Hardyrummaged through the scorpion's ninja tool pouch and handed over a bottle containing detox pills, saying weakly, "Here..."
"Hmph!" Kōsuke snatched the bottle away. "This won't happen again! Both of you will clean up the base today!"
Hardyand the scorpion exchanged glances.
"Do you know Water Release?" Hardyasked the scorpion.
"A little," the scorpion replied.
"That's good," Hardysaid.
With Water Release, cleaning would be easier.
"After we're done, I'll challenge you again. I hope you won't back down," Hardysaid.
"What? Am I just going to be your sparring partner for free? Isn't that a bit unfair?" the scorpion joked.
Hardypicked up a broom and mop, glaring at the scorpion.
The scorpion turned his head slightly.
"My grandma was worried I'd be bored alone, so she left a lot of books at home. If you're interested, for every time you win against me, you can read one, until I win," Hardy eyes lit up.
Chiyos's collection?
As a veteran S-rank puppeteer, Chiyos was undoubtedly one of the more formidable figures among the S-rank ninja. His collection of books was something every puppeteer would want to explore.
*Cough, cough* "Scorpion, after cleaning up, let's go," Hardysaid.
...
Thanks to the scorpion's Water Release, cleaning the Puppet Brigade base progressed faster than Hardyhad imagined.
Although the scorpion wasn't very proficient in Water Release, coupled with the geographical and climatic factors in Sunagakure, the effectiveness of Water Release here would inherently be reduced by thirty percent. Nevertheless, it was more than sufficient for cleaning.
By the time Hardyand the scorpion finished cleaning the entire Puppet Brigade base, it was already afternoon.
In the beggar's fantasy, the emperor must eat white steamed buns every meal, use a golden hoe for farming, and the scorpion's home situation also surprised Seishui.
It wasn't that he was inexperienced before crossing over, but he knew how difficult it was to have such a house in the barren Sunagakure.
It was a not-so-small courtyard, entirely constructed of polished sandstone bricks, presenting a slightly dim yellow-white color overall.
In the water-scarce Sunagakure, there was even a...
In a small pond, a spring at the bottom kept bubbling up water, making a gurgling sound. White poplar trees transplanted on both sides of the pond.
There were fish in the pond, and under the shade of the white poplar trees were two fully automatic telescopic fishing rods made with puppetry.
Although it seemed like an ordinary farmhouse courtyard, in the Hidden Sand Village, it was considered a palace that money couldn't buy.
"The study is here."
Scorpion opened a door on the left side of the courtyard.
The room here was filled with bookshelves on three sides. One bookshelf contained ordinary books, the next one had scrolls on ninjutsu, and the one in the middle had a mix of both.
"Don't touch the bookshelves on the left and right. They have sealing techniques arranged by Granny. The ones on the right are specifically organized for me to read."
Curious, Hardy walked towards the bookshelf pointed out by Scorpion.
"Advanced Black Techniques - Part I", "Advanced Design and Application of Puppet Mechanisms", "Notes on Poison Making and Antidote Pharmacology", "Basic Medical Ninjutsu", "Hidden Sand Sealing Basics", "Left Gate - Chakra Line Application Techniques"...
More than half of the books were related to puppetry, with others covering sealing techniques, medical ninjutsu, and poison making, offering a wide range of knowledge.
"These books belong to Granny, so I can't give them to you directly or let you take them home. However, you can choose one to read here. It's okay if you can't remember everything, I can bring you here again tomorrow."
Scorpion sat at the desk, picked up the book on puppet making that Ishihou had given him last time, and quietly began reading, no longer speaking.
Hardy was having a hard time choosing.
There were over a hundred books on this entire bookshelf, each of which would probably fetch a high price if taken outside. Some were even rare editions personally written by Chiyo.
"Medical ninjutsu and sealing techniques are definitely what I need to learn in the future, but they won't immediately enhance my combat abilities. For now, they won't make a big difference to my progress."
"Poison making and medicine require starting from the basics of pharmacology. I probably lack the foundation in this area, and just reading one book won't be enough to get started. At most, I can learn a few formulas."
"I still need to learn puppetry. In terms of puppet making, my current level is barely sufficient, and my avatar is studying modern engineering in the DC world. However, in puppet manipulation, although my foundation is okay and I've learned the basics of Black Techniques, there is still a lot of room for improvement."
After weighing his options, Hardy finally chose the book "Chakra Line Application Techniques" written by Left Gate.
It would be impossible to memorize an entire book in an afternoon, but skimming through it would be more than enough. Hardy decided to have his avatar in the DC world work on it simultaneously.
Left Gate was the pinnacle of puppetry so far. Whether in manufacturing or manipulation, it was unmatched. Even the fully developed Scorpion with three generations of Kazekage puppets and the Hundred Puppet Manipulation Complete Body might not surpass it.
Their positions in puppetry could perhaps be likened to Newton and Einstein, one inspiring natural science, and the other achieving the greatest accomplishments in the field.
The Human Puppet was invented by Left Gate, and the system of puppetry truly took shape in his hands. The Jūzō Tenin was also the strongest puppet combination created by Left Gate. As his successor, Chiyo's strength probably could only approach that of Left Gate, not surpass it.
As for Scorpion, his greatest achievement in puppetry was breaking the limitation that Human Puppets couldn't use abilities like the Kekkei Genkai, thus raising the ceiling for individual Human Puppets.
For Hardy, he could probably understand about ninety percent of the content in the book written by Left Gate, with some parts remaining unclear. These were more advanced knowledge.
After all, he was currently just a Genin who could manipulate only two puppets, even though he could sometimes win against some Chunin.
The techniques on how to manipulate three or more puppets were something Hardy couldn't practice through theory at the moment. He could only let his avatar take notes and slowly ponder over them in the future.
As the sky darkened, even after his avatar finished recording, Hardy was still immersed in the book.
"Creak..."
The wooden door of the study was pushed open.
A man in his forties, tall and thin, with long eyebrows wearing a white cloth on his head, walked in.
Scorpion raised his eyes and looked at the newcomer.
"Second Grandpa."
Hardy also stood up from the desk, realizing the identity of the newcomer.
"Lord Ebizo."
Ebizo smiled and nodded at Hardy, then turned to Scorpion.
"It's rare not to see you in the workshop. Won't you introduce the friend you brought back?"