Slug Screams

Mimi traveled through the woods with Insect Sister and Chiri.

They had said they were going to play with Chiri, but for the moment, they had no idea where to go.

Mimi rejected every place Chiri suggested.

The snack shop, Shopping Street, the park, and Hokage Rock.

They were all popular places the village children often visited.

There was no need to mention the snack shop. As for Shopping Street, Chiri wanted to buy clothes, toys, and the like.

Even Chiri liked pretty clothes and shiny little accessories.

It was obvious what she had in mind by dragging Mimi there.

As for the park, the only things to play with were the swings, parallel bars, seesaws, and sandpits. During the day, it was occupied by the boys from the neighborhood, who usually played Ninja Game. They only quieted down when mealtime came.

As for Hokage Rock, it was the most popular of all. Many children went there to experience what it felt like to be the Hokage, and the view overlooking the whole village was magnificent.

The only problem was that the journey was too troublesome, so few people went there.

Basically, after visiting once, they would never go again.

But when it came to Konoha's scenery, Mimi felt that winter was the most beautiful season.

The world was wrapped in silver, pure and spotless white.

At such a time, there was nothing better than going to Hot Springs Street.

Soaking in the pool was the most comfortable moment of the day.

"Here, take this." As she spoke, Mimi handed the item to Chiri.

Chiri, who had been watching Mimi's movements with her Sharingan the whole time, was rather surprised.

She had originally planned to weave one herself.

A grasshopper woven from grass. Just a little trick.

Mimi handed the other one she had woven to Insect Sister. After taking it, Insect Sister naturally put it into her mouth.

Mimi stared for a while at the grasshopper's legs moving outside Insect Sister's mask.

Chiri, meanwhile, happily waved her grasshopper a few times and asked, "Where are we going? Are we hunting the wild beasts in the woods?"

"There probably aren't any wild beasts nearby anymore," Mimi said as she led the way.

"Huh? Why? Aren't there a lot of them in the woods?" Chiri asked.

"Wild beasts have territories. They mark them with their scent. There won't be a second wild beast within a certain range," Mimi said.

The fiercest wild beast nearby was currently chewing on a grasshopper.

Mimi's laboratory served as its nest, while Insect Sister moved around within this area. It was the pasture Mimi had fenced off for her.

"Oh, so that's how it is. Then what are we doing?" No second wild beast within a certain range? Chiri felt that something was off.

"Ninja Game," Mimi said.

"Huh? I thought you weren't interested in that."

"That depends on what kind of game it is," Mimi said.

"What kind is it?" Chiri asked curiously.

"Playing with bugs," Mimi said.

"Is this really Ninja Game?" Chiri did not understand what was fun about bugs.

Some boys particularly liked those powerful-looking giant beetles.

Strangely enough, though, they were terrified of dense swarms of tiny bugs.

With her doubts, Chiri followed Mimi into a dim Underground Cave.

The swarms of flying insects along the way magically parted to make a path. Through her senses, Chiri could tell they had twisted and turned through the underground for a long time.

There were many forks along the way. Anyone with a poor sense of direction would already have been lost.

Chiri's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Mimi really knew how to have fun. Just this place alone felt like a Ninja Secret Base.

The boys who played Ninja Game had secret bases too, but their bases were nothing more than shabby sheds put together in an empty lot.

Inside were all kinds of pieces of junk they had picked up from various places.

It was pretty fun too, though.

"Wow..." Chiri exclaimed. "Were all of these dug out by bugs?"

"Mm-hmm."

"That's amazing!"

"Don't tell anyone," Mimi said.

"This is our secret!" Chiri replied with a beaming smile.

She reached out and lightly caught a glowing bug in flight.

"Don't touch them," Mimi said.

Chiri released it.

"They're poisonous," Mimi said. "No matter what you see, it's best not to touch things carelessly. The prettier they are, the more dangerous they tend to be."

"Will they kill you?" Chiri asked.

"No. They'll just make you suffer," Mimi said.

"Huh? Are these fireflies?" A large swarm flew around them. Chiri examined them carefully and saw that they were unfamiliar insects.

"No. Fireflies aren't the only things that can glow."

