Princess

What kind of ninjutsu did she want to learn?

What she wanted most right now was, naturally, the Summoning Technique. Things like Shadow Clones could be learned after becoming a ninja; there would be plenty of time and opportunities then.

Besides, Mimi did not lack time at the moment. There was still plenty of time before the Second Shinobi World War began. She did not need Shadow Clones to increase her workload and speed up her progress.

So...

"Sealing Technique?" Mimi asked. "Do you know it?"

"I do!" The Third Hokage gave an affirmative answer, and he even felt like putting his hands on his hips and showing off for a while.

"Oh~" Mimi drew out the sound slightly and asked, "Are you the best at Sealing Techniques in the village?"

The Third Hokage choked.

Someone else in the village had the greatest mastery of Sealing Techniques, but she did not take disciples.

And even as Hokage, the Third Hokage could not ask her to do something like that.

"Of course I am!" the Third Hokage said.

As he spoke, his face reddened and he awkwardly looked away, his tone lacking confidence.

So he felt guilty about lying to a child. The current Third Hokage really was quite green.

Mimi chuckled and asked, "Really?"

"Really!" the Third Hokage said firmly. "So? Do you want to become my disciple and learn ninjutsu?"

"No." Mimi answered decisively.

"Why?!" His voice rose an octave as the Third Hokage asked in confusion.

"I don't want to talk to someone who lies to children."

With that, Mimi turned and walked away coolly.

The Third Hokage stared blankly as Mimi left. After a long while, he frantically scratched his head.

That damned brat was really hard to handle!

With a snort, the Third Hokage turned and left resentfully.

Without you, genius Mimi, did Konoha not have any other geniuses!?

That child named Orochimaru was exceptionally outstanding.

As an orphan and a commoner, he had already mastered the Three Body Technique in the short time since entering the academy. He could definitely graduate on the spot without any problem.

They had clearly been given the same textbooks, yet some people knew to study ahead and had actually learned it.

Whether it was his attitude toward learning or his talent, there was nothing to criticize.

But...

The strongest Sealing Technique?

Sigh, they were all Konoha's children. It would be a shame not to nurture her.

All the way back, the Third Hokage smoked gloomily as he thought about the matter.

On her way back, Mimi no longer sensed the Chakra watching her. The same was true the next day, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

There was nothing wrong with the experiments, though they were somewhat cruel to small animals. It would be easy for others to misunderstand and assume there was something wrong with her mentally.

Especially for a child like Mimi—dissecting cats and dogs would definitely get her labeled a pervert.

So Mimi did not intend to let anyone know.

Orochimaru was an exception. That pervert had been a pervert since childhood, and he was smart too. It would not be bad to trick him over and use him as labor.

Besides, Mimi did not want to become one of the Three Ninja. Her career plan was to become a Konoha Doctor and stay far away from ninjas' outside assignments. That way, she could save a great deal of time for research.

Though becoming the Hokage's disciple would certainly bring many hidden privileges.

One of them was the right to inherit the Hokage position.

Mimi did not need that sort of thing.

Besides, to gain something was to lose something. Being expected and watched by everyone was not something Mimi wanted to experience again.

She had already had enough of it in her previous life.

This time, she simply wanted to live freely.

To live carefree, like a bird.

Most importantly, Mimi did not like the Third Hokage. What she somewhat hated was the man he would become in the future.

She did not particularly want to see him.

Now that the Third Hokage had discovered something unusual about her, the clan would soon hear similar rumors.

The Aburame clan was not weak. With the clan's resources tilted in her favor, what ordinary ninjutsu could she not learn?

From the beginning, Mimi's target had been the clan. She had deliberately revealed herself to the Third Hokage in order to keep the clan in check.

Based on the abilities she had displayed, ninja thinking would certainly lead them toward the possibility of a Kekkei Genkai.

And Mimi could not gauge just how tempting a naturally born Kekkei Genkai Ninja would be to those people in the clan.

If they treated her like a breeding boar and used her for breeding in the name of protection, that would be hilarious.

Mimi did not mind judging human hearts with the most malicious assumptions.

