58: Pluto's bones are made of blood, and my puppet needs a nuclear power to charge.

On the yellowed blueprint, the words “Pluto” burned into Tang Yan’s eyes.

“Deal.”

The two hoarse words were his answer to Chiyo and a vow he made to himself.

The workshop left behind by the First Puppet Master Monzaemon was not so much a workshop as a Puppet Master's Sanctuary buried underground.

The massive, independent Chakra energy furnace hummed deeply, providing a continuous stream of energy for the entire underground palace.

The precise material analyzers, CNC machines, and an entire wall neatly categorized and stacked with rare metals and wood, all made Tang Yan, an expert, feel his heart race.

Here, he could turn all his crazy ideas into reality.

The repair work began immediately.

Shura’s broken body was set up on the workbench.

Tang Yan’s hands blurred into afterimages, flying among countless parts and circuits.

Components that others saw as scrap metal were disassembled, reassembled, and optimized in his hands.

“Here, the force transmission structure, using flexible buffering, will dissipate 30% of the impact, but the reaction speed will be 0.1 seconds slower.”

Chiyo appeared behind him at some point, her cane lightly tapping a joint on Shura.

Tang Yan’s movements paused.

Countless plans flashed through his mind instantly, finally settling on one.

He scrapped the original design and replaced it with a more complex rigid linkage structure.

“Thank you.”

Chiyo nodded, a hint of satisfaction flashing in her cloudy eyes.

The minds of two generations of geniuses, old and new, sparked a transcendence of the era amid the crisp tapping sounds.

He not only wanted to repair them but also to completely transform them.

Shura’s core armor, Owl’s stealth coating, and samara’s mechanical toughness were all improving at a visible rate.

A bolder plan began to form in his mind.

He wanted to install a ‘Wrath of Buddha Tang Lotus · Mutilated Version’ inside samara.

As for the materials for the official version, they were almost all gathered.

Next time, Orochimaru wouldn’t be so lucky.

Halfway through the repairs, Chiyo walked up to Tang Yan, holding a box covered in complex sealing Jutsu.

Her expression was incredibly complex, a mix of remembrance and apprehension.

“Inside… are some things left by Sasori, including the relics of Monzaemon that he collected.”

The moment the box opened, a chilling aura rushed out.

There were no finished puppets inside, only a few notebooks and a fist-sized silver metal, lying quietly on a velvet lining, seemingly still breathing.

Tang Yan opened the notebook, and “Human Puppet” manufacturing insights came into view, making him frown; he had already obtained this long ago.

But he quickly turned his gaze to the metal.

Active Metal.

Sasori’s masterpiece, which he had exhausted his efforts on but failed to perfect until his death, was a special alloy that could resonate with a Ninja’s Chakra and even flesh and blood.

A thought sliced through Tang Yan’s mind.

Takumi Ninja Village’s ‘Self-Repairing Metal’ could be used for the outer shell; at the time, it was limited by technology, but now it could be improved. And the core upgrade for all puppets… would use this Active Metal!

Tang Yan had just taken the upgraded Owl off the workbench and was preparing to go home to see his sister when a rush of footsteps came from outside the workshop’s heavy metal door.

Several elite Ninja in Hidden Sand Village Anbu uniforms blocked his way, the squad leader at the front wearing a cold, businesslike expression.

“Jonin Tang Yan, we are Ninja directly under the Council of Elders.”

The squad leader took a step forward, his gaze sweeping past Tang Yan, greedily surveying the half-finished puppets inside the workshop.

“You used the ‘Wrath of Buddha Tang Lotus’ on the ‘Wind Barrier’ front line, causing casualties among our village’s Ninja on the battlefield. For safety, the Council of Elders has decided to confiscate all your related hidden weapon blueprints for unified management, and…”

His gaze fell on the open box containing Sasori’s relics.

“To confiscate the dangerous items left by the S-rank rogue Ninja Sasori of the Red Sand.”

The temperature in Tang Yan’s eyes instantly dropped to freezing point.

Uprooting everything, leaving no trace.

