The Aburame Clan

" Insect Princess, has your body finished Nest Building?"

Chewing on a Sugar Bean Insect, Old Man Shion asked.

"No." With nothing to hide, Mimi shook her head.

So-called Nest Building meant digging Insect Nests inside the body.

"As expected." After the three old men exchanged glances, they looked at Mimi and asked, "How did you do it?"

It was a bit troublesome to explain, so Mimi simply took off her clothes.

Layer upon layer of Kikaichū densely covered the inside of her clothes, and the same was true of her small body.

Because the clothes she normally wore were a little oversized, nothing unusual showed on the outside.

"Tut, tut, tut. How incredible—the swarm actually didn't riot." Old Man Shiki exclaimed, "This isn't Nest Building at all."

"The secret teachings your father left you... don't tell me they never explained how to do it?" Old Man Shion asked.

"They did explain it." Mimi said, "But there simply wasn't enough time."

That was right—there simply wasn't enough time. At Mimi's age, Nest Building alone would take two to three years.

Her body would be ravaged by the insects, then heal, repeating in a cycle until the insects established stable nests within her body.

It was a painful and time-consuming process.

"Besides, the efficiency is too low. I don't need to do it that way."

"An ordinary clansman at your age would be considered a genius if they could even get out of bed and walk, let alone possess combat ability," Shiho said.

"If this were the Warring States Period, the clan would begin Nest Building during infancy. By the age of five or six, they would possess a certain degree of combat ability and assist with intelligence gathering and similar tasks. The consequence was that most of them had short lives," Shiki said.

"It couldn't be helped. Infants couldn't suppress the Kikaichū on their own, which made their Nest Building behavior rather violent. Their bodies would be left incomplete inside, with hidden injuries that were difficult to detect. Throughout history, there had been plenty whose hearts had been half-eaten away. That period was extremely dangerous."

"Once the Kikaichū finish Nest Building and recognize their master, what the Aburame clan must learn is how to control them." Old Man Shion said, "Depending on one's aptitude, it takes the quick ones two or three years and the slow ones five or six years before they can command the insects as easily as their own limbs."

"So when we heard those rumors, the three of us unanimously believed they were impossible!"

"If it were a Kekkei Genkai, that would be even more impossible!"

"Insect Princess, do you know why?"

Mimi shook her head. She knew very little about the Aburame clan's history and inner workings.

"If Kekkei Genkai were something like that, our clan would have had one long ago."

Mimi suddenly looked at Old Man Shion.

Old Man Shion looked at Mimi.

"I see. The Kikaichū."

Old Man Shion smiled. "If a Kekkei Genkai is Ninjutsu plus Ninjutsu—something engraved into one's genes and passed down to later generations—then Kikaichū are Yang Release plus life, a creation likewise engraved into genes and passed down to later generations."

"The only difference is that Kekkei Genkai clans engrave it into their own bloodlines. One wrong step leads to more wrong steps. We, on the other hand, engrave it into the insects, giving us ample room for trial and error."

"They say every member of the Hyuga clan awakens the Byakugan. Every member of our clan is likewise an insect user. When it comes to intelligence reconnaissance, it remains to be seen who comes out on top."

Their Byakugan was different, though.

Mimi opened her mouth, but said nothing.

Forget it. The old man would not believe her anyway.

"Our Kikaichū are the pinnacle of Yang Release, a miracle of life."

To a certain extent, Kikaichū truly were perfect, but they absolutely lacked diversity.

"So the clan has techniques for modifying Kikaichū with Yang Release?"

Mimi asked.

If they did, it would save her a great deal of trouble.

"No." Old Man Shion answered without hesitation.

"It isn't us who can use Yang Release. It's the Kikaichū."

That instinct to absorb Chakra, convert it into Life Force, and engrave it into the Kikaichū's genes.

"We are merely the people who control Kikaichū—the brains that have coordinated their evolution alongside them for thousands of years. It is impossible for us to awaken a Kekkei Genkai."

So who exactly was the Kikaichū here?

Mimi opened her mouth. Weren't they just parasitic capitalists lying back and living off the fruits of the Kikaichū's labor?

Still, nature truly was wondrous. This was a classic case of coevolution through symbiosis.

It was hard to say who was parasitizing whom.

