"Bang!"
A puff of white smoke appeared, and Hardy's face instantly transformed.
A square face, sharp eyebrows, and a high forehead—a white male.
Put him in a suit and sunglasses, and he'd be the classic image of a suit-wearing thug.
This face belonged to Keanu Reeves.
Hardy had considered turning into someone like Beckham or DiCaprio, but unfortunately, Beckham already existed in this world and had been famous for over a decade, currently playing for a Major League Soccer club in the US.
As for DiCaprio, he didn't exist here, but that level of handsomeness would be too eye-catching.
A regular, handsome face like Keanu Reeves' was perfect, and his vibe fit Gotham better.
The Penguin was startled by Hardy's display, almost thinking he was about to attack.
Even after calming down, one hand remained on the handle of his high-tech umbrella, his beady eyes fixed on Hardy.
"Amazing ability. I didn't expect you to have a trick like this—aside from Clayface, that is."
Clayface, real name Basil Karlo, mutated after exposure to toxic radioactive chemicals. His entire body could turn into a clay-like substance, able to morph into any shape or weapon—soft enough to slip through anything, hard enough to be rock-solid. He could even transform into anyone, mimicking their genes, since he no longer had a normal carbon-based biology.
That was an even more powerful transformation than the Transformation Jutsu.
"Use this face and get me an identity."
"Understood. I'll need a photo and your height for the documents. In one day, it'll be ready and delivered to... uh, where are you staying now?"
"I'll come pick it up in a day."
…
Three days later.
With his new identity, Hardy also acquired a house and a box of books.
He didn't buy the house to flip it, but because he wanted a secure place to make puppets. It would be noisy, and renting wouldn't be convenient.
No landlord would let you convert an entire floor into a puppet workshop.
You need a legal identity to buy high-value property like a house.
The location didn't need to be great—otherwise, it would cost too much.
Fortunately, Gotham isn't Metropolis. Both are modeled after New York, but Metropolis's housing prices are much higher.
After all, Metropolis gets sunlight and has Superman. The crime rate is much lower than Gotham's.
Even so, the average price per square meter in the area Hardy bought was over $6,000—that's about 30,000 to 40,000 RMB per square meter.
So, Hardy took another job, borrowed some money from another gang boss, and laundered it through the Penguin at a whopping 50% fee.
After buying the 70-square-meter house and the materials and equipment needed to make puppets, Hardy had less than $20,000 left.
With Gotham's cost of living, as long as he didn't splurge, that should last him a year or so.
"No complaints—time to learn and build puppets at the same time!"
Hardy picked up a book called "Microcontrollers and CNC Electronics" and started studying.
…
After finishing his business in Gotham, Hardy's days were fairly relaxed.
He spent his time reading, studying online, or making puppets.
But in the Naruto world, Hardy's real body was busier than ever.
Normally, the Sixth Squad of the Puppet Corps wouldn't be this busy.
But these weren't normal times—it was wartime.
Hardy had just withdrawn from the battlefield of the Great Ninja War!
His squad's usual task was simple: process the puppets recovered from the frontlines.
If they were salvageable, repair them. If not, strip any usable parts for reuse.
There was some room for personal gain here—after all, whether a puppet was "good" or "bad," or which parts could be reused, was a subjective call. If you labeled good parts as bad, or usable parts as unusable, you could pocket them for yourself.
Unfortunately, Hardy couldn't do that.
Not because he was especially honest, but because Sunagakure was too poor. Every resource was used to its absolute limit.
If you got caught embezzling, the consequences would be dire. Chiyo also implemented strict management to minimize corruption.
Each batch of puppets was randomly inspected by three different puppet squads. If problems were found, the squad captain would investigate.
If the captain couldn't figure it out, the Anbu would be sent in.
Anyone who could get away with skimming must have powerful connections behind the scenes.
But those people were all jonin-level—let alone whether they'd be interested, but these low-level puppets certainly wouldn't be handed over to...
They handled it for us, so we never even had the chance to get involved.
Maybe there really was some room for manipulation, but Hardy wasn't willing to risk his promising future just to gain a little benefit.
Still, the pay was quite generous.
At the very least, it was more than what he used to earn as an ordinary ninja on missions—and without nearly as much danger.
Moreover, the puppets were sent back in batches, so if he worked quickly, there was even some time to rest in between.
"Phew... This batch of puppets is finally done."
In the puppet corps' base, Hardy sprawled unceremoniously across the sofa.
Jianxue was slumped at the other end of the couch.
Meanwhile, after finishing his own tasks, Sasori was still busy at his workbench.
"Hey, Sasori, kids need more rest! Otherwise, it'll affect your growth, you know!"
Seeing Sasori still hard at work, the exhausted Hardy immediately tried to lure him over to join them.
"If you keep this up, next time we spar, you'll lose. And then there won't be a next time."
Sasori continued working, crafting some puppet parts according to the notes he'd received from Ishido.
"Tsk, don't say that! I work hard too! It's just that lately, I haven't been focusing my energy on puppet-making."
Hardy waved his hand dismissively.
His incarnation in Gotham had been studying diligently, trying to integrate modern engineering into puppet techniques.
In his spare time, Hardy's main body was also practicing the Black Secret Technique.
After all, his puppet manipulation skills were probably the lowest in the team. Of the only two genin, Sasori's puppet skills were at least half a level above his own.
After resting for about ten minutes, Hardy, feeling restless from Sasori's relentless work ethic, did a backflip off the sofa.
"Forget it, I'll train too."
Hardy flicked out ten chakra threads from his hands, connecting them to Formentor and Tom, and began practicing the Black Secret Technique.
"Tsk, you're a kid too! Why are you all so obsessed with working hard? Aren't you worried you won't grow tall if you don't rest enough?"
Seeing this, she joined in as well.
Otherwise, with the other two busy and only her lying around, she'd feel completely out of place.