Chapter 249: So It Turns Out I Am the First Puppeteer in the Ninja World

Hearing Uchiha Gin's words, Shamon, who had been looking smug just a moment ago, was instantly drenched in sweat; cold, clammy beads of perspiration welled up from the green dragon on his crown, trickling down his smooth scalp and dripping into the parched sandy soil, kicking up a puff of dust.

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

Shamon, with his fleshy face, was now flustered, pulling at Uchiha Gin and trying to explain the significance of a secret.

"I understand, I understand. I'll create some mysterious background lore for you Loulan folks later; it'll be even more effective."

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

"No..."

Now Shamon was even more anxious; he didn't want the Dragon Vein he had guarded for a thousand years to be ruined in his hands, but he was clumsy with words and didn't know how to explain it, so he could only pace back and forth in a panic.

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

Watching Shamon, who looked like he was about to cry from anxiety, Uchiha Gin chuckled, patted this simple-minded brother on the shoulder, and promised him.

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

Shamon, having had a false alarm, wiped the sweat from his head, a smile returning to his face.

Even at this point, Shamon didn't harbor any thoughts of physically eliminating Uchiha Gin, because in his view, Mr. Gin was a pretty decent person and a good man worth befriending.

Recalling the future plot, wasn't there a rogue ninja from the Hidden 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 previous lazy expression, straightened his face, and warned Shamon.

"However, you can hide it for a while, but not for a lifetime. The secret of the Dragon Vein existing in Loulan will eventually be spread out, and when that time comes..."

"Hmm-hmm~ Mr. Gin, you are also a ninja, right?"

Looking at the other's serious expression, a hint of emotion stirred in Shamon's heart; his two small eyes scanned the black wooden sword strapped to Uchiha Gin's waist as he asked.

"When traveling abroad, one must always learn a bit of self-defense."

Uchiha Gin admitted it generously; if he had to pretend otherwise, then his appearance in the desert safe and sound would not stand up to scrutiny.

"Although this little brother is untalented, I am the top expert in Loulan, and I have yet to meet an opponent since I started."

Shamon's ability to become the current guardian relied not entirely on his intimidating appearance, but more on his formidable strength and unique methods.

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

Uchiha Gin tilted his head, looking up and down at the brimming confidence of Shamon; according to his perception, the strength of this bald brother before him was only slightly stronger than an elite captain.

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

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

The outside world is indeed colorful, but brother, your strength is truly a bit weak.

"Mr. Gin, please speak freely."

Watching Uchiha Gin's struggling expression, Shamon waved his hand heroically, signaling the other to feel free to praise him; he would accept it with modesty.

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

High EQ: On par.

Low EQ: Passerby level.

"Nani? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Shamon, who had been waiting for compliments, was doused with a bucket of cold water by Uchiha Gin's words; he instantly jumped up in excitement, his two small eyes wide open in disbelief.

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

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

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

Thinking Uchiha Gin wanted to spar with him, Shamon, who had yet to recognize the disparity in strength, hurriedly waved his hand to refuse; although what Mr. Gin said earlier had startled him, he hadn't really taken it to heart.

Hmph! How could it be that just anyone you pick up is stronger than him? It's all fake!

"I didn't intend to fight you either..."

Uchiha Gin scratched his head, feeling a bit distressed; his current level was really hard to gauge in terms of intensity, after all, he was terrifyingly strong now.

If he used too much force and gave brother Shamon a mental breakdown, then the future 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 he had secretly swiped on the moon; his eyes lit up, and his excitement was evident.

"Mr. Gin, are you still not planning to give up? Fighting me might result in injury."

Facing the enthusiastic Uchiha Gin, Shamon showed a lack of interest; he didn't believe that the peaceful-looking Mr. Gin could have strength that rivaled his own.

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

Uchiha Gin waved his hands repeatedly, signaling that he wouldn't be entering the fray; dimensional reduction strikes were not advisable.

"That's good, we..."

Shamon breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes; he had observed earlier that the wooden sword at Mr. Gin's waist was harmless, and he truly couldn't bring himself to attack such a gentle person.

"I'll let her spar with you."

Unexpectedly, before Shamon could finish his sentence, he saw Uchiha Gin fumble behind his back and pull out a scroll.

