The reason is simple: advanced Puppetry knowledge is only available in the Sand Village.
Puppetry is a new ninja profession, pioneered by the Second Kazekage and greatly expanded upon by Monzaemon. It's been less than thirty years since its inception. Other ninja villages might acquire some basic knowledge of Puppetry, but truly powerful puppeteers are only found in the Sand Village.
"He's from the elite class of the ninja academy, and his squad leader is Mamiya, a typical Wind Release ninja. He probably couldn't have taught him any of this. In fact, even if he had a teacher, to achieve this much at his age, his future prospects are limitless."
Ishido continued, addressing Ebizo.
"Hmm, alright. You want to transfer him to your Sixth Division?"
"Yes, Lord Ebizo. Two years ago, White Fang virtually wiped out over seventy percent of our Sixth Division's puppeteers. We still haven't fully rebuilt, so when I saw such a promising talent, I just couldn't resist..."
"Alright, I understand."
Ebizo moved his hand from his gray beard and scrutinized him again for a moment.
Such talent is worth cultivating.
And he's only two years older than Sasori, making them peers.
I could try to have him interact with Sasori.
After all, Sasori has become increasingly withdrawn since his parents died.
"A direct transfer to your division is out of the question. For this new generation of puppeteers, I will select eighty individuals for the training program. At that time, who enters the Puppet Force and which division they join will be up to you, the division leaders, to decide yourselves."
...
...
"Puppet Force Training Program?"
A week after Qingshui submitted his puppet repair mission, he received this notification at home.
"Yes, you must seize this opportunity. The Puppet Force is the village's elite unit. For the past decade or so, almost all puppeteers who became Jonin came from here."
A ninja in his fifties, with bandages wrapped around his shoulder, placed a form on the table.
This was Qingshui's former squad leader, Mamiya, a veteran Jonin from the Sand Village. He was quite old, and due to injuries, he had retreated from the front lines in the Land of Rain with Qingshui's group.
Of course, Qingshui wasn't under Mamiya's command on the battlefield. As a Jonin, the missions he undertook were beyond what Qingshui, a Genin who had only graduated a year prior, could access.
"I'm not a puppeteer. I became a Jonin through Wind Release ninjutsu and swordplay. My ability to help you with Puppetry is limited. So, if you want to advance further in the future, you must seize this opportunity."
Mamiya said, looking at the young man in front of him.
He clearly understood his student's potential.
His talent in ninjutsu was only considered above average, and his swordplay was decent. If he followed the normal path, becoming a Chunin would definitely be no problem. If he didn't die young, and endured for more years, he might even reach the Jonin level in certain aspects, becoming a Special Jonin by adulthood.
The chances of him becoming a Jonin were there, but not high.
However, Qingshui's talent in Puppetry amazed Mamiya. He believed that if Qingshui could inherit the knowledge of a sufficiently high-level puppeteer, becoming a Jonin was a certainty.
In the future, there might even be a slight possibility of him becoming a prominent figure like Elder Chiyo.
"Thank you, Teacher Mamiya."
Qingshui took the form from Mamiya's hand and thanked him.
"There's nothing to thank me for. When you were assigned to a squad after graduation, it was the most intense period of the war. Back then, the village's powerful puppeteers..."
Mamiya shook his head.
"What happened to those puppeteers?"
Qingshui asked, curious.
"Elder Chiyo had handed over the Puppet Force to her son and daughter-in-law. They were also very powerful puppeteers, considered two candidates to inherit the Fourth Kazekage's mantle. Unfortunately, in one battle, the Puppet Force they led encountered Konoha's White Fang's squad. They suffered heavy casualties, and both of them also died in battle."
"The Jonin originally assigned to lead your squad was temporarily transferred to the Puppet Force and sent to the front lines after the war. That's why they had to find an average Jonin like me to lead you."
Mamiya patted Qingshui's shoulder.
Each of the Five Great Ninja Villages had a five-digit number of active ninjas. The number of Genin graduating each year certainly wasn't like in the anime, where only twenty-seven graduated and some were eliminated.
In reality, it was that these twenty-seven individuals had higher talent and potential, or a sufficiently strong background. Only they would be led by a Jonin after graduation.
Qingshui was one of them.
His talent had a gap compared to top-tier geniuses, but it was above average. Coupled with his early head start, he managed to squeeze in.
...
...
That night, at his desk, Qingshui idly fiddled with puppet parts, watching the progress bar slowly advance at the bottom of the display.
It seems the application for puppeteer training has been approved.
Ninety-seven percent, ninety-eight percent, ninety-nine percent...
The progress bar slowly but steadily reached one hundred percent, then instantly cleared.
System updating...
New features unlocking...
System update complete!
The panel changed at that moment.
To the left of the original Fatty Puppet's panel, a new sub-panel appeared, displaying a 3D image of Qingshui himself.
"Is this... a data visualization of me?"
Qingshui looked at the changes on the panel in surprise, immediately checking his own attributes.
Name: Qingshui
Age: Eleven
Occupation: Ninja (Main), Puppeteer
Occupational Attributes: Nin: 4, Tai: 3, Gen: 3, Int: 5, Str: 3, Spd: 4, Sta: 4, Hand Seals: 5
"Is this... the Eight Ninja Stats?"
The Eight Ninja Stats are a way to evaluate a ninja's overall ability using numerical values. The Ninja Academy also uses this method to score ninjas in various abilities.
These values can generally reflect a ninja's skill level, but they don't represent everything. For example, if a ninja isn't good at genjutsu but is very good at dispelling it, then their Gen stat might not be very high, but they could still have six or seven points. People with a Gen stat of ten usually find it difficult to ensnare such a person in genjutsu.
Typical examples of this are Might Guy and Jiraiya; they aren't skilled in genjutsu, but that doesn't mean they aren't skilled at resisting it.
That being said, the values of the Eight Ninja Stats are still very useful for reference.
With a hint of curiosity, Qingshui mentally tapped the word "Nin."
He couldn't assign points, but another sub-window popped up, showing the branch attributes of the Nin stat.
Wind Release Ninjutsu: LV1, Puppetry: LV2
"If this is all there is, it seems to be of limited help to me."
Qingshui, still unsatisfied, tapped every corner of the panel.
After opening Wind Release Ninjutsu, the two C-rank Wind Release ninjutsu he currently knew, Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm and Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, appeared.
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