Master Of Puppets

Detailed Summary: With the Council calling for the boy’s death and his ANBU hard pressed to provide round the clock protection the Hokage is at his wits end to come up with a permanent solution concerning a certain blonde Jinchuuriki. That is until his white haired former student offers him an alternative that will forever change the course of the young boy’s life. The Hokage reluctantly agrees to send Naruto away so that a “friend” of the Toad Sannin, the Legendary Puppet Master and nuke-nin of Suna himself, Sasori No Akasuna, can train him.

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The Hokage of Konoha sat at his desk contemplating for perhaps the millionth time since his successor’s death how it was that seeing to the safety and well-being of one small boy could cause him so much grief. While it was true that the boy in question was an innocent victim in this entire mess that centered around something done to him the day he was born it never the less caused the formerly retired Hokage seemingly never ending trouble.

“If only I could find someway to remedy this problem without the Council of idiots overruling me like always,” he groans to himself.

“You could always send the boy away, you know,” a voice suggests from behind him. As the old man turns around in his chair he is almost surprised to find his former student perched in his open window. “Actually that’s why I’m here,” the Toad Sannin tells him “I’ve got a ‘friend’ that would be willing to take him on as an apprentice if you’ll go for it.”

The Hokage eye’s the self professed Super Pervert as he considers the offer. “Who is this ‘friend’ of yours and why would he be so willing to take Naruto under his wing?”

Jiraiya scratches the back of his head as he thinks of the best way to tell his former Sensei the man’s identity. “Well you’ve probably heard of him since he was pretty well known roughly twenty years ago,” he begins cringing only slightly at the Hokage’s raised eyebrow. “He’s actually a World Renowned Puppet Master from Suna although he’s been laying pretty low these last few years.”

“You can’t be serious,” the old man, demands, “You want me to send the boy away to be trained by an S-Class nuke-nin? Have you completely lost your mind?”

“Not really,” Jiraiya replies. “I’d take the kid myself but he’d only get in the way of my work. Tsunade’s in no mood to take on another apprentice and no one in the village can do the job without the Council breathing down their neck.”

Sarutobi sighs as he finds himself agreeing with the Toad Sage. As much as he hated to admit it his former student had a valid point. “But can we trust him?”

“Hai,” he answers, “On this we can. He left Suna after becoming disillusioned on what was going on there and holds no loyalties to any village. He’s really not a bad guy. Maybe a little cold and mechanical but not bad, at least if you can look past his little perversions.”

“Perversions?” the Hokage asks, “You mean his Human Puppets?”

“Hai,” Jiraiya admits, “Although in all fairness those are all enemy shinobi he’s killed in battles over the years either in self defense or while on missions.” He neglects to inform his former teacher about Sasori being a Puppet himself believing that the old man didn’t need to know that little piece of information, not yet at least.

“Very well,” the Hokage concedes, “I’ll allow Naruto to train with Sasori as long as he’s returns to Konoha by the start of the final year of the Academy. Remember that it was his parents’ wish that he become a shinobi of the Leaf.”

“Hai,” Jiraiya agrees, “That should be sufficient enough time.” The Toad Sannin can’t help but chuckle at the thought that enters his mind. “He’ll be Konoha’s first Puppeteer. That’s bound to piss Suna off to no end.” The Hokage joins in on the laughter despite himself. “Have the kid meet me in front of the Main Gate just after dawn tomorrow and I’ll take him to meet Sasori.”

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Two days later Naruto and Jiraiya arrive at the entrance of a cave at the base of a mountain range near the boarder of Fire and Wind around noon. Naruto was excited about being away from Konoha and the villagers that hated him and at the prospect of finally being trained as a shinobi. The Hokage had explained to him that he would be away from the village for nearly seven years and would return in time to enter the Academy so that he could become a Genin. In the mean time he was to behave and learn everything he could from his new Sensei so that he could become a strong shinobi like the Fourth.

“Alright kid we’re here,” Jiraiya tells him, “Go ahead and put your stuff away while I go and find Sasori.” Naruto nods before entering the cave to put his stuff up. The poor boy had nothing except the clothes on his back when he left the orphanage three months ago but the Hokage remedied that by taking the young Jinchuuriki shopping the day before his trip. The old man had bought him several changes of shinobi training clothes (some navy blue and some plain black), three pairs of shinobi footwear, a couple kunai and shuriken sets, some minor/beginner Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu and Fuuinjutsu technique scrolls, several blank scrolls (including those used for sealing items for travel), a couple ink and brush sets for his studies, some camping equipment and a years supply of instant Ramen (at least for a normal person). The Hokage into a few small summoning scrolls that he made so the boy could easily carry them in his new backpack sealed all these.

