Malphegor
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HSU: Ch. 136
🕑 Added 2025-01-13 23:15:34 +0000 UTCOutside Suna, a wooden miniature puppet was slowly crawling across the sand.
Abruptly, a figure appeared beside it.
"So it really is a puppet..." the newcomer muttered, then swung his hand, sending a wind blade that split the puppet in two.
Soon after, more figures arrived at the scene.
"Masashi-sama," the captain of the Suna ANBU squad looked at the puppet on the ground. "Is this the one?"
"Yes, an impressive puppeteer," Masashi said as he observed the still-moving puppet. "Every time I see Suna's puppets, I feel like you guys chose the wrong talent tree."
"Indeed, very impressive," the Suna ANBU's gaze flickered.
To outsiders, puppet techniques were just about creating wooden dolls, adding a bunch of mechanisms, and controlling them with the unique chakra thread technology of Suna.
But this art also involved chakra circuits, and it was highly personalized. Every puppeteer's chakra circuits were unique.
It was absolutely a form of ninjutsu. If a puppet technique was rated as A-rank, it truly had an A-rank difficulty level for learning.
Even after being split by a wind blade, parts of this puppet doll continued functioning.
This kind of puppet, equipped with internal power systems that could operate according to pre-set "programming," represented the pinnacle of Suna's puppet techniques.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Suna's puppetry shone brightly on the battlefield. For Konoha, if it weren't for Tsunade, the losses would have been far greater.
The mechanisms of puppetry might not be visually impressive, but they were devastatingly effective in combat.
Unless you had an ability like Shinra Tensei for 360-degree large-scale attacks, or something akin to Susanoo, or if you were immune to poison, avoiding any injuries at all was nearly impossible.
Without sufficient detoxification skills, being hit by a puppet attack was practically a death sentence.
Looking at the puppet doll before them, the number of people in Suna capable of creating such a puppet could be counted on one hand.
"Puppet techniques at this level must be recorded in your Suna archives," Masashi said. "Take this thing back to the Kazekage. As an outsider, I won't interfere further."
"Thank you for your understanding!" The Suna ANBU genuinely appreciated his sentiment.
This issue was undoubtedly Suna's own mess; they couldn't pin it on anyone else.
As a member of Suna's ANBU, he didn't even dare speculate about the matter. For such a small puppet, the implications were likely far-reaching.
"But as the leader of the Konoha delegation, if something like this happens again, don't blame me for taking more extreme measures," Masashi warned them.
"We understand, and we apologize for the trouble caused."
"It's not too bad. Internal infiltrators are indeed troublesome. I hope you can resolve it quickly."
With that, Masashi disappeared from the Suna ANBU's sight.
He reappeared in the Konoha rest area within the inn. At that moment, the Konoha ninjas were discussing what had just happened.
When they saw him, they all stood up.
"Masashi-sama."
In the world of ninjas, respect wasn't based on age but strength.
As a ninja acknowledged as a Kage-level powerhouse, Masashi was a figure of great importance in the eyes of these Konoha ninjas.
"Masashi, about those Suna ninjas just now..." Pakura began but stopped mid-sentence.
Because Masashi gestured for her to stop.
"Kakashi, I have a task for you," he said after a moment of thought. "During this time, keep a close eye on the surroundings. Also, no one should leave the premises unnecessarily. I'll coordinate with Kiri to ensure both our teams act together."
"Understood," Kakashi nodded.
With his Sharingan, he was essentially a visual sensory ninja. Moreover, the Sharingan gifted to him by Obito was of a high level, making him the person with the widest sensory range after Masashi in the group.
As for chakra-sensing types of ninjas, they were too rare—there weren't many in all of Konoha.
Otherwise, security tasks would have been much easier.
"Masashi-sama, is something wrong?" someone asked.
"Yes, this joint Chunin Exams has drawn many participants, and Suna's defenses against infiltrators have weakened," Masashi reflected on the reactions of the Suna ANBU earlier.
If someone from within Suna were causing trouble... But the chances were slim. It was more likely that an outsider was trying to disrupt the situation.
And it was someone who was a highly skilled puppeteer.
