Hanako's Puppet Collection

is a unique assortment of puppets created by Hanako Yagami that are crafted from the roots of the Shinju, the Spirit Tree and the World Tree respectively. Also known as the, Lady Hanako has been heralded as the finest puppeteer in the The Isle of the Blooming Flowers They were created during her time spent in Sunagakure that were created with the sole intention of outstanding performances in both the theater and the battlefield. As mentioned before, Hanako’s main puppets were created through the cultivation of the Shinju’s roots that were reclaimed by the Yagami Clan centuries ago. Her puppets serve well in a variety of instances and they have their origins from Hanako’s various puppet conversion/transformation techniques such as the Very Hiden-Wood Release: Sacred Tree Sprig of Shugendō, Spirit Reflection Technique or her Puppet-Cursing Sphere respectively. She keeps her puppets spiritually bound to her own Wood Release techniques allowing her to create the technique. She asserts that her puppets are of the finest craftsmanship and whose flaws are erased with evanescence. In total, Hanako claims to have over ten-thousand puppets in her collection but she is in the process of crafting dozens more to finalize her act.

History
The story of Hanako’s interest in puppets occurred over 115 years ago and during this time, Hanako lived a fleeting existence as those whom she came into contact with had no recollection of her. During her travels within Sunagakure, she heard the stories of the first shinobi puppeteer, Monzaemon Chikamatsu (近松モンザエモン, Chikamatsu Monzaemon) and his exploits which sparked her interest in the art. She would eventually meet a female puppeteer whom was a direct descendant of the Chikamatsu Clan and would undergo her tutelage after proving her worth in the art. Hanako had to explain why she would choose to go the ancient route of puppetry in which she replied “To pursue the art of kabuki and puppetry has been in my lifeblood for as long as I can remember. To see my fashionably dressed puppets reflect in the eyes of the audience, mentally, caused a dramatic revelation. I will not stand down my duties as the next Daimyō of my country but, visualizing the dazzling completeness of beauty in art will become my life. “It is in this moment of intense passion displayed by Hanako that prompted the Chikamatsu descendent to teach Hanako the ways of puppetry. She would spend years under the tutelage of the descendant though she would experience the first faint trace of mastery within the first five years. Overtime, Hanako would learn the method to craft her own puppet that mirrors her view of nature foreboding a destined change. In each facet, Hanako would go through a slew of trial and errors with her puppets such as using them in combat or even building them in incorrect proportions. However, in the end, Hanako would gain a new respect for those whom chose to dabble in this fine art and a new challenge entered her life in the hopes of creating her own theater within the heart of the Luoyang Village. In exchange for learning the sacred art of puppetry, Hanako promised the woman to perform stunning plays that will allow audiences to escape the real world and venture into the mind of Hanako. Leaving flabbergasted with awe and a sense of amazement.

Spirit Puppets
The majority of Hanako’s puppets can be described as disembodied woodland spirits otherwise known as kodama. Unlike the Shin-Kodama, Hanako’s puppets are not etheric in a sense, but they are entrusted with the hopes of life and breaking the monotonous bonds of normal puppetry. These puppets have been specially designed to work with Hanako’s Spirit Reflection technique. As mentioned before, these unique puppets were cultivated from various splinters of the Shinju’s roots and as such, they contain part of its chakra absorbing abilities though on a far smaller scale. These puppets are branded with a powerful transformation technique that happens when the kodama puppet absorbs the chakra of an opponent. The result is a perfect transformation. Once the chakra enters the interior of the puppet, it activates a special seal that transforms them into an exact replica of the opponent, including their kekkei genkai, chakra pathway and even mimics their consciousness. As perfect as the outward transformation may seem, the puppets are still puppets and Hanako must maintain some form of connection with them. The opponent is often swarmed with transcend puppet replicas of themselves and due to Hanako’s mastery of puppetry, they often succumb to defeat. Hanako uses the puppets in both an offensive and defensive array that cause a hint of subconscious doubt within the mind of the opponent. She can create a wall of a few dozen puppets by the Summoning Technique to absorb the chakra from an attack and then transform into nearly countless replicas with the same potency of chakra as the opponent. These puppets constitute over 99% of Hanako’s collection and can be used to defeat virtually any obstacle if used correctly. If she summons more than ten, she can summon a spirit puppet that has a central mechanism for chakra threads and by using it as a medium, Hanako can control up 1000 puppets. This is done by dividing the essence of the puppet that was cultivated from the Shinju into a series of chakra threads the enter in to the backs of her other puppets. By summon ten of her spiritual kodama puppets, Hanako can essentially control ten-thousand puppets which can overwhelm opponents whom are more powerful than she by creating ten-thousand replicas of them. The puppets are also good for discovering weakness that may not be obvious to Hanako herself. If Hanako can grasp the consciousness of the opponent, she can imbue the attained consciousness into her newly transformed kodama puppet that can now be used without chakra strings and is an even match for the opponent, though not including the chakra absorption abilities.

Bunraku
It has been said that Hanako's puppets display fugitive intangible charm when in the realm of theater. The realm of. As a Ningyōzukai, Hanako has kept her promise made all of those years ago to entertain audiences with a brilliant display of puppetry. She follows the concept of puppetry being used in both a closed and open ceiling theater. Her mysterious puppets are adorned with a similar preforming outfits the mirror her own and this way attention is given to both visual and musical aspects of the puppets as well as the performance and the professionalism of Hanako.