As he made his way towards the back of the cave, where Jiraiya had said the sleeping area was, he passed rows upon rows of shelves filled to the brim with scrolls and books as well as workbenches covered with half finished or barely started puppets with various tools of all shapes and sizes too numerous to count and shelves containing vials of different colored liquids clearly labeled though he couldn‘t read them yet. Just past the work area but before he came to the sleeping area he found several Puppet parts and weapons lining both walls grouped together. To say that Naruto was in awe by what he found would have been an understatement in fact as his big blue eyes gazed back upon all that he had seen his young inquisitive mind began considering the almost limitless possibilities that becoming a Puppeteer presented to him.

Naruto finally reached his destination and found a small footlocker with his name written on top of it at the foot of one of the two beds and quickly took his scrolls out of his pack before putting them and the pack away.

“So this is the kid you asked me to train Jiraiya-san,” a cold emotionless voice asks from behind him. Turning around Naruto is instantly frightened of the large hunched over man standing beside the Sannin. “He doesn’t look like much,” the man says as he moves closer towards the boy. “But I suppose I can fix that in the seven years you’ve given me.” The man shocks Naruto as he pulls off his black cloak to reveal that his body is actually that of a large Puppet with a large Kabuki mask on its back with a metal tongue/tail. He’s amazed further when the Puppet opens up to allow a red haired teenaged boy also wearing a back cloak to exit the Puppet.

“Naruto,” Jiraiya says getting the young boy’s attention, “I’d like for you to meet Sasori No Akasuna. He’ll be instruction you in the ‘Art of the Puppeteer’ for the next seven years.”

“Pleased to meet you Sasori-sensei,” Naruto says as he bows respectfully to his teacher.

“And you,” Sasori replies, “Before we begin I want to make it clear that your training will be very difficult and I do not want to hear any complaining of I will stop teaching you and return you to Konoha as is. Do you understand?” Naruto nods his agreement to the terms. “Good before we begin any actual shinobi training we need to develop your body and your mind,” he tells the young boy. “We will first increase your speed, stamina, chakra reserves and most importantly your chakra control since this is the most vital component for any Puppet Master. Chakra was split up into two components, physical and spiritual,” Sasori tells him, “You will need both to be able to use your chakra effectively. We will train physically by doing physical exercises not involving chakra to increase you physical chakra supplies quicker while meditating to increase your spiritual reserves. Having massive reserves and perfect control of them, a deadly combination of any powerful shinobi and something will need if you want to learn what I have to teach you.

“To begin I have designed a workout regimen to increase your physical stamina which will involve lots of running, minor physical exercises and swimming for several hours each day. Being that you need speed too, you can not pack on too much muscle or else you will become bulky and slow instead of strong, fast and agile. You will only do exercises that increase your stamina for once you attained decent enough chakra control, you can use you chakra to augment your speed and strength.”

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It took Naruto a full week to get used to the harsh training exercises which usually consisted of laps around a nearby clearing, sit ups, push ups, crunches, squats and all other forms of physical exercise before he even began his shuriken and kunai throwing. Each night Sasori would teach him reading, writing, mathematics, strategy, history, economics and give him one hour before bed for meditation. The latter was so he could focus and relax more often to keep his emotions bottled up when around his enemy, “show your enemy the slightest weakness and they will exploit if they are good shinobi” he told Naruto on numerous occasions, to drill it into his head. Around friends and those he trusted he was permitted to show his emotions and remind himself why it was that shinobi fought but on the battle field emotions clouded the mind and diminished skill leading to death.

After only one month of training Sasori finally told Naruto why it was that the villagers hated him so much. The Puppet Master explained how the Fourth had sealed the Kyuubi No Kitsune into hi and even though anyone with half a brain could see that he was only the container for the Demon Fox the idiots of Konoha saw him as the Fox itself. Naruto took the revelation remarkably well and vowed to prove to those idiots that he was not the Fox but Naruto Uzumaki, the best Puppet Master in the World and the Future Hokage.

