Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"In short, if I say it can't be demolished, then it can't be demolished! (▼へ▼メ)"

"..."

The entrance to the Gong Lie clan's residence is now packed with people. How many puppeteers are there in the entire village?

Even the Grand Councilor and the Kazekage Sunagawa didn't have an accurate figure on this matter. After all, puppeteers were a specialty of Sunagakure. Other villages might have people who could concoct bloodline limits like Magnet Release and Scorch Release, since fusing these two nature transformations was difficult, but when luck came your way, you couldn't stop it. Otherwise, bloodline limits wouldn't have appeared in the ninja world. They were just created by someone else's good fortune.

425. Handsome Scorpio: I'm still young, the future is mine.

However, becoming a puppeteer isn't something you can just get by sheer luck. It's something that has been perfected generation after generation by puppeteers from the Land of Wind. It's completely different from the Bloodline Limit, where one person's success brings the whole family to heaven. So, what truly represents Sunagakure is its puppeteers. Just how many puppeteers can represent the village's local specialties? Even after the massive layoffs, the number is still enormous. And now, it seems like almost all the puppeteers from the Miyako clan have come from outside the village. Even those who aren't in the village have family members carrying sacks of gold dust to wait for them.

After the massive layoffs, the village was fiercely competitive. Those who fell behind would be eliminated. In this world, there is no shortage of old people leaving and new people taking the throne. So, in order for their sons, husbands, and fathers not to be eliminated in this reform, they had no choice but to wave their money and run to the Gong Lie clan to queue up.

Meanwhile, within the Gong Lie clan, Zhen Dou was persuading Liang Zai Xie to dismantle his ten iron lumps and sell them to those in need, as their stock was truly depleted!

He hadn't expected the advertisement to be so effective; it was something he hadn't anticipated. Using his Observation Haki, he saw so many people outside carrying sacks, all there to deliver money. His wallet, already severely depleted by Scorpion's money, couldn't stand it any longer. He immediately ran to the tool shed, grabbed a wrench and hammer, and stormed into Scorpion's room. He even dismantled a large piece of metal that took up most of the space.

But Handsome Scorpion stopped him and refused to let him dismantle it, as if he would smash his head against the wall if he dared to do so. Each puppet was created by the puppeteers bit by bit, just like their children, and also represented their art. There was no reason to dismantle a puppet before it was broken. So Handsome Scorpion was very firm this time and refused to let him enter the room.

Seeing that this stubborn kid was so unyielding and wouldn't listen to reason, and with Chiyo still there, Masato couldn't do anything about it. He could only leave the problem to Chiyo. Sasori's personality was largely due to Chiyo's spoiling.

It's the kind of thing where grandparents spoil their grandchildren, and besides, this village has a super genius; anyone would pamper him...

"...You two, calm down. Sasori, Masato's right. These things are taking up too much space. Your tool shed is already small, and you definitely won't be able to fit all the new puppets you make in the future. How about we keep one as a souvenir, and take the other nine apart and sell them to those people outside? You know these materials are expensive, it's such a waste to keep them here..."

Chiyo glared at the bastard. Although she still didn't understand what was going on and why so many people were carrying sacks and waving money in front of their house, she knew without a doubt that it was her nephew's doing again. And the reason should be those giant steel golems that her precious grandson had been messing around with before.

However, this time Chiyo sided with her nephew, not because she didn't love her grandson, but because these giant steel golems were simply too big. They were fine for fighting the Seven-Tails before, but now that her precious grandson was obsessed with multiplayer... ptooey! Obsessed with real-person PvP, and no longer wanted to fight animals, these giant golems were truly useless. Did she really expect her precious grandson to use these lumps of iron for fighting?

This is just making her a sitting duck. Back when her precious son had so many bodyguards, he was stabbed in the lung and almost had a stroke. Of course, she can't let her precious grandson actually use these lumps of iron to fight people.

She had initially felt sorry for her grandson and built him a huge toy room, but now these ten metal lumps were taking up most of the space. It was a hassle for Xiuli to clean his toy room every day, so Chiyo, considering her precious grandson's perspective, decided to keep only one. Whatever these people wanted to do with the others, it was better than them getting moldy at home; consider it a way to reuse them...

Aside from facing Shinto, Handsome Scorpion is still a dutiful son to his grandma, dad, and mom. Hearing his grandma say that, he glared coldly at the bastard uncle and then stepped aside to let him in, but he didn't offer any help.

