected again. He forced a smile and shook his head slightly, saying, "No, no, I..."

Before he could finish speaking, his stomach rumbled, making his face turn red.

Chiyo could naturally see through his insincerity. She sighed inwardly and then smiled, "Come on, go wash your hands first. Grandma will make you something delicious."

After watching Scorpion nod and walk into the bathroom, Chiyo looked up at the spacious but somewhat deserted living room, and the feeling that she had forgotten something important became clearer.

Her gaze swept across the calendar on the wall, and she suddenly realized with surprise what day it was.

Today is Scorpion's sixth birthday...

Realizing this, Chiyo also fell silent.

On Scorpion's fifth birthday, the four of them took a family photo together, and then they went off to their respective battlefields.

In other words, her son and daughter-in-law, Sasori's father and mother, have not returned for a year due to the sudden changes on the battlefield in the Land of Rain and the constraints on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers.

What does it feel like for a four- or five-year-old child to be away from their parents for a year?

Even her mother-in-law had forgotten that today was Scorpion's birthday.

Imagine, when Scorpion wakes up, looking at the hazy, dark sky, the empty, desolate room, and listening to the seemingly endless howling outside the window, he must feel abandoned by the world.

Loneliness will be fully revealed in that moment.

"Mother-in-law?"

Chiyo pulled herself out of her complicated thoughts and saw Scorpion tilting his head and looking at her.

Chiyo blinked, forcing a smile, and said calmly, "Scorpion, today is your birthday. I'll make you a cake tonight. Tell Grandma, is there anything you want to wish for?"

Upon hearing this, Scorpion paused for a moment, then smiled, but quickly seemed to remember something, the smile faded, and he lowered his head and whispered, "I... I want my mom and dad to come home..."

Upon hearing this, Chiyo felt even more heartbroken. She cupped Scorpion's small face in her hands and smiled gently, "Grandma promises you, next year on your birthday, our whole family will celebrate together."

"...Yes, I trust my mother-in-law."

Scorpion looked down at the ground, clearly wanting to escape, but still obediently said, "I know Mom, Dad, and Grandma are very busy. I can take care of myself here by myself."

"Hahaha……"

Chiyo's heart trembled, and she quickly looked up and smiled as if to hide something.

Suddenly, she remembered the puppetry scroll the Third Kazekage had casually returned to her, and looked down at Sasori with a smile, asking, "Oh, by the way, Grandma has some fun toys, would you like to see them?"

"Toys?" Scorpion's eyes lit up. "Can they play with me?"

"Of course." Chiyo nodded, the scroll fluttering from the edge of her robe as she swiftly formed hand seals.

boom!Boom!

With a series of crisp sounds, the white mist exploded, and nine puppets dressed in pure white robes appeared before Scorpion.

They have ferocious faces and strange appearances. Some look like evil ascetics, some look like ram-horned, human-faced demons guarding hell, and some even have bright red cat faces. They vary in height, weight, and appearance.

These are the nine Chikamatsu Ten Ninja who have been repaired. There is one more that has been completely damaged by the black cat's magic and is beyond repair.

The appearance of these demons and monsters did not frighten Scorpion; instead, it made his eyes light up.

Click! Click!

Chiyo's nine fingers were connected to the nine puppets by tiny, invisible chakra threads. As her nine fingers moved, the "Nine Chikamatsu Puppet Masters," who reeked of blood, began to twist their bodies irregularly.

Their limbs are stiff, their movements are uncoordinated, and they twist in a very strange way, like dancers who have just learned to dance. But it is precisely because of this that they give people a particularly comical feeling when they look at them as a whole.

Seeing this, Scorpion was quickly amused, a genuine smile spreading across his face. He looked up at Chiyo and asked hopefully, "Can I play with these?"

Chiyo smiled, shook her head, took out a large scroll from her pocket, squatted down and encouraged him, "Scorpion can try making it himself. Only puppets made by yourself are truly your own."