He didn’t even bother to use the puppets behind him; he just gently pressed his right hand against the nearby wall.

“The Council of Elders’ decision?” Tang Yan’s voice was calm, without a ripple.

“Elder Iwamatsu sent you?”

The squad leader was displeased with Tang Yan’s direct address of an elder, raising an eyebrow: “That’s not for you to ask. Execute the order.”

He waved his hand, and the two Anbu Ninja behind him were about to step forward.

“Stop.”

Tang Yan’s voice was not loud, but it made the two unconsciously stop in their tracks.

He tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a mocking smile: “Causing casualties among our village’s Ninja? On the battlefield at that time, my one blast killed three Hidden Sand Village Ninja, a dozen Leaf Ninja, and incidentally affected a Hidden Sand Village Genin who didn’t know any better and insisted on rushing into the explosion radius. Is the Council of Elders’ memory that good now? They even remember the death of a Genin so clearly.”

The squad leader’s face was somewhat grim. “Are you questioning the Council of Elders’ decision?”

“I’m just curious.” Tang Yan’s gaze swept over the Anbu members one by one, “How much benefit did Elder Iwamatsu give you to make you dare to come into Grand Chiyo’s workshop to ‘confiscate’ things?”

At these words, the breathing of several Anbu members faltered for a moment.

“Nonsense!” the squad leader shouted sternly, “Take him away!”

“Who gave you the guts?”

An old, dry voice came from the depths of the workshop, not loud, yet it made the air thicken a few degrees.

Chiyo slowly walked out, leaning on her cane, her cloudy eyes sweeping over the squad leader.

“That old thing Iwamatsu wants to see Sasori’s relics? Let him roll over himself. I’d like to ask him when the Council of Elders’ power extended to this old woman’s home?”

The color instantly drained from the squad leader’s face, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

“Grand… Grand Chiyo…”

“Scram.” Chiyo said only one word.

The leading Anbu squad leader felt a chill shoot straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He tried to speak but found his feet seemed to be welded to the ground, unable to move.

He looked down in horror.

His feet, at some point, had merged with the metal floor, and a deathly gray-white color was rapidly spreading up his calves.

It wasn’t freezing, nor was it binding.

It was an extreme fear of life being stripped and drawn away from its very roots.

His Chakra, the moment it touched that gray-white, disappeared without a trace, like a clay ox entering the sea.

“Ah—!”

A piercing scream broke the tranquility of the workshop.

The rest of the Anbu members were so frightened by this bizarre scene that they retreated repeatedly, as if falling into an ice cellar, looking at Tang Yan as if he were a monster.

Tang Yan withdrew his hand, the gray-white receded, but the squad leader’s legs still maintained a semi-petrified form, slumping to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

“Go back and tell Iwamatsu not to force me to kill people.”

“Those who lack the strength but constantly covet what doesn’t belong to them will die.”

“If he truly wishes to die, I can grant him that.”

Several Anbu members propped up their half-dead captain and stumbled away from this place of turmoil that made their souls tremble.

That night, at the residence of Elder Iwamatsu of Hidden Sand Village.

This elder, who wielded immense power in the village, was holding a teacup, listening to his subordinate’s report, his face so grim it could drip water.

Suddenly, a servant rushed in, terrified, holding a black iron pellet in his hand.

“El… Elder-sama… Someone outside… sent this…”

It was an iron pellet, and the intricate mechanism on it made his eyelids twitch.

“Click.”

With a soft sound, the iron pellet split open on its own, and a puff of purplish-black poisonous mist gushed out, a sweet, fishy smell instantly filling the entire study.

Iwamatsu’s pupils constricted; the sweet, fishy smell was like an invisible hook, instantly seizing his breath. He was, after all, a battle-hardened Ninja, and his reaction was far beyond ordinary. The moment the poisonous mist erupted, he rolled backward sharply, simultaneously forming a hand seal to try to disperse the deadly purplish-black mist with Wind Release.