After unfolding it with a pretentious air and closing his eyes to mutter a few words, he secretly opened the gate to the Shadow Realm.

"Come out~ Zuoling!"

Following a puff of fake white smoke, a figure dressed in a white kimono was pulled out by Uchiha Gin from the black hole expanding from the scroll.

Uchiha Gin, eyes smiling, raised an eyebrow at the dumbfounded Shamon and said quite seriously,

"As a great traveler, it's only reasonable to carry a bodyguard, right~"

"What exactly is this thing?"

Shamon didn't take Uchiha Gin's words to heart, but instead looked at Zuoling, who was wearing a white kimono, with a guarded expression.

Even with his crude perception, he could feel waves of pressure from this strange woman before him who lacked any sign of life.

This kimono-clad woman Uchiha Gin pulled out was one of the two puppets he had accidentally swiped on the moon; because the two puppets were identical in figure and appearance, he had named them Zuoling and Youling to distinguish them better.

"Master, what are your orders?"

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

"Brother Shamon, my strength is, all in all, hard to describe, but fortunately I brought a bodyguard; why don't you practice with her~"

Pushing the bewildered Zuoling forward, Uchiha Gin, with a troubled expression, shouted to the frowning Shamon.

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

Unable to figure out what Zuoling's background was, Shamon cautiously asked Uchiha Gin, trying to find an answer.

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

Hearing Shamon's inquiry, Uchiha Gin retorted with displeasure; the genuine emotion revealed in his words made Zuoling, as a puppet, feel a touch of emotion, and a stream of black machine oil couldn't help but well up in her mechanical heart.

"She is not a thing!"

"Snap!"

The mechanical heart collapsed instantly, and the eyes of Zuoling, which had just gained a hint of emotion, became hollow; fortunately, Uchiha Gin's chakra remained in her body, and within a few breaths, it repaired the shattered mechanical heart.

"Master, if you have something to say, just say it."

It was a mistake to have trusted him; she would never be easily moved again.

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

Uchiha Gin's words were entirely true, without a shred of falsehood.

"Then it is..."

Seeing brother Shamon's swelling curiosity, which was almost plastered on his forehead, Uchiha Gin stopped playing coy and, after a moment of thought, explained to him.

"Zuoling is a puppet, and 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 triggered in Shamon's heart; he circled Zuoling several times, clicking his tongue in wonder. Judging by his appearance, he must have developed a great interest in puppets.

Sure enough, men remain 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 Shamon's state become somewhat strange, Uchiha Gin hurriedly spoke up to interrupt his further investigation.

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

Looking at the obsessed Shamon, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Come, come~ let me witness the power of a puppet!"

Shamon, interrupted, was not angry; instead, he looked at the cold-faced Zuoling with excitement and accepted Uchiha Gin's duel request.

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

The system is aggressively demanding attention~

Uh... how long has it been since the system popped 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 understanding of Zuoling's strength, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but feel a bit worried, so he gave another instruction.

"Yes."

As soon as the words fell, Zuoling turned into a bolt of white lightning and sped toward Shamon.

"So fast!"

Shamon, who had still been carrying 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 infused his entire body, it formed a thin protective shield outside him.

Immediately after, Shamon pressed his palms together, and manic wind-attribute chakra condensed in his palms, waiting for Zuoling to appear so he could deliver a fatal blow.

"What are you looking for?"

Just as Shamon was struggling to find Zuoling's figure, a mechanical, cold voice rang out above his head.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm."

Taken by surprise, Shamon did not even bother to look up; he struck directly above his head with both hands, which were saturated with wind-natured chakra.

"Where are you aiming?"

Not hearing the tearing sound of hitting a target that he had imagined, Shamon's heart sank; just as he prepared to form hand seals again, that voice sounded from behind him once more.

This time, Shamon did not continue to use the smaller-range Gale Palm, but instead quickly formed hand seals, and wind-natured chakra instantly overflowed.

"Wind Style: Net of Wind."

Shamon was seen surrounded by a large net woven from yellow wind, which covered a vast area around him with no blind spots in a 360-degree radius.

"Heh heh~ unless you have grown wings, there is no way you can escape my inescapable net!"

"Chirp, chirp~"

(End of chapter)