Tenten didn't say anything, but her expression was complicated.
Low ceiling…
That was only relative.
For someone like Souma, who had already mastered Sage Mode, puppet techniques were naturally a side path. One casual punch from him was probably more straightforward than an entire puppet setup.
But for ordinary shinobi, puppet techniques could mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield.
More importantly—
For injured or disabled shinobi, puppets might offer a chance to return to combat.
That was precisely why Sunagakure's puppet techniques had flourished for so long.
As for Tenten herself, ninja tools were her specialty. She had never considered herself especially talented in taijutsu.
This kind of specialized puppet-compatible taijutsu might actually suit her perfectly.
Souma glanced at her expression and more or less guessed what she was thinking.
"If you weren't learning sealing techniques and space–time ninjutsu," he said, "then I'd actually recommend putting serious effort into puppet techniques."
"…That makes sense," Tenten nodded thoughtfully.
Compared to puppetry, sealing techniques and space–time ninjutsu clearly had a much higher ceiling.
The former was notoriously difficult—she'd been chewing through books for ages with little progress.
But the latter?
Her progress had been surprisingly good.
She could already do exactly what Souma had described before—pre-sealing and storing objects, then releasing them during combat.
It wasn't a true ninjutsu yet, but the chakra consumption was low, and if she continued developing its potential…
Who knew?
She might even touch Flying Thunder God someday.
Just thinking about it made her excited.
Because of that, Tenten quickly pushed the idea of puppet-taijutsu to the back of her mind and focused on the blueprints instead. After discussing and revising several details with Souma, she finally felt confident.
"I'll start today. I'll have a finished piece by tomorrow at the latest. You can see if anything needs adjusting."
"Perfect."
With the crafting handed over to Tenten, Souma returned to his lab and began refining how to pair puppet tools with taijutsu.
The spider-leg puppet tool would be best mounted on the back. When needed, it could extend and function as additional limbs, working in tandem with his body.
Attack. Defense. Long-range. Close-range.
The concept was solid.
The only real problem was control.
If he used his hands to manipulate chakra threads, it would break the flow of taijutsu.
That was the real challenge.
After several attempts, a solution gradually formed in his mind.
"The human torso has several major chakra convergence points… I can use those directly to link with the puppet tool and achieve back-mounted control."
The moment he thought of the Hyūga clan's Rotation, inspiration struck.
He quickly wrote everything down.
After finishing, he frowned slightly.
The feasibility wasn't an issue.
The problem was that it was too good.
Too difficult. Too demanding.
Not suitable as a standard technique.
And if it was going to be traded to Sunagakure—
"Cut the back-mounted control. Switch to single-hand operation. One hand for control, the other paired with legwork and body movement for taijutsu."
Souma continued writing.
The version meant for trade obviously had to be a discount edition.
When he finally set the pen down, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Now all that was missing was the actual tool.
"Wood Release, ninja beasts—I can't personally manage those. Seven Days Breathing is being tested by the Akimichi clan…"
He paused.
"Right. I should also organize my mental-force attack research and make a low-tier version for the Yamanaka clan."
Souma immediately thought of Yamanaka Inoichi's eager expression.
If he weren't so busy right now, Inoichi would've already dragged him into talks about further cooperation.
Might as well prepare in advance.
"Ehehehe—this is a great place!"
"Jiraiya-sama… you might want to watch your image. This is a bit…"
"Cough—research! I'm collecting material!"
Jiraiya put down his binoculars, looking a little embarrassed.
Kakashi was speechless.
He'd heard plenty about Jiraiya's personality and hobbies, but seeing it firsthand was still… shattering.
Then again, without that passion, he probably wouldn't have written the Icha Icha series.
They stopped near a forest.
"Lord Bug King," Kakashi said, "this is Jiraiya—guest of Konoha and of Souma."
"Hiss—"
A sharp chirring sound echoed.
Moments later, several giant kikaichū crawled out from the forest.
Jiraiya looked at Kakashi.
"…What's this about?"
Kakashi thought for a long moment.
"They might be charging an entrance fee."
"???"
Jiraiya was stunned.
These bugs were intelligent enough to set up toll gates now?
He gathered some chakra—
The Bug King gave him a look of pure disdain.
"…Hey, that's not cheap, alright?"
Jiraiya understood immediately.
That look was definitely calling him stingy.