Seeing this, Scorpion opened his big eyes, took the large scroll, kissed Chiyo on the cheek, and happily said, "Thank you, Grandma! I love this gift!"

Chiyo touched her cheek and chuckled as she ruffled his hair: "Go on, put your things back in your room, and look at them after you finish eating."

"Mmm!" Scorpion nodded repeatedly, hugged the large roll, and ran back to his room on the second floor.

As Scorpion's figure disappeared from her sight, Chiyo stood up and looked at the "Nine Chikamatsu" in front of her. She thought of that incredibly strange black cat again, and her smile gradually faded before she frowned again.

Can this war really end next year?

The Second Shinobi World War has reached this point, with the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, Hanzo, and the Land of Rain all gambling everything.

The defeated side will inevitably suffer disgrace and be reprimanded by the daimyo, and the "shadow" as the leader will inevitably resign.

Unless one side is completely incapable of resistance, neither side can accept the outcome of defeat.

Moreover, there's also "Dawn," whose motives are unclear and whose strength is a mystery...

Thinking of this, Chiyo felt increasingly tired and powerless.

Meanwhile, in a room on the second floor.

Scorpion sat down at the desk with great excitement and unrolled the huge scroll.

The scroll is titled "Puppet Manipulation Basics: From Beginner to Expert".

But when Scorpion unrolled the large scroll to its final position, a small scroll fell out.

Scorpion picked it up and unfolded it, tilting his head in confusion, and read aloud, "The Art of Creating and Controlling Human Puppets: The Path to Eternal Life?"

A puppet and a human puppet? What's the difference?

"Scorpion, dinner's ready!"

Hearing the noise from downstairs, Scorpion instinctively closed the reel and shouted, "Coming right away, Grandma!"

He then looked down at the scroll, hesitated for a moment, and put it into the drawer.

Since it was given by my mother-in-law, it should be fine, right?

--------

At this moment, the rain in the Land of Rain is getting heavier and heavier.

Large raindrops collided and broke apart in the air as the wind blew them, scattering water droplets on the ground. The wind grew stronger, and the dark clouds rolled in.

With the sound of his footsteps splashing in the puddles, Yahiko ran back to his front door in the rain.

"call!"

A few puffs of hot white mist escaped his lips. Standing under the eaves, he turned to look at the rain in front of him and murmured, "It's been half a year since I've seen such heavy rain."

Even in the Land of Rain, known as the "Land of Weeping," it doesn't rain heavily every day. Most of the time, it's just shrouded in dark clouds, with the occasional glimpse of warm sunlight breaking through them.

"I wonder when this country will stop crying." Thinking to himself, Yahiko turned around and knocked on the door.

Knock...knock knock...

After waiting for a while, no one answered, which made Yahiko pause for a moment. As if he remembered something, he frowned, looked around, and then took out a spare key from under the doormat and inserted it into the keyhole.

Click.

The small room, about 60 or 70 square meters, was empty, and the tightly closed windows creaked as the wind rattled them.

A gray-haired boy sat cross-legged on the living room sofa, looking down at a book on his lap. He seemed to have come across a passage he couldn't understand, and his thumb and forefinger repeatedly rubbed and kneaded the corner of the page.

As soon as Yahiko opened the door, a torrential downpour and a fierce wind rushed in, causing the pages of the open books in the boy's hands and in front of him to rustle loudly.

"Hidan! What are you doing now?"

The boy snapped out of his daze and subconsciously looked up, only to have his ear grabbed by Yahiko, who had suddenly appeared.

Yahiko's tone was fierce, but he didn't actually use any force. The boy's face still contorted in pain as he cried out, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! You bastard! You're bullying a child! I'm going to tell Sister Konan and Brother Yunchuan!"

Hearing this, even though it wasn't the first time this brat had called him "uncle," Yahiko still laughed in exasperation: "You brat, I've told you so many times, even though I raised you, I'm not that much older than you!"

