Chapter 24: Chapter XXIII
After a week had passed, I sold my seals to the Uchiha Clan. During that time, I engaged in various activities, such as sparring with the Uchiha duo and learning from Shisui.
He generously offered guidance on basic techniques, providing me with pointers as I practiced my fundamental academy katas.
In addition to my usual seal practice, I devoted myself to perfecting the puppet clone jutsu I had developed.
I hadn't given it an official name yet but the progress had been smooth thus far. The puppet, depending on the material used, proved to be far more durable than an average shadow clone. Its complete autonomy made it easier to control.
Although I referred to it as a puppet, it had no connection to suna's puppetry jutsu specialization—it was simply a Yin Clone inhabiting a physical body.
I conducted tests in the ruined corridor beneath the sewer, where Orochimaru's lab had once stood. As long as the container remained intact, with no damage to the body or destabilization of the chakra within, the puppet could endure punishment that a normal clone would struggle to withstand. Currently, the chakra would dissipate and the puppet would vanish if any of its limbs were destroyed.
I was working on perfecting the seal and the ofuda that served as the puppet's central core. I believed that by connecting them through a central crest, I could reinforce its stability.
While this method was more costly and not as versatile as a regular shadow clone, it served its purpose for me. It allowed me to allocate my time between studying, training, and, more importantly, being free from the responsibility of looking after Naruto.
You know what's amusing? When I went to withdraw my monthly stipend, the amount was nearly five times what I had expected.
I had read about the acceleration program from Katou-sensei, but the increase in compensation wasn't as significant as he had suggested. It was probably only about one-fourth of what I had received before.
When I inquired with the attendant at the Hokage tower, she simply mentioned that it was compensation for an unexpected "incident."
I didn't press for further details, but then it dawned on me—it must be hush money to ensure I continued taking care of Naruto.
Well, it seemed I would be under increased surveillance, but it would act as a deterrent for Danzo, whose love meter should be at max at this point. Unless the old monkey decided to sell me.
I need to reinforce any countermeasures I have against Danzo.
Talk about flying under the radar. Everything is strangely working out for me. I've never been a great planner, and everything I've done has turned out completely different from what I had envisioned.
Ugh...
Now, it's finished. I set down the carving knife.
Yes, I'm creating a new doll, Ranmaru MK II.
Instead of using straw, I upgraded the shell to be entirely made of wood.
I hope to further upgrade it by incorporating composite materials, but let's see how far the wooden puppet can go.
I didn't dress it in armor. Honestly, it's unnecessary unless for extra protection in combat.
I took extra care in crafting its hand to resemble human digits as closely as possible.
It's about three to four heads taller than me, roughly the proportions of an adult.
On the face, I attached a paper with a crude drawing of my face on it, thanks to Izuna.
Inside, I integrated a speaker salvaged from a discarded radio, allowing it to speak. It's partly an ongoing experiment to test how chakra would affect electronics.
Hmm?
I took the knife away from Naruto's hands as he got curious about what I was doing. The toddler protested with babbling, but I simply pinched his cheek to divert his attention.
I stood up and began the sequence of hand seals necessary to activate the jutsu.
The doll started to move as usual, its head turning left and right, inspecting the room until it felt a tug on its leg.
Naruto laughed at the intriguing construct.
"Hello, can you speak?" I asked, testing it.
The sound that came out was oddly feminine, albeit a bit garbled, but it felt almost lifelike. I didn't think the speaker's quality was that high, but I attributed it to the effect of chakra on the device.
"Yes. Good morning, Master."
That's odd. I don't think I would address someone with such a cringe-inducing affectionate tone.
I ignored it for a moment, focusing on whether there was any flaw in its body.
"Very good. Try moving your finger and counting from one to ten."
"Yes, Master!"
I felt uneasy. Something didn't feel right.
While my confidence was plummeting, thanks to the curse bestowed upon me by the disembodied voice, I didn't think I would ever stoop so low as to be subservient, even to myself.
In any case, the doll showed me its finger, skillfully moving while occasionally emitting the sound of clacking as the wooden joint and metal pin rubbed against each other.
I instructed it to move its fingers for a few minutes straight, and so far, there was no defect in the structure. Naturally, my creation was perfect.
"Do you feel anything wrong with your body?"
"No, not at all. It feels very light and comfortable."
"Alright, try performing a fire transformation jutsu. A simple flame will suffice," I instructed.
It wordlessly obeyed my command, forming the necessary hand seals for the basic jutsu.
However, no fire emerged. A shadow clone should be able to mold chakra normally. I attributed the failure to the restrictions of the physical shell I had created. Another defect I needed to fix.
I noted down every observation.
"Why are you calling me Master?" I said, narrowing my eyes at the faceless doll. The silly drawing only added to the surreal experience.
"Aren't you? Ranmaru is your loyal subordinate, after all," it said as if it were the most natural thing.
So, it actually remembered the name I gave it. I made a mental note of that.
"Are you... like my clone, a mirror image of myself?"
The doll fell silent, seeming hesitant.
"I'm not sure myself, but the moment I woke up, this is how I felt I should act."
The line of thinking diverged too much for it to truly be my clone. Have I made a mistake somewhere?
"Do you possess all of my memories?"
"Yes!" it answered without a shred of doubt.
"Is there anything else?"
"I don't think so, Master..." it said before adding, "Oh, but there's this one thing that always bothered me. I kept it tucked away in a corner. It would drive me crazy if I kept thinking about it."
Maybe this will lead somewhere.
"Alright, can you roughly describe what those memories are?"
"Yes." The doll clasped its hands where the chest should be. "It felt really dark and lonely. Fire was all around me, and I thought I would be burned alive right there, so I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I saw your face, Master."
I squinted suspiciously, gears turning in my head. "Is there any chance you were in a room with extravagant walls?"
"Yes! How did you know, Master?"
I leaned back, contemplating the anomaly. The answer was clear – the doll didn't possess the same set of memories as me. There were discrepancies, as it didn't remember the moment I woke up in this world.
Something which I will never forget.
The key was that I woke up, but the doll felt like it was going to sleep.
There's no way the actual reason is just as it implied, right?
"Do you remember anything else?"
"No. Just that, Master."
It felt like the devil was repeatedly pounding my head with a sledgehammer.
"In any case, will this affect your performance from now on?"
"No. Absolutely not, Master!"
"That's good then," I said, not wanting to dwell on it. "Also, stop calling me Master. Just Nobuyuki is fine."
"Um..." It fidgeted.
"Nobuyuki."
"Y-yes... N-n-nobuyuki-sama."
My headache couldn't get any worse.
Naruto comforted me as I slumped to the floor.
In the end, I checked off one of the items on my checklist and added a new entry.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Stalkah
Stalkah Talk about being spooky. The clone is influenced by the last memory and personality of the previous "Nobuyuki" before being transmigrated, if I'm not being obvious enough.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone