Naruto:Suna Shinobi

After digesting the knowledge gained from the puppet army, including the Black Secret Techniques, Hiriito planned to bide his time before making modifications to his puppets. Additionally, he intended to have his avatar in Gotham acquire modern engineering knowledge and integrate it into puppetry.

For now, however, Hiriito's immediate goal was to master the Two-Mind Technique within the Black Secret Techniques.

The puppeteer's weakness in close combat often stems from two factors. First, much of their combat power lies in their puppets rather than themselves. Second, while controlling a puppet, they must focus a considerable portion of their attention on the puppet, leaving themselves vulnerable to attacks.

Ninjas like Konoha's White Fang, who possessed incredible speed and close-combat abilities, were particularly dangerous to puppeteers. With their high burst damage and the ability to close gaps in an instant, such opponents could easily overwhelm a puppeteer.

To counter this, mastering multitasking—focusing on both oneself and the puppets—was a critical solution.

Other methods existed, of course.

For instance, like Chiyo, one could train to increase their speed to the point that the enemy couldn't keep up. Or, like Sasori, one could transform their own body into a puppet to eliminate vulnerabilities.

However, those options were far from Hiriito's reach. For now, he preferred to focus on integrating himself into his puppetry, ensuring a balance between offense and defense.

"I understand the theory, but practice is an entirely different challenge."

In the workshop at his home, Hiriito spread his notes on the table. With his left hand, he controlled the Fatty puppet, while his right hand guided Tom. At his feet was the Little Boy puppet, lying dormant.

The Little Boy puppet, being more advanced, was too challenging to control for now. Hiriito decided it was better suited for later practice.

The two simpler puppets stumbled around the room, their movements awkward and jittery.

"My chakra threads aren't condensed enough. Controlling a single puppet was manageable since a mistake with one thread could be corrected by another. But now, using one thread to replace the functionality of two requires greater precision."

Beads of sweat formed on Hiriito's forehead as he struggled.

Imagine needing ten ropes to pull up a stone. If you reduce the ropes to five, the remaining ones must be thicker and stronger to carry the same weight. Hiriito's "ropes"—his chakra threads—were currently too thin and lacked the necessary refinement.

With his current skill level, controlling two puppets simultaneously diminished his overall combat effectiveness. If a fight broke out, he would likely fare worse than if he controlled only one puppet.

"Bang!"

The Fatty puppet tripped over Tom's foot and fell flat on its face.

Hiriito sighed, rubbing his temples. He glanced at the panel in frustration.

"Why can't you just do it for me, like you did for my avatar in Gotham?"

But the answer was clear—there was no shortcut to mastery. He would simply have to keep practicing.

In a dark alley, the sound of cracking bones echoed faintly.

"Crack!"

Hiriito twisted the neck of a gang leader who had just stepped out of a nightclub, then began rifling through his pockets.

This was the ideal target he had identified after a day of observation and preparation.

Two days had passed since his escape from Arkham Asylum.

Thanks to the Transformation Jutsu and the intelligence-gathering skills he had honed as a ninja, Hiriito had managed to gather enough information to execute the next phase of his plan.

The first step was to acquire money and resources. Then, he needed a safe place to stay and the materials to create a combat-capable puppet.

Gotham was a dangerous city—a breeding ground for crime. Without sufficient strength to protect himself, Hiriito knew survival would be difficult, let alone thriving.

"Four thousand dollars," he muttered, counting the cash he had retrieved from the gang leader. "Not as much as I hoped, but it'll do for now."

He pocketed the wad of bills and jingled the keys he had found. Next, he unfastened the holster from the gangster's belt.

Currently, Hiriito was disguised as a striking urban beauty. He hadn't worn women's clothing, but he had used his Transformation Jutsu to impersonate a top-performing nightclub hostess.

His plan had been simple—lure the gang leader into a secluded alley, then strike.

Once the job was done, Hiriito formed the hand seals for the Transformation Jutsu again. With a puff of white smoke, he shifted into the appearance of the gang leader.

After adjusting his voice and practicing a few phrases, he stepped out of the alley confidently, muttering curses about Batman for authenticity.

Ten minutes later, Hiriito arrived at a large bar owned by the gang leader.

"Boss!"

Two suited guards stationed outside immediately straightened up, bowing slightly as they opened the door for him.

Hiriito grunted in acknowledgment and strode inside, emulating the gang leader's arrogant swagger.

At the bar, he ordered champagne, flirted briefly with the waitstaff, and then made his way upstairs.

"The office should be here," he muttered.

He began testing the keys on the various locks. Finally, one clicked open, revealing a modestly furnished office.

"The drunk fool let it slip," Hiriito recalled with a smirk. "All his earnings and personal savings are hidden here."

He searched the room methodically. Inside a desk drawer, he found $6,000 and two magazines. The closet contained women's lingerie, but nothing of value.

It wasn't until he moved the desk and noticed the absence of dust beneath it that he found something promising.

"If this wasn't cleaned recently, then…"

Hiriito pried open a loose floor tile, revealing a hidden safe.

He tested the remaining keys on the chain until one successfully unlocked it.

Inside were neat stacks of green bills, topped with gleaming gold bars.

Five rows of gold bars, six columns each—thirty in total.

Hiriito picked up a bar and weighed it in his hand.

"One hundred grams each," he estimated. "That's roughly $200,000 in gold."

The cash was equally impressive—thirty bundles of ten thousand dollars each, amounting to $300,000.

In total, the safe held $500,000—a fortune for a small-time gang leader.

"This should be enough for now," Hiriito murmured.

The money would allow him to purchase a home in Gotham's less chaotic outskirts and fund his puppet-making endeavors.

For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt he had a foothold.

(End of Chapter 15)