Three months after making his vow he finally met Kyuubi in his mind and learned why it was that the Fox had attacked Konoha in the first place. The Fox’s story had been sad to say the least as it had been out hunting for its family only to return to its den to discover that hunters had killed its mate and kits. Enraged it sought out those responsible and slaughtered them mercilessly. However before it was able to leave the scene of the massacre it was attacked by Konoha Shinobi and still enraged over the loss of its family fought back never once attempting to try and reason with the shinobi only seeking to slake its thrist for vengeance with their blood. Following their initial conversation the Kyuubi apologized for its role in Naruto’s being hated by the villagers and agreed to help the young boy in his quest to fulfill his dream. The Fox would continue to heal the boy’s body while altering his DNA so that he could access the Foxes senses of Sight, Smell and Hearing. The Fox also agreed to not only help the boy in his Genjutsu training as Kitsunes were famous for their illusions but to also slowly filter its own chakra into the boys chakra reserves there by increasing them faster then they would otherwise though it did warn the boy that the most it could offer would be equal to half of one of its tails per year or else it risked overloading the boy’s chakra coils.

For the first two years Sasori trained Naruto in his chakra control and building his stamina to the point where his control was at a level high enough to begin the next phase of his training. As his reserves grew, thanks largely to the Kyuubi, he had also began to teach Naruto some Ninjutsu that he knew that would compliment the boy’s abilities, such as the Body Flicker Technique, various clone techniques, and the basic academy level techniques such as the Transformation and Substitution, which he mastered quickly and efficiently.

Sasori had also begun to teach him about poisons and the human anatomy, so he could utilize his knowledge about poisons, and where to strike his opponents to cause the most damage. Naruto quickly discovered that he was naturally talented in the field and even created his own technique, much to Sasori’s amazement, that was incredibly ingenious. The technique was called ‘Poison Clone’, which like the Shadow Clone, creates a solid clone of the user with the use of the user’s chakra but unlike other clones, upon destruction, it lets loose a cloud of poison that will most likely be ingested by the attacker before he even realizes what happened. To create it he combined the principals of the Shadow Clone and Clone Explosion techniques only instead of an explosion when the clone was destroyed he used chakra to create poison.

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Two days before Naruto’s sixth birthday Sasori decides that he is finally ready for the next phase of his training to begin. “You have progressed a lot quicker in your training then I had expected, thus, we will move on to the next phase that I believe you will enjoy as a result” he begins, cold and emotionless as always. Seeing Naruto nod, he continued. “What can you tell me of shinobi techniques?” inquires Sasori, allowing Naruto to figure out what they would be training in next by leading the answer to him with a line of questions.

“Well, there are many types of Shinobi techniques which can either use one’s physical stamina or chakra to perform, such as Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Kenjutsu, Fuuinjutsu and so on. One either learns stances and trains to master Taijutsu and Kenjutsu, but normally, in regards to techniques, one would mold chakra in the way they desire to have the desired effect of the technique they try to use” Naruto answers, as best as he could remember earning a nod from Sasori.

“Basing your next answer on your training so far, what do you think I would like you to train in next?” asks Sasori, goading him for an answer.

“You have tried hard to make sure that my control is as perfect as possible first and foremost” Naruto replies before pausing. “You have also tried to sharpen my mind and increase my intellectual power, so I would guess that you want me to learn Genjutsu?”

With a nod, Sasori decides to explain his decision “Genjutsus are extremely complicated Ninjutsu that focus on using the chakra in your opponent’s nervous system to manipulate their senses to your liking, allowing you to create phantasms that can cause your opponent to hear, see, taste, smell and/or feel whatever you like. It is extremely difficult and deadly, but once mastered, you can defeat your opponents without using as much chakra as a regular Ninjutsu technique would” he explains to the amazed Naruto.

Naruto then has a frown on his face before answering “Couldn’t someone who is extremely skilled just disable the Genjutsu and make it useless?” he asks and Sasori nods, conceding the point.

“Indeed, but the main factor there is that will only happen if your opponent is more skilled than you, which we are trying to make sure will not happen. Genjutsu is about subtlety more then power,” he begins “You can also layer your Genjutsu so that you can make it more difficult for them to break, or detect at all. Even though one can disrupt a Genjutsu by using the release technique or flaring their chakra, they must know they’re in a Genjutsu first or have the sufficient skill to break out of it. Do you understand its uses?”

