Tokoyo no Naganaki Tori was the Shinto deification of the rooster, while Ame no Uzume no Mikoto was the goddess who lured Amaterasu from the Heavenly Rock Cave. The name given to this puppet combined the divine bird said to dwell in the Eternal Land, whose crowning heralded the sunrise, with that goddess herself.
The idea that form and name carried power was universal across mystical traditions.
In ninjutsu, the most typical and successful examples were techniques like "X Dragon Bullet." Further examples included the Temple of Fire's secret Gift of the Sage Clan, and Hashirama Senju's Wood Dragon Technique, True Several Thousand Hands, and others.
Ryūchi Cave—one of the Three Great Sacred Lands, founded by the White Snake Sage—had a Sage Mode whose focus and ultimate goal was "transforming into a dragon," attempting to make the practitioner metamorphose into a mythical beast that did not exist in the present world.
Using "dragon" as a reference for form was indeed an excellent way to harness power.
Similarly, Buddhism existed in this world, so the wrathful forms of Vajra and Buddha were also fine choices.
Beyond these, however, most ninjutsu that mimicked animal forms were simply matters of personal preference or elemental affinity.
After all, even ordinary hunters and fishermen with weapons could take down most "wild beasts." Claiming that borrowing such forms added much power to ninjutsu was hardly convincing.
Likewise, the mythological lineages Hii Kōri knew from his previous life did not exist in the world of Naruto—only things that seemed similar. Given that he alone held this knowledge, it was nearly impossible for him to gain power through connections like "name" and "form" in this world. Maintaining this naming convention was mostly habit.
Judging by the mechanical insect his future self had created, this odd naming sense persisted decades later.
You could call it staying true to one's roots.
Based on the mechanical bird's symbolic meaning, Hii Kōri had prepared a series of fixed armaments.
The main armament was the pseudo-Scorch Release incineration cannon housed in the bird's chest, and the tuned sonic diffusion devices at the base of its wings.
The former was a further improvement on the fist-claw cannon he had used during the war, after removing the cursed energy conduits, enhancing the conversion rate and stability of Scorch Release chakra. By adjusting the cannon's aperture, it could switch freely between focused and dispersed fire modes.
The massive turbine that made up the bird's upper body not only provided primary propulsion but also served as a heat sink for the main cannon.
The latter was a sonic weapon tunable from infrasound to noise, inspired by the Toad Sage couple's Toad Croak genjutsu. Its lethality was limited by distance, but as a wide-area disruption tool, it was exceptional.
Beyond these, the bird's wings, tail feathers, back, and legs were fitted with numerous vectoring thrusters for attitude control.
The thrusters in the wings could also function as vacuum blade generators. The tail feather thrusters, limited by size, had been modified to emit blade-like chakra wave units—similar to the Chakra Scalpel's energy blades.
In high-speed cruise mode, the tail feathers could either fold together to expose the internal thrusters, or detach entirely to fly and attack autonomously within a certain range.
These "funnels" were a design Hii Kōri had been obsessed with for years—even longer than the incineration cannon.
The bird's claws were also fitted with blade-type chakra wave generators. Using internal cables and attitude control thrusters in the legs, they could even fire out to extend their cutting and grappling range.
Finally, hidden in the bird's beak was a small Scorch Release cannon.
This was a backup weapon extended from the main chest cannon. When the main cannon overheated or large-scale bombardment wasn't needed, it could fire miniature Scorch Release fireballs at a maximum rate of 200 rounds per minute.
That was slower than the original Gundam's head vulcan, but more than enough to kill.
After assembling and successfully starting the mechanical bird, Hii Kōri faced the long, tedious process of fine-tuning and system integration.
Unlike the semi-automatic machines on the production line—which only needed to repeat fixed routines—or the large armored puppets requiring pilots, the fully autonomous mechanical bird needed far more than macros and an OS. It requires a complex array of intelligent modules.
Chakra sensing and IFF circuits were the bare minimum. The latter was relatively simple—with the application scenario planned out, friendly interference could be minimized. But the former was the fundamental logic that would make these puppets viable tactical weapons.
Movement logic and tactical reasoning would be integrated into the thinking circuits. Additional weapon interfaces and fire control systems required extra configuration, with room left for later modifications.
Dozens of logic modules needed similar processing. After that, all systems had to be connected to a framework for recording machine data and enabling future modifications.
Most of these systems would be reusable for later puppets—once built, they could be seamlessly transferred—but the current workload was immense.
In truth, most of these functions could be handled by giving the puppet a personality, like Yaga Masamichi's autonomous cursed corpses. But Hii Kōri prioritized stability. Trade-offs had to be made.
It couldn't be helped.
But while the software side—boosted by Hii Kōri's parallel processing and direct neural connections—progressed quickly, hardware testing was far more time-consuming.
Individual parts could not be equated with the assembled whole.
