Kenji stared at the completed puppet arm lying on the floor. This was his first real creation in this world.
He reached down and picked it up, feeling the weight of it. Surprisingly light for something that would replace a limb. He lined up the connection point with the stump of his left arm.
Click.
The mechanism locked into place. The interface fit perfectly.
At the same time, he willed chakra threads into existence. Five hair-thin strands emerged from his arm stump and connected to anchor points inside the puppet.
The next second, the lifeless wooden arm moved.
He raised it slowly, watching the elbow joint articulate smoothly. He made a fist. He opened his hand, and flexed his fingers one by one. Every movement felt natural, almost indistinguishable from a real arm.
But what really surprised him was the sensory feedback.
Because the puppet was directly attached to his body and the chakra flow was unobstructed, he could coat the wooden hand with chakra and simulate touch through chakra perception. When his fingertips brushed the table surface, he could feel the rough grain of the wood. When he picked up a pair of chopsticks, he could sense their weight and texture.
If not for the hard, wooden material against his palm constantly reminding him this wasn't flesh, he might have actually believed it was his original arm.
"Never thought I'd end up as a cyborg ninja. Wrong genre, but I'll take it."
With the experience from making the left arm, assembling the two legs went much faster. The sealing techniques still required the same one-handed struggle, but his chakra control was smoother this time. He knew what to expect now.
These basic puppet prosthetics couldn't perform hand seals yet. That would require chakra-conductive metal embedded inside to simulate human chakra pathways. Expensive stuff that he didn't have on hand.
His family's savings might cover the cost, but he wasn't going to ask Ikkaku to buy it. Too much money to carry safely through the village. Plus, now that he'd have mobility again, he could make the trip to the ninja tool shops himself once he got used to the limbs.
When the final "Seal!" command completed and the symbols vanished into the puppet legs, he felt his heart start racing.
This was it. After everything. After waking up in a crippled body, after learning he'd replaced a boy who'd killed himself rather than live like this...
He was finally going to stand again.
Hecarefully aligned the puppet legs with his stumps and attached them. The mechanisms clicked into place. Chakra flowed through the connections, and he could sense the energy moving smoothly through the artificial joints.
He lifted one leg. The knee bent naturally, and the ankle rotated properly, same with the other leg. Both responded as well as the arm had.
"Alright, time to see if this works."
He gripped the wheelchair's armrest and placed both puppet feet flat on the floor. Then he pushed himself up.
The moment he stood upright, he released his hands. Standing felt wrong and right at the same time. His balance wavered, and he almost fell backwards, but quickly regained his balance.
His brain was screaming that there was nothing below his knees.
But it was working.
He took a step. His right foot lifted, moved forward, came down. The motion felt strange, like he was puppeteering his own body. Which, technically, he was.
Another step with the left. Better this time.
By the third and fourth steps, muscle memory was kicking in. His gait smoothed out. He walked in a circle around the room, testing his range of motion. Forward, backward, side to side. Everything functioned.
Then he tried more complex movements.
A light jump. Both feet left the ground. He landed without stumbling.
A kick with his right leg. Full extension, good control.
A crouch. The knee joints handled his weight without any creaking or stress.
He wasn't done testing yet though. Wall-walking was a fundamental ninja skill, and if the puppet limbs couldn't handle that, they'd be useless for missions.
He channeled chakra to the soles of his feet, just like he'd practiced with his hand. The sensation was weird. But the chakra flowed smoothly, coating the bottom of each foot.
He approached the wall and placed one foot against it. The chakra adhesion held. He lifted his other foot off the ground.
Still holding.
Slowly, he walked up the wall. One step, two steps, three... Within seconds he was standing parallel to the floor, looking down at his empty wheelchair.
The adhesion was actually better than he'd expected, and more stable than what he remembered from the original Kenji's training. Maybe the smooth wood surface helped, or maybe his enhanced spiritual power gave him finer control.
He walked across the ceiling, testing how much weight the adhesion could support. No problems. Then he released the chakra and dropped, landing on his feet with a solid thump.
The only real concern was durability. These were wooden limbs. They'd handle normal movement and basic ninja techniques fine, but high-intensity combat would probably wreck them. A strong hit, a blade strike, sustained high-speed movement, any of that could crack or shatter the wood.
But that was a problem for later.
Right now, he could walk.
The construction had taken most of the day. He glanced outside and saw dusk beginning to settle over Konoha.
Ikkaku would be arriving with dinner soon.
Sure enough, maybe fifteen minutes later, a familiar knock sounded at the door.
Kenji walked over. He grabbed the door handle with his puppet hand and pulled it open.
Ikkaku stood there holding a food container in one hand and a thermos of tea in the other. He was probably about to announce himself, then he saw Kenji standing in the doorway.
His mouth stopped moving. His eyes went wide. The food container tilted in his suddenly slack grip.
"Kenji? Your arms and legs... they're..."
"Fixed? Not exactly." Kenji stepped aside to let him in. "I made prosthetics."
Ikkaku just stood there staring. A few days ago, this guy couldn't move without a wheelchair. He couldn't even eat without help. He could barely reach things on his own. Now he was standing upright, opening doors, moving around like a normal person.
"How?"
Kenji raised his left arm and rotated it slowly, showing off the wooden construction and the joints. "Those materials you bought, I used them to build these following the scroll instructions."
Ikkaku set the food down, then stepped closer to examine the arm. His fingers twitched like he wanted to touch it but was afraid he'd break something.
"This is insane. I mean, I knew ninja could do crazy stuff, but..." He looked up at Kenji's face, then back at the puppet arm. "You built this yourself? In one day?"
"Took most of the day, yeah. The arm was first, then both legs. I had to figure out the sealing techniques, which was... Not fun with one hand."
They moved to the dining table, and Ikkaku still couldn't stop staring the entire time.
He watched Kenji pick up chopsticks with his puppet hand.
He watched him walk to the table and sit down.
He even watched him reach for the tea and pour himself a cup.
"This is so weird," he said, shaking his head. "You were in a wheelchair this morning."
Kenji took a bite of rice. The fried pork cutlet Ikkaku's mother had made was excellent, as always. "Puppet techniques are pretty versatile when you know how to use them."
They ate while Ikkaku peppered him with questions.
How did the attachment work?
Could he feel things with the wooden hands?
How heavy were the limbs?
Could he fight with them?
Kenji answered what he could, though some of it he was still figuring out himself. The chakra-based touch sensation was limited. The weight was actually lighter than real limbs. Combat capability should be decent for now, but he'd need upgrades for serious fighting.
Ikkaku had seen plenty of ninja techniques before. He lived in Konoha, after all. But witnessing someone reconstruct their own body using puppetry? That was enlightening.
After they finished eating, he started gathering the empty containers. That's when Kenji spoke up.
"Hey, I can move around normally now, so you don't need to bring me meals anymore."
Ikkaku's hands stopped, and he looked up.
"Are you sure? You've only had these limbs for like, what, a few hours? Maybe you should wait a few more days, make sure everything's working properly."
"I'm sure." Kenji nodded. "I'll let the clan leader know tomorrow. From now on, I can take care of myself."
Ikkaku studied him for a moment, probably trying to decide if Kenji was being stubborn or ready. Then he nodded slowly.
"Alright. If you say so."
He smiled, and said, "Congrats, Kenji. It's really good to see you standing again."
He didn't seem upset about not having to do caretaking duties anymore. In their clan, it was normal for injured ninjas to recover and return to independent life. Seeing a clanmate pull himself out of that kind of hardship was something to celebrate, not mourn.