As Hattori found himself with his ear firmly pinched by Chiyo, his mind wandered to scenes from police dramas, recalling the classic moment:
A criminal, cornered by the police, stubbornly resists and refuses to confess. But, once his psychological defenses are broken, he spills everything like beans from a bamboo tube, hoping for a lenient sentence.
In this moment, Hattori felt just like that criminal, desperate for leniency.
"Officer… no, Teacher! I'll tell you everything. Just ease up on my ear, will you? It's innocent in all this!"
Chiyo: "…"
This little rascal!
Seeing his shameless, unrepentant grin, Chiyo sighed and let go of his ear, giving him a stern look.
"You act so carelessly day after day. Who knows what goes on in that head of yours? Out with it. What else are you hiding from me?"
"Oh, nothing much, just… uh, well, two things!"
"…."
Seeing Hattori nervously holding up two fingers, Chiyo was both amused and annoyed, shooting him another glare.
"Well, spit it out already."
"Oh!"
Hattori nodded, then reached into his sealed scroll and pulled out a Mist Puppet.
"First of all, after seeing your Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu last time, I experimented with sealing chakra into a puppet. The results were pretty decent—now I can use puppets to perform ninjutsu."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, and noticing the sky-blue seal marked "封" on the puppet, Chiyo's face showed surprise.
"This is… a sealing puppet?"
To confirm, she took the puppet from Hattori's hands and began to operate it directly.
Watching her take his puppet so readily, a warm feeling welled up in Hattori's heart.
Puppets were weapons to a puppeteer, so taking one directly was like grabbing a blade bare-handed—a sign of absolute trust!
"It seems I was right to trust her; Chiyo is truly a teacher worth my confidence."
Thinking this, Hattori's smile grew warmer.
But, of course, Chiyo had no idea what was running through his head.
Her full attention was focused on the Mist Puppet in front of her.
"Yes, it's not as refined as the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, but it's indeed a sealing puppet. If I'm correct, this sealed ninjutsu must be a Water Style technique."
She turned to Hattori.
"Isn't that right?"
"Yeah!" Hattori nodded, not hiding anything. "It's the Mist Concealment Jutsu from Water Style!"
"Aha, the Mist Concealment Jutsu!"
Realization dawned on Chiyo, and she nodded.
"Let me try it!"
With a quick motion of her left hand, she sent the Mist Puppet forward, forming a "rat" sign with her right hand.
"Water Style: Mist Concealment Jutsu!"
As she spoke, the puppet she controlled opened its mouth, releasing a thick fog that filled the entire tent.
Seeing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Hattori's eyes.
"She can use the Mist Puppet too?"
However, his surprise only lasted a moment before he relaxed, realizing that Chiyo was able to convert her chakra into a water attribute through the puppet, then cast the Mist Concealment Jutsu.
In her hands, the Mist Puppet's range and effectiveness were directly tied to her hand signs, chakra input, and technique.
But Hattori had no such limitations.
With just 100 MP, he could deploy a dense mist covering an area of one hundred meters, rendering visibility so poor that people and animals couldn't tell friend from foe.
"So, mastering core technology is the real key!"
Thinking this, he pulled out a small mirror and gave his reflection a satisfied smile.
"Yes, you're indeed a genius. Respect!"
As he spoke, Chiyo dispelled the Mist Concealment Jutsu, looking at the Mist Puppet with admiration.
"I thought only Monzaemon could craft sealing puppets, but you managed it too!"
She turned back to Hattori, her eyes full of praise.
"Kikyo, you're indeed a talented puppeteer. How did you do it?"
"Uh... well…"
Of course, Hattori wasn't about to reveal that he got his materials from defeating monsters. Instead, he offered a plausible excuse.
"It's simple. You just prepare the puppet, then seal chakra from the battlefield into it before it dissipates."
"Sealing chakra into a puppet's body, huh?"
Hearing this, Chiyo seemed deep in thought, nodding.
"Yes, this aligns with my own ideas, but capturing and sealing chakra fully is no easy task—too much room for failure."
She then looked back at Hattori. "So, how many of these puppets have you made?"
"Two… just two!"
Considering Chiyo had just mentioned the low success rate, he couldn't say he'd made twenty. But claiming only one didn't leave much room for future explanations, so he slightly hedged.
Even so, Chiyo was still stunned to hear he'd managed to make two sealing puppets.
"Two? Monzaemon only ever created his Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, yet you've already made two? You'll surely surpass him someday!"
"Uh… Can I say I've actually already surpassed him?"
Hattori muttered honestly, earning a disbelieving glare from Chiyo.
"Stop with the nonsense! Now, since you have two sealing puppets, leave this one with me for a bit. I'll add a few mechanisms—no sense wasting such a valuable puppet!"
Hattori: "(ω`)"
You're the boss; whatever you say goes!
Seeing his obedient look, Chiyo smiled again.
"Apart from improving this puppet, I plan to make you a defensive puppet to ensure your safety. Any special requests?"
"Hmm, nothing specific, really."
Scratching his head, Hattori grinned sheepishly.
"As long as it's waterproof, fireproof, shockproof, explosion-proof, and beast-proof, I'm good. Oh, and if you could make it a bit more stylish, that'd be great for my peace of mind. Those are my only requests.
"Of course, if you have any ideas, feel free to add them. What do you think, Teacher?"
"Get out!"
"…"
*(End of Chapter)*