Seeing his grandmother's reaction, he wondered if she knew this guy had tricked people into buying materials to make iron golems. Would she be so angry she'd have a stroke? But for his grandmother's health, Handsome Scorpion thought it best not to say anything...

"That's right! Art is about quality, not quantity. Too much of it makes it worthless. Look at those people in Daming Prefecture who buy paintings on the street. They paint so well, so why are they so poor? It's because they paint too much, and people see too much of it, so it becomes worthless. If you keep just one, in a hundred or two hundred years, this thing will be a national treasure!"

"boom!"

"No wonder this thing couldn't withstand the giant beetle's punch. In the face of absolute power, even steel is no different from paper..."

Shinto raised an eyebrow and entered the house. Seeing that his nephew wasn't coming to help, and since he didn't know how to disassemble these things himself, he could only use the simplest and most brutal method: punching one of the metal lumps. After a muffled thud, one of the metal lumps was smashed to pieces, with various parts scattered all over the ground.

"Damn bastard...(▼へ▼メ)"

Watching his prized creation being blasted to pieces by this bastard, Handsome Scorpion clenched his fists tightly, his pretty face flushed red with anger like an angry bird. Then he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He couldn't rush things. He was still young, and the future was his...!

Chiyo rolled her eyes in annoyance when she saw her nephew had angered her precious grandson again. It was one thing for the younger one to be ignorant, but now the older one was just as ignorant.

Outsiders envy them for having two super geniuses, but how many people know the hardships they endured? One is a perpetually immature leader of children, the other an extremely aloof little brat; both are a handful...

......

"What on earth is that brat up to now...? ヽ(ー_ー)ノ"

Inside the Kazekage Tower, Sunakawa lay sprawled on the sofa, gazing listlessly at the sky, his eyes filled with a mixture of despair and helplessness. Ebizo, on the other sofa, looked similarly dejected. The ANBU underling who had come to report kept his head down, remaining silent and not responding to his boss's words. After all, this was a difficult situation to navigate. The Kazekage was the village's leader, while Shinto was their village's most popular figure, a national idol. His own status was far too low; any response would be awkward. If it weren't for the responsibility of reporting, he would have gladly carried a sack to the gates of the Miyazaki clan to queue up. He wasn't a puppeteer himself, but his sister was. Unfortunately, she wasn't in the village, and he wondered if his father could secure a good position...

426. Adults still have pocket money.....

Slumped on their respective sofas, Ebizo and Sunagawa stared at the ceiling, sometimes lost, sometimes confused, sometimes helpless. Their good mood for the day was gone just like that.

I was quite happy when I clocked in for work. The village was gradually entering a period of stable development, and the villagers were living and working in peace and contentment. Although there were more trivial matters to deal with, they had gotten used to it after decades. It was better to deal with trivial matters than to receive the bad news of their younger brother's sacrifice every day during the war.

But early this morning, before they could even figure out what was going on, their underlings reported that a large group of puppeteers were swarming towards the Gong Lie clan. If it wasn't the Gong Lie clan, they would have suspected someone was illegally gathering and plotting a coup...

After learning the rumors circulating in the village, the two were completely bewildered. This incredibly creative move reeked of utter bastardliness; who else could it be but him?

But the key question is, why did he do this? Was it to give Mei Chuan a chance to stand out?

It's no use!

If Mei Chuan Neiyi truly had talent, the platform had already been given to him, and he would eventually make a name for himself. There was no need for this whole charade; in fact, making a name for himself would be far more convincing. As for the claim that A Ying was beaten to a pulp by Mei Chuan Neiyi, they all knew it was impossible. Who was A Ying? She was among the top ten of the few puppet masters in the village. Let alone the fact that Mei Chuan Neiyi had only been practicing puppetry for a few years, even if Mei Chuan Neiyi's legs hadn't been crippled, she might not have been able to defeat A Ying. A Ying was probably Mei Chuan Neiyi's limit. Could a few newly minted pieces of scrap metal really defeat A Ying?

Do they really think puppeteers are cowards...?

So after hearing the whole story, they immediately realized that Aying must have been bribed by that bastard, Shinto. But what was that bastard's purpose in creating this wave of iron golems? To be honest, they couldn't figure it out. Even a novice puppeteer who hadn't been in the profession long knew the drawbacks of iron golems. This bastard, although uneducated and incompetent, had several puppet masters around him. How could he not know this? Knowing this, why did he still do it...? Could this bastard be a spy from an enemy village infiltrated into their Sunagakure? Was he trying to weaken the power of their puppeteers?

