Naruto: Puppet Master Undercover in Konoha

Upon hearing that Shindai had used his discarded core ninja tech documents to independently research and create Kannazuki, Orochimaru considered Shindai a scientific genius.

Of course, he was nowhere near Orochimaru's level. After all, Shindai had referenced and utilized his technology, while Orochimaru had built everything he had entirely from scratch through personal effort.

Still, this didn't stop Orochimaru from feeling somewhat impressed with Shindai now.

Being able to independently understand his ninja tech documents was already quite remarkable—after all, in Orochimaru's eyes, the entire ninja world's ninja tech was far too primitive.

Orochimaru commented on Shindai's Kannazuki: "This Puppet you've made is indeed impressive. It shows great creativity, fully showcasing your characteristics as a Magnet Release user by combining Magnet Release techniques with puppetry."

Upon hearing Orochimaru's praise, Shindai subtly puffed out his chest, an involuntary proud expression appearing on his face.

Compared to compliments from people like Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and Obito—who didn't really understand his work—Orochimaru's approval felt much more valuable and meaningful to him.

"However," Orochimaru's tone shifted, "there are still many issues here. Your idea of using converted electric currents to power the Puppet and allow autonomous movement independent of your control is indeed good, but the internal electrical system is outdated, with very low conversion efficiency.

The driving and control mechanisms are also underdeveloped—very poor—and they fail to truly showcase the Puppet's potential. Furthermore, you haven't completely eliminated magnetic interference affecting these components, so malfunctions are highly likely.

If you're manually controlling it, then yes, this Puppet is quite excellent. But if you want it to operate autonomously, its core components have far too many flaws. It just won't work."

Orochimaru's words caused Shindai's previously raised chest to slowly sink back down.

Shindai muttered under his breath, "There wasn't enough time. If I had more time, I could definitely perfect Kannazuki further."

That single phrase—"If I had more time"—made Orochimaru's eyes momentarily lose focus.

Time...

During the Second Great Ninja War, the deaths of his student Nawaki and Tsunade's fiancé Dan Kato, along with countless other lives lost in the war, had deeply revealed to him the fragility of life.

It was then that he developed the desire to master all jutsu in order to change the ninja world. However... human capability and time were always limited.

Within such limited time, he couldn't accomplish everything he aimed to do, which led him to pursue immortality—hoping to find a scientific way to make life eternal, thus overcoming life's limitations and achieving maximum personal fulfillment.

Orochimaru gazed at Shindai and asked, "Shindai, right? This war won't last much longer. After it ends, would you be open to working as my assistant?"

Shindai immediately became extremely interested. If he could become Orochimaru's assistant, he would definitely gain a tremendous amount of knowledge.

However, Shindai quickly regained his composure.

Orochimaru's research spans a lot of fields, but what he wants to learn doesn't really involve human bodies. His expertise lies in mechanics, not biology.

Plus, Orochimaru seemed difficult to work with—what if something went wrong during an experiment and he ended up using him as test material?

Nope, it's too risky. He wasn't after power—he studied puppets out of interest, so there was no need to risk his life.

Shindai forced a dry laugh and said, "It's an honor that Lord Orochimaru has taken notice of me, but maybe we can talk about this after the war. Right now, I'd rather go deal with Chiyo."

Orochimaru looked at Shindai thoughtfully.

He had clearly shown strong desire when first hearing the offer to be his assistant, yet soon after, he wore an expression of obvious caution.

Is he afraid of me…? Why would he be scared? Those experiments are supposed to be a secret. To everyone else, he's just a hero who fights for Konoha.

Granted, he might seem hard to get along with, but if that were the only reason, Shindai wouldn't have gone on talking like this.

Orochimaru could sense that while Shindai talked about his puppets, he seemed to find a kindred spirit to confide in—an earnest hope to earn his approval.

So if that was the case, when he invited Shindai to become his assistant, Shindai should have agreed immediately.

By saying that, Shindai had clearly rejected him.

According to Orochimaru's personality, once someone rejects him, he won't ask twice.

Because the opportunity comes only once. If you didn't seize it, he wouldn't waste time giving a second chance.

Still, Orochimaru felt that Shindai's fear must have some grounds—it couldn't just be baseless suspicion.

So… Shindai must know something that caused him to fear Orochimaru.

His taboo experiments were deeply concealed—there was no way Shindai could have learned about them. Then what exactly made him wary?

Sweat appeared on Shindai's forehead again. That feeling of being stared at by a snake came back.

Did I just say the wrong thing…?

As Shindai was deep in anxious thoughts, Orochimaru spoke again, "In that case, let's postpone this until after the war. Although I still doubt your chances of killing Chiyo, with your puppet and Magnet Release ninjutsu, you've barely earned the right to fight her.

If we get any intelligence on Chiyo's movements, I'll inform you. Well then, I have other matters to attend to. That's all."

"Yes, thank you, Lord Orochimaru."

Shindai left the command room.

Once outside the command room, Shindai exhaled deeply, wiped his forehead, and found it covered in cold sweat.

The pressure from Orochimaru had truly been overwhelming.

Among the Sannin, aside from the previous time Tsunade punched him, Jiraiya and Tsunade generally got along without much stress. Orochimaru, however, was like a walking pressure monster, exuding intense intimidation right from the first meeting.

As for dealing with Chiyo, Shindai had only said he wanted to confront her, but never explicitly stated killing her.

Although Shindai had great confidence in his Kannazuki, facing a cunning old fox like Chiyo, relying solely on Kannazuki and Magnet Release wouldn't be enough.

Shindai remained quite clear-headed about this.

Therefore, from the beginning, Shindai never actually intended to kill Chiyo. Aside from testing Kannazuki's abilities through battling Chiyo's puppets, even landing a slap on that old hag's face would count as victory before immediately making a quick escape.

Led by a ninja at the Stationed Camp, Shindai arrived at the assigned tent.

Lying on the floor, Shindai kept tossing and turning. He felt that Sunagakure had smeared his reputation so badly, while Chiyo protected her grandson Sasori, the real culprit, treated him as disposable, and even branded him an enemy. How could just one slap possibly be enough?

Moreover, it might not even land on Chiyo.

Suddenly, a rather wicked plan emerged in Shindai's mind. He shot up from the ground, cackling with sinister delight.

"Old crone, I'll make sure your downfall comes in disgrace!"

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