After Chiyo's permission was granted, Pakura responded with a nod before finally stepping out of the tent.
However, unknown to her, as soon as she left, the figure on the bed—who she thought was Chiyo—suddenly vanished with a *poof* of white smoke, revealing the figure of Hattori. Meanwhile, the "Hattori" squatting by the bed creaked to its feet, morphing into a puppet wielding dual swords.
In truth, the "Chiyo" that Pakura saw was never Chiyo at all. It was Hattori using a transformation technique, and the "Hattori" she saw was actually a puppet clone! He had it crouched down to avoid detection since it was too tall and might easily give away the disguise.
This strategy proved to be the right call!
There was no denying that Hattori had perfected his transformation and clone techniques to the point where he could fool even someone as sharp as Pakura.
"Ah, I truly am a genius!" Hattori couldn't help but feel smug.
But just as he was basking in his triumph, an unexpected voice sounded next to him.
"Indeed, Hattori, you really are a genius!"
Hattori: "╭(°A°`)╮"
Huh? That voice... Why did it sound like Chiyo?
Hattori froze, and with his heart pounding, he slowly turned his head towards the source of the voice. His heart sank as he saw—
It really was Chiyo!
Chiyo wore a dark, foreboding expression. Hattori gave a nervous, forced smile.
"Uh… heh… heh… Teacher, you're back? So… uh, when did you get here?"
"When you were outside telling Pakura that I was 'resting'!"
Hattori: "(Д*)"
Damn it! Why didn't she say anything? Does she enjoy sneaking around to catch people off guard?
While Hattori silently cursed his luck, Chiyo's dark expression suddenly softened into a sweet smile.
"Honestly, I'm quite surprised. I never thought you'd take the transformation and puppet techniques I taught you to such a high level. Truly impressive! Now, how should I reward you, I wonder?"
Hattori: "Σ(°△°|||)︴"
Oh no, this is bad!
Seeing Chiyo's suddenly pleasant expression set off alarm bells in Hattori's mind, warning him of a high-threat situation that called for immediate action. Without hesitating, he sprang into a salute.
"Salute Teacher!
Making you proud is my greatest motivation. Surprising you is my highest honor.
Don't mention rewards; it would be an insult to my dedication.
That's all I have to say.
Goodbye!"
With that, he activated his Body Flicker Technique and darted out of the tent in a flash.
His physical training had come a long way, making him quite swift with the Body Flicker Technique, and in the blink of an eye, he was out of the tent.
Just as he thought he'd made his escape, he suddenly saw ten white-clad puppets standing before him, blocking every possible exit.
To make matters worse, each puppet held a wooden staff, making it clear they weren't here for friendly greetings.
At the same time, a notification popped up, displaying the puppets' stats.
**[Sealing Puppets, Chikamatsu Ten Puppet: Ninjutsu Attack 600, Defense 300, Durability 300. Usable at Puppet Control Level 60, consuming 60 MP per minute.]**
Seeing this, Hattori almost burst into tears.
"Teacher, I was just having a little fun… is it really necessary to send the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet after me?"
"Of course it is! If I didn't use the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet, would I have been able to catch you just now?"
Chiyo walked out of the tent, a radiant smile on her face as she watched Hattori's pitiful expression grow even more miserable.
"Your transformation technique and puppet skills are very impressive, and now your teacher would like to assess your basic hand-to-hand combat skills. Let's begin—White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppet!"
With her command, the ten puppets raised their staffs and rushed toward Hattori.
Instantly, shadows from the staffs filled the air!
Hattori: "Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"
Damn, she's really going all out!
Seeing that Chiyo was truly commanding the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet to attack, Hattori immediately took the situation seriously and started dodging.
With his **Advanced Evasion** skill, he could dodge up to 80% of close-range attacks, making it hard for ordinary opponents to land a hit.
But these were ten elite puppets under the control of a master puppeteer like Chiyo—there was no way every attack would miss.
So within just a minute, Hattori was already hit several times, screaming in pain.
"Aaaaah… I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! Teacher, I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"
"…"
Chiyo said nothing in response and made no effort to stop her puppets, clearly intent on teaching him a lasting lesson.
Realizing this, Hattori's face fell into a pained smile.
"This is bad!"
If the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet had a lower level, he might have tried to seize control of them, but their level was far beyond his reach.
Moreover, judging by her skilled control, he knew that Chiyo's level of puppet mastery was far superior to his own.
In other words, even if he tried to challenge her with puppets, he'd either be overpowered or have his puppets taken over.
Unable to match her puppetry, failing at begging for mercy, and knowing that fighting back would only worsen their teacher-student relationship, Hattori found himself at a complete loss.
After taking a few more hits, he couldn't bear it any longer and finally resorted to his last trick.
"Teacher, I bet one kunai that you don't have guts to call off the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet!"
"…"
Hearing this, Chiyo still said nothing, continuing to direct her puppets, striking him over and over with their staffs.
Hattori: "(Д*)"
Damn it! Why isn't this working? Wasn't she supposed to always lose bets?
His "talk-no-jutsu" had failed, and he received several more blows in the meantime, leaving him wincing in pain.
"Ugh… if this keeps up, I'll be beaten within an inch of my life… I can't keep going like this. If worse comes to worst, I'll have to play dead!"
He quickly ran through several ways to fake his death, but before he could put any of them into action, the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet's assault suddenly stopped.
Chiyo's voice reached his ears once more.
"Use your medical ninjutsu to heal yourself, and then we'll continue."
Hattori: "╭(°A°`)╮"
Is this for real?
Hearing her instructions, Hattori twitched as he quickly healed himself with a healing jutsu.
Once he was done, Chiyo commanded the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet to close in on him again.
"Now that you're healed, let's keep going. White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppet!"
Watching the approaching shadowy staffs once more, Hattori's face twisted with dread.
"No… please stop! If you keep this up, I swear something's gonna come out… Yamete… ikuuu…"
"…"
(End of Chapter)