Chapter 199: It Turns Out I Am the First Puppeteer in the Ninja World

Upon hearing Uchiha Gin's words, Tian Dao, who had just been looking proud, instantly broke into a cold sweat. The icy beads of sweat trickled from the green dragon on his head, sliding down his smooth scalp and dripping into the parched sand, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Don't, Mr. Gin! This is a secret—do you understand? A secret!"

Tian Dao, with his face full of flesh, grabbed Uchiha Gin in a panic, trying to explain the meaning of "secret" to him.

"I understand, I understand. I'll just create a mysterious background setting for your Loulan when the time comes; the effect will be even better."

Uchiha Gin waved his hand, signaling that he understood—he understood everything.

"No..."

Tian Dao became even more anxious. He didn't want the Dragon Vein, guarded for a thousand years, to be ruined in his hands. But being slow of speech, he didn't know how to explain it and could only scratch his head in a frenzy.

"Hey, Brother Tian Dao, I was just joking with you. Such secrets naturally cannot be spread. Trust me, I'm famous for keeping my mouth shut."

Seeing Tian Dao nearly moved to tears, Uchiha Gin chuckled and patted the simple brother on the shoulder, giving him his word.

"Phew... Mr. Gin, can you please not make such jokes?"

Having had a scare, Tian Dao wiped the sweat from his forehead, and a smile returned to his face.

Even at this point, Tian Dao didn't have the thought of physically eliminating Uchiha Gin, because in his view, Mr. Gin was a pretty good person and a friend worth making.

Recalling the future plot, wasn't there a rogue ninja from the Sand Village who found the Dragon Vein, used its power to return to the past, and ruled Loulan?

Thinking of this, Uchiha Gin swept away his lazy expression, his face turned serious, and he reminded Tian Dao,

"However, you can hide it for a while, but not forever. The secret that Loulan possesses the Dragon Vein will eventually be spread by someone. By then..."

"Hmph, Mr. Gin, you are also a ninja, right?"

Looking at the serious expression on the other side, Tian Dao felt a trace of emotion in his heart. He scanned the black wooden sword Uchiha Gin carried at his waist with his small eyes and asked.

"When traveling far from home, one must learn a bit of self-defense."

Uchiha Gin admitted it openly. If he tried to pretend otherwise, his appearance in the desert unscathed would not stand up to scrutiny.

"Little brother, although I am not talented, I am the number one expert in Loulan. I have yet to meet a match since I started."

Tian Dao was able to become the current guardian not just because of his terrifying appearance, but more so because of his formidable strength and unique methods.

"Sigh... there are some things I don't know whether to say or not."

Uchiha Gin tilted his head, sizing up the confident Tian Dao. Based on his perception, the strength of this bald brother was only slightly stronger than an elite squad leader.

In the small circles of the Land of Wind, he might be considered a local powerhouse, but when encountering true experts, he would only be hung up and beaten.

At this moment, Uchiha Gin was very hesitant, not knowing whether he should tell Tian Dao this cruel truth.

The outside world is indeed colorful, but Brother, your strength is truly a bit mediocre.

"Mr. Gin, please speak freely."

Seeing Uchiha Gin's struggling expression, Tian Dao waved his hand heroically, signaling for him to praise him as much as he wanted; he would accept it with humility.

"I have traveled to many countries and seen many experts. To put it bluntly, if you threw a brick into a larger clan, you could hit several guys who are on par with you."

High EQ: On par.

Low EQ: Passerby level.

"What? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Tian Dao, who was waiting for compliments, was doused with a bucket of cold water by Uchiha Gin's words. He jumped in agitation, his small eyes wide with disbelief.

"It seems I must give you a lesson so you can understand the dangers of the ninja world."

Facing the arrogant Tian Dao, Uchiha Gin sighed in his heart, looked up, and spoke with a hint of helplessness.

"Are you planning to spar with me? Mr. Gin, I don't want to hurt you."

Thinking Uchiha Gin wanted to spar with him, Tian Dao, who had yet to recognize the reality of their strength, waved his hands in refusal. Although the words Mr. Gin just said shocked him, he didn't take them to heart.

Hmph! How could it be that anyone picked at random would be stronger than him? It's all fake!

"No, no, no, I'm not fighting you."

Uchiha Gin scratched his head, feeling troubled. With his current level, it was really hard to gauge the intensity.

If he used too much strength and caused Tian Dao to have a mental breakdown, then the first Five Kage Summit would be missing a bald guy.

"Hey! Right, I almost forgot about that thing."

Just as Uchiha Gin was rubbing his chin, considering how to teach him gently, he suddenly remembered the spoils of war he had secretly taken on the moon. His eyes lit up, and excitement overflowed.

"Mr. Gin, are you still not giving up? If you fight me, you might get hurt."

Facing the spirited Uchiha Gin, Tian Dao showed a lack of interest. He didn't believe that Mr. Gin, with his peaceful aura, could have the strength to rival him.

"No, no, no, I'm not fighting you."

Uchiha Gin waved his hands repeatedly, signaling that he wouldn't be entering the arena; a dimensional strike was not advisable.

"Then that's good, we..."

Tian Dao breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of gratification flashing in his eyes. He had observed that the wooden sword at Mr. Gin's waist had no lethality; he really couldn't bring himself to strike such a gentle person.

"I'll let her spar with you."

