Naruto:Suna Shinobi

Hiriito couldn't help but marvel at his work.

He had created a lifelike puppet, Tom, carved with precision and functionality. Among the eighty participants in the training, the two youngest—himself and the red-haired boy—had performed the best so far.

[Puppet Name]: Tom

[Comprehensive Parameters]:

Height: 61 cm

Weight: 14.31 kg

Material: White ironwood, reinforced bone material...

Energy Source: None

Operation Method: Chakra threads

[Puppet Rating]: C

[Overall Evaluation]: A small-scale simulacrum puppet with excellent agility and perfect design. It has the combat power of a standard Genin. Replacing certain materials can further enhance its combat power.

Hiriito stretched out his fingers, chakra threads snapping from their tips to connect with Tom. The puppet responded fluidly to his commands, leaping and twisting in the air before landing gracefully. Its movements were smooth, and its combat ability was likely on par with Fatty, Hiriito's primary puppet.

"If only I had some blue dye," he thought wistfully. "I'd paint you blue to match your name, Tom."

He couldn't help but smile proudly. "I really am a genius for creating a puppet like this in under an hour!"

"You're Hiriito, correct?"

Hiriito froze at the sudden voice. Turning, he saw Sunagami Sayama, the fierce-looking Jonin overseeing the training.

"Yes, Sayama-sensei," Hiriito replied, standing at attention.

"Hmm. That's a good name," Sayama said gruffly, his voice as intimidating as his appearance. "Your puppet was made remarkably quickly. Did you not draw a design beforehand?"

Hiriito hesitated, unsure how to respond. Sayama's expression, with his wide grin and sharp features, looked more like a gangster boss than a puppeteer.

"Um… If you think it's better to have a blueprint, I could draw one now…" Hiriito offered nervously.

"No! No blueprints are great!" Sayama suddenly laughed, clapping Hiriito's shoulder with enough force to make him wince.

Hiriito tried not to flinch. Is this guy really a puppeteer? With arms like these, people would think he's a taijutsu specialist!

Sayama grinned. "I originally planned for you all to fight each other once your puppets were finished, but since no one else is done yet, why don't you and I have a match? Let's see what your puppet can do!"

Before Hiriito could respond, Ishito stepped in with a smile.

"Come on, Sayama. If you use one of your puppets, the kid won't stand a chance. Let me take him on instead."

Ishito pulled out a sealing scroll, formed a quick seal, and summoned a puppet Hiriito recognized immediately.

[Puppet Name]: Little Boy

[Comprehensive Parameters]:

Height: 1.35 meters

Weight: 29.18 kg

Material: Reinforced wood, lightweight composite material, high-strength alloy

Energy Source: None

Operation Method: Chakra threads with five chakra connection hubs

[Puppet Rating]: B-

[Overall Evaluation]: A well-designed auxiliary combat puppet with the combat power of a Chunin.

Hiriito stared. "That's the puppet I repaired last week!"

"Why are you using that?" Sayama asked, frowning. "Don't you have better ones?"

Ishito smirked. "You'll see."

He glanced at Hiriito and gestured for them to move to a more open space. But before they could leave, a clear, young voice interrupted.

"No need. I've finished my puppet as well. I'll be his opponent."

The voice belonged to the red-haired boy. Sasori controlled a puppet with six arms, crafted from white ironwood, and made it leap gracefully toward the center of the training ground.

"It's called Termite," Sasori announced, his eyes locking with Hiriito's.

For the first time in a long while, Sasori felt a flicker of interest. The boy in front of him had finished his puppet faster than anyone, even himself. He couldn't help but wonder about its quality.

After his parents' death, Sasori had poured all his energy into puppetry. Precocious and solitary, he found most of his peers childish and dull. His status as Chiyo's grandson further isolated him, leaving him to focus entirely on his craft.

But geniuses often craved the company of equals, and Hiriito had sparked Sasori's curiosity.

"You've already finished?" Ishito asked, surprised.

"Impressive, Sasori," Sayama said, studying the six-armed puppet. "It seems we have two prodigies here."

Hiriito, meanwhile, stared at Sasori. So it really is Sasori. His age, his talent—there's no doubt about it.

Sayama clapped his hands. "Perfect. You two will face each other!"

The Sand Village wasn't like Konoha—there were no formalities like the Seal of Opposition or Reconciliation. Ishito, acting as the referee, simply waved his hand to signal the start of the match.

Hiriito and Sasori simultaneously sent their chakra threads into their puppets, bringing them to life.

"I wonder…" Hiriito thought, watching Termite move. "Is this puppet related to the black ants Sasori created later in the original story? Its hard functions seem slightly inferior to Tom's, but it's definitely at Genin level. The panel would probably rate it as a C-."

Despite the slight disadvantage in performance, Sasori's manipulation skills were exceptional. His precise control allowed him to hold his ground against Hiriito, even with Tom's superior design.

Hiriito couldn't help but admire Sasori's talent. He's only two years younger than me, but his control skills are already ahead of mine. Without Tom's edge in performance, I'd be struggling to keep up.

He smiled wryly. I may be a genius with a cheat code, but Sasori is the real deal.

Still, the reason cheats were called cheats was because they could surpass even natural talent.

(End of Chapter 8)