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In Sasori's home, a round table had been set up in the open space of the yard.
Chiyo, Ebizo, Hirito, and Sasori were gathered together for dinner.
"Ahaha, it's been a long time since we've sat together to eat like this, Sasori."
Chiyo raised her wine glass with a hearty laugh before drinking happily.
Sasori, however, remained expressionless as he looked at the cactus juice in front of him.
"No, Grandma."
His tone was flat.
"We ate at Komushi's family's restaurant a week ago—the night Hirito came over for the second time."
Chiyo blinked.
"Ahahahaha, I guess I've been so busy recently that I forgot!"
Her face was flushed as she smiled, scratching the back of her head.
In private, Chiyo had a cheerful personality, but her official duties kept her from having much free time.
"Speaking of which, how is Komushi doing?"
Chiyo put her empty wine glass down and looked at Ebizo curiously.
"I remember he was supposed to graduate this year, right?"
Komushi was Sasori's childhood friend and one of the only peers he used to talk to.
Even after Sasori's parents died, Komushi was one of the few people Sasori could tolerate interacting with.
Ebizo sipped his sake before responding.
"Next semester, Komushi will enter his graduation year. His family has already paid two Chunin to tutor him in Ninjutsu so he can graduate smoothly."
Hearing this, Sasori remained silent, while Hirito raised an eyebrow.
In the original timeline, Komushi had been fatally poisoned.
And the cruelest part?
Before dying, he once told Sasori,
"I wish I could be as strong as the puppets you made."
In the end, he became one.
A human puppet created by Sasori.
"Komushi?"
Hirito asked.
"Ah, he's Sasori's friend," Ebizo explained.
"If you two get the chance, you should meet each other. After all, you're about the same age."
Ebizo then extended his chakra threads, activating a mechanism on the table.
A puppet arm extended and smoothly moved a dish toward him.
Despite his words, he didn't actually think Komushi and Hirito would become friends.
If anything, they'd be nothing more than acquaintances.
Even for Sasori, Ebizo wasn't hopeful.
Komushi had below-average talent, barely capable of passing as a Chunin in the future.
But Sasori and Hirito were already leagues beyond him.
The widening gap in strength, class, and status would eventually separate them.
"Alright, we've almost finished eating."
Chiyo stood up, stretching.
"Time for some post-dinner exercise."
A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.
"After tonight, we probably won't get much free time anymore. Sasori, Hirito—let's head to the back mountain for a spar."
Despite calling it a spar, Hirito knew this was more like training.
Chiyo wasn't testing their limits—she was teaching them.
"Alright! Chiyo-sensei!"
Hirito grabbed the sealing scroll beside his chair, his excitement obvious.
Chiyo was the best puppeteer in the world.
As her new disciple, Hirito wanted to learn as much as possible.
The back of Sasori's home was a barren mountain—a vast stretch of dry land, littered with dead shrubs and patches of weeds.
A perfect place for testing ninjutsu and puppets.
Chiyo stood at the center of the training ground.
"Alright, I won't bully you two."
She smiled.
"Since I'm fighting against both of you, I'll only use two puppets. Let's see how far you've come."
"Bang!"
A sealing scroll slid from Chiyo's sleeve.
With a puff of white smoke, two human puppets appeared, dressed in white robes.
The Chikamatsu Collection.
The masterpiece of Monzaemon, the greatest puppeteer in history.
Each of these ten legendary puppets was a masterpiece—their combined power rivaling the Five Kage.
Even one of them was a top-tier weapon.
The two puppets standing before them had masks covering their faces.
1. The first puppet was tall, nearly two meters high, and wore a horned Minotaur mask.
2. The second puppet was slender, barely sixty-five centimeters tall, with standing yellow hair and a red cat-face mask.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
A cloud of white smoke spread as Hirito and Sasori summoned their own puppets.
They locked eyes for a brief moment.
Then, as if reading each other's thoughts—
They attacked together.
"Black Secret Technique: Hand Dance!"
"Black Secret Technique: Rapid Performance!"
Six long arms shot from Black Ant's body, shielding Little Boy as he charged forward.
Chiyo casually moved her fingers.
Suddenly—
The Minotaur puppet's body split open, revealing four extra arms!
With one swift movement, it grabbed all six of Black Ant's limbs.
Meanwhile, the Cat-faced puppet extended long spikes from its arms and engaged Little Boy in a speed duel.
Even with its upgraded modifications, Little Boy was struggling.
"Let's go!"
Hirito and Sasori nodded to each other.
Boom!
Hirito activated his Fat Puppet, encasing himself in armor before charging like a tank toward Chiyo.
At the same time, Sasori pulled out a kunai attached to a steel wire.
He threw it at Chiyo and manipulated it mid-air with chakra threads.
"Puppetry: Manipulating the Blade!"
Unlike normal ninja, puppeteers could control weapons with their chakra threads.
Kunai controlled this way could match even Uchiha shuriken techniques.
Chiyo simply twitched her fingers.
The Minotaur puppet swung Black Ant around like a club, smashing all the kunai away before throwing the Black Ant puppet back at Hirito.
Sasori's eyes narrowed.
He quickly manipulated Black Ant's body, separating it mid-air to avoid hitting Hirito.
"Boom!"
Hirito's Fat Puppet landed a pneumatic punch.
But it was blocked—the Minotaur puppet's massive arm had absorbed the hit.
The force rippled through the air, shaking the ground beneath them.
Chiyo nodded slightly.
"Not bad. The force output is high. But..."
She hadn't even gone all out.
Hirito and Sasori were putting up a fight, but Chiyo's two puppets weren't even using their full abilities.
(End of Chapter 46)
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