As a transmigrator, Masashi couldn't help but think of a certain individual with a penchant for turning people into puppets. Based on that person's preferences, they were indeed a likely suspect.
This joint Chunin Exams in Suna had gathered nearly all the powers in the shinobi world, along with a vast array of bloodlinne limits and strange abilities. It was probably the most concentrated gathering since the establishment of the ninja villages.
If he were a puppeteer with a taste for human puppets, he would certainly want to gather materials.
But jumping to conclusions was unwise. Assumptions should not be made lightly.
For some reason, he felt a strange sense of familiarity with this situation.
"You don't need to worry too much. Maintain normal vigilance," Masashi assured the chunin and genin present. "Your job is to prepare for the exam. We, the leading ninjas, are here to ensure you can participate in the best condition. Even though we're in Suna, you represent Konoha. You don't need to fear anything. If the sky falls, I will bear it—it won't fall on you."
Hearing this, the group felt a wave of relief.
Kakashi also thought that his teacher had been right in his evaluation of Masashi.
When this man wasn't acting frivolous, he exuded a sense of responsibility that was deeply reassuring.
Strength didn't always equate to responsibility, and responsibility was far rarer than strength.
In Konoha, while there were mixed opinions on giving the position of assistant to the Hokage to the Uchiha clan, opinions on Masashi were generally positive across different factions.
This was mainly because he was genuinely reliable when it came to serious matters.
---
The days passed uneventfully.
Following Masashi's instructions, the Konoha ninjas focused on preparing for the exam, and Suna noticeably increased its security measures. No similar incidents occurred.
Under the arrangements of Masashi and Mei, the participants from Konoha and Kiri maintained friendly relations. However, during group meals, everyone gave Kimimaro odd looks.
This was primarily because this delicate-looking boy had a ferocious appetite.
For some of the appearance-conscious kunoichi, it was difficult to watch. They felt that Kimimaro's clan members wouldn't stop until they fattened him up to their own bulky standards.
He wouldn't finish a meal without eating an entire bucket of rice, and they would keep urging him to eat more.
Everyone now understood why his clan members were all so stocky.
The days passed one after another, and finally, Suna announced that the Chunin Exams would officially begin.
The structure of the exams were actually quite random.
In the relatively prosperous environment of Konoha, with its early-established Ninja Academy and advanced academic curriculum, the first exam in the original timeline was a real test—literally an academic test.
They handed out written exams.
Suna was not like Konoha.
Culturally, among the Five Great Shinobi Nations, the Land of Fire, the Land of Water, and the Land of Earth were relatively developed, with economies that met urban standards.
The Blood Mist reputation might make the Land of Water seem like a nation of terrorists, but this was somewhat unfair.
The geography of the Land of Water led to a high degree of regional autonomy, but its people were generally quite normal, its resources abundant, and its level of civilization not low.
The Land of Earth had a lower average economic level, but it was vast, with relatively well-balanced resources, so its overall civilization level was acceptable.
This was why Masashi had recommended to Minato and the daimyō of the Land of Fire that these three nations should form an economic and political community of interests.
As for the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning? That was a whole different story.
The national character of the Land of Wind, in particular, was heavily influenced by its environment. Living in a desert, the people of the Land of Wind had a dual nature.
On one hand, they were accustomed to hardship, the loneliness of their tough lives, and had few desires, making them fiercely independent and resistant to authority.
On the other hand, they were simple and straightforward, with an innocent nature free from deceit.
Suna amplified both of these characteristics.
If Kumo valued a warrior spirit, the Suna ninjas were naturally savage and the hardest group to control. They were crude in action, had strong egos, yet harbored great ambition and a strong desire for power, making it hard to align their interests.
Debates over the format of the first exam went on for days in the Kazekage's office. Even Rasa slamming the table had no effect—once the Suna ninjas got into an argument, they wouldn't relent, even if it meant disregarding ties of kinship.
Many proposals were put forth, but sitting in a classroom to do a written test was definitely not among them.
Suna didn't even have administrative roles like secretaries.
