After the salary arrived, even Shigeru felt a little tempted, though he wouldn't go to the casino like Tsunade. Instead, he wanted to buy high-quality materials and parts for making puppets.

Shigeru had no interest in pursuing the Big Fat Sheep Second Generation project. Although there were very few puppet ninjas in Konoha, the village had formal channels for purchasing materials.

After work, Shigeru said to Tsunade, "You go to the market to buy vegetables, and I'll buy some materials and parts. The ones I prepared aren't enough; I need to get another batch."

"Go, go, don't waste time. I have important things tonight," Tsunade waved her hand nonchalantly, urging him to hurry up. As for what was so important, it wasn't hard to guess: Tsunade had money in her pocket, and soon her hands would start itching for a game.

Shigeru bought the ingredients, then went home to cook. After the meal, Tsunade lay on the sofa, curiously watching Shigeru, who was busy with various materials he had taken out from the sealed scroll. One of these was an animal corpse—a tiger over three meters tall, with a six-meter-long tail. In his previous life, such a massive creature would have been astounding, but in the ninja world, it was nothing unusual.

With space in the living room limited, Shigeru opted to work with smaller materials. The larger ones would have to wait until he could find a more open space, as moving large corpses out risked collapsing the house.

As Shigeru started implanting various parts into the tiger's body, Tsunade, who had been lying on the sofa, sat up, intrigued. She was curious about why Shigeru was making such a puppet.

Puppet masters weren't exclusive to Sand Shinobi Village, but that village had more of them. Regardless of where they came from, most puppet ninjas preferred to make humanoid puppets. Even animal-shaped puppets were usually assembled from parts, not corpses, making the process less eerie.

Soon, the parts were assembled, and a few chakra strings fluttered in Shigeru's hands as the body lying on the ground began to stir. The tiger corpse stood up, its large frame imposing, but its movements were stiff.

Tsunade quickly lost interest. For her, the puppet was too focused on replicating the creature's original form, making it a failure. Without the versatility of standard puppets, this one had little utility—too wasteful for a disposable puppet.

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Shigeru, though, stood thoughtfully before the puppet, raising his hand to place it on the tiger's body, closing his eyes to feel something. Watching him, Tsunade was puzzled. The puppet was clearly useless. He could either keep it as a souvenir or dismantle it and salvage the parts. Tsunade figured Shigeru's reluctance to discard the puppet came from a sentimental attachment, much like her own feelings toward her first medical concoctions.

"You can study it on your own. I'm heading out. I've got two classes tonight," Tsunade said, seeing that Shigeru was entirely absorbed in his puppet work, much like Orochimaru when conducting experiments.

"Mm-hmm," Shigeru responded absentmindedly, eyes fixed on the puppet.

"Take care of yourself. With medical ninjutsu and your strength techniques, you're already strong enough to protect yourself. Don't waste too much time on puppets."

As soon as the door clicked shut, Shigeru smiled. Was working on puppets really a waste of time?

He raised his hand, channeling chakra into the puppet's core. Suddenly, the tiger puppet's stiff movements became fluid, and it moved with the agility of a living creature. Shigeru's Tenseigan had granted the puppet life, bypassing the need for the traditional controls used by Sand Shinobi puppeteers.

The tiger puppet prowled around the living room, moving with surprising agility. But as its heavy paws pressed into the floor, the creaking wood signaled that the floorboards were about to give way.

"Get down," Shigeru commanded, and the puppet lay down obediently.

From now on, he would have to craft larger puppets outside the village. Konoha had many hidden spots, but the Third Hokage was always watching with his crystal ball. Shigeru wasn't ready to reveal the secret of his living puppets just yet.

Next, he would make a flying puppet. He'd save the remaining materials for future projects outside the village, where he could test his creations in secret.

For a while, Shigeru focused his energy on making puppets, though he maintained his daily work schedule, ensuring that his job wasn't affected by his new hobby.

Time passed, and as the year came to a close, snow blanketed Konoha. The cold weather made Shigeru feel that the moment for the awakening of his Tenseigan was approaching—it might even happen after the New Year. But for now, this weather was perfect for staying home under a warm quilt.

"Ha…" Shigeru yawned, carrying the groceries he'd been forced to buy that morning. Tsunade had practically dragged him out of bed, and unlike the more polite Kushina and Naoki, Tsunade had no qualms about barging into his room and ripping off the covers.

Back home, Shigeru directed Tsunade and Naoki, both trying to avoid the work, to help with the preparations. Tsunade lit the charcoal, Naoki and Kushina ran errands, and Shigeru handled the barbecue. Soon, the rich aroma of roasting meat filled the air, and as Shigeru brushed oil over the grill, Tsunade, Kushina, and Naoki began to salivate.

Once the meat was ready, Shigeru announced, "You can start eating."

Tsunade, who had been waiting eagerly, immediately grabbed a fork, speared a large piece of meat, and took a bite. "Mmm… so good! Hiss—it's hot. Shigeru, if you ever give up being a medical ninja, you could open a barbecue place and make a fortune!"

"I want some too!" Naoki chimed in, already munching on a piece of meat, grinning through the heat.

"Kushina, don't act like them. They're eating like starving ghosts," Shigeru said, cutting a few pieces of beef for her and placing them neatly on a plate.

"Thank you, Shigeru! You're so kind!" Kushina's big, bright eyes twinkled as she smiled, delighted by his gesture.

Tsunade, hearing this, nearly choked on her food and shot Shigeru a playful eye-roll.