With a grin, Naruto nods “How will I learn this sensei?” Naruto asks, showing an excitement that Sasori only saw on the boy whenever he would teach him something new. That was why it was so easy to teach the boy, he would soak up everything he would teach him like a sponge, but he would also enjoy it.

“Teaching Genjutsu isn’t like teaching Ninjutsu, I do not show you a technique and you use it, what the Genjutsu masters do is create their own techniques and manipulate the chakra in their opponents so flawlessly, they can literally manipulate their opponents at will. I will allow you to practice this on me for a few hours every day at first after that you will train mentally so you can have the focus to perform the techniques” he answers, smirking at Naruto’s giddy expression. Most kids his age would usually act like this when they got a toy they wanted, or were taken to buy some ice-cream, but Naruto would only act like this when he got to learn something new.

“I should tell you” he begins “that there are certain individuals in Konoha that are masters at using Genjutsu, mostly because of their bloodline limit” Sasori tells him, immediately getting Naruto’s attention.

“They are the Uchiha Clan and their Sharingan allows them to have such a masterful control over Genjutsu that they can sometimes perform them without the use of hand seals to mold chakra, it is one of the reasons why I am teaching you this, you will need this knowledge if you are to fight against them” explains Sasori.

“Why are you so certain that I will be fighting them in the future sensei?” asks a confused Naruto which was only answered by a pregnant pause by Sasori.

“The Uchihas are one of the Clans in Konoha that are currently against you” answers Sasori truthfully. To his surprise though, Naruto just got an extremely determined look in his eyes.

“I may not have the Sharingan, but I will find a way to be better then the Uchihas, you said so yourself that as long as I’m better, my Genjutsu will work right? Sharingan or not, if I am better, they will have a hard time dealing with them and I should be able to disable them, I will find a way to do so sensei” he spoke, with fierce determination, making Sasori smirk. Sasori nods and begins to train Naruto in earnest now, for the first time going one on one as his previous training didn’t require much contact between the two, only books and instructions.

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To begin with, Sasori showed Naruto one of the low level Genjutsu techniques he knew and used it on him as an aid. This would help him in a number of ways because firstly, he could feel how the chakra is being manipulated within him, he can see it in effect and he can practice to break it. As Sasori guessed, Naruto was able to piece together the steps involved in casting a Genjutsu by himself after a week of this and successfully replicated the effect that was cast on him, which was creating a phantasm for Sasori to see. Once Naruto got the feeling of how to manipulate the chakra to replicate those effects, he had to find a way to practice on someone to further his training. He couldn’t use it on Sasori because the only sense Naruto could possibly use against Sasori was his sight and hearing, the rest was rendered useless due to his puppet body, so, to compensate, Sasori allowed Naruto to go into nearby villages under a Transformation and practice his Genjutsu skills on unsuspecting citizens and bandits.

Using this method of practice, Naruto was able to get the hang of using Genjutsu and their usefulness, however, try as he might, he could not do them without the use of hand seals. In an attempt to discover how chakra is molded easier, Sasori told him to first attempt the feat with Ninjutsu by mere repetition, so taking his advice Naruto went back to training his Ninjutsu again but would not move on to the next technique until he mastered his current one without the use of hand seals.

A year passed like this and by his seventh birthday, Naruto was able to perform Transformation, Shadow Clone, Clone Explosion, Substitution, Body Flicker and Poison Clone without the use of hand seals and Water Clone, Mud Clone and a few lower level Genjutsus with just a few single handed seals. No matter how hard he tried though, he could not do any higher level Genjutsu without the use of hand seals, even when using the training method he discovered with Shadow Clones that allowed him to gain experience much faster by letting his clones participate with training and then assimilating their knowledge when they were finished. Sasori had told him that it would take years of experience until he was at that level, but he never was one to like being told he could not do something.

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The year of self study with scrolls and Kyuubi along with practice on non-shinobi was all Naruto got when Sasori happened upon him training and interrupted him. “You may not have mastered Genjutsu in the way that you had hoped, but you have done so to an extent in the given time far better then I had thought you would. I set for you an unrealistic goal that would give you a determination to better yourself” Sasori begins, while looking at Naruto’s pleased expression. “I am by no means telling you to stop this but we will begin with the next thing I am willing to teach you” the Puppet Master says, getting Naruto excited at the prospect of getting stronger.