“Wind Release · Great…”

His Jutsu had not yet been completed when the servant holding the iron pellet fell straight down, his face frozen in extreme terror, his skin visibly turning a pallid purple.

Another Ninja who was reporting only managed a short grunt before his hands clamped tightly around his own throat, nails digging deep into his flesh, a gurgling sound escaping his throat, finally collapsing to the ground, his body convulsing violently.

This poison was incredibly potent!

An alarm blared in Iwamatsu’s mind, and he dared not hesitate any longer, unleashing his Chakra fully, preparing to escape the study directly with the Body Flicker Technique.

However, just as his Chakra circulated, a dense whooshing sound suddenly came from within the pervasive poisonous mist, as if thousands of mosquitoes were flapping their wings.

Immediately after, countless hair-thin, poisoned black needles shot out from the mist, indiscriminately covering the entire study!

It was the Twin-serpent Soul-chasing Death Pill. First, the mother pellet’s poisonous mist confuses the enemy, then the child needles pierce the body to kill!

Iwamatsu’s face was ashen; his Body Flicker Technique was interrupted, and he could only awkwardly wave his sleeves, using Chakra to form a current of air to sweep away the poisoned needles attacking his face.

Even so, a few black needles pierced his defense, embedding themselves in his arm and calf.

The pain of the needle pricks was negligible, but a chilling numbness rapidly spread throughout his body from the wounds. Iwamatsu felt as if the Chakra within him was a frozen river, its circulation instantly becoming incredibly sluggish.

He staggered, hitting a bookshelf, unable to muster any strength in his body.

The poisonous mist gradually dissipated, leaving the study in a mess. Iwamatsu gasped for breath, looking down at the cracked iron pellet. On the internal base of the iron pellet, a line of small characters was carved with an exquisite blade.

Iwamatsu leaned closer, struggling to decipher the characters. When he saw the content, a coldness and humiliation far greater than the poisoning surged into his heart, making him almost vomit blood with rage.

It read:

“Next time, I’ll use a potent poison.”

As for whether Iwamatsu lived or died, it was entirely up to his own fortune.

The “gift” Tang Yan sent was nothing more than a clear warning.

Chiyo merely sneered upon hearing of the incident, and thereafter, no one dared to disturb them again.

His alliance with her became unbreakable after this silent confrontation.

He could finally focus wholeheartedly on forging that true masterpiece.

Pluto.

With the Active Metal left by Sasori as its bones, with the theories of the First Puppet Master Monzaemon as its framework, and with the Tang Clan’s myriad mechanical arts as its Context.

The design plan for Pluto finally took shape in his mind.

He wanted to truly “plant” his Bloodline Limit into this puppet!

In front of the core furnace of the workshop, Tang Yan closed his eyes, and the Ten Thousand Aspects Heavenly Gadget slowly rotated in his sea of consciousness.

‘Soul Force Imprint—Bloodline Limit ‘Qi Poison · Petrification’!’

A wisp of primordial power, thinner than a strand of hair and glowing with a faint, dark luster, seeped from his fingertips, slowly dripping into the molten Active Metal material below, which served as Pluto’s core.

“Buzz—!”

The entire workshop vibrated violently!

The mass of metal seemed to be injected with a soul, and a contradictory aura, a mixture of life and death, creation and destruction, erupted with a roar!

It was done!

Tang Yan looked at the Pluto skeleton, which was slowly forming in the coolant and emitting a strange aura, and a surge of ecstasy welled up in his heart.

But he quickly calmed down.

In the past, he rarely loaded Ninjutsu systems into his puppets. Not because he couldn’t, but because Sasori’s scroll-storage type of triggered Ninjutsu was used once and gone, and it was extremely inconvenient to replenish.

Moreover, simultaneously driving five, no, in the future, six high-performance puppets would require an astronomical amount of Chakra.

For a qualified war weapon, endurance was key.

It was time… to find them a qualified “power bank.”

Should he seal a Tailed Beast inside the puppet? Or…

Tang Yan’s gaze seemed to penetrate layers of yellow sand, looking towards a distant direction.