I met Takemura's serious eyes with a confident look of my own as I spoke with a clear tone. "I am not that easy to defeat in close range." A grin appeared on my face, something Takemura mirrored after a moment. "That is true. However, the more time and effort you put into puppetry, the less powerful you will be with the shinobi disciplines you will leave behind."
I replied right away. "I am excellent when it comes to ninjutsu, taijutsu, and kenjutsu."
Takemura sighed before responding. "The fact that you think that is proof that you are not. Out there, there might be someone who is not perfect in every aspect but especially strong in a specific one. A taijutsu specialist, for example, would run circles around your puppets before overwhelming you with his superior physique and technique."
I nodded. "Fair point. However, I am very confident in my ability to handle it."
Genta and Shizuru were observing our debate with bated breath. I could even see a popcorn bag in Genta's hand. I was not sure where he got it from. Did he store it in the storage seal I made for him with the special family and friends discount instead of an extra kunai or something?
I shook my head back to focus as I spoke to Takemura with a final tone. "I believe that I can do it. The options puppets give me are incredible and the reach would be unmatched, just as you said before."
Takemura leaned back as he sighed. "Fine. Who am I to discourage a shinobi from following his passion?"
Genta's eyes widened as he said with an excited tone. "Father, does that mean I can finally take up the shinobi art of blade dancing?"
A tick mark appeared on Takemura's face as he narrowed his eyes, pinning Genta into place as he shrank under the pressure. "That is just performative art. It will not serve you in battle, but only make you die in an aesthetically pleasing manner."
Genta's head dropped, a black depressing shadow hanging over his drained eyes.
Shizuru spoke, her voice a bit thinned due to the fierce aura radiating from Takemura. "Takemura-sama, how about you spar with Noa once he gets good enough with puppets? You could iron out the mistakes in his technique and give him advice on how to not die while using them."
I tilted my head, making sure to display my best puppy eyes toward Takemura. After a long time, he nodded, pleased with the suggestion. He ruffled Shizuru's hair gently. "Good suggestion, Shizuru. I will do just that." This caused her to relax a bit.
I stood up, excitement burning inside me at learning something I am so intrigued by, something that will add dimensions to my battlefield presence. I could not help a smirk from forming on my face as my confidence rose.
Shizuru noticed my smile and stood up. "Let us go, Genta. Once Noa has that look, it means he will be obsessed with whatever is on his mind and only focused on it." Genta's depressed state increased as he stood with his father and Shizuru, waving me goodbye as they left.
I already know how to control a small puppet. The fox puppet is what got me into puppetry with how novel and interesting it is, almost like a small drone. Due to my fuinjutsu training, my chakra thread technique was decent enough for simple puppets. However, it will need to be both stronger and more flexible to control a full-on puppet. The notes from Konoha shinobi mentioned that much about the chakra threads they observed. Given my level of chakra control, that should not be an issue.
I summoned the puppets I "borrowed" from the Hidden Sand puppeteer back in Suna. I found the hinges at the limb and, with a careful gesture, removed one. I thought to start first by controlling a simple limb, then two, then more, as I fine-tune my chakra control to suit the chakra thread technique needed for puppetry.
After I used my sensing combined with my seal knowledge, I observed the start of the "seal array artery" that provides the limbs with chakra. It was modular, ensuring that the limb could be controlled as a whole when the full puppet is intact and even when the limb is separated. It was a masterclass in modularity.
I extended a chakra thread slowly, connecting to different parts of the array and searching for a reaction. It was like the fox puppet all over again, though due to the insight of both Master Shuzo and Shizuru, plus the intel I got from the Konoha shinobi on the puppets they fought, I was able to figure out the location much faster.
The limbs shook weakly. My eyes widened as I moved the thread around. The movement intensity compared to the chakra I was providing improved until I finally was able to slightly move the puppet limb itself. I smiled. There were some subarrays that control the fingers to open them and shoot poisoned needles, but that was still a bit far ahead.
After some experimentation, I found the best way to move that limb was using a harp-string-like movement. Using my fingers to resonate the chakra threads when the limb was fixed caused a reaction almost immediately. Mastering a flexible but firm string was going to be the hardest part, since it is what is required for flexible and fast movement. However, like everything else, it requires practice. Once I get the feeling right, I am sure full control will come to me naturally.
I continued experimenting. Luckily, my immense chakra reserves ensured that I never ran even close to low, which raised a thought on how puppet masters, who usually had low chakra, mastered them. It must be why it takes them so long to learn puppetry.
Me, on the other hand, I can go all out. I took a deep breath and, with a hand sign, two clones appeared. The clones, for once, did not give me any attitude as they observed the puppet with interest before they smiled and each took off a limb from the puppet to start training with it.
Since there is no concentrated knowledge or specific jutsu to master, using shadow clones to master the correct "feeling" of puppet chakra thread control should be fine. The feedback would most likely be manageable, and if it proved to be too bad, I would stop using them.
The day passed as my clones and I worked relentlessly on controlling the limbs we detached. At some point, even Genta showed up and was amazed at the limbs that were shaking and moving slightly. It looked like magic to him since he could not see the threads.
He was not a sensor and did not have a dojutsu, so to him, it looked like they hovered in the air on their own. He noted that it would be extremely dangerous toward a shinobi who cannot perceive them and then gets injured by a poisonous needle or a stab from a silent puppet limb.
He was so excited that he wanted me to teach him. However, his father showed up like the grim reaper out of nowhere. He shouted at Genta to stop being distracted and wasting his break, telling him to come back to his own training.
As the sun set, sweat was dripping from my forehead. My chakra was running low and my hands were shaking from exhaustion. But then, one of my clones shouted, "I did it!" My head whipped to the side, eyes wide, as the limb hovered in the air, moving gracefully while the clone concentrated, biting on its tongue in concentration, trying to fine-tune the movement and increase the speed.
Eventually, he got better at it while I and the other clone observed. The movement became more natural, and he started to celebrate. My clones and I were holding hands while jumping around in celebration as well, infected by the "figured it out" energy.
That is when Shizuru walked in. Her eyes widened at the floating limb, which was moving with increasing speed, before her gaze shifted to me and my clones holding hands and jumping around. A deadpan look appeared on her face. I finally noticed her and pulled my hands away immediately, coughing as I said in a dignified tone, "Is it time to go for our walk?" Shizuru simply nodded with narrowed eyes.
"Okay, let me recover a little and take a shower first," I said. However, my clones had evil smiles on their faces as they both shouted at the same time, "Heads up!" and popped themselves to pass on the information. My eyes widened, but before I could say anything, the kickback hit me like a door in the face. I dropped to the floor, holding my head in agony while promising revenge on those evil clones.