Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Tsunade stopped fighting, and the others, after observing Nawaki staring at the pig's head for a moment, turned to look at Hatake Sakumo with question marks on their faces. Even Nawaki himself was confused, looking over with his squinty eyes, which were squeezed open.

Almost everyone in Konoha's upper echelons knows how talented Nawaki is. It can be summed up in one sentence: the more awesome their First Hokage was back then, the more pathetic Nawaki is now!

This prince, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, has absolutely top-notch resources!

He grew up drinking tiger bone soup with Nara deer blood. Tsunade taught him superhuman strength techniques when he was three. However, the child didn't absorb much nutrition from the tiger bone soup and was clearly not cut out to be a berserker. But that's okay, if he can't handle fists, we'll play as a grand mage! Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately presented him with the Book of Sealing Techniques. But the child wasn't cut out to be a grand mage either. But that's okay, he can be a sealing master! Mito Uzumaki stuffed all the sealing techniques, big and small, into his room. After three months, he was still only half-baked at the basic hand seals of sealing techniques.

Honestly, if others knew what they were doing, they'd think Konoha was creating a god!

But after so many years of nurturing, this child knows a little bit of everything, but only a little bit, though he has become quite skilled at killing people.

They've explored every talent the child possesses, but there's really nothing that stands out enough.

"Well...maybe...perhaps...he must be very talented in puppetry. When I went to the Miyako clan, I saw him discussing puppetry with Chiyo's grandson. It's said that Chiyo's grandson is far more talented in puppetry than Chiyo herself, and he's already made his first puppet at only four years old..."

Hatake Sakumo also said somewhat uncertainly, but he did see Nawaki chatting happily with Chiyo's genius grandson at the Miyaratsu clan. Chiyo's grandson's reputation as a genius had existed before, but it wasn't widely known due to the outbreak of war. However, he couldn't be fooled by the fact that he saw Chiyo's grandson making puppets. In his opinion, if Nawaki could chat happily with such a genius puppeteer, his talent in this area must be quite good as well.

Geniuses are always kindred spirits... Pshaw! They admire each other.

He had never seen Orochimaru and Jiraiya having a pleasant conversation...

254. Konoha doesn't have this skill.

"What?! Puppet... Puppetry?! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

Hatake Sakumo's words left everyone speechless, their jaws dropping to the floor as they turned to scrutinize Nawaki's hands.

Hmm... Slender, long, fair, and delicate fingers are indeed a good configuration for a puppeteer. Although they are not puppeteers, they still know the basic requirements for Sand Village puppeteers. Puppet masters have very high requirements for their fingers. Slender, long, fair, and delicate fingers are just the basic requirements. The most important thing is that there can be no calluses. Calluses will affect the dexterity of the finger nerves. Even if someone like Jiraiya or the Hokage had a thick layer of calluses from practicing manual labor as a child, no matter how talented they were, they would not be suitable.

At least in this respect, Rope Tree is far superior to both of them...

"You're really interested in puppetry? (⊙_⊙)?"

Tsunade also looked at Nawaki with a question mark on her face. She didn't know if Chiyo's grandson was as talented as Sakumo said, but it was true that the Chiyo family, except for that stubborn bastard, were all genius puppeteers. Moreover, given Sakumo's straightforward personality, he wouldn't lie. His younger brother had been in Sunagakure for less than a month or two and was already discussing puppetry with genius puppeteers like that. Perhaps his younger brother really did have talent in puppetry.

She was heartbroken over her "good-for-nothing" younger brother. Being a member of the Senju clan, being too weak would not only be a disgrace to the clan, but the hatred their two grandfathers had incurred in the ninja world was no less than that of Madara Uchiha. In that fight, the Senju clan wasn't the target of everyone's attacks. She didn't expect her brother to be exceptionally talented; she just hoped he wouldn't be too weak and could at least protect himself. She couldn't protect him forever, but his lack of talent truly drove her to despair. If that blond brat next to Kushina had her brother's resources, he'd probably be a god by now, and he was already researching her great-grandfather's space-time ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique, which was said to be even harder to learn than Dust Release. Her own brother, clearly her biological son, couldn't even learn her great-grandfather's Water Release. If Orochimaru hadn't confirmed through cell comparison that Minato wasn't related to the Senju clan, she would have suspected that her brother had been switched at birth, and that Minato was her real brother...

