Improvement of Abilities

"Heh... to have such ability at this age is truly genius, but it is a pity that you will not live to see the future."

Aburame Torifu said coldly, pressing his hands together. A mass of fire-red insects appeared between his palms, which he then swallowed in one gulp.

Secret Technique: Exploding Fire.

Crimson flames erupted from his mouth, accompanied by a series of crackling explosions.

Fire Style? From my perception, it seems to be crushed insect corpses mixed with chakra and spat out.

Hiugo leaped backward to dodge, throwing the branch in his hand into the flames.

Wood catching fire is natural, yet this branch continued to weave through the inferno.

Aburame Torifu revealed a hint of wariness, tilting his head slightly as the black branch flew out of the flames and landed on the ground.

Just as he relaxed, the end of the branch suddenly elongated, piercing his right shoulder and branching out.

Aburame Torifu did not bleed; his entire body dissolved into a swarm of insects that scattered.

"Insect Clone..."

Hiugo frowned, having lost sight of Aburame Torifu. He casually released a Lightning Style ninjutsu to incinerate the insects.

Judging from the battle so far, the Aburame Clan was much like he understood from his past life; their ninjutsu relied heavily on the insects within their bodies, requiring fewer hand seals than standard techniques.

Although his branch had instantly killed two Aburame ninja, it had alerted the opponent to the move, leading him to use a clone in advance.

Hiugo searched until he reached the cold bodies of the fallen Aburame ninja. After a moment of thought, he reached out to touch the branch. Within seconds, the residual chakra in their bodies was drawn out and absorbed into Hiugo, while several unfamiliar ninjutsu appeared in his mind.

Secret Technique: Insect Sphere.

Secret Technique: Insect Shield.

He hadn't expected the thrown branch to retain its original function; this was a pleasant surprise.

Hiugo, intrigued, formed a few seals. Several insects flew out from the corpse at his feet, but just as they were about to move, they were blasted away by a flash of lightning. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes before he immediately shouted angrily:

"Hiding and launching sneak attacks is not a good habit."

Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave.

A massive torrent of water erupted from Hiugo's mouth, continuously scouring the surrounding trees and altering the terrain.

Aburame Torifu leaped from the water, throwing three shuriken.

The shuriken grew rapidly in mid-air, soon exceeding the height of their user.

Hiugo spat out a bolt of lightning. In his perception, these shuriken were alive, composed of countless insects.

The lightning collided with the shuriken with a crisp sound, and pink smoke filled the air.

Hiugo narrowed his eyes, a branch appearing in his hand once more before he vanished from his spot.

Water Body Flicker Technique.

Aburame Torifu felt a sharp pain in his back as a piece of wood pierced through his body, protruding from his left chest.

"It's over."

The branch in Hiugo's hand began to fork. It had no interest in the target's blood vessels, but it devoured his chakra with incredible speed.

Aburame Torifu spat out blood, yet a smile played on his face as he said:

"A pity... you should have aimed for my brain, for my heart is on the right."

A round, black insect flew out from his body, turning into a shadow and vanishing rapidly.

Secret Technique: Hundred Poison Insect.

The "Hundred Poison" did not literally mean one hundred types of poison, but rather a mixture of multiple toxins that created various effects based on their proportions.

Carefully cultivated by Aburame Torifu, this insect was not only incredibly fast but also possessed the ability to break through chakra, and its innate toxins made it equivalent to an A-rank ninjutsu.

At such close range, and with his opponent distracted by the joy of victory, Aburame Torifu was confident this move would land.

"Thanks for the advice; next time, I will aim directly for the head."

Hiugo said calmly, the chakra he had just absorbed from his opponent surging through his body.

The Hundred Poison Insect was about to bite, but upon sensing this familiar chakra, it hesitated.

"You—" Aburame Torifu began, but a sharp pain erupted in the back of his head. Just as he had suggested, Hiugo had used a branch in his other hand to strike directly into his brain.

The tiny brain of the Hundred Poison Insect could not comprehend the situation. Seeing one of the two fall, it instinctively tried to enter Hiugo's body, only to be ruthlessly electrocuted and crushed into the ground by a branch.

He was not truly of the Aburame Clan. Aside from the potential side effects of being parasitized, if other members of the Aburame Clan discovered it, there was no telling what kind of wicked ninjutsu they might use.