The Kikaichū wanted to lie back and eat without working, while the Aburame clan wanted to lie back and make money. The two sides hit it off immediately.

Mimi put her clothes back on and returned to her usual appearance.

"So how did your special Kikaichū come about, Grandfathers?"

"Well, one day, they suddenly became like this." Shion said. "But it was clearly related to the Kikaichū's autonomous evolution."

"Shiki came down with a serious illness as a child. After he recovered, his body was covered in venomous insects."

"However, he was not the only clansman to suffer a grave illness. There had been a few cases like Shiki's throughout history, but such exceptions were exceedingly rare."

It was a matter of natural selection. Either they evolved gloriously, or they died alongside their host. The Kikaichū had been pushed to desperation.

Clearly, more of them had failed.

Those tiny insects had apparently evolved to kill toxins.

"When Shiki was little, he nearly got poisoned to death by his own insects. Luckily, he was tough enough to survive."

Mimi nodded. The insects had gone on a killing spree—perfectly normal.

"As for Shiho, he inherited the Kikaichū of an elder from the clan."

"And my Kikaichū have fought alongside me throughout my life. Clearly, they are still evolving and have yet to reach their final stage."

"Inherited?" Mimi asked, somewhat puzzled. "So some of them can't be inherited?"

"That's right. Shiki's venomous insects and my insects are both very difficult to inherit."

"Why?" Mimi asked, though she had more or less guessed.

"Nest Building is an extremely important first step. Most clansmen gradually become part of a Kikaichū swarm through this process."

"In other words, without Nest Building, you cannot command Kikaichū. Insect Princess, you are an exception."

"We must produce Chakra for the Kikaichū to feed on. So what happens when someone cannot produce Chakra?"

"If not for the secret teachings passed down through our clan and the unique constitution of our people, outsiders who tried to use Kikaichū would simply be eaten."

"After Nest Building, the Kikaichū remember their owner's scent. Even among clansmen, transplanting another person's Kikaichū carries the same risk."

"Shiki's venomous insects are especially dangerous to clansmen. Even surviving the first step—having the Kikaichū enter the body—is difficult. Shiho's Giant Kikaichu, on the other hand, are relatively less dangerous, and many people in the clan have inherited them over the generations."

"And you, Insect Princess—with your sovereign-level control over Kikaichū, you can easily inherit the secret treasures our clan has left behind throughout the generations."

At that, Shiyu could not help throwing back his head and laughing.

"Insect Princess, you will become the most terrifying Insect Princess in Aburame history—no, in the history of the Shinobi World!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Behind her mask, Mimi curled her lip.

He laughed way too much like a villain.

Which only made him seem like a small fry.

"And then? Seize the position of Hokage?"

Mimi asked flatly.

"You want to become Hokage?"

Old Man Shiyu asked in return.

"Not in the slightest."

Mimi replied.

"Whatever you do, I won't live to see it once you grow up anyway, and no one will be able to stop you." Old Man Shiyu said. "Do whatever you want."

"Then I'll unify the Shinobi World."

Mimi said.

"Insect Princess, terror cannot control people's hearts." Old Man Shiho said earnestly.

"I was joking." Mimi said lightly. "Old Man Shiyu, what do you want from me?"

"I only want to watch my descendants grow up safe and happy, and see the clan flourish." Old Man Shiyu stopped and looked at Mimi seriously. "Rather than seeing them become useful tools in certain people's hands, unable to even voice a firm refusal."

"Your uncle Shion is far too mediocre in both talent and ability. At best, he will only ever be an Elite Jonin."

"Once us old men die, when facing a behemoth like Konoha, the clan will have no choice but to remain silent if it wants to survive."

This old man really understood things.

In the future, when Danzo came to the Aburame clan demanding someone, the Clan Head had not been able to say no.

Even though it had been his own son.

If his nephew from the clan had not stepped in to help, he could only pretend he had never had that son.

"I promise you."

Mimi said seriously.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Old Man Shiyu laughed heartily and boldly.

"Starting tomorrow, the three of us old men will teach you how to train. But first, go collect your Little Cuties. The elders left us quite a few powerful Little Cuties, but there has never been anyone capable of using them."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Mimi smiled.

When she mentioned Little Cuties, warmth entered her voice.

She truly, truly looked forward to it.