4 Yaito

A day later, the group of genins were back at Sunagakure.

After reporting their achievements to their superior, Kaito bid farewell to his teammates and went straight to the [Puppet Brigade Corps], the place where he trained.

[Name - Kaito | Level 16 Sunagakure Shinobi [1 120 / 2 800 EXP]

Title - Sunagakure Genin (+30% EXP and reputation from Sunagakure missions)

Attributes:

Strength - 12 (+4) | Agility - 15 (+4) | Vitality - 16 (+5) | Chakra - 18 (+5)

Chakra control: [C-rank]

Perk - Puppeteer (Increased growth rate of puppet-related skills)

Skills: Puppet Creation Mastery (C), Puppet Control Mastery (C), Shuriken Mastery (E), Sunagakure Taijutsu (E), Kunai Mastery (E)

Jutsu: Katonjutsu Fire Blast (C), Katonjutsu Fire Shuriken (E)

Items - Shuriken Thrower Puppet n°42 (D), Shield Puppet n°13 (D), Dual Arm Puppet n°6 (C)]

This time around, he had earned quite a bit of experience from the mission, most likely because it included the killing of three iwagakure shinobi. Although the fighting went pretty well, he knew that things might have gone slightly different, had the taijutsu specialist not tried to charge him and instead focused on taking shelter.

Thankfully, the art of puppetry was unknown to most, and his shuriken thrower puppet was of incredible quality.

The art of puppetry was mostly done in preparations and the workshops associated with the puppet brigade. It was in this place that the shinobi who walked this path could customize their puppets as much as they wanted so it would suit their fighting style.

Kaito knew that Aki and Eiji most likely went to rest. They were only children after all. Only a grinding maniac like him would still have the mental strength to deal with the recent events and train. However, he was used to this. It was not like he joined the [Sunagakure Genin Corps] yesterday.

Just as he began adding a firethrower module to his dual arm puppet n°6, an old man came towards him.

"Still modifying that dual arm puppet, huh?", he said in annoyance

Kaito was used to the man's scorn and ridicule.

[Yaito (Sunagakure Shinobi) Lv. 17]

He was none other than his own father. Kaito was blessed not to have been born a civilian shinobi. He knew that if it was the case, he would have had trouble making a name for himself in this forsaken world, much less surviving the incoming catastrophes that would overtake the world.

However, his family situation could not be called model-like either.

His father was a drunkard who lost himself to alcohol after the loss of his wife. Running away from his broken family, or what remained of it, Kaito joined the [Sunagakure Genin Corps] after graduating from the academy. Unlike Konoha, the jonin instructors were too few and focused on raising their heirs or doing missions. It was different from Konoha as it was a much weaker village, with much less firepower. There were fewer clans too, but from what Kaito understood, there were quite a few years still before canon arrived.

He would use this time to qualify as a top-tier genin, and hopefully participate in the incoming chunin exam that would take place in Sunagakure. There, he would be able to accumulate quite a few experience points by taking advantage of the messy battlefield led by Orochimaru, who was their current Kazekage, although not officially.

He thought for a moment to change Sunagakure's course in history, framing Orochimaru and stuff. However, this was too risky for the current him, who did not even qualify as a top-tier genin.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?", Yaito said, raising his voice and earning a few stares from the other puppeteers

Kaito sighed: "Father, what do you want from me? I already paid you back for the academy fees, and I won't spend another ryo on you and your alcohol"

Yaito gritted his teeth and merely asked: "Why weren't you at your mother's funeral yesterday?"

Kaito shook his head: "I know you have retired from the borders and decided to patrol in the village, but I was assigned a compulsory mission to chase iwagakure shinobi. My team and I faced three genins, which we killed. I did not have time to go to mom's funeral. Now, let me work"

Yaito was not convinced. He raised his arm, about to punch him.

Had it been two years ago, Kaito would have been afraid. His father did not look like it, but he could be considered a mid-level genin. Based on levels alone, genins were ranging from Lv. 10 to 30, while chunins from Lv. 30 to 50. Jonins were not limited to any levels, as some were on par with Kage, which was about Lv.100.

Although his father was only Lv.17, it was much better than the average Sunagakure Academy graduate. The gap in level was huge. You could have better skills than your opponents, but if you did not have attributes to match them, you would end up losing the duels.

However, it was far from being sufficient to overpower your opponents too. Skills, experience in combat, calmness, and equipment...They were all factors that allowed Kaito to survive so far. Although the system only considered him a Lv. 16 shinobi, his father no longer threatened him.

Seeing the fist closing in, he could dodge, but decided to take the hit.

It was the Sunagakure Puppet Brigade Workshop, not a brawling arena.

"YAITO! YOU'RE STILL MAKING TROUBLE FOR YOUR SON! OUT! I SAID OUT!"

Seeing his drunken father excluded from the workshop, Kaito returned silently to his modifications. He was not rich, but the recent missions allowed him to earn enough funds to invest in flame-throwers, which was pretty cool. Unlike others who would spend it on superfluous items, Kaito always spent it to increase his strength.

After finishing his modifications, Kaito smiled.

[Dual Arms Puppet - C-rank Puppet

HP: 120/120

Defense Power: 30

Skills: Katonjutsu Flame Blast (C), Power Fist (C), Powerful Embrace (D), Finger Blades (D), Block (D)]

The dual arms puppet was his trump card, a weapon that was always attached to his back and hidden under his cape. It provided him with two mechanical puppet-like arms made of iron and refined oak wood. Besides its incredible power, it could now provide him with incredible katonjutsu, which he had learned as a reward for completing his first C-rank mission.

For reference, the mission he just completed was a C-rank mission.