Insect Sister

As they walked, stopping now and then, the three old men told her about the clan so Mimi could understand.

Old Man Shion did most of the talking, with Old Man Shiho adding details. Old Man Shiki did not speak much.

There had been seven siblings in Old Man Shion's generation. Shion was the eldest, Shiho the fourth, and Shiki the youngest.

Their other siblings had all died in the brutal Warring States Period, killed by other clans who were now Konoha Ninja.

The Forest Senju Clan, the Uchiha, the Hyuga, the Kurama, the Ino-Shika-Cho, and more—all had blood on their hands.

As a reclusive clan devoted to mysticism, they had always remained neutral and never formed alliances. Because the Kikaichū were so powerful and versatile, clan members could handle all kinds of missions—assassination, reconnaissance, sabotage, and more. To make money, they never turned down a job.

During the Warring States Period, the clans had mostly gone their own ways. The state of the market meant the Aburame clan did not need to side with anyone; they were the coolest ones around.

As a result, they had provoked just about everyone.

Then the Senju and Uchiha formed an alliance, and the village began to take shape. For the clan to survive, Shion could only lead them into it while swallowing their hatred.

For him, it had been a wise yet difficult decision.

After joining Konoha, Shion stepped down as Clan Head and retired with a heart full of regrets. The position of Clan Head was taken by his younger brother Shiho's son.

Old Man Shiki had no descendants. Since he had possessed those venomous insects from a young age, not even a single female from the clan had survived approaching him.

As for Old Man Shion's descendants, aside from his beloved youngest daughter Yumi, whom he had fathered late in life, all his other children had died in the Warring States Period, killed by those same people.

His youngest daughter Yumi had grown up in Konoha's relatively peaceful environment, and Old Man Shion had never wanted her to become a ninja in the first place.

He then forcibly explained why he had not come to see Mimi and her mother all these years.

Mimi listened quietly for the time being and offered no opinion.

Clearly, there was a conflict between father and daughter, and the old man could not bring himself to face her.

Before long, the four arrived at the Clan Residence.

The guarding Aburame clan members came forward when they saw them.

After a brief exchange of formalities, they entered.

The lone gathering shrine was not large.

Judging by its exterior, it had not been in use for many years and lacked the weight of age and history.

The inside of the shrine was even more empty, visible at a glance.

The gravestones standing throughout the open space outside were especially eye-catching.

"Guard the outside."

"Yes." With a swish, the three stationed guards vanished in a dashing Body Flicker.

Mimi also knew this most basic technique for genin and Chunin, but she could not use it yet.

Her body had not yet reached the standard required to perform the technique.

With all the air of a reclusive clan, the three old men opened a concealed door, held lit candleholders, and proceeded down the Hidden Passage.

Along the way, Old Man Shion formed a hand seal. Kikaichū with red-glowing abdomens flew from his body, lighting the candles along the deep tunnel.

"How about it? My Kiyanchū."

They looked like fireflies. They would surely be beautiful at night.

"Do they explode?" Mimi asked.

"No!" Old Man Shion said.

"They fly too slowly." Mimi said, "They still use the same attack methods as Kikaichū: suicidal swarm assaults, clustering together, and setting traps to keep prey from escaping."

Overall—

"Not fierce enough."

"At this level, ordinary Kikaichū already have enough killing power. Their only advantage is that they are especially effective against Fire Release."

Mimi frankly gave her opinion.

"You are right, but that is because you have never seen the Uchiha's Mangekyo," the old man said. "When facing the Uchiha, never think your killing power is sufficient."

"The Mangekyo?" Mimi probed.

"You cannot comprehend it without seeing it for yourself. That kind of God's Power," Old Man Shion said. "You will see it someday. The Uchiha are not a clan that can stay peaceful."

"Mm." Mimi nodded, watching the red-glowing Kikaichū.

From his tone, they seemed to be insects capable of breaking through Susanoo.

Against Susanoo, the Kikaichū's current strength was utterly inadequate.

Even against a very rudimentary Susanoo.

After walking for quite a while, they reached the end of the passage.

The room was not large, an empty space of a little over a hundred square meters. On one wall was a mural depicting the history of the Aburame clan raising Kikaichū, with many varieties unlike the Kikaichū of today.

Another wall was covered in Ninjutsu scrolls.

The final wall held rows of sealed Clay Pots.

No need to think too hard—it was definitely a mutated insect egg.

Drawn in by it, Mimi stepped closer, ignoring the secret Ninjutsu scrolls.

"They're all yours, pick whatever you like! Hahahahaha!" Seeing Mimi's expression, Old Man Shion's booming laughter shook a shower of dust loose from the underground ceiling.

Mimi reached out, Chakra covering her hand as she moved from one Clay Pot to the next, feeling them one by one.

After a long while, Mimi turned to Old Man Shion and said, "Basically, they're all dead."

Old Man Shion did not seem surprised. "Can't be helped. They've waited here for too long, with no one ever inheriting them."

"But, Insect Princess, you said basically. That means there are still some alive, right?"

Mimi held up two fingers. "Only these reacted."

As she spoke, Mimi walked over to the largest Clay Pot. The insect egg inside possessed an intense will to survive.

She reached out and smashed the Clay Pot apart, revealing the enormous insect egg within.

It was nearly as tall as Mimi, about the size of a child.

"It really is huge, this insect egg." Mimi turned to Shion and asked, "Are there any records of it?"

Old Man Shion shook his head. "It's been here for as long as I can remember."

"Then I'll begin."

With that, Mimi placed her hand on the insect egg.

The three old men focused intently as they watched, but they could not make heads or tails of it.

It was a perfectly ordinary method of hatching an insect egg.

As Mimi's Chakra flowed in, the infection proceeded covertly—and extremely quickly.

This insect egg had a will of its own, remarkably clear and resolute: it wanted to live.

Faced with the lifeline Mimi had thrown it, it seized it without the slightest hesitation.

The entire infection process went exceptionally quickly and smoothly.

Sure enough, the progress of infection was related to the target's mental will.

The rate was almost synchronized with the hatching speed, if not slightly faster.

By the time the infection was complete, the hatching had finished as well.

A moment later, signs of life began to appear within the insect egg, small bulges occasionally rising along its shell.

Soon after, the egg began to crack, and some bodily fluid seeped from the fissures.

At a certain moment, Mimi withdrew her hand and stepped back.

The entire insect egg split open, and a pair of tiny hands pushed the shell apart as something crawled out.

The four of them looked at one another as they stared at the naked little girl lying on the ground, her shape resembling that of a human.

Yet calling it human was not quite right—it had a simple Exoskeleton covering its body.

At the moment, the Exoskeleton was still transparent and soft, clearly revealing the fair-skinned human little girl inside.

Once the Exoskeleton rapidly hardened and changed color, what remained on the ground was an insect that looked like a human.

"Stand up!" Mimi did not need to speak to issue commands; she could easily sense the girl through their mental connection.

She only said it aloud so the three old men could understand.

Under Mimi's command, the girl struggled to her feet.

The three pairs of compound eyes on her face turned, each looking at a different person.

Then they fixed tightly on Mimi.

When she opened her mouth, it split apart like an insect's.

"Ma... Mama..."

She spoke...

"Ah! What a sight to behold after living so long!" After a long pause, Old Man Shion slapped his thigh and cried out.

What was going on with this child?

"Don't call me Mama!" Mimi said darkly.

"Yes, Mama!" Insect Sister obediently replied.

She looked like she was not very bright.

Mimi pressed at her faintly aching brow, a bad feeling rising in her heart.

The three old men gathered around Insect Sister, examining her with great interest.