She was still too weak and had no ability to fight the clan.

The clan moved quickly. On the third day after she met the Third Hokage, she finally met clan members whom she normally never saw.

Why did she normally never see them? Because they were a Hidden Leaf Clan.

The clan members were all withdrawn and taciturn by nature.

They did not even want to speak much, so how could anyone expect to see them?

Secondly, the Aburame clan had no clan grounds. Its members were scattered throughout the village, and because of their personalities, most lived in remote places.

When Konoha was first founded and the Aburame clan joined, they had received many advantages. Land was one of them.

The First Hokage had generously told them to choose wherever they liked.

That really was something the First Hokage would do.

The Aburame clan had settled for something reasonable.

After all, the Aburame clan was already rather disliked. A whole crowd of Aburame gathering together for long periods would be doubly unpleasant.

Back then, in order to integrate into Konoha, the Clan Head had wisely gone against Warring States tradition and scattered the clan members throughout the village, making it easier for them to fit in.

Mimi greatly admired that. He had been remarkably farsighted.

When a major clan stayed huddled together for too long, who knew whether it harbored ill intentions?

Furthermore, clan members living around the village outskirts naturally served as surveillance posts.

The clan did have a base that made gatherings convenient. The last time it had been used was during the First Ninja World War.

Normally, a team of clan members was stationed there.

Calling it a garrison was generous. It was basically a vacation. Her father had even complained about it in his notebook.

Mimi saw the clan visitors at home: three old men with one foot already in the grave, all dressed in Warring States Style and wearing Demon Masks.

Only the colors of their masks differed.

Speaking of which, Sunglasses had only become popular in the last few years. They had not existed ten years ago.

Mimi's mask had been left behind by her father. It had been her grandfather's possession. Her father thought it was tacky and did not want it, following the trend and wearing cool Sunglasses instead.

Mimi thought the mask looked rather nice.

Sunglasses were the ugly ones. Every last person wearing them looked like a blind masseur.

"You must be little Mimi."

Mimi looked at the hunched old man leading them and nodded. He could barely walk steadily and leaned on a Walking Stick.

His imposing manner was rather pathetic, though he tried hard to stand straight.

"I'm your Grandpa Shion."

Well, he had started by claiming kinship.

Shameless enough. I like it.

"Your mother is my daughter."

"..." Mimi blinked.

Well, she had grown up this much and had never once met the old man.

"Call him Grandpa, Mimi," her mother said anxiously from the side.

Mimi said nothing.

"Call me or don't! Hmph!" With that, the old man stomped his Walking Stick once.

Her mother, Yumi, fearfully fell silent.

"The name Mimi is too weak! It does not suit the Princess of the Aburame clan! From today onward, you will be called Insect Princess!"

Well, well!

Mimi could only marvel.

"From this day on, you will lead the Aburame clan!"

She hated this kind of arbitrary old man the most.

Though she did not hold much hope, Mimi felt she ought to refuse.

Things like clans, burdens, and honor sounded incredibly troublesome.

"Um, you haven't asked whether I'm willing."

"Hmph! It is not up to you! Unless you can take down the three of us old men right here!"

Ah, this...

The Aburame clan was one of the few Ninja Clans whose physical condition declined with age, but whose combat strength did not diminish by much.

The Insect Swarm would only evolve. It would not grow old.

Though these Warring States Era old men looked like they were about to enter the grave, they were probably extremely formidable.

"Fine, then I'll be called Insect Princess."

Insect Princess answered weakly.

"And who might you be?"

"I am the Former Clan Head of the Aburame."

Oh, so he was that farsighted fellow from the Warring States Period, the one who had led the entire clan to join Konoha when they could not win.

Well then, no wonder her father, a mere Jonin, had money to open an inn. So her mother was a rich second-generation heir.

As for how he had managed to marry her mother, he was probably handsome.

Though she had never seen her father's face, she did not look much like her mother. There was no need to say whom she resembled.

In that instant, Mimi thought of many things.

Damn it, she had schemed for nothing. Had she known, she would have shown off directly to the clan.

This bargain-bin grandfather was a sensible man!

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