“What I will personally be teaching you now is how to use chakra strings as best as possible, and thus, by extent, how to be an effective puppeteer in combat” he explains with a smirk as Naruto let out a whoop of joy. The boy had expressed an interest in learning the art ever since he had arrived at the cave three years earlier. “One must begin small though, so you will first be learning how to create and control chakra strings on each finger and only then will we move to actual puppets” Sasori Explains as Naruto got into a seated position before Sasori, ready for teaching.

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With Naruto’s excellent chakra control, it didn’t take long for him to be able to learn to use chakra strings. Sasori began by telling him how to create them, by expelling chakra from his finger tips and controlling them with his mind. He practiced this control by using chakra strings to levitate Kunai around his body, one at first but it then proceeded to ten at a time. Sasori had told Naruto that though he was getting better at it, he would need to be able to control his puppets and by extension chakra strings subconsciously so that if he were to get distracted during a fight, the strings will not disengage, leaving his puppets useless.

To do this, Sasori had Naruto dodging projectiles in all direction while using his chakra to both stand on a lake and control ten kunai with chakra strings. The kunai were also not to be hit by the projectiles, so he was forced to dodge with both his body and chakra strings, essentially the exercise was designed to get Naruto to act as if the strings and whatever they are attached to are an extension of his own body.

The next part of the training involved Sasori bringing out four of his old created puppets for him and Naruto to spar with which Sasori always won. The point of that exercise was not winning though but rather learning strategy with puppets as well as combining them with Ninjutsu and stealth techniques.

After a good year of training with them Sasori was satisfied that Naruto had a good enough understanding and skill with using puppets in combat that he went more into theory, or more specifically, more advanced puppets.

“Naruto, it is time I told you where the true power of puppetry lies, this also will reveal to you why I am an exile of my village” Sasori tells a now eight year old Naruto after a grueling puppet spar in which the boy was able to last for two full hours. “The famous technique that I use in puppetry is the Human Puppet. The technique is exactly as it sounds too, it is the art of using the corpse of a deceased Shinobi and turning them into a puppet that Puppeteers like you can use. The process may seem grotesque at best but as long as it is not misused, there is no problem,” explains Sasori, skipping the theory on how to make Human Puppets for now.

“I, unlike other missing-nin, did not leave my home village of Suna because I was forced to or committed any crime. I left because I wanted to. However, before I did I assassinated the tyrant of a Kazekage, the Sandaime, and took his body with me so I could create a Human Puppet out of him. The man was a menace and a danger to that village so I doubt they really minded, all except for his more fanatical supporters anyway. He was a barbarian and a sick and twisted individual, allowing the more ruthless shinobi free reign on small villages to rape, pillage and murder innocents, even going so far as to indulge on such activities himself. When I realized this, I killed by slipping him an unrecognizable poisonous substance into his sake and taking him with me” he explains satisfied to see how disgusted Naruto was by the revelation.

“A human puppet essentially, after it is created, retains the chakra abilities and any bloodline limit they had in their life while still alive but instead is controlled by the Puppeteer” he says seeing Naruto’s eyes widen in shock. “Indeed, I gather you see the potential of such a technique? The Sandaime Kazekage was famous for his ability to manipulate magnetic fields, and thus, his ultimate ability to control the iron sand something that made him the most powerful Kage ever to grace Suna regardless of how much of a monster he was,” he explains emotionlessly pausing to see if Naruto had any questions.

“How do you make them and are they alive in any way shape or form after the puppet is created? Are they even aware at all?” Naruto asks slightly nervous.

“To answer your second question first,” Sasori begins, “No, absolutely not. The moment the person dies they are that, simply dead. The puppet works though by implementing devices within the body that preserves and maintains the chakra circulatory system. So once all the entrails are removed and the puppet completed they are simply that, a puppet that can use chakra at your bidding.” Seeing that Naruto still found it hard to understand, Sasori took out a scroll and summoned the puppet of the Sandaime Kazekage. Naruto looked on in awe at the floating human look alike and was even more awed when Sasori commanded his puppet to shoot bullets of iron sand into the wall, just like the original could have.

Naruto was grinning like mad before it turned into a frown as he thought of something “Sasori-sensei, what’s the point of me learning the human puppet technique and how to create them when I don’t have the corpse of a powerful shinobi to use?” asks a confused Naruto.

