Inside a small mountain village.
"Grandma, I've finished chopping the firewood. Please don't overwork yourself; let me handle these chores..."
"You're a good child. There is no need to be afraid. Grandma truly likes you!"
The old woman embraced Karin gently. "Grandma won't abandon you!"
"Grandma! I'll protect you too!"
Karin was deeply moved.
Initially, her intentions toward this old woman had indeed been calculating—purely for survival. But after a few days, she realized the woman was genuinely kind.
Through their conversations, she learned how the old woman's children had died. Being so close to the border, her son and the rest of her family had been slaughtered during a raid by the Hidden Sand Village. She was the sole survivor.
A similar tragic origin gave Karin a sense of shared identity.
Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly sensed a familiar fluctuation of chakra. She immediately stood up. "I forgot to put the axe away properly!"
Karin dashed toward the woodshed.
Moments later, a panda materialized, opened its mouth, and spat out a ninja tool pouch.
Inside was a letter, a pen, a kunai, several shuriken, a few smoke bombs, and an explosive tag. Although Karin was not a ninja, she recognized these weapons. For the foreseeable future, these would be the tools she relied on for survival.
The letter contained thoughts and instructions regarding the Three Basic Jutsu, the Summoning Jutsu, and the Body Flicker Jutsu, along with words of concern regarding her current situation.
There was also a single blank sheet of paper included.
"Please wait a moment. I will write a reply immediately. Please deliver it to My Lord!"
Karin bowed sincerely.
The panda nodded, its expression charmingly naive.
Karin quickly wrote down words of gratitude and a report on her circumstances since arriving. Once the reply was sealed, the panda vanished with a poof.
"Cultivate. Get stronger. Become a qualified subordinate for Lord!"
Karin set a small goal for herself: master the Body Flicker Jutsu as soon as possible and gain the ability to protect herself.
Evening. Konoha Hospital.
Masahiko sat in the reference library, gathering materials related to puppet techniques and human anatomy.
Footsteps approached from the side.
He looked up.
Kabuto Yakushi walked over and bowed slightly.
"Senpai. You've been quite busy lately, so I haven't been able to run into you. These are the materials you asked me to gather."
"Good. Thank you."
Masahiko took them.
At that moment, the documents were secondary. He looked at the young spy, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Kabuto, about that matter I mentioned before... did you go and try it?"
"I've been too busy recently. I haven't had the time to go back. Perhaps after this busy period passes, I'll consider it," Kabuto replied.
It was meant to be a lie, a mere excuse. But for some reason, the moment the words left his mouth, a sudden urge welled up in his heart—an impulse to actually go back and see if those people still remembered him.
Kabuto lowered his gaze, falling into a momentary silence.
Fortunately, he was an exceptional spy. He quickly broke free from that fleeting moment of expectation, his expression returning to calm.
Masahiko smiled. He didn't press the issue. Instead, he flipped through the documents Kabuto had provided and nodded gently. "Much appreciated."
The data was authentic.
It contained numerous notes on medical ninjutsu, many of which clearly derived from the Yin Healing Wound Destruction—a forbidden medical technique. This was exactly what Masahiko needed.
As he put the materials away, Kabuto asked in a low voice, "I have a question regarding what you mentioned back there."
"Oh, that..." Masahiko chuckled. "Just some conjectures. I'm not entirely clear on how that Cursed Seal works myself, so it was merely a word of advice."
"Do you believe he might fall ill?" Kabuto asked.
This was the reason for his urgency. He hadn't detected any issues with Kimimaro's body, yet Masahiko had spoken with such gravity that even Orochimaru seemed to believe it. This created a sense of crisis in Kabuto.
Masahiko smiled enigmatically. "You should know that the more variables there are, the higher the probability of something going wrong, correct?"
Kabuto thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "That is a possibility."
"Therefore, it depends on his status in your hearts. Secondly..." Masahiko paused briefly. "Since the other party is willing, why the rush?"
