Chapter 59: Sasori's Puppet Master Rivalry Is Ignited
Here's a bit of trivia.
In the original timeline, the so-called greatest puppet master of the later era—Kankurō—
yes, that guy who became "Number One" largely by inheriting other people's work—
What do you think he dreamed of after being hung on the God Tree?
From Oda Nobunaga's perspective, the answer was obvious:
A giant robot.
A very traditional, very classic super robot at that.
So then the question followed naturally—
If Kankurō merely picked up Sasori's legacy, then what would Sasori himself dream of after being bound to the God Tree?
Or rather—what would his ultimate vision of art be?
Nobunaga subtly observed Sasori's expression and gradually arrived at a vague but telling realization.
It had to be said—
Sasori's puppet body was exquisitely crafted. It was lifelike to an uncanny degree, even down to minute facial expressions.
"Director Mukade should explain this to you," Nobunaga said lightly.
"After all, I'm just a daimyo who doesn't really understand technical matters."
With a self-deprecating smile, he deliberately ceded the stage.
For the sake of recruiting a technical powerhouse like Sasori, Nobunaga displayed impeccable courtesy—allowing the developers to speak for themselves.
Compared to Nobunaga explaining things personally, letting Mukade and Kazahana Doto do so achieved far more:
It showcased respect.
And such seemingly minor gestures often carried enormous weight with people like Sasori—
engineers, craftsmen, pure technical minds.
Besides—
In every era, there is no first in scholarship, but only first in combat.
Did Sasori possess a competitive spirit?
Of course he did.
Just as Nobunaga expected, Mukade—who had once been forcibly dragged here—instantly revised his opinion of his employer.
A boss who didn't hog credit.
A boss who encouraged his subordinates to shine.
Seeing Nobunaga smiling encouragingly at him, Mukade's earlier resentment evaporated almost instantly.
Clearing his throat, Mukade—who had heard plenty of legends about the genius puppet master Sasori back when he still belonged to Sunagakure—
Suddenly found himself standing before Sasori, boasting about his own creations.
A powerful sense of "returning home in glory" welled up inside him.
Sasori glanced at the visibly excited Mukade, then at Nobunaga standing calmly beside him.
He nodded silently.
Against his will, his opinion of this irritating daimyo improved—just a little.
Setting aside Nobunaga's sudden revelation of terrifying combat ability…
At the very least, this man seemed to respect puppet art.
Compared to Pain, Konan, and—worst of all—Orochimaru—
Nobunaga, someone who understood art, was far less detestable.
Unaware of Sasori's shifting thoughts, Mukade enthusiastically began explaining the puppet system he and Kazahana Doto had developed.
"As everyone knows, puppet art is burdened by countless limitations."
"But puppet masters throughout history were never defeated by those obstacles."
"From the moment Lord Shamon, the Second Kazekage, founded puppet techniques—"
"Puppet masters have shared a single dream:
to make puppet art the greatest ninjutsu in the world."
By invoking the very founder of puppet techniques, Mukade praised tradition while subtly stepping on it—
his intent clear:
To emphasize just how revolutionary his work truly was.
Yet despite the obvious self-promotion—
Sasori, the undisputed greatest puppet master of this era, did not interrupt.
He didn't refute a single word.
In fact, he appeared to tacitly acknowledge the claims.
Because no one understood those limitations better than Sasori himself.
Before Sasori ever modified his own body, there was a hard limit to how many puppets a puppet master could control.
Ten.
Even that number represented the absolute pinnacle of the art—something only the most elite puppet masters could achieve.
Yet Mukade had taken a completely different path.
By developing an auxiliary "sub-brain" for puppet control, along with ninjutsu-style programming techniques, he had created something unprecedented—
A system that allowed ordinary puppet masters to wield large numbers of puppets with ease.
On this point alone, Sasori could tolerate Mukade's boasting.
After all, proof lay before his eyes.
Without the true Hundred Puppet Performance, no one could possibly control so many earthen puppets at once—
and yet here they were.
So Sasori suppressed his impatience and continued listening, waiting for the part that truly interested him.
---
"According to ancient records," Mukade continued,
"when the great hidden villages were first founded, the First Hokage of Konoha, Senju Hashirama, and Uchiha Madara possessed a secret art."
"They could create mountain-sized giants through ninjutsu and wage war with them."
"At the time, Lord Shamon conceived the idea of recreating that godlike power through puppet art."
"But both Lord Shamon and the generations of puppet masters who followed failed—for three fundamental reasons."
As the preamble ended and all eyes turned toward him, Mukade raised three fingers.
"The first problem: control."
"How does one control a mountain-sized giant?"
"A puppet master's capacity is inherently limited.
Most struggle to control even multiple puppets at once."
"Let alone a massive humanoid puppet the size of a mountain."
"Even if such a puppet were forcibly constructed, without sufficient control, it wouldn't even be able to walk properly."
---
"The second problem: structural strength and chakra transmission."
"Unless infused with chakra metal, ordinary metals are notoriously poor at transmitting chakra."
"That is why traditional puppets are primarily constructed from wood."
"But a giant humanoid puppet, due to its sheer scale, cannot rely on wooden materials."
"The immense mass alone would exceed the load-bearing limits of wood."
"Enemy attacks on the battlefield would also easily shatter a wooden construct."
"Switching to metal solves the durability and defense problem—
but introduces severe chakra transmission issues."
"And if chakra metal were used instead, no nation on earth could afford the cost."
---
Mukade folded down two fingers, leaving only the middle finger raised as he addressed Sasori directly.
---
"Finally, the third problem."
"Puppets are driven entirely by the puppet master's chakra."
"The chakra demand of a giant puppet would be astronomical."
"Frankly speaking, very few people present here could sustain such a burden."
"Especially in prolonged combat."
At this point, Mukade's increasingly smug tone pushed Sasori to the edge of his patience.
Without waiting for the explanation to continue, Sasori swept his gaze across the room.
His eyes lingered briefly on the chakra armor worn by Oda Nobunaga.
Then, without a word, he walked toward the massive puppet restrained within the hangar clamps.
Thin chakra control threads extended from his fingers.
"Hmph."
Under the probing gazes of the crowd, Sasori—his competitive instincts fully ignited—let out a cold laugh.
---
"The control system inside this giant puppet…
that's your sub-brain, isn't it?"
"The concept isn't bad."
"But using it to assist a puppet master in piloting something like this is still pushing its limits."
"An internal metal framework supporting earthen constructs, with an external layer of metal armor for defense…"
"In terms of structure and durability, it's acceptable."
"As for chakra transmission and the drive system—"
He paused, glancing again at the armor worn by Nobunaga.
"An enlarged, modified version of that armor?"
"Who invented it?"
"To replace chakra metal and compensate for ordinary metal's poor chakra conductivity…"
With just a few casual remarks, Sasori stripped bare the essence of Mukade's life's work.
Mukade's smug expression collapsed instantly.
This was something he had never anticipated.
"Hmm…"
But Sasori wasn't finished.
He continued calmly.
"So the core chakra supply for the giant puppet is actually this."
"Unfortunately…"
"The creator's skill was insufficient—"
"Which makes the result nothing more than trash."