Sasori in response actually chuckles darkly before pulling out three scrolls and throwing them at Naruto “You know who Jiraiya-san‘s former male teammate is, correct?” Sasori asks after throwing the confused Naruto the three scrolls.

“Hai, Orochimaru, the Serpent Sannin,” answers Naruto immediately. “S-Class nuke-nin from Konoha. He ran away after the Hokage discovered his experimentations on fellow Konoha citizens…” answers Naruto not seeing where this was going.

“Indeed, well it seems our serpentine friend stole and planned to use the corpses of three very powerful shinobi” he began, making sure he had Naruto’s attention. “The Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages were buried in Konoha with a preservation jutsu placed on their bodies so that while in their tomb, their bodies will never decay. Before Orochimaru ran, he replaced those corpses with fakes that had Transformations placed on them and stole the originals. He experimented trying to find a way to replicate their bloodline abilities, control over Tree Release Techniques, Masterful control over the Water Techniques respectfully,” he explains. “Later after the Yondaime’s death he snuck back into Konoha and stole the body the same way he had the first two.” Naruto’s eyes open wide with shock when he realizes where this was going as he changes the grip he has on the scrolls to something bordering reverence.

“He obviously failed, but he never returned the corpses, a spy of mine told me of this and I made him retrieve the corpses for me. I will teach you how to make a human puppet after we go through the adequate theory and we will make one with the Nidaime’s body first, then you will do the Yondaime’s and Shodaime’s on your own. Better try the Yondaime first as the Shodaime’s bloodline ability would be more valuable in all honesty,” explains the puppeteer. Naruto didn’t even think twice before he nods his head.

He took the bodies back and informed Naruto that should he want to try his hand at making a Human Puppet, he had to first create three of his own regular battle puppets before he would allow it. He also told Naruto that he only had a year to do so. It may have sounded like a lot of time but to Naruto who was ordered to create three original puppets after seeing his sensei’s humongous collection this was a daunting task.

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Over the next year, Naruto continued his training in Genjutsu technique, stamina, speed and chakra control while he also drew the blueprints for and created his three original battle puppets Raven, Kitsune and Kyuubi.

Raven was his flyer specially designed to fire poisoned senbon from its wings while its metal talons were also poisoned. Its mouth was able to spray poisoned gas while its hollowed body would drop specially prepared smoke bombs filled with poison gas. All in all it was Naruto’s best puppet for either incapacitating or killing his enemies with very little to no physical damage. Naruto created it for the expressed purpose of acquiring subjects to become his Human Puppets.

His next two Puppets, while capable of also acquiring targets to add to his “collection”, were more combat oriented. The first of these was Kitsune, which Naruto based loosely off of Sasori-sensei’s Black Ant design but resembling a single tailed fox in appearance. Its body is capable of expanding so that it can capture and contain a target it was made from metal rather then the traditional wood. This was done to maximize the effectiveness of the four small generators built into its legs. The electricity created by the generators could be directed one of two ways, either into the body effectively electrocuting the prisoner inside or through its claws and tail and into his enemies. Its mouth was could fire poisoned senbon while its front shoulder blades concealed both poisoned kunai and shuriken.

The second of the two combat Puppets was Naruto’s personal favorite, Kyuubi. It was built to not only resemble the Nine-Tailed Fox but was as large as Sasori‘s Hiruko. Its bladed claws and nine swords like tails were all poisoned while its mouth contained a flamethrower powerful enough to rival that of most Fire Jutsus. Its tails could also open up to reveal and fire poisoned senbon and its front shoulders, like the Kitsune’s, concealed poisoned shuriken while its chest cavity was capable of launching Demon Wind Shuriken.

The materials to create the puppets were taken from Sasori’s tool stash and anything he wanted yet didn’t have was easily purchased by Sasori. The end result had Sasori thrilled and the field test was even better where Naruto made his first kills by raiding a bandit camp while controlling all three puppets simultaneously. He was a little sloppy and weak with controlling all three at once, but Sasori said that would he get better with experience.

Sasori had also made him mark his puppets like how he marked his own creations with his own mark, a red scorpion. Taking his sensei’s advice to heart, he then marked all of his own puppets with his own sign, a crimson fox with nine tails.