Unexpectedly, before Tian Dao could finish his sentence, Uchiha Gin fumbled behind his back and pulled out a scroll.

After pretending to unfold it and closing his eyes, he muttered a few words, while secretly opening the gate to the Shadow Realm.

"Come out, Zuoling!"

With a fake puff of white smoke, a figure in a white kimono was pulled out by Uchiha Gin from the black hole that had opened on the scroll.

Uchiha Gin, with a smile in his eyes, raised an eyebrow at the dumbfounded Tian Dao and said quite seriously,

"As a great traveler, it's very reasonable to bring a bodyguard, right?"

"What exactly is this thing?"

Tian Dao didn't listen to Uchiha Gin's words, but instead looked at the strange woman in the white kimono with vigilance.

Even with his rough perception, he could feel a wave of pressure from this strange woman who had no life force.

This kimono-wearing woman Uchiha Gin pulled out was one of the two puppets he had accidentally taken from the moon. Because the two puppets were identical in figure and appearance, he named them Zuoling and Youling to distinguish them.

"Master, what are your orders?"

This time, it was Zuoling who was pulled out. This puppet with self-awareness had a hint of human-like surprise in her yellow pupils. After scanning the desolate scenery around her, she asked her master, Uchiha Gin, in a cold tone.

"Brother Tian Dao, my strength is, all in all, hard to describe. However, fortunately, I brought a bodyguard. Why don't you two practice a bit?"

Pushing the bewildered Zuoling forward, Uchiha Gin, with a look of embarrassment, shouted to the frowning Tian Dao.

"Mr. Gin, what kind of... thing is this young lady?"

Unable to figure out what Zuoling was, Tian Dao asked Uchiha Gin cautiously, trying to find an answer.

"A thing? Brother Tian Dao, if you say that, I'm going to get angry. Zuoling is my good partner; how can you call her a thing?"

Hearing Tian Dao's question, Uchiha Gin retorted with displeasure. The genuine emotion in his words made Zuoling, who was a puppet, feel a touch of emotion, and a stream of black machine oil surged in her mechanical heart.

"She is not a thing!"

"Click!"

The mechanical heart collapsed instantly. The emotion that had just appeared in Zuoling's eyes vanished, leaving them hollow. Fortunately, Uchiha Gin's chakra remained in her body, and after a few breaths, it repaired the shattered mechanical heart.

"Master, speak if you have something to say."

In the end, it was a mistake; she would never be easily moved again.

"Ahem, Zuoling is a gift from a distant relative. Because they live in a very remote place, it's normal that you haven't seen this kind of local specialty."

Uchiha Gin spoke the truth, without a shred of deception.

"Then she is..."

Seeing Tian Dao's expanding curiosity, which was almost stuck to his forehead, Uchiha Gin stopped keeping him in suspense. After thinking for a moment, he explained to him,

"Zuoling is a puppet. I rely on chakra to control her every move."

"A puppet? Interesting! Interesting!"

Hearing this term for the first time, it was as if a switch had been flipped in Tian Dao's heart. He circled Zuoling several times, exclaiming in wonder, his expression suggesting he had developed a great interest in puppets.

Sure enough, men are boys until they die; no matter how old they are, they can't walk away when they see a toy they like.

"Want to try?"

Seeing Tian Dao's strange state, Uchiha Gin quickly spoke up, interrupting his continued exploration.

It's over, he seemed to have single-handedly facilitated the birth of the first puppet master in the ninja world.

Looking at the obsessed Tian Dao, Uchiha Gin muttered in his heart.

"Come, come! Let me see the power of a puppet!"

Unfazed by the interruption, Tian Dao looked at the cold Zuoling with excitement and accepted Uchiha Gin's challenge.

"Detected that the host has encountered a battle; the Heartsteel chest is beginning to accumulate..."

The system is brushing its presence~

Uh... how long has it been since the system bubbled up? It made him almost forget the existence of this thing.

"Zuoling, just play with him, stop when it's enough."

Although he had a rough idea of Zuoling's strength, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but worry, so he warned her again.

"Yes."

As soon as the words fell, Zuoling turned into a white flash of lightning and galloped toward Tian Dao.

"So fast!"

Tian Dao, who had still held a few traces of contempt, felt his heart jump into his throat the moment Zuoling disappeared. His small eyes scanned the surroundings at high speed.

At the same time, a purple chakra radiated from his body. As this chakra poured into his whole body, a thin protective shield formed outside his body.

Immediately after, Tian Dao clasped his hands together, and manic wind-attribute chakra condensed in his palms, waiting for Zuoling to appear to deliver a fatal blow.

"What are you looking for?"

Just as Tian Dao was trying hard to find Zuoling's figure, a cold, mechanical voice sounded above his head.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm."

In great alarm, Tian Dao didn't even have time to look up. His hands, filled with wind-attribute chakra, struck toward the top of his head.

"What are you hitting?"

Not hearing the tearing sound he had imagined, Tian Dao's heart sank. Just as he prepared to weave signs again, that voice sounded from behind him.

This time, Tian Dao didn't continue to use the Gale Palm, which had a smaller range, but quickly wove signs, and wind-attribute chakra instantly overflowed.

"Wind Style: Net."

Only then did a large net woven from yellow wind appear around Tian Dao, covering a large area around him with no blind spots.

"Hmph, unless you grew wings, you won't be able to escape my inescapable net no matter what!"

"Chirp, chirp~"

(End of chapter)