Kakashi lowered his voice. "They probably want senjutsu chakra."
He began absorbing natural energy. Soon after, he extracted a small amount of senjutsu chakra and released it.
The insects swarmed in and split it cleanly.
Then—
All eyes turned to Jiraiya.
At first, he found it amusing.
Then his expression darkened.
And finally—
"Hey! That's enough! I'm out of senjutsu chakra! And now you want normal chakra too?! I'm the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku!"
Jiraiya exploded.
The bugs scattered, finally letting them pass.
Kakashi barely held back his laughter.
Clearly, Jiraiya had been remembered by either the insects—or Souma.
He didn't bother warning him and led Jiraiya into the research institute.
The first thing they saw was Tenten, polishing a ninja tool.
"A kunoichi specializing in ninja tools? That's rare," Jiraiya said in surprise.
"Ninja tool forging is both technical and physically demanding. Without strength, it's hard to do properly."
"Souma created a technique that maximizes physical output," Kakashi explained simply.
Jiraiya nodded slowly.
That explained it.
They continued inside.
Soon, Jiraiya saw cats, dogs, ravens—even hawks.
"These are…?"
"Ninja beast cultivation. A core project of the institute."
"!!!"
Only the Inuzuka clan traditionally handled ninja beasts.
Yet here, they were openly collaborating?
Jiraiya looked closer—most of the participants were indeed from the Inuzuka clan.
They were willing to share their trump cards?
What on earth had happened in Konoha while he was gone?
Jiraiya was stunned.
As they moved deeper, more things overturned his understanding.
For example—
Hyūga Neji, training a form of Gentle Fist that clearly wasn't the Hyūga clan's traditional style.
It was something between Gentle Fist and Hard Fist—a completely new taijutsu system.
Jiraiya clicked his tongue.
"All of this… Souma?"
"Yes," Kakashi nodded.
"The entire institute was initiated by him. Most projects come from his ideas—others handle the research and execution."
Jiraiya felt genuine shock.
The implication was clear.
Souma had too many ideas to research alone, so he built an entire system to let everyone participate.
No wonder every major clan was willing to cooperate—even offering their secret techniques.
Because what they gained in return was far greater.
Jiraiya realized then—
He had seriously underestimated Souma before.
With this kind of foundation…
Becoming Hokage would be effortless.
Or perhaps the real concern was—
What if Souma didn't want to be Hokage?
Jiraiya's expression grew heavier as they stopped in front of a lab door.
"This is his research room."
"I'll knock," Jiraiya said.
He rapped lightly.
Moments later, the door opened.
A boy with messy hair, no concern for appearances—but strikingly handsome features—stood there.
"Jiraiya-sama. Kakashi-sensei."
Souma glanced back inside, then paused.
"There's sensitive material in here. Let's talk next door."
"Alright. But before that—"
Jiraiya bowed deeply, face serious.
"I owe you an apology. I had preconceived and mistaken judgments about you before. I'm sorry."
"About the Third?" Souma waved it off.
"It's fine. He didn't take it to heart either."
Souma opened the adjacent door—his living quarters.
Kakashi smoothly changed the subject.
"You were researching new techniques?"
"Yes. I'm combining puppet techniques with taijutsu—planning to trade it for knowledge we lack. Sunagakure's unconditional surrender gives us the perfect opportunity."
Kakashi nodded.
Sunagakure's skill set was limited, but what they specialized in was exactly what Konoha lacked.
Puppets combined with taijutsu, though…
That was new.
"Need my help?"
"No. The concept's already complete. I just need Tenten to finish the puppet tool so I can refine it further."
Jiraiya frowned.
"Wait. You only thought of this idea a day or two ago, right?"
"Yesterday afternoon, to be precise," Souma replied calmly.
Jiraiya's eyes went wide.
So in one afternoon and one night—
Souma had designed a puppet tool, created a matching specialized taijutsu, and was already preparing for practical optimization?
He opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Kakashi patted his shoulder.
"You'll get used to it, Jiraiya-sama. Let's talk business."
"..."
Get used to it?
Jiraiya felt deeply conflicted.
He had once thought Souma was only a little more talented than Orochimaru.
Now?
It clearly wasn't "a little."
It was—
A billion times more.
When Orochimaru was thirteen or fourteen…
He definitely wasn't this outrageous.
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