He gathered his things and stood up.
"Just like these books—because I have sufficient authority, I can borrow any book whenever I need it."
Masahiko patted Kabuto on the shoulder.
"Do your best."
"..."
Kabuto gritted his teeth slightly.
In front of this man, he always felt as though he were being seen through.
For a split second just now, he almost believed Masahiko was using Genjutsu on him. But his own resistance to Genjutsu was strong, and he was certain he wasn't under any spell.
Taking a deep breath, Kabuto borrowed a book of his own before finally leaving the library.
Konoha Outskirts. A corner uncovered by the sensory barrier.
After performing the Summoning Jutsu, the panda appeared. It spat out the letter and looked up at Masahiko.
"What do you want?"
Masahiko checked his pockets.
The beast didn't speak; it simply stared intently at his ninja tool pouch.
Masahiko understood. He pulled out a kunai.
The panda immediately snatched it, clamped it in its mouth, and vanished back to its realm as if afraid Masahiko might take it back.
'It eats iron...'
'Do they live in the Land of Iron or something?'
Masahiko took a wild guess. After reading Karin's letter, he burned it to ash.
Upon returning home, he entered the Training Space.
Puppet technique is a form of Ninjutsu, but the creation of puppets is not; it's a craft. Therefore, simulating the manufacturing process was difficult for the System. However, Masahiko discovered a loophole after some experimentation—while the construction was hard to simulate, the System could perfectly simulate how a theoretical puppet would function once operational.
Thus, Masahiko began simulating various schemes and training scenarios.
In the end, he decided to consume the card.
[Consuming 'Mid-Rank Ninjutsu Random Card'...]
[Summoning...]
[Projection Successfully Generated!]
[Time Limit: 1:00:00]
A moment later, a young ninja with red hair appeared before him. The figure glanced around coldly before fixing his gaze on Masahiko.
"Who are you?"
"A man pursuing Eternal Art," Masahiko replied.
As he spoke, he handed over the knowledge and questions he needed answered.
The young ninja's eyes paused briefly. He sat down. "Eternal Art? And what is your art? "
"The art of eternity and indestructibility is Eternal Art. Therefore, I have recently been researching methods to replace human organs and body parts with puppet mechanisms and high-strength steel."
Sasori sneered. "Your imagination is still too limited."
"Please, enlighten me."
"Such modifications still result in death; they merely delay it. It is far from true eternity. However, you have indeed stepped onto the path of the eternal," Sasori replied coldly. "But with your current reserve of knowledge, you are lacking far too much."
Having said that, he began to answer the questions one by one.
Sasori's demeanor was calm. He didn't care whether Masahiko could actually learn it; he simply dumped his ideas and techniques in a torrent of information.
Masahiko memorized as much as possible, asking again whenever he missed something. Sasori showed no impatience, repeating the answers dutifully.
After the study session concluded, Masahiko glanced at the timer—he still had time.
He decided to chat with "Sasori."
"In my view, the flesh is weak, but the machine is eternal. By replacing current puppet materials with high-strength steel, allowing the body to become a fully steel creation..."
"In this way, everyone can achieve eternity. I call this concept 'Mechanical Ascension.' What do you think?" Masahiko asked.
"Sasori" fell into deep thought for a long while. "If the issues of Magnet Style and weight can be resolved, it might be a decent idea."
He added, " according to my research, certain metals are unaffected by Magnet Style and possess high durability. You could attempt to locate these materials..."
Masahiko listened intently.
Discussing "Mechanical Ascension" with the projection was a spur-of-the-moment idea.
As an awakener of the Shikotsumyaku, there was a possibility he could develop the same "Bloodline Disease" as Kimimaro.
In that case...
If he truly fell ill from the Shikotsumyaku before he could master a body-transfer technique like Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation, perhaps he could survive temporarily through "mechanical" means.
Besides, the serious work was already done. Failure would cost him nothing, but success would mean one more avenue of retreat.