Pupet Master in Konoha

"Ah, it's Big Brother Hideki!"

A little girl with twin ponytails, who had been playing tag, spotted Hideki for the first time. She shouted and ran toward him.

Hearing her, many other children's eyes suddenly lit up when they saw that it was really Hideki. They all jumped to their feet and rushed toward him, surrounding him.

Hideki seemed used to this zombie-like attack and greeted them patiently.

Although Hideki hadn't stayed in Konoha for the past few years, often due to missions or trips to buy materials, he occasionally stayed in Konoha for short periods of time.

And every time he returned, he would visit the orphanage.

The reason the children were so excited about him was because Hideki always brought delicious food every time he visited.

Sure enough, after greeting them, Hideki asked them to clear a space, then took out several storage scrolls, unrolled them, and opened them.

Bang, bang, bang...

After a few clouds of white smoke dissipated, there was a small mountain of supplies on the ground.

Although these were just essentials like rice, cooking oil, and cloth, there were also several baskets of fruits and vegetables and large bags of snacks that Hideki had just bought at the market.

But in the eyes of these poor children, it was like a feast, making their mouths water.

However, even the smallest child just stared at the food helplessly, not reaching out to take it. They were so sensible that it made people feel heartbroken.

Hideki, who was deeply disturbed by this scene, simply handed a large bag of snacks to an older child and asked them to share it with everyone. After they ate, he moved everything to the storage and kitchen.

Once all the children happily ran off to get their snacks, Hideki managed to escape and walked over to the orphanage door, greeting a middle-aged nun who had been watching them with a smile for a long time.

"Aunt Kelly, it's been a while."

Aunt Kelly was a caregiver at the orphanage and had worked there for many years.

Although she was tall and round, she could hit as hard as a child.

But Hideki, who had grown up here, knew that she had a physique that made her gain weight even if she just drank water, and she didn't put on weight by eating to line her own pockets.

"Hideki, you've grown again."

Aunt Kelly looked at Hideki, who was now a head taller than her, and couldn't help but sigh.

"It's hard to imagine that you, who were just a child back then, have grown so much and have helped the orphanage so much."

"This is what I should do."

Hideki said sincerely: "After all, without this orphanage, and without me now, these small donations aren't worth mentioning."

"No, you've already done enough."

Kelly sighed, "To be honest, if it weren't for Hideki's monthly donations, I'm afraid the orphanage wouldn't be able to keep running..."

Hideki couldn't help but frown slightly when he heard this and asked:

"The orphanage has been struggling with money lately? I remember that the last time I came here, things weren't so bad."

"No way. The village subsidy hasn't been paid for several months. I heard the front lines are fighting, so the village's financial situation isn't good, and our children here aren't natives of Konoha..."

As Kelly said this, she took out a handkerchief, wiped her eyes, and continued:

"Hideki, maybe you haven't realized, but several of the older children aren't here anymore."

"They knew the situation at the orphanage wasn't good, so to provide more food for their younger brothers and sisters, they secretly left the orphanage early to make a living on their own. They don't know what happened now..."

Hideki felt a heavy weight in his chest.

Although the Third Ninja War hadn't started yet, the shadow of war had already begun to affect the lives of people in the outskirts of Konoha.

Had he returned a few months later, the orphanage might no longer exist.

Although Hideki didn't leave many fond memories here, in the entire ninja world, this was the only place that made him feel somewhat at home.

Fortunately, at that moment, Hideki had the perfect solution to resolve the orphanage's problems.

Hideki said, "Aunt Kelly, is Grandpa Dean here? I need to discuss something with him."

…

The orphanage director was named Camp, an elderly, thin, kind man who somewhat resembled the old KFC mascot.

His main job was to seek sponsorship for the orphanage or help the orphans find work, but his business skills were mediocre.

In short, he was a good-hearted person but with limited abilities.

So Hideki didn't beat around the bush when he saw the man. He simply said a few straightforward words:

"Grandpa Dean, I'm planning to set up a workshop and need a lot of apprentices, so I hope to recruit them from the orphanage."

"Hideki, are you kidding, old man?"

Kemp, who had a headache from managing the orphanage, stood up excitedly when he heard Hideki's words.

After all, if the number of children was reduced, the operational problems of the orphanage could be alleviated.

Being an apprentice in a workshop was originally the best place for the children of this orphanage.

Not to mention that the owner of the workshop was Hideki, who was well-informed, so there was no need to worry about the children being mistreated.

No wonder Dean Kemp was so excited when he heard Hideki's words.

Before Hideki could respond, Kemp asked eagerly:

"How many people do you plan to have, Hideki?"

"In the initial stages, there will be about fifty people."

Hideki casually replied.

"Fifty people... wait, fifty?"

As Kemp spoke, he suddenly realized something was wrong and widened his eyes.

Because now, there weren't even fifty children in the orphanage...

This... doesn't that mean the entire orphanage would be wiped out in one go?

Kemp had a good idea. In fact, after Hideki made the workshop plan, he had already decided to include the orphanage.

Because whether it's a workshop or a store, a lot of labor is required to run smoothly...

Although the labor problem could also be solved through hiring.

But Hideki's ultimate goal in establishing the workshop was to create a complete puppet research and development system in Konoha with himself at the core.

And this also meant that after the expansion, he wouldn't be able to handle everything the way he did today and would need a large number of assistants who could understand and implement his ideas.

Added to the issue of technical confidentiality, these types of assistants had to be trained from a young age.

That's why Hideki liked the orphanage and planned to turn it into his exclusive talent training base.

In any case, the workshop was just starting, and the work-study students would handle the more difficult product production tasks.

Therefore, if they were only responsible for the basic work, the children from the orphanage were competent enough.

Besides, Hideki had already inquired that the lands nearby, including the orphanage, were owned by the village.

So, as long as he could be recognized by the Third Hokage, setting up a workshop right here was a very good option...

Subsequently, Hideki easily convinced the director to agree to the cooperation between the orphanage and the workshop.

After all, he was born here, and with years of selfless donations, Kemp simply didn't believe Hideki would do anything harmful to the orphanage.

He even offered to bring back the children who had to leave because the orphanage didn't have money and fill the 50 vacancies.

Before officially constructing the workshop, he also provided Hideki with a free room at the orphanage as a temporary study.

This way, the location and labor problems for the workshop were also solved. Now, the only thing the workshop needed were the work-study students.

So Hideki's next goal was already very clear.

That's a lie... No, it was to make the students voluntarily apply for the study-work programs and join Hideki's puppet workshop family...