Now, after hearing Sakumo's analysis, she realized that her younger brother might actually have a talent for puppetry. Thinking about this, she wasn't so angry anymore. Perhaps it was a good thing that her brother had sneaked out and been punished; at least his hidden talent had been discovered...

"Probably..."

Rope Tree looked bewildered and said uncertainly, "What the hell is puppetry? I don't know. But I did discuss the effects of poisons and the types of hidden weapons with my friends. Since they say so, then it must be..."

He was indeed quite interested in shady things like poisons and hidden weapons.

"....hiss!"

Upon hearing Nawaki's reply, Hiruzen Sarutobi hissed in pain, rubbing his head in agony. "This brat," he thought, "has no talent whatsoever, yet he's got a talent for puppetry. But Konoha has everything, a whole bunch of forbidden techniques, but damn it, they don't have any puppetry!"

That's a family heirloom technique from Sunagakure. Besides, Konoha wouldn't even look down on low-level puppet techniques. Naturally, the one given to the young master has to be the best. He can brag to his two teachers in the future. For your grandson to succeed, I've brought over the best puppet techniques from Sunagakure!

And what is the most powerful puppetry technique?

The entire ninja world knows that it is Chiyo's secret technique. It is the unique method of the puppet master Bunzaemon. Currently, only Chiyo and her son know it in the entire ninja world.

The most crucial issue is that the White Secret Technique holds a similar status in Sunagakure as the Flying Thunder God Technique does in Konoha. Although Sunagakure also has the famous Magnet Release, the White Secret Technique is far more renowned. After all, puppeteers are incredibly powerful in large-scale battles. Nine out of ten wounded soldiers who returned from the Land of Rain were poisoned after being seen by puppeteers, demonstrating just how formidable puppeteers are in large-scale battles. Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law even gave a 2v5 military training session against the five leaders of the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

This thing isn't so easy to get your hands on! Even if you offered all of Konoha's resources for a whole year to Chiyo, they wouldn't trade it. It's a family heirloom craft.

And poison... to be honest, Hiruzen Sarutobi was reluctant to let the heir of the prestigious Senju clan play with this stuff. It wasn't easy for the First Hokage to establish the Senju clan's glorious image, and if there were another person who played with poison, especially his grandson, it would damage the Senju clan's image.

Furthermore, while damaging his own image, he also gave a shout-out to Sunagakure. The young master of Konoha doesn't even learn his own Wood Release or forbidden techniques, but instead learns Sunagakure's puppet techniques, which shows just how awesome those puppet techniques are...

Isn't this just self-destructive?!

"How about... while the war hasn't started yet, we try to negotiate a price with Sunagakure?"

Mitomon Homura, who had just finished counting the supplies, also realized the problem. Perhaps Nawaki really had a talent for puppetry, but Konoha didn't have that skill. Those low-level puppetry techniques were easy to get their hands on; they could just have Sakumo go to the Land of Wind and meet a couple of puppeteers. But powerful puppetry techniques were only available to top-tier puppeteers like Chiyo. So, they definitely couldn't use force, and they couldn't have Sakumo use his looks to seduce old woman Chiyo, could they?

If that's the case, Lord Ito will come and chat with them tonight....

"It's no use. The White Secret Technique is a secret technique of Sunagakure. Unless we sell Konoha to them, opening more of it won't make a difference."

Koharu shook her head and rejected her friend's suggestion. "Just kidding," she said. "That's their family's secret technique. How could they possibly sell it to them? Unless Chiyo, that old woman, has lost her mind."

"boom!"

"How can you be so useless! So many forbidden techniques were given to you, why didn't you use them? What kind of wooden puppet are you playing with! (▼へ▼メ)"

When the three giants of Konoha shook their heads, Tsunade looked at her bewildered younger brother and became increasingly angry. She couldn't help but throw another punch. There were so many forbidden techniques in the family, but this kid just couldn't learn sealing techniques. He actually had a talent for other people's ancestral skills. Wasn't this torture?

"(?^?)...How about we wait for Orochimaru to come back and have him develop my skills? Future Sister... Golden Lion said Orochimaru is a genius just like Second Grandfather..."

Rope Tree, with a pig's head on his head, took a punch and said with tears in his eyes, "Luckily, my older sister's punch wasn't very strong, so I can still take it."