Environmental adaptability tests, energy system stability, cycle efficiency, extreme output thresholds, joint reaction speeds under various loads, wear rates, overall structural stress distribution, fatigue accumulation… each parameter requires hundreds or thousands of repeated tests for accurate results.
Even with his inhuman efficiency and sleeplessness, assembling and tuning this autonomous puppet—from skeleton to final system—took nearly two weeks.
In this intensely focused state, his diet was reduced to energy gels, energy bars, and vitamin tablets dissolved in water. At a glance, it looked even worse than Korean military rations.
But given the countless iterations he'd made over the years, at least the taste was decent.
His appearance, however, had suffered. With no time for grooming, stubble covered his chin, his hastily tied ponytail was disheveled. His leather apron—used for tool storage and protection—was stained with oil and grease, as were his gloves.
In this state, he looked forty-something—like a middle-aged mechanic raising two children after a divorce.
He was lying under the mechanical bird, adjusting the leg bearings with a wrench, when the small slug quietly assisting him by flipping blueprints suddenly stirred.
"Hii-sama, the Katsuyu division with Tsunade-sama is showing signs of activity. She may be going into labor."
The slug's gentle voice reached his ears. Though she said "may," her tone held little uncertainty.
"Ah… the timing's about right. Let's go see Tsunade."
His voice came from beneath the bird. Pushing himself out on the creeper, he shoved the wrench into his apron pocket, draped his gloves and apron over the cart's rail, and headed for the door with the slug, seeming composed.
"Hii-sama, you're walking with the same hand and foot."
For a taijutsu master, his current gait was decidedly flustered.
Hii Kōri froze, let out an embarrassed laugh, then sprinted toward the medical wing.
He hadn't gone far when he encountered a subordinate sent by Akane—clearly dispatched to deliver the same news. Without a word, Hii Kōri signaled the man to lead the way.
On the way, he used his usual Water and Scorch Release techniques to clean himself up, shaved the stubble with a Chakra Scalpel, and tied back his disheveled hair with a fresh band.
The guild employee leading the way watched this fluid sequence in astonishment.
At the medical wing, Hii Kōri naturally changed into sterile scrubs and entered the prepared delivery room.
While medical ethics in his previous life discouraged family members from operating, in this world, Hii Kōri didn't care. Not only the medical staff in this branch—but even extending to a dozen surrounding towns, the two best medical professionals present were himself and the mother, Tsunade.
Inside the delivery room, Tsunade, on the bed, glared at him in sterile scrubs—seeming ready to complain about his complete absence over the past weeks—but in the end, she just pressed her lips together and focused on her own sensations.
Hii Kōri shrugged in response.
Time passed in tense, orderly activity. Over an hour later, a loud cry echoed through the delivery room.
Mother and child were safe.
Hii Kōri quickly cleaned the newborn—still coated in vernix—and placed him in Tsunade's arms, covering him with a towel.
After the post-delivery care and confirming both were stable, Hii Kōri wheeled the bed to the prepared maternity room. Tsunade, exhausted but smiling contentedly, held the sleeping baby.
She lay on her side, carefully nursing the newborn—named Kao—watching the small life suckling with intensity. A maternal, loving smile softened her face. She gently touched the baby's wrinkled cheek, then looked at Hii Kōri, seated beside the bed, and teased: "Look at him. Ugly. Just like you."
Hii Kōri, setting up monitoring equipment and protective barriers, rolled his eyes: "What do you mean 'like me'? Look at his hair. It's clearly your color."
He pressed his hands together, forming a healing barrier infused with Yang Release chakra, and began preparing various medications. Tsunade watched his practiced movements with surprise.
"Hmm? Why so experienced? Naturally. When my nephew was born, I helped care for him."
He answered as he applied a thin layer of antibiotic ointment to the baby's eyelids with the gentlest touch, then used a fine syringe to administer a milligram of nutrient solution to prevent anemia.
"I remember Sasori was just as wrinkled and ugly when he was born. Now he's quite handsome. Our Kao will grow up handsome too."
He didn't mention Kao—or rather, Lian. In this timeline, this child would have a far more complete family.
"I never saw your nephew..."
Tsunade mumbled in reply, but her smile didn't fade.
"Only now do I realize… how wonderful it is that I was able to give birth to him…"
"…I feel the opposite."
Hearing her words, Hii Kōri's voice grew somewhat distant. Truth be told, he had never seen what "good parents" looked like.
His previous life needed no elaboration—he had been a true victim of his original family. His original body's parents had died before he was reborn.
Chiyo and Matazaburō were something else entirely. Great as friends and colleagues, but as parents? They scored a zero.
Looking at the small life connected to him by blood, the ripples in Hii Kōri's glass-gray eyes gradually settled, finally becoming a mirror reflecting this peaceful scene.
"Someone like me… becoming a father… the world is truly impermanent."
***
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