But... that's obviously impossible. They've watched this bastard grow up since he was a child. To put it bluntly, they know every single hair on his body. Moreover, he has some strange and unique abilities that are unique in the entire ninja world. No one else can imitate him. If this bastard weakens the puppeteer's power, isn't he just tying his own hands?

But if it weren't for that, would this bastard be so bored as to just want to sell those pieces of junk?

This bastard might be a bit crazy, but surely he doesn't have to be this bored? He's the only adult in the village who still gets pocket money; this bastard isn't short of cash...

Sunagawa and Ebizo exchanged a glance and then shook their heads, indicating that they couldn't understand what that bastard was doing.

........

"Elder Chief, Elder Chief, the news is going crazy outside! Young Master Neiyi used his new puppet to annihilate Lord Aying of the Puppet Master Army! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

"What? That's my son? Is this for real? (⊙_⊙)?"

"My grandson is that awesome? (⊙_⊙)?"

Inside the Meichuan clan's house in Meichuan Baidi's house, the current clan leader had stopped kneeling on durians, and the old clan leader Meichuan Baidi had also stopped making his son kneel on durians. Instead, he looked at the younger brother who had rushed over to report to them with a head full of question marks, wondering if the younger brother was spreading false information to scam tips. Their son (grandson) had actually managed to beat Aying to a pulp??

This... is too damn unreal!

Before their son (grandson) broke his legs, they would have had every reason to believe it was true, because his son (grandson)'s talent was just that amazing! The future successor of their number one wealthy family in the Wind Kingdom, his talent was clearly exceptional. Although he might not reach the level of the Golden Lion, defeating a girl like Aying would be no problem at all.

But now his son's (grandson's) legs are crippled. Although they still have hopes for the child, in all honesty, his talent in puppetry isn't outstanding, and he can't compare to Young Master Jie or Young Master Scorpion. Young Master Jie learned Lord Chiyo's White Secret Technique in four years, and Young Master Scorpion is even more impressive, starting to make puppets at four and mastering the White Secret Technique by six. Their son (grandson), on the other hand, spent several years barely managing to control five puppets. Compared to ordinary people, he might be considered a genius, but compared to Young Master Jie and Young Master Scorpion, he's far inferior. Coupled with his physical limitations, his potential is limited. Sometimes they comfort themselves, telling themselves not to put too much pressure on the child, not to have too high expectations. It would be good if his future strength reached the second tier of Aying and others. Being a leader relies on intelligence, not brute force; strong strength only provides prestige and isn't very meaningful...

Since the people in charge rarely have to take action except during wartime, their strength only gives them a bit of prestige and makes them sound a little tougher. In any case, the Meikawa clan has never spoken toughly in front of Lady Chiyo, so it doesn't really matter.

What did they just hear?

There's no need to wait until later; their son (and grandson) beat Ah Ying to a pulp yesterday. It's like a dream come true for them...

"Wait! Wasn't Nei in his room all day yesterday? You mean he beat up Ayane in front of Masato yesterday? (⊙_⊙)?"

After his initial surprise, Chief Meichuan, whose leg injury hadn't fully healed, quickly realized what had happened. His younger brother said that his youngest son had defeated Aying yesterday, but he clearly remembered that his son had deliberately taken a day off from his daily quests because of the new puppet. Instead of teaming up to do quests, he stayed in his house all day. After the new puppet was completed, his son even brought it to him to share his joy and admire it. The father and son then had a long talk on both sides of the night. It wasn't until this morning that his son excitedly went out to celebrate with his two friends.

If he doesn't remember correctly or if he has Alzheimer's disease, his youngest son stayed in the clan compound yesterday and didn't leave the house. So how did he end up fighting with Aying?

Although he wasn't very strong, he was still a seasoned veteran. He could tell whether the son he had a long talk with yesterday was a clone or not. But his youngest son clearly hadn't left the house yesterday, so how could there be such rumors today?

Could it be that old bastard Shajiao was jealous of his son being chosen while his daughter wasn't and wanted to ruin him by praising him too much?

The Meichuan clan chief, whose leg injury hadn't yet healed, started spouting conspiracy theories...

