Chương 294: Crossroads

I walked into my home feeling surprisingly peaceful. I had anticipated a grueling few days of grief, or at least a period of feeling down and losing the desire to do anything, which was precisely why I had hesitated to visit Master Shuzo's grave for so long. However, the priest had provided a sense of closure I hadn't known I needed. Between that ethereal encounter, the feeling of my master's lingering presence at the monument, and the warm welcome from Kenjiro, my heart finally felt stable.

I was profoundly grateful to all of them for helping me find my footing so quickly. I placed the storage seal Master Shuzo had left for me on the floor and pulsed my chakra into it. To my surprise, several items materialized, with a single letter resting right on top of the pile. I picked it up, feeling the slight grit of the paper, and began to read.

"To my thick-headed student. I hope the Sand didn't clog your brain. If my children gave you this, then I am most likely gone. Do not waste time mourning me. The dead have no use for tears, and a seal master has no use for a shaky hand. I have lived a long and happy life, which I count as one of my greatest achievements. Beyond that, I am proud to have protected the village with my knowledge and to have taught such amazing students, though you were the most talented among them. Do not tell the others I said so.

I have analyzed the puppet you gave me. Suna has made some interesting advancements in their signature art of puppetry. I have written down my analysis of the seals and how they interact with the physical mechanisms responsible for the puppet's movement. I must say, I am thankful you gave me something so interesting to keep me busy in my final days.

In return, I contacted the village and used my influence to acquire the information Konoha has on Suna puppets, specifically the ones we captured during the last war and the studies we performed on them. I know your mind will fixate on this until you figure it out, so I hope the intelligence in this scroll helps satisfy your curiosity. Finally, I leave you with one final order. Do not come to visit me in the afterlife too soon. Survive. Grow older than I did.

Be happy, raise a family even bigger than mine, and protect Konoha for as long as you live. Love you, you little brat." The letter shook slightly in my hand. Even though the message was brief, the depth of his affection radiated from every stroke of the ink. I was beyond grateful that he had taken the time to speak directly to me, especially given how rare it must have been for him to be lucid during the last of his days.

"Mission accepted, Master," I whispered, my voice resolute in the quiet of the room. I unrolled the primary intelligence scroll. My eyes widened as I scanned the dense data within. It was a treasure trove of technical knowledge, containing analyses from the few Konoha researchers who had bothered with the art, combat observations from veterans of the Sand wars, and tactical breakdowns of puppet vulnerabilities.

There were even detailed sketches of internal mechanisms alongside shinobi accounts that theorized how the Sand ninjas achieved such fluid, deadly movements. While the basics were clarified, much of the underlying craft remained a mystery. Puppetry required a massive amount of specialized information that Konoha simply did not possess. Suna had been forced to innovate due to a scarcity of resources, but our village never faced that struggle.

We had an abundance of geniuses and fertile lands that produced a steady stream of shinobi. For most, there was no appeal in spending years mastering such a difficult, niche field when traditional Ninjutsu and Taijutsu were already so devastatingly effective when performed by thinking, adapting, well-trained shinobi. I, however, saw it differently. I possessed the precise chakra control required for the art, and the cold, mechanical logic of the machines appealed to my nature.

Moving that fox puppet had felt incredible, like commanding a piece of highly advanced technology that moved at my whim, a feeling I have missed, not to mention my natural inclination toward trying new things and innovations. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. But I was standing before a crossroads. These scrolls made it clear that mastering puppetry would demand an absolute long-term commitment and an immense sacrifice of time.

As always, time was my scarcest resource. I turned my head to look at the Flying Thunder God scroll. It sat there like a sleeping mythical beast, emitting a faint, unmistakable aura even while sealed. Next to it lay Master Shuzo's life work on advanced seal arrays. Once I have evolved Stormdrive, I believe that I will reach the absolute limit of my ninjutsu. The lightning chakra nature has limited resources in the village, but even if it did not, Stormdrive alone is more than enough.

The Raikage has already proven how dangerous that combat style is, and my Jutsu might be even better than his. The problem, though, is the main flaw with high-speed lightning ninjutsu. Unless I get right in their face, which is way too dangerous against the kinds of enemies I might face later, most of my ninjutsu attacks just go in a straight line. That makes it too predictable against high-level ninjas with great sensory skills, special eyes, or broken close-range abilities.

Fighting those dangerous people head-on is a stupid risk when a different style can provide endless options. Bringing puppets into my arsenal fixes this problem perfectly. They let me attack from many different sides at once, which will easily break an enemy's focus. If needed, I can hand the chakra threads over to a shadow clone while my main body jumps into the fight when possible, using the sheer numbers and chaotic angles to make sure my strikes land.

On top of that, my most powerful attacks require preparation time. Using a puppet on the front line forces the enemy to look away from my main body, buying me the exact window I need to build up my chakra. By the time they realize the puppet is just a distraction, it will be too late to dodge a surprise spear attack or something much worse. Not to mention, if my enemies managed to destroy my puppets or slip through and get close, they wouldn't find a helpless puppet master shaking in his boots.

Instead, they would find someone who can hit harder than they ever thought possible. A devious smile crept onto my face. It was the perfect mix of a building distraction, deadly accuracy, and massive physical force hidden behind it all. The smile disappeared as I sighed into the empty house, getting back to the main problem, time.

"I need to decide." I could not afford to ignore my meditation or the physical training required to keep my body in peak condition. Maintaining a perfect balance of strength, speed, and flexibility was essential, as those were the foundations of my growth and a vital component in improving both the quantity and quality of my chakra. That left me to balance Fuinjutsu, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and now, Puppetry. I looked at my hand and closed it, feeling the lightning chakra circulating through my pathways.

I halted the flow and then, without a single hand sign, a violent current of electricity sparked atop my finger. It was potent and ready to destroy. A grin spread across my face. I had reached the level of utility I wanted with my elemental arts. Between my current mastery and the potential of the Stormdrive evolution, I had more than enough raw power, especially if I followed the path I was now envisioning. In that moment, I reached a final decision. I would stop training in traditional Ninjutsu.

My mastery over lightning chakra was sufficient for my needs, and Stormdrive was becoming something that could rival almost anything the world could throw at me. Kenjutsu would be set aside as well. I was decent enough with a blade, but if I committed to puppets, they would fill that role for me. Controlling multiple combat frames equipped with different types of weaponry would be far more effective than swinging a single weapon myself.

My Taijutsu was already at a high level, and it would only improve as my strength continued to increase through the passive enhancement of lightning chakra circulation and through experiencing more fights. Using puppets would make it hard for enemies to get close, and if they did manage to break through my defenses, they would find a nasty surprise.

They would not find a frail, defenseless puppet master, but a powerhouse capable of punching their heads off their shoulders with a single strike, so it should be okay to drop its training as well. The plan was finally set. I would focus my energy on Fuinjutsu for the Flying Thunder God, evolving Stormdrive, and mastering certain aspects of Puppetry. I would continue using my lightning circulation to drain my chakra, forcing my body to refill and expand its reserves while I ate, exercised, and meditated.

I would dive all in on making puppets an integral part of my fighting style. I felt giddy and excited. It felt right, as if this complex, specialized path was something that truly suited me. Cracking my neck and rotating my shoulders, I took a deep breath and spoke with a confident smile.

"Let's do this." A/N: The comments on this should be very interesting. Also, we got some negative ratings during the break. It happens, but if you haven't yet, please consider leaving a rating or a review if you are feeling extra generous <3