Her curiosity piqued, Hinata opened the book and began reading carefully.
"Puppet Techniques, used by puppet masters to control mechanical constructs. Advanced users can even attach chakra threads to their enemy's puppets—or, in rare cases, to living beings themselves."
Hinata's eyes gleamed faintly. So… they can control people, too?
If she could even partially influence an opponent's movement in battle, the strategic advantage would be enormous.
She read on. The text detailed the pros and cons clearly. Puppetry required minimal chakra and allowed for indirect combat; poison-tipped weapons could kill even with the slightest scratch. But once built, a puppet's power was fixed—it couldn't grow or adapt like a human.
Having absorbed the basics, Hinata decided to act immediately.
She ordered the necessary materials, and when they arrived, she followed the steps in the book meticulously. Piece by piece, joint by joint, she worked through the night—until a completed puppet stood before her.
"So ugly. So fragile. So weak."
Hinata frowned in deep dissatisfaction as she examined the puppet before her. The lifeless construct looked crude and uninspired. "What's the point of something like this? Even if it uses very little chakra, what use is it in a real battle?"
Her pale eyes narrowed slightly. "Is this all there is to puppetry? Aren't there any stronger ones?"
Determined to find an answer, she immediately ordered her attendants to gather every piece of information they could about puppet techniques—scrolls, blueprints, research notes—anything related to the art of puppeteering.
This sudden interest did not go unnoticed.
Hiashi, who had been secretly observing his daughter's recent behavior, could no longer hide his confusion. What on earth had gotten into his once spineless, good-for-nothing daughter? Why was she wasting her time tinkering with puppets instead of perfecting her Gentle Fist? Was she… simply bored?
Whispers began spreading through the clan.
The Hyūga, after all, had thrived for millennia through the power of Byakugan and Gentle Fist—the foundation of their prestige and survival. Gentle Fist was a taijutsu art that could be honed throughout a lifetime, an inheritance passed down through blood and discipline.
As the eldest daughter, Hinata should have been the most devoted to perfecting that legacy. Instead, she was experimenting with puppets—soulless toys used by desert shinobi.
Though none dared speak ill of her openly, many secretly looked forward to her embarrassment. To see the clan's main family stumble, even slightly, would be a quiet victory for the branch members.
But none of this concerned Hinata. She was wholly absorbed in her work, oblivious to gossip or disapproval.
…
As her understanding deepened, Hinata realized puppetry wasn't entirely useless. While traditional puppets lacked the flexibility of human combatants, they could become formidable tools in the early and mid-stages of battle—provided the materials were strong enough.
Her weakness wasn't technique—it was her physical body. Even with her relentless training, improvement came slowly. The limits of the human form couldn't be transcended overnight.
But a puppet isn't bound by flesh.
Driven by chakra, puppets could perform movements far faster and stronger than any human body could endure. In combat, speed was power.
Her current Homeland reward—Wireless Puppet Control—was her key. Unlike ordinary puppeteers, who were bound by the range of their chakra threads, her control would be unrestricted.
If she could complete a functional puppet now, she could immediately activate it once she unlocked the reward.
The plan was perfect.
…
Hinata emptied the room next to hers, knocked down the wall between them, and claimed the entire space for her new workshop. Then, as a young lady of the Hyūga main house, she formally requested an enormous shipment of materials.
This caused an uproar.
When Hiashi received the list she had submitted, he almost fainted.
"She… She's really going all in with this nonsense?" His hands trembled as he scanned the long scroll of rare woods, refined steels, chakra threads, and specialized coatings.
He wanted to call her wasteful, but pride restrained him—especially in front of the servants. Instead, he could only pace, his brows twitching in frustration.
"A daughter like her…" he muttered bitterly. "No matter how anxious I get, it's useless. The essence of our clan—the legacy of our ancestors—lies in the Gentle Fist! Yet she wastes her time making… puppets?"
"Hiashi-sama," one branch member asked cautiously, "shall we… proceed with the purchases?"
"Purchase?!" Hiashi snapped. "Buy nothing! Make her focus on Gentle Fist training instead!"
The attendants hurried toward the door, but Hiashi suddenly called out, "Wait!"
They turned, confused.
"…Buy everything on that list," he said stiffly. "In fact, buy two of everything. And hurry."
"..?"
"?.."
The attendants exchanged startled looks, then quickly bowed and departed.
Hiashi sighed deeply once they were gone. "If this foolishness is what it takes for you to learn your lesson, Hinata… then so be it. Perhaps when you fail, you'll finally return to the path of Gentle Fist."
…
With Hiashi's reluctant approval, a mountain of materials was soon delivered to Hinata's expanded room. When there wasn't enough space inside, they stacked boxes in the hallway.
Hinata, having just finished a round of Gentle Fist practice, brightened instantly at the sight. She dashed inside and began her work in earnest.
Her months of Homeland construction had sharpened her dexterity, mechanical understanding, and sense of design. She applied the same principles here—improving defense, optimizing movement, and enhancing flexibility.
She now had a clear vision, a defined goal. All that remained was trial, error, and refinement.
…
On the three weekly mission days, Hinata continued to spar with Kiba and Shino. Each time, she won by a hair's breadth, letting them believe victory was within reach. This kept them motivated—and ensured she wouldn't be dragged into tedious missions.
Her days were her own. The rest of her time, she devoted entirely to training and development.
She never removed her weighted suit, not even during her crafting sessions. Every motion, every strike of the hammer, every movement of her hands was training in disguise.
Puppetry, to her, was a temporary bridge—a way to compensate until her body caught up to her will. The Gentle Fist remained her true foundation.
…
Two weeks passed.
Hinata stood before the nearly completed puppet, her brows furrowed.
After all that effort, the puppet was finished—save for a few adjustments that could only be tested once it was animated.
But there was a problem.
"It's… too heavy," she murmured, frowning.
Despite her careful selection of lightweight materials, the total mass far exceeded expectations. She wasn't sure if it could even move properly—and if it did, whether its speed would be sufficient.
"Overthinking won't help," she muttered softly. "I'll just finish it first."
She continued working until, several days later, the final modification was complete. Letting out a long sigh of relief, Hinata sat down, closed her eyes, and shifted her consciousness into her Homeland space.
The inspection process took time. Larger-scale projects always did.
If not for her obsession with perfection—a flawless 100-point rating—she could have finished ten days earlier.
"Good… Perfect," Hinata whispered once the final confirmation came through.
…
[Ding!]
[Expand your Homeland using self-produced materials. Upon completion, you will be rewarded with one of the abilities of the Reincarnation Eye: Wireless Puppet Control.]
A torrent of information poured into her mind, not as something learned, but as something remembered—an instinctive ability she had always possessed, simply dormant until now.
[Perfect Score! Bonus Rewards: Rabbit Hair Needle, All-Killing Ash Bones, or Nine Truth-Seeking Orbs. Choose one.]
The turntable spun before her eyes, the glowing symbols flashing rapidly before stopping on Rabbit Hair Needle.
Another surge of knowledge filled her consciousness—the ability to control the length of her hair and launch it as razor-sharp projectiles. Combined with her Byakugan's precision, every strike could pierce a chakra point with deadly accuracy.
It was an elegant, terrifying technique for immobilizing opponents.
Still, Hinata frowned. "Why did the evaluation reward change? I was hoping for another Byakugan optimization…"
…