427. In their village, gold dust is the least valuable commodity.

After much deliberation, the Meichuan clan chief concluded that only a cunning person like Yusaka would do such a thing. After all, he relied on his daughter's marriage to Jie to solidify the clan's position. Now that his youngest son was Zhendou's student, even if he didn't become clan chief, with Zhendou's guidance, he would definitely rise to the top in a few years. With his son's rise and the Meichuan clan's fighting strength, they would surely suppress the Yusaka clan. Naturally, Yusaka wouldn't want to see that. Putting himself in Yusaka's shoes, he would also resort to such underhanded tactics. Most importantly, his son's disability made him an easy target; the higher he was promoted, the harder he would fall...

"It was definitely that bastard Sakazuki who did it! Get some people! Let's settle this score with him!" (▼he▼メ)

The more Chief Meichuan thought about it, the angrier and angrier he became. After ordering his underlings to gather men, he limped off to settle scores with the Yusa clan.

"Wait! This isn't as simple as you think. Yusaka, that brat, may be cunning, but he's a coward like his deadbeat father. Ue is now that brat's student, and Yusaka doesn't have the guts to mess with him. So it couldn't have been Yusaka who did it..."

Mei Chuanbai looked at his eldest son with slight disappointment and said, "This is why I have been reluctant to promote my eldest son to the position. He is still too young, too impulsive, rash when faced with problems, and not calm enough."

Although that brat Yusaka is cunning and a bit cowardly, he is calm and composed enough, which is far superior to his son!

When it comes to the person in charge, it's not about courage or fighting ability, but about whether they are calm and composed enough to lead the family into the future. Although he looked down on Yusa Kagaku, he had to admit that Yusa Kagaku was indeed excellent in this regard. Using his daughter to tie his family to the Miyako clan was a somewhat crooked method, but it was also a good one. At least the next generation of Kazekage would have half of his Yusa clan's bloodline.

And his son... Originally, his plan was to wait a few more years until his grandson grew up, then bypass his son and install his grandson in the position. With his grandson's talent, the family wouldn't decline even after his death. However, while the idea was appealing, reality was harsh. A single sentence from Lady Chiyo forced him to step down and let his son take over. This son was otherwise quite good, but he was too impulsive and rash. Anyone with a little thought would know that this couldn't have been done by Sakazuki, yet he still had to send people to confront her...

"Impossible! Who else could it be but that old bastard Yusaka? This is clearly a case of praising someone to death!"

After being stopped by his father, the Meichuan clan chief pondered for a while and realized that his father was indeed more capable. However, he was also full of questions. He asked himself that over the years, the Meichuan clan had more friends than enemies in the village, and their biggest enemy was the Yusa clan. Masato's feud with his father was a personal matter and had nothing to do with the clan. If it wasn't the Yusa clan, then who else could it be?

"...Well, let's see how things develop first."

Mei Chuanbai sighed helplessly. If he could, he would really want to re-educate his son. If it weren't for his grandson's exceptional talent, he would have preferred his second son to take over. Now, he could only pray that his grandson would grow up quickly and healthily...

.......

"Fellow villagers, uncles and brothers! Please don't make noise or cause a disturbance. We are civilized people, not those short mules on the street. Please be quiet! I understand your excitement and urgency, but this is a public place. I hope you can maintain order and not cause trouble for the uncles in the secret service!"

"First of all, I understand why everyone is here. Originally, the new type of puppet was still under research and hadn't fully materialized yet. However, seeing everyone's enthusiasm and spirit of exploration in this new field, I would feel bad for hindering you..."

"When did this guy become so cultured...? (⊙_⊙)?"

Chiyo looked at her nephew, who was talking non-stop to everyone, with curiosity. It was true that her nephew was eloquent. He was not good at reading and writing, but he was definitely number one at spouting nonsense. It was rare to see him speak so fluently. At least, this was the first time she had seen him speak so eloquently in all these years.

However, before even leaving the house, Chiyo, who hadn't paid attention to village affairs for a long time, was unaware of what had happened. She could only wait and see what was going on. What were these underlings planning to do with all this junk? Surely they weren't stupid enough to buy it to make iron golems...?

"...Hmph! Shameless! (▼he▼メ)"

Still caught up in the earlier mockery, Handsome Scorpion turned his head dismissively when he heard his grandmother's words.

He never expected that this bastard would be so shameless for a few copper coins.

He was ashamed to associate with such people...