255. A rare find, perhaps once in a century.

"(⊙_⊙)?....Is Orochimaru really that powerful?"

When Tsunade heard that Nawaki hadn't mentioned the words "future brother-in-law," she loosened her fist, and everyone else looked at each other.

Who was the Second Hokage? He was a super genius, the kind who could create forbidden techniques with a wave of his hand and a stroke of his pen. Almost all the forbidden techniques in the Book of Seals were his creations. It was precisely because of the Second Hokage's ability to create forbidden techniques with a stroke of his pen that Konoha was able to dominate in the field of ninjutsu.

Now Nawaki is saying that the Golden Lion thinks Orochimaru can be compared to the Second Hokage, which is a bit of an exaggeration!

Orochimaru is indeed very talented. If he had a good birth and a family ninjutsu that perfectly matched him, he would definitely be another White Fang.

In terms of ninjutsu, he's unparalleled. He's been able to learn thousands of ninjutsu techniques. How impressive is that?

The Second Hokage was a genius of development, but so far, besides spending all his time tinkering in his lab, Orochimaru hasn't developed any truly awesome ninjutsu...

But there's no need for Golden Lion to fool Nawaki, since fooling Nawaki wouldn't do him any good!

Tsunade felt the most deeply, after all, she grew up with Orochimaru and she agreed that Orochimaru was very talented, but to say that Orochimaru could be compared to her great-uncle felt a bit fantastical.

"...No matter what, let's wait for Orochimaru to come back first."

While Hiruzen Sarutobi doubted the validity of Nawaki's statement, he also highly recognized his protégé's talent. Even the self-proclaimed "Ninja World Doctor" wouldn't dare claim to be superior to his student in ninjutsu. He had originally planned to go back and cram on the basics of puppetry, and if necessary, he'd personally develop a secret puppetry technique for Nawaki... However, since Nawaki had said so, and his student was indeed erudite, perhaps his student also had some knowledge of puppetry...

That will save him from staying up all night.

.......

"What?! Rope... Rope Tree has a talent for puppetry? No way? Of course, I'm not questioning your judgment, Sakumo. I'm just worried that you might have been too busy admiring old lady Chiyo's beauty... and misread or misheard? Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

A few days later, Orochimaru returned, along with Jiraiya. The moment they stepped into the Hokage Building, Tsunade, impatient to get her friends to develop puppetry techniques for her younger brother, rushed over.

While Orochimaru was still in a daze upon hearing that his disciple had a talent for puppetry, Jiraiya was already stunned!

Does Rope Tree also have a talent for being a puppeteer?

No way!

You should know that being a puppeteer requires a lot of skill. He couldn't even handle a head-on fight with Tsunade, so why would he challenge a technical style?

This is unbelievable!

"boom!"

Are you questioning my brother? (▼へ▼メ)

"Orochimaru, can you handle puppetry? That bastard said you're a genius like my great-grandfather."

Seeing Jiraiya questioning her brother, Tsunade couldn't stand it anymore. She punched Jiraiya out of the office, leaving a human-shaped mark on the wall, and then turned to the young man and said.

"...I have studied puppetry, but...what were Nawaki and that little genius from Sunagakure discussing back then? The puppet's flexibility? Poisons? Devices?"

Orochimaru, regaining his senses, frowned and asked Hatake Sakumo.

After all, he was still quite confused. Ever since Nawaki graduated from the academy and started hanging out with him, he had been quite responsible for his friend's younger brother. In order to confirm whether Nawaki was really weak, he gave Nawaki a comprehensive test again. The original test included puppetry, but the final conclusion was still that Nawaki's talent in ninjutsu was only 30 out of 100. As for taijutsu, because he had been drinking tiger bone soup and soaking in deer blood since childhood, plus the vitality of the Senju clan, he barely reached 50 out of 100. As for the rest, genjutsu, puppetry, and sealing techniques were almost zero.

It can be said that Nawaki is a rare find among the Senju clan, one in a hundred years, and one in ten thousand!

But someone as formidable as Sakumo is definitely not mistaken by his eyes. Furthermore, history has proven that geniuses rarely associate with ordinary people. For Nawaki to be able to discuss puppetry with a young genius from Sunagakure... that's...

