A Boost in Ability

"Heh... To have this kind of ability at your age is truly genius. But it's a shame you won't live to see the future."

Aburame Torifu said coldly. He pressed his hands together, and a clump of fiery red insects appeared between them. Then he promptly swallowed them.

Secret Technique: Exploding Fire

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

"Fire Release? From what I can sense, you crushed the insects' bodies, infused them with Chakra, then spat them out."

Hiugo leaped back to dodge and threw the branch in his hand into the flames.

It was normal for wood to catch fire, but this branch kept darting through the flames.

Aburame Torifu looked wary. He tilted his head slightly, and the black branch flew out of the flames and landed on the ground.

He had just begun to relax when the end of the branch suddenly stretched out, pierced his right shoulder, and split apart.

Aburame Torifu didn't bleed. His entire body turned into a swarm of insects and scattered.

"Insect Substitution..."

Hiugo furrowed his brow. Aburame Torifu had vanished from sight, so he casually released a Lightning Release Ninjutsu and wiped out the insects.

From the battle so far, the Aburame Clan was much as he remembered from his previous life. They mostly used insects inside their bodies to perform Ninjutsu, and needed fewer Hand Seals than ordinary techniques.

His branch had killed two Aburame ninja in an instant, but it had also made the others wary of the move, so they'd used a substitution beforehand.

As Hiugo searched around, he came across the Aburame ninja who had already gone cold. After a moment's thought, he reached out and touched the branch. Within seconds, the residual Chakra in both bodies was drawn into him, and several unfamiliar Ninjutsu appeared in his mind.

Secret Technique: Insect Sphere

Secret Technique: Insect Shield

He hadn't expected the branch he'd thrown to retain its original function. That was a pleasant surprise.

With interest, Hiugo made a few Hand Seals. Several insects flew out of the corpse at his feet, but before they could do anything, a flash of lightning blasted them apart. A flicker of delight crossed his eyes before he immediately shouted angrily:

"Lurking in the shadows to launch a sneak attack isn't a good habit!"

Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave

A great torrent poured from Hiugo's mouth, washing over the surrounding trees and reshaping the terrain.

Aburame Torifu leaped out of the torrent and hurled three Shuriken.

The Shuriken grew larger as they flew, eventually towering over the person who had thrown them.

Hiugo spat out a flash of lightning. To his senses, the Shuriken were alive, formed from swarms of insects.

The lightning collided with the Shuriken with a crisp clang, and pink smoke spread through the air.

Hiugo narrowed his eyes. Another branch appeared in his hand, and the next second, he vanished from the spot.

Water Body Flicker Technique

Aburame Torifu felt a sudden, searing pain in his back. A piece of wood had pierced his body, protruding from his left chest.

"It's over."

The branch in Hiugo's hand began to split apart. It had no interest in its target's bloodline, but it rapidly devoured his Chakra.

Aburame Torifu spat out blood, yet a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Too bad... You should've aimed straight for my brain. My heart's on the right."

A small, round black insect flew off him, turned into a shadow, and quickly disappeared.

Secret Technique: Hundred Poison Insect

The Hundred Poison Insect didn't literally contain a hundred kinds of poison. It was a blend of several toxins whose differing proportions produced a range of effects.

Aburame Torifu had carefully cultivated this insect. It was not only incredibly fast but also capable of breaking through Chakra to a certain extent. Combined with its natural poison, it was powerful enough to rival an A-rank Ninjutsu.

At this close range, and with his guard down in the joy of victory, Aburame Torifu was confident the attack would hit.

"Thanks for the tip. Next time, I'll aim straight for your head."

Hiugo spoke coolly as the Chakra he'd just absorbed from his opponent surged through his body.

The Hundred Poison Insect had almost reached him, but when it sensed that familiar Chakra, it hesitated.

"You—" Aburame Torifu had barely begun to speak when a sharp pain struck the back of his head. Just as he'd said, Hiugo had aimed the branch in his other hand straight at his brain.

The Hundred Poison Insect's tiny brain couldn't think things through. Seeing one of the two of them fall, it instinctively tried to burrow into Hiugo's body, but a bolt of lightning cruelly knocked it to the ground. Hiugo crushed it with a branch.