"Alright, enough with the small talk. I've seen your sincerity, but this metal is limited and can't satisfy everyone. So, I plan to sell it in several batches, twenty catties each time, with each person only allowed to buy twenty catties, until it's sold out. This will try to meet everyone's needs as much as possible. Of course, those who didn't get any this time shouldn't worry. I've already contacted my good friend, 'The Prodigal' Kakuzu, to continue searching for this metal. Once it's found, you'll still have a chance. However, I must first state that this metal is extremely rare, difficult to mine, and has a low total output. Moreover, transportation costs, customs duties, and a series of other expenses make this metal very expensive. To effectively control everyone's risky sand-panning activities and to protect the ecological environment of our Wind Kingdom and prevent soil erosion, this transaction can only be conducted in cash. Those carrying gold dust, go back and prepare to wait for the second time..."

Honestly, seeing the dense crowd of people in front of him, Shinto, who was suppressing his urge to unleash his ultimate move, was also taken aback. It was the first time he had ever realized that there were so many puppeteers in Sunagakure. He never expected that the advertising effect would be so good. He guessed that most of the puppeteers in the village, except those who were away, had come.

However, seeing that most of these people were carrying sacks, his excitement instantly cooled. In their village, everything was valuable except for gold dust, which was practically worthless. Seeing all these people carrying sacks of gold dust like nouveau riche over the years showed just how abundant the gold dust was...

428. These young men are bragging a bit shamelessly.

"What?! No way, they don't accept gold dust?! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

Those who had brought the large sacks of gold dust were dumbfounded. After Shinto's description of the difficulties in mining, the transportation costs, and the customs duties, they understood what Shinto was trying to say, even though they didn't quite understand it. In short, the price of these metals was extremely high, and they were not calculated by the ton but by the kilogram. They were worth far more than their gold dust.

They hadn't taken it seriously before. After all, they had lived in Sunagakure for decades, and everyone had a ton or two of gold dust at home. Twenty catties was fine. As long as they could make a puppet like the young master of the Meikawa clan, it was worth it even if it was a bit expensive. They could just do more missions in the future. Once they were strong enough, they wouldn't be afraid of not making money.

But now everyone was dumbfounded. In their Sand Village, no! In their Land of Wind, cash was a scarce commodity. In the Land of Wind, where gold dust was measured in tons, the abundance of gold dust had caused the value of gold to decline continuously over the years. At one point, it was so bad that two pounds of gold dust could only buy a lollipop. There was even a spectacular scene where people had to carry a sack of gold dust when they went out to buy groceries.

At this time, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, who had nothing better to do, finally started to play a role. In order to make it easier for his citizens to travel without having to carry sacks of gold dust, and in order to maintain the status of the number one economy in the ninja world, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind summoned the country's economic scholars and professors to discuss this issue together. In the end, those scholars who also had nothing better to do, including the professor, actually came up with a solution: to unite the major countries of the ninja world to print a unified currency.

Despite the constant fighting among the major ninja villages, the daimyo (feudal lords) of various countries, who seem to have nothing better to do than indulge in petty squabbles, actually maintain a fairly good relationship. While they may be prone to jealousy and vying for women, they behave quite reasonably when it comes to matters of national importance. A unified currency would be more beneficial than detrimental to the economies of all nations, so they had no reason to refuse the proposal. With the participation of various ninja countries, the ninja world's economy did indeed experience rapid growth. However, another problem arose: as more and more smaller countries joined the unification effort, printing currency became a major issue. Furthermore, to maintain economic stability in the ninja world, this... Currency isn't printed arbitrarily; each country has a limited supply. Other countries are fine, but the Wind Kingdom has such a vast amount of gold that they only have a few banknotes. In other countries, gold is more valuable than currency, but in the Wind Kingdom, it's the opposite. There are even situations where you can't find currency to exchange for gold. This has allowed many merchants and middlemen to make a fortune by profiting from the price difference, while leaving those idle "experts" and professors who first proposed a unified currency in the Wind Kingdom feeling helpless and powerless. After all, the Wind Kingdom is clearly struggling, yet it's also the most extravagant country.

As the armed force of the Land of Wind, Sunagakure is the "root of trouble" that supports the Land of Wind's rise to become one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Coupled with various missions and assignments, its currency isn't exactly scarce, but it's not abundant either. Most villagers can't use their original national currency, and this unified currency is a rare commodity—something they risked their lives to obtain. Therefore, most people in the village use gold dust for transactions. Although carrying large sacks to the streets is a bit of a hassle, there's just so much of it...

Now, Zhen Dou's words have almost completely dispelled the idea for most people. First, they don't have that much cash on hand, and second, even if they were to exchange it with those merchants, it would take them days and nights just to haggle over the price, which is simply not in time.