"Mimi, are these your bugs too? What are they for?"

"Basically, they're useless. They're just pretty," Mimi said. "Actually, they're quite ugly under the sunlight."

"Just pretty?" Chiri asked. "If they're useless, why keep them?"

"For decoration," Mimi said.

"Hee-hee, they really are pretty." In the dim Underground Cave, these flying insects filled the surroundings. Standing among them was like being embraced by a blue sea of stars.

It was romantic and dreamlike.

As they spoke, the two reached the end of the passage. A somewhat cramped room appeared before Chiri.

"Welcome to my Bug House." For some reason, Mimi felt like saying that, and then she did.

"Wow..." Chiri walked into the room and looked around constantly.

"What is this?" Chiri asked, pointing at a glass bottle.

A small animal was curled up in the dark green liquid.

"A cat," Mimi answered.

"A cat?" Chiri asked in confusion. "Do cats have three tails?"

"Is it the monster cat Nekomata?"

"Without Chakra, it's just an ordinary cat," Mimi said. "I tried making it mutate a little, but it died."

"It died?" Chiri said. "How pitiful."

"As a ninja, you can't afford to be inexperienced with life and death, Chiri," Mimi said.

"I know... but..." Chiri's mood fell.

"You weren't like this when you were eating bugs," Mimi said.

"But that's different! The kitten..."

"What makes it different?" Mimi said. "The kitten is cute, right?"

"Huh?" Chiri looked at Mimi, thinking, You know that too?

"So because it's a bug, it can just die whenever it wants, right?"

Chiri felt that something was wrong.

"But life is fundamentally neither high nor low. It's all life, and all life is simply trying to survive."

"So there's no difference between a cat dying and a bug dying," Mimi said. "The same goes for humans."

Is that really so?

Chiri felt that it was wrong.

"But!" Chiri wanted to argue, but she could not think of what to say.

Unable to bear it, Chiri glanced at the kitten in the bottle.

The Uchiha family's Summoning Beasts were basically Ninja Cats, so she naturally felt close to them.

"A cat is an extremely savage hunter. It stands at the top of the food chain and is a killer of birds. Over the course of its life, it can prey on countless animals. Not to mention its hunting habits—it will recklessly kill living things even when it has no intention of eating them."

"Instead of wasting your pity on this cat, you might as well pity the cute little animals it bit to death. Besides, can you really pity all of them?"

Mimi said.

"Anyway, I don't think it's cute."

Chiri blinked. Were cats really that savage?

"In nature, the most important thing is balance, and then maintaining that balance."

"Death is one part of the balance. There's no need to feel sad about it."

Mimi said, "Come look at this."

At her words, Chiri walked over.

She saw what was inside the bottle.

"This couldn't be...!?"

Chiri's eyes gradually widened.

"That's right, the Slug Sage," Mimi said.

The tiny Slug Sage in the bottle gazed at Mimi and said gently, "Little girl, what are you planning to do after capturing me?"

"Chiri, have you ever eaten braised slug?"

In an instant, the Slug inside the bottle straightened up. It even felt the urge to use Reverse Summoning and return to Shikkotsu Forest on the spot.

But she had no Chakra left.

Which meant...

"You kidnapped the Slug Sage!?"

Chiri shouted, instantly realizing how serious the situation was!

"That's right!" Mimi said, looking rather smug.

When she had taken the exam with Tsunade, she had taken advantage of the chaos to obtain part of the Slug's body.

She picked up the bottle and shook it hard.

It did not hurt the Slug in the slightest, but it did make her dizzy!

"Stop! Stop! Little girl!" the Slug screamed.

For a moment, it was impossible to tell whether she was talking about the braising or the bottle-shaking.

Rare animal acquired.

But the infection progress was extremely slow.

"I'll give you one in the future."

"I don't want one!" Chiri screamed. "They're so slimy and disgusting!"

"Huh? Aren't Slugs cute?"

"Not at all!" Chiri said firmly.

"That's because you've never seen a Sea Slug," Mimi said disdainfully. "Remember what you said today. Don't come begging me when the time comes."

Mimi casually shook the bottle again.

The Slug screamed!