Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 16 First Human Experiments: Parasites

After the three finished their discussion, they looked at each other and stood up at the same time.

Seeing that they had also left the camp, Keita Ida looked up at his father in confusion and asked, "Father, those three bad guys have also gone into the woods. Should we remind the ninja master?"

Ryuji Ida held the child in his arms and covered his mouth, saying, "This is not something we can interfere with; it's the ninja's own business."

Those were ninjas, after all. Some petty thieves and samurai never truly understand their own strength. Even though the ninja had already spared them, they still insisted on courting death.

The forest was dimly lit, and the fine rain was blocked by the leaves, eventually gathering into large droplets that fell from above.

Aburame Shisei leaned against a cedar tree, his eyes closed. Through the information relayed by the parasitic insects, he could sense that the three people were cautiously approaching his direction.

They thought their steps were light, but to the swarm of insects, every broken branch and every breath was crystal clear.

Nakamura walked at the front, holding three shuriken in his hands. These were spoils of war they had taken from a genin they had killed many years ago, and they had never been willing to use them.

This is also the source of their confidence to take action.

Kenta lagged a few steps behind, gripped his katana tightly, and scanned his surroundings warily.

Kurosaki Ichiro walked at the back, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"separate."

Kurosaki Ichiro made a hand gesture, Nakamura nodded, and crouched down to crawl into the bushes on the right, while Kenta went around to the left, trying to form an encirclement.

"Over there," Nakamura hissed. "Make your move!"

The three of them accelerated simultaneously, but when they were less than five meters away from Shisei Aburame, their bodies seemed to be frozen in place by a special force, unable to move.

The Ninjutsu Binding Technique, also known as the Golden Binding Technique, is only a D-rank technique. However, it is a triple immobilization technique that he improved upon, combining illusion, ninjutsu, and neurotoxins.

Aburame Shisei emerged from behind the tree, holding a wild rabbit he had just caught. He looked at the three of them with a surprised smile and said, "What's wrong with you three? Why are you so frightened?"

The three who had been standing still felt a chill run down their spines, and two of them had fear in their eyes. After a moment, only one of them managed to break free of his restraints.

It was Kurosaki Ichiro. At this moment, he had completely lost the will to resist, just like the unapproachable ninja he had encountered before.

He said, "Sir Ninja, we came out to relieve ourselves and to gather some firewood."

"Really? But I don't believe it!"

Aburame Shisei walked up to the slightly overweight ronin named Nakamura, took out the strange-looking insect, and put it into the wide-open mouth of the man.

"Actually, you resent me, don't you? You resent me for kicking you before, which is why you've been encouraging me."

Aburame Shicheng picked up the three shuriken he was holding and examined them closely. The edges were rusted, indicating that they had been used many times.

"You killed a genin, is that why you have the courage?"

Nakamura felt the worm, about the size of an index finger, wriggling along his tongue into his stomach. His body trembled, and a foul-smelling excrement flowed down his trouser leg.

Aburame Shisei simply covered his nose and took two steps back. Then, he pulled out a notebook from somewhere and carefully observed the changes in Nakamura's body, making some notes in it.

Soon, Nakamura also broke free of his restraints. He did not break free through strength, but because the intense pain stimulated his body's potential.

"what!"

Nakamura let out a wail, rolling on the ground, his body arched. Beads of sweat slid down his forehead. His once slightly plump body shrank to a gaunt state, but his stomach bulged out in a large, spherical bulge.

Aburame Shisei ruthlessly recorded, "In the early stages, it will cause a small increase in physical strength, and then it will drain the nutrients to nurture new life."

"That's enough!" By the time he finished writing the last sentence, Nakamura had become a dried-up corpse that could be crushed with a pinch.

He stepped forward and crushed the corpse, from which a bulging worm slid out.

The insects were dead; after giving birth to new life, they had exhausted their own lives. He then cut open the insects' abdomens and took out several fist-sized, crystal-clear spheres.

Preliminary assessment indicates that these are insect eggs, a total of five, each containing abundant life energy.

The other two people watching from the side were completely terrified.

"Ninja-Lord Ninja!" Kenta, his body back to normal, dropped his sword in terror and knelt on the ground with a thud. "Spare me! Spare me! It was all Nakamura's idea! He's the one who instigated us!"

Kurosaki Ichiro knelt on the ground, his hands still trembling. He looked at Aburame Shisei and finally realized how foolish he had been—this was not a novice genin at all; this was a demon in human skin.

"I won't kill you," said Aburame Shisei.

The two were stunned at the same time, but before they could be happy, they heard Aburame Shisei continue, "But you have to do one thing for me: eat these things."

"No, no!"

Kenta was terrified and scrambled outside, screaming as he ran. He hadn't managed a few steps before his body was restrained again.

Aburame Shisei walked up to him and stuffed the insect eggs into his mouth. This time, the changes in his body were much slower than before, so to speed things up, Aburame Shisei began to form hand seals.

"Secret Technique: Cocoon"

This technique can accelerate the reproduction and hatching of insects, and the abnormal physical reaction begins to intensify. First, the originally thin body begins to become strong, but not in the kind of strength where the whole body is muscular, but rather the body becomes more proportionate and the muscles and bones become stronger.

At that moment, he felt full of energy, but his stomach was extremely hungry.

"Power! I feel like I'm bursting with power!"

His gaze toward Aburame Shisei changed; intense fear transformed into greed and defiance.

Seeing him exert force with his legs, unleashing tremendous power and speed, and clench his fist, he aimed for Aburame Shisei's face. However, his fist was firmly gripped.

With just one exertion, Aburame Shicheng made him kneel on the ground in pain.

"Not bad attack power, comparable to some Chunin. Unfortunately, an insect egg is just an insect egg; it makes you stronger only so you can absorb more nutrients."

Yu Nu Zhicheng inactivated all the remaining insect eggs and stuffed them into his stomach in one go.

Just as he expected, this experimental subject exhibited the same behavior as before: its nutrients were drained, causing it to quickly shrivel up. Its abdomen continued to swell until it finally burst open, from which crawled a large, white, bloated worm.

The insect underwent another metamorphosis and evolution. Its original bizarre body was gone, and the weapons and armor that were not very useful on its body had degenerated into a thin, soft shell.