This brat is the child he picked up from the evil god cult in the Land of Hot Water. He practically raised him from infancy, but the older he gets, the more disobedient and unlovable he becomes.

"Besides, Xiao Nan is only a few months younger than me, and Boss Yun Chuan is several years older than me. Why are they older sisters and brothers, and I'm just an uncle?"

However, even as he spoke, he loosened his grip. But when he looked down at the books, he couldn't help but twitch his face, pinching Hidan's cheek and asking, "Why are you reading such useless books again?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the titles of the books again.

The Taisho Tripitaka, The Origin and Roots of Religion, A Deep Analysis of the Doctrines and Rationality of Cults, The Psychology of Religion...

Some of these books were taken from the previous group of "monks," such as Buddhist scriptures like the Taisho Tripitaka and "The Origin and Root of Religion."

Some of them were compiled by others, such as the mysterious head of the medical department's "Religious Psychology" and... "Analysis of the Doctrines of Evil God Cults".

Other religious books were fine, but when Yahiko saw the book "A Deep Analysis of the Doctrines and the Rationality of Existence of Evil God Cults," his heart skipped a beat, and his whole face burned.

Because this booklet was something he wrote in a month of racking his brains to earn "baby formula money," which was a subsidy. It was full of emotional venting and subjective opinions, without any structure.

To borrow the words of Yun Chuan, this is "academic garbage," undoubtedly a negative example.

"Where did you find this lousy book?" Yahiko grabbed the "academic garbage" and said angrily.

"I found it in the study... Oh dear, you sound like a nagging old woman."

Hidan, whose face was being pinched, picked at his ear and said nonchalantly, "Didn't you tell me to read more books and broaden my knowledge when I have free time?"

"I didn't tell you to read this kind of book!"

Looking at this brat who had surpassed his master and was even more shameless than himself, Yahiko rubbed his face and said irritably, "There are so many swordsmanship books in the study, why don't you read them? You're only three years old, how can you understand these books?"

Perhaps it's because of the final ritual performed by the evil god cult?

Yahiko had long noticed that this kid was more precocious than other children his age. He was relieved after confirming with the eldest brother that there was nothing wrong with the kid's health, but he didn't expect that he was already so precocious that he could read those obscure and difficult books.

"Ugh, I don't watch that stuff." Hidan said, his neck stiff, his words muffled. "Only uncultured brutes do swordplay and fighting. I want to be an 'office worker' from now on."

Mi Yan, the illiterate brute, turned pale, but he couldn't force the brat to learn if he didn't want to.

Why are so many people signing up for military service?

Part of it is because they can't survive and just want to have a full meal. The other part is just so that their children can do what they want in the future.

In Uncle Meiyu's words, sacrifice is a necessary price to pay. Either they pay it, or the children pay it, or the grandchildren pay it. Their generation is covered in blood and mud, so they should pay it.

"I can't do anything with you."

Thinking of this, Yahiko reluctantly let go of his hand, took out a wet scroll from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "I'm going to cook. Could you put this on the windowsill to dry for me?"

But just as Yahiko got up, there was a knock on the door, and a familiar yet cold voice came from outside: "Konoha has decided to take action against Hanzo. Go to the Hall of Heroes to prepare for the pre-battle mobilization."

Upon recognizing Nagato's voice, the previously relaxed Yahiko instantly tensed up and shoved the scroll directly into Hidan's arms.

In the blink of an eye, all Hidan could see was the open door and a sentence in his ear.

"Take care of your own meals during this time. If you really can't, go find Nono-neechan for a free meal!"

"whispering sound."

Hidan rubbed his cheek, which had been pinched red, and reluctantly unrolled the scroll, muttering, "What is this?"

As he spoke, he lowered his head, his gaze sweeping across the scroll.

—The Power of Nature and the Secrets of Witchcraft.

(End of this chapter)