His intense thirst for knowledge made him want to know exactly where the problem was that made a powerful person like Sakumo have the illusion that Nawaki was a puppet genius.

"...At the time, Golden Lion was talking non-stop next to me, and I couldn't quite hear what Nawaki and Chiyo's grandson were talking about, but I vaguely heard something about poison and senbon..."

Hatake Sakumo didn't understand Orochimaru's technical terms either. He knew how to deal with puppeteers, but he hadn't studied puppets at all. What kind of device was that? What kind of flexibility was that? Who knew what it was?

"...I understand. Leave Nawaki to me..."

After hearing what Hatake Sakumo said, Orochimaru roughly guessed what was going on. This beloved disciple had no talent for puppetry whatsoever. He used to hang out in his laboratory. Although he was ignorant and incompetent, he had at least learned a little about the properties of medicines from his many experiments. He could still use what he had learned in his laboratory to brag to the puppet genius of Sunagakure. After all, his scientific experiments were so avant-garde that they would sound quite novel to that puppet prodigy.

However, he also considered that while Rope Tree might not have the talent for killing, the fact that he could casually boast about the properties of medicine to the grandson of a legendary poison master suggested that Rope Tree might have some talent in this area. He couldn't be a grand sorcerer, but being a poison master wouldn't be bad; at least it could save his life in a critical moment...

However, seeing how nervous his friends and the three old guys looked, he couldn't bear to shatter their illusions, so he just nodded without saying anything.

To avoid Nawaki potentially getting another beating from Tsunade, it would be a shame for the heir of the Senju clan to be involved in poison...

"Phew...! You help me master puppetry tonight, and I'll have Nawaki come to you tomorrow! You'd better develop a dark secret technique for Nawaki to crush Sunagakure's white secret technique!"

Hearing her friend say that, Tsunade breathed a huge sigh of relief. Other people's words might not be reliable, but Orochimaru's words were definitely reliable. Over the years, Orochimaru had never let her down!

"........"

Hearing Tsunade's tone, Orochimaru remained expressionless, but his eyes twitched slightly. He hoped that Nawaki wouldn't come and destroy his laboratory after he had "mastered his divine skills."

Hmm... I'll move the equipment away tomorrow...

256. The essence of war is to gain benefits.

"Young man, this won't do. You've already brought this girl into the family, so stop looking like a jinx with that deadpan expression all the time. Spend some time teaching your son that she's here to be his wife, not his servant. Look at the state he's become..."

In the Sand Village, Miyako Retsu's family, after watching the red-haired girl finish lecturing Sasori while tidying up Sasori's toy room, Masato said to his father.

The little girl has been here for almost a month. In the past month, the handsome scorpion who has been with her every day is even more awesome than the future young Wu Wu Kai. He has said no more than ten sentences to her, and no more than twenty words in total. This is the rhythm of a jinx.

"You bastard, one day I'll tear your mouth apart! (▼へ▼メ)"

The word "wife" instantly ignited a furious rage in the handsome scorpion. He put down the wrench, his pretty face darkening, his eyes blazing with fury, a hint of resentment in his gaze, and stubborn tears welling up as he waited for the delinquent middle-aged man.

"Scorpion, you can't talk to your uncle like that. Big brother, don't you have to go to the ninja training today? We'll be going to war with Konoha soon."

Handsome Scorpion's father watched helplessly as his son and older brother argued. It was as if the two had a grudge from a past life; he didn't know why his son just couldn't stand his older brother, while the older brother seemed to enjoy teasing his son. And the two could argue for almost a whole day. His usually taciturn son wasn't intimidated at all when arguing with his older brother...

"Hey, that's right! I'd be so happy if you could talk to that girl this much! Why would I go to the Jonin class? Yuta and the others can handle it. We Sunagakure aren't in a hurry to get involved in this big war. Let's wait until the three clans have their fun with Konoha. We should avoid wars that don't bring us any benefit... Onoki has a grudge against Konoha, but we don't have that much hatred for Konoha. Why are we so eager?"

After making fun of the handsome Sasori, Masato said something about his father.

After receiving the ransom from Konoha, Shinto realized that Sunagakure seemed to have no desire for anything in this war. They had already reaped the benefits, and they could just show off at the border later. There was no need to sacrifice their lives for the peace of the ninja world.