He wasn't really a member of the Aburame Clan. Even setting aside the possibility of side effects, if he got parasitized by this thing and other Aburame Clan members found out, who knew what sinister Ninjutsu they might use on him?

After this battle, Hiugo realized that his ability to absorb things had grown stronger.

First, and most obviously, he could throw the branch in his hand and still use its abilities. All it took was a simple touch, which was much more convenient.

Second, absorbing Chakra let him acquire some of the Ninjutsu his opponent had used.

That ability would work just fine with the five elemental releases. But secret techniques like those of the Aburame Clan required the target's Chakra to use; otherwise, their insects wouldn't obey him.

He couldn't use Ninjutsu involving Kekkei Genkai, either, unless he could control the other person's body.

Hiugo glanced at Aburame Torifu's body and thought he'd been incredibly lucky. Who would've thought he'd run into someone with a heart on the right? Celebrating before the match was over really was a bad idea.

From now on, when ambushing an enemy, he'd hit them in the chest first, then the head. Surely that would kill them...

When Hiugo reached Tobirama, only a Two-Headed Wolf remained. The heads of the other two men and their two dogs had apparently been sliced off by Tobirama's Water Severing Wave.

"What brings you here?" Inuzuka Kurenai caught Hiugo's scent and spoke up.

Hiugo smiled faintly.

"Simple. Those three members of the Aburame Clan are dead, so I came to see how things were going over here."

Inuzuka Kurenai furrowed his brow. He was arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. A boy like this had taken down an Elite Jōnin and two Special Jōnin. That was more than enough to show how strong he was.

And the white-haired boy before him was no easy opponent, either. That Water Blade could easily kill his Two-Headed Wolf. The worst part was that the detestable white-haired boy knew it. Whenever Inuzuka Kurenai gained the upper hand, he'd pretend to spit water, forcing him to retreat.

"How about... we take him back? I'm a little bored lately, so we could interrogate him."

Hiugo considered it, then suggested it to Tobirama.

Tobirama looked ahead and nodded.

A sudden flash of inspiration crossed Inuzuka Kurenai's mind, and he chuckled.

"Quit pretending. You two are almost at your limit, aren't you?"

"One of you hasn't lost yet, but you're only a Chunin. How much Chakra could you have?"

"The other one may have killed an Elite Jōnin and two Special Jōnin, but he must be running low on Chakra, too."

Hiugo was taken aback by what he'd heard.

"Could fusing with a dog really make you stupid? You don't actually think the Senju have only a little more Chakra than you, do you..."

"Shut up! Tetsumaru is my friend. Don't you dare insult him!"

Inuzuka Kurenai roared and charged forward as a giant whirlwind.

"Fang Over Fang? Too bad you're not the protagonist. You can't keep spinning out new tricks forever."

Hiugo felt a little nostalgic. In the anime, apart from Naruto's Rasengan, Kiba Inuzuka had always found new ways to use Fang Over Fang.

Any Ninjutsu that remained useful for a long time was bound to have its strengths, like Naruto's Rasengan and Shadow Clone Technique, or Sasuke's Chidori.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Tobirama didn't flinch. He spat out a torrent of water that collided head-on with the whirlwind.

"I won't be stopped so easily!"

Inuzuka Kurenai's indignant shout came from within the whirlwind. A dog's answering howl rang out, and the whirlwind formed by the boy and his dog pressed forward.

Tobirama was only a Chunin, and his Chakra wasn't as concentrated as that of Kiba Inuzuka, a Special Jōnin. So, in a direct contest, his Ninjutsu was naturally at a disadvantage.

But it had all been expected. Just as the whirlwind was about to reach Tobirama, countless streams of water surged up from the ground and pushed it into the sky.

Water Release: Water Formation Pillar

After using the technique, Tobirama reached one hand toward the water column in front of him.

Water Release: Water Prison Technique

A spherical ball of water trapped the Two-Headed Wolf. As long as Tobirama kept his hand in place and continued feeding it Chakra, Inuzuka Kurenai wouldn't be able to escape.

Hiugo waited quietly. The Two-Headed Wolf's attacks grew weaker and weaker until the boy and dog separated. Once Tobirama released the Water Prison, they were placed under the Flash Thunder Seal, and the two of them dragged their captives back to their clan grounds.