Konoha used written tests to evaluate candidates' intelligence-gathering abilities and their mindset when faced with seemingly impossible tasks, but such methods were clearly not to the taste of the Suna ninjas.
The first exam had a distinct flavor of the Land of Wind's culture.
They designated a section of desert and sent the candidates inside.
Each team carried a piece of intelligence with part of a route map, which they needed to decipher.
Teams that reached the destination within the set time would pass.
It was as straightforward and brutal as it got.
While this gave Suna's own participants a geographical advantage, it was only a slight edge. After all, these were all genin, and even the locals hadn't explored every part of the vast desert.
The host nation needed at least that much of an advantage to maintain credibility.
For Konoha's genin, the desert environment was largely unfamiliar. During the Third Great Ninja War, the Suna ninjas had been the aggressors, while the Konoha forces mostly counterattacked defensively and never entered the Land of Wind's territory.
For many of these genin, this was their first time seeing a real desert.
Fortunately, Konoha's academic curriculum included desert survival basics, so they weren't entirely unprepared.
Additionally, as a former citizen of the Land of Wind, Pakura gave them some last-minute tips.
On the day of the exam, participating teams from various villages, led by Suna ninja guides, entered the vast yellow desert one by one.
"What do you think?" Masashi asked Pakura as he watched the Konoha teams disappear into the desert. "Will they manage?"
"It depends on their luck," Pakura replied. "Even local residents of the Land of Wind can get lost in the desert without sufficient preparation. But with Suna ninjas monitoring the field, any unfortunate cases will simply lose their qualification."
"Fair enough," Masashi nodded. He glanced at the scene one last time before turning to her. "Let's go. It'll be a few days—we should head to the destination."
Pakura nodded and followed Masashi.
Kakashi was already waiting ahead.
"There are some promising candidates this time," Pakura said. She had a strong impression of a certain boy. "Like that Deidara you captured."
"He and Kimimaro are outliers. Letting them compete at this age just to crush everyone else's confidence—Ōnoki and Yagura are really ruthless," Masashi sighed.
Still, he understood their motivations.
Iwa had long been seen as lacking successors.
As for Kiri, it wasn't even worth mentioning—everyone expected them to self-destruct eventually.
Sending these two prodigies was a way to change perceptions.
Whether you were up against Deidara's clay bombs or Kimimaro's bone powers, no rookie ninja would be able to touch them.
Over the past few days, the genin from the three villages had gotten somewhat familiar with each other and established a bit of camaraderie. Otherwise, Masashi would've been worried that someone in his team might have the bright idea to challenge those two.
Especially Kimimaro, who had no concept of holding back.
He'd probably make friends by saying, "Since my bone didn't kill you, it's destiny that we should be friends."
It was hard to imagine who might be fortunate enough to become his best friend in the future.
While Masashi and the other team leaders made their way to the destination, the exam in the desert officially began.
For Deidara and Kimimaro, despite their young age, their abundant combat experience and overwhelming strength made them thrive.
But for the teams from Ame, it seemed the Chunin Exams and their village were destined to be incompatible—they were nearly wiped out within the first few hours.
Their individual strength was decent, with most of them capable of using at least one or two nature release techniques, predominantly water release.
But in the desert, water jutsu were nearly useless, serving only to hydrate plants at best.
In the original timeline, the Ame ninjas faced Gaara during the Konoha Chunin Exams.
This time, they ran into Kimimaro right after the start and were beaten so badly that they were unrecognizable. If that wasn't enough, they later encountered Deidara.
Ever since his encounter in the Land of Grass, Deidara harbored a strong dislike for ninja from small nations and didn't hold back against them.
Aside from the unlucky Ame ninjas, other villages fared somewhat better.
For instance, Kusa ninjas were quick to flee at the sight of Iwa's ninja team from a distance.
After all, Deidara had publicly declared his intent to eliminate all Kusa ninjas.
This bold declaration even earned him praise from Kitsuchi, who said he embodied the spirit of Iwa.
Meanwhile, the Suna ninjas monitoring the field coldly observed the candidates' mutual slaughter, offering no favoritism, even toward their own.
And in the shadows, hidden figures began to move.