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Getting the approval of his sensei in regards to being a proper puppeteer, they began their work on the theory behind creating human puppets and it was quite grotesque yet fascinating at the same time. What it required was for Naruto to remove the entrails from the body and drain it of all its blood. Then, after peeling off the skin, numerous gadgets would be installed in the body to keep the chakra circulatory system running and retain the ex-shinobi’s former powers.

Sasori had to walk him through step by step after he was sure Naruto wouldn’t throw up at the sight. When Naruto asked how he could stomach such a task so easily, Sasori just chuckled darkly and told him that he no longer had a stomach or any other human body parts because he too was a human puppet, having converted himself into one.

With the help of Sasori, Naruto was able to successfully convert the Nidaime Hokage’s corpse into a human puppet and almost immediately after that, he did the same with the Yondaime Hokage’s corpse, though this time it was without the aid of Sasori and after that he converted the Shodaime’s. Naruto had made sure to dress all three Hokage puppets accordingly to give their puppets the dignity they deserved with each dressed exactly as he had seen them pictured in life.

He didn’t dislike them, as a matter of fact he greatly respected the three men however, without the proper preservations their bodies would have wasted away anyway. This way he could use their bodies for good, which is something he was sure they would approve of.

Naruto had a great amount of fun learning to utilize the three Hokages in battle and using their own special techniques. It was amazing being able to control the Tree Release abilities through a puppet with the Shodaime and use Water Jutsus with the Nidaime puppet without a water source although the Yondaime‘s Flying Thunder God Technique‘s range was now limited due to the chakra strings the effects were never the less still rather impressive. Naruto remembered reading though that the Nidaime had a lightning chakra blade made for him to supplement his water Jutsus that was stolen some time ago by some nuke-nin. He resolved to find the blade and give it to his puppet to wield in battle.

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It had now been just under seven years since he began learning from the Puppet Master and Naruto’s tenth birthday was only three months away. Since he began training, he had successfully gained excellent chakra control, increased his stamina immensely, his speed and evasion skills, learned several useful supplementary Ninjutsu and creating one of his own, Mastered Genjutsu Techniques to the point where he could almost do them without hand seals, learned about different kinds of poisons, strategy, human anatomy, geology, economics, mathematics, literature, strategy and history, creating his own puppets, mastering the use of chakra strings with said puppets and created three human puppets from three of the most powerful shinobi in the history of the shinobi world. Sasori had told him that now was the time to start gaining experience against other shinobi else he wouldn’t be able to grow.

When Naruto asked if Sasori was sure he was ready for combat against other shinobi, the man just smirked telling Naruto that he already had the skills of a Jounin and the only thing he lacked was experience. With Jiraiya not due to pick him up for a another three months they had decided to go out and get Naruto the experience her would need to be a successful shinobi and a True Puppet Master.

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A/N: DAMN that was a long Chapter… Well what did you all think? I was inspired to write this story after reading Puppet Master Naruto by SerpentSannin on FanFiction.net. If you haven’t read it then I highly recommend that you do as it is a VERY good story well worth checking out. If you have read it then I admit that I borrowed heavily from it for this chapter and even used a good portion of the training, modifying were needed but that is about as far as I’m going with using his material since from here on out it is largely on me now. I may borrow a few little tidbits here and there but nothing that will adversely effect the story I have planed.

I think this is a good point to clear up a few things now before they begin confusing you all later. Akatsuki does not exist in this story so at no time was Sasori ever a member. At the point and time that they were discussing the Sharingan Itachi hadn’t yet slaughtered his clan which is why the Uchihas were mentioned as a clan and not as individuals. The massacre still occurred but Naruto won’t learn about it until after his return to Konoha.

Also while Naruto is actually stronger in this story then he was in the series he won’t really be using his strength all that much but instead will be focusing more on his intelligence and skill. As such the Jutsus Mentioned in this chapter will be pretty much the only ones he’ll use through out the rest of the story. I say pretty much since I will still have him learn the Summoning Jutsu as well as the Rasengan but that’s about it. While he won’t have a large arsenal of Jutsus he won’t really need one since he’s very proficient with the ones he already has and with his Human Puppet Technique he can always use his Puppets to compensate for any Jutsus that he hasn’t learned. And yes he WILL make more Human Puppets I just haven’t decided on them yet and NO none of them will be Konoha Shinobi. Though Kami knows they would probably deserve it.

Well that’s bout it for now, until next time please remember to always Read and Review.