Through this battle, Hiugo realized that his absorption ability had improved.

First and most obviously, the branch in his hand could be thrown while maintaining its function, and it could be used with a simple touch, which was much more convenient.

Secondly, absorbing chakra allowed him to acquire some of the ninjutsu the opponent had used.

If it were elemental ninjutsu, this ability would be straightforward, but secret techniques like those of the Aburame Clan required the opponent's specific chakra to function; otherwise, their insects would not recognize the user.

He also could not perform ninjutsu involving Bloodline Limits unless he could control the opponent's body.

Hiugo glanced at Aburame Torifu's body, thinking to himself that he was truly lucky to encounter someone with their heart on the right side; celebrating victory halfway through a fight really was a bad idea.

In the future, when ambushing enemies, he would strike them in the heart first, then in the head; he refused to believe they wouldn't die then...

When Hiugo arrived at Tobirama's side, he found only a Two-Headed Wolf remaining; the heads of the other two men and two dogs had likely been sliced off by Tobirama's Water Severing Wave.

"Why are you here?" Inuzuka Kurenai asked, catching the scent of Hiugo.

Hiugo smiled slightly:

"It's simple. Those three from the Aburame Clan are dead, so I came over to see how things were going here."

Inuzuka Kurenai frowned. Although he was somewhat arrogant, he was not stupid; for a boy like this to take out one Jonin and two Special Jonin was enough to reveal his strength.

Moreover, the white-haired boy before him was equally difficult to deal with. That Water Blade was enough to instantly kill his Two-Headed Wolf form, and the infuriating part was that this white-haired boy knew it; every time he gained an advantage, the boy would feign spitting water, forcing him to retreat.

"How about... we capture him? I'm a bit bored lately, and we could interrogate him."

Hiugo thought for a moment and suggested to Tobirama.

Tobirama looked ahead and nodded.

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Inuzuka Kurenai, and he chuckled:

"Stop pretending. You two must be reaching your limits by now, right?"

"One is only a Chunin, even if he hasn't been defeated yet—how much Chakra can he have left?"

"The other, even if he really did kill a Jonin and two Special Jonin, shouldn't have much Chakra remaining either."

Hiugo was stunned by these words and said:

"Could it be that merging with a dog makes your brain stupid? You don't actually think the Senju have only a little more Chakra than you, do you..."

"Shut up! Tetsumaru is my friend; I won't allow you to insult him!"

Inuzuka Kurenai roared, transforming into a massive, spinning whirlwind as he charged forward.

"Passing Fang? What a pity you aren't the protagonist; you can't keep spinning out new tricks forever."

Hiugo felt a sense of familiarity. In the anime, aside from Naruto's Rasengan, Inuzuka Kiba had relied on this Passing Fang to pull off all sorts of tricks.

One had to know that any Ninjutsu that could be used for a long time must have its merits, like Naruto's Rasengan and Shadow Clones, or Sasuke's Chidori.

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Tobirama did not flinch in the slightest, spitting out a torrent of water that collided directly with the whirlwind.

"This master won't be stopped just like that!"

Inuzuka Kurenai's unwilling voice echoed from within the whirlwind, and accompanied by a howl, the whirlwind formed by the man and dog actually began to suppress the water.

Tobirama was, after all, only a Chunin; his Chakra density could not compare to that of a Special Jonin like Inuzuka Kurenai, so he was inevitably at a disadvantage in a direct clash of Ninjutsu power.

However, all of this was within expectations. Just as the whirlwind was about to reach Tobirama, countless streams of water rose from the ground, pushing it into the sky.

Water Style: Water Formation Pillar.

After casting this Ninjutsu, Tobirama reached one hand toward the water pillar in front of him.

Water Style: Water Prison Technique.

A spherical water orb trapped the Two-Headed Wolf. As long as Tobirama did not let go or stop the flow of Chakra, it would be difficult for someone of Inuzuka Kurenai's strength to break free.

Hiugo waited quietly. The attacks from the Two-Headed Wolf inside the water orb grew weaker and weaker until, finally, the man and dog separated. Once Tobirama released the Water Prison, the two were branded with the Flash Thunder Seal, and the pair dragged them back to the clan grounds.