"Who's the other holder?"
Chiba stared at the pale tree root wrapped around his wrist. He let it draw out his chakra but didn't continue activating Wood Release.
[The target is deep within the seal. Life status cannot be confirmed.]
"Tell me where it is."
[Connection blocked by the Tree of Inheritance.]
The voice behind the wall spoke again.
"The candidate has not yet succeeded to the position. You may not touch the First's legacy."
"The other holder is the First?"
"Insufficient authority."
Chiba grabbed the pale tree root. The Poison Vine on his palm pressed against it, and purple patterns spread along its bark.
"Then give me the authority."
"Awaken the Tree of Inheritance and pass three clan leader trials."
"What's the first one?"
The leaves on the stone door went out one by one, and the root around his wrist withdrew behind it.
"Defeat the gatekeeper."
The stone door closed again, and silence returned to the underground passage.
Chiba looked at the faint ring left on his wrist, then turned and walked up the stone steps.
He couldn't get answers yet—not about who the gatekeeper was or why the other template holder was sealed underground.
Now that the door had appeared, he would be able to open it sooner or later.
The next day, a substitute instructor took over their Taijutsu class.
Mizuki stood in the middle of the training ground with the student roster in his arms. First, he had everyone run a few laps around the field, then set wooden Kunai beside his feet.
"Today we're not practicing set moves. We're doing free sparring instead."
Kiba was the first to raise his hand.
"Teacher Mizuki, I want to challenge Chiba!"
"Your hand hasn't healed yet."
Mizuki turned a page in the roster and looked away from Kiba.
"Pick someone else."
"I can fight without my right hand!"
"Come talk to me about conditions when you've learned to follow orders."
A few students laughed. Kiba kicked a pebble away, and Akamaru tucked his head back into Kiba's collar.
Chiba stood at the end of the line, his gaze fixed on Mizuki's hand as he flipped through the roster.
This was the ninja who would one day steal the Scroll of Seals. For now, he still had his teaching job, and there was nothing obviously wrong with his words or actions.
But when Mizuki arranged the free sparring, his gaze had lingered on Chiba twice.
"Senju Chiba."
A student wearing narrow goggles stepped out of the line.
His jacket collar was tightly fastened, the sleeves covered his wrists, and an old-fashioned insect crest was embroidered on his chest.
"My name is Aburame Shinraku. I'm from a branch family of the Aburame clan."
Chiba glanced at him.
"What do you want?"
"I heard you beat Inuzuka Kiba with one punch and claim to be the last surviving member of the Senju."
Shinraku raised his sleeve. A black beetle crawled over the back of his hand, its shell mottled with gray.
"I want to see how much weight the Senju name still carries."
Kiba shoved his way over from the side.
"Hey, if you want to challenge someone, then do it. What did you have to bring me up for?"
"Losers have no right to speak."
"Say that again!"
Akamaru poked out of Kiba's collar and bared his teeth at Shinraku, but several beetles crawled out from beneath the other boy's pant leg.
As soon as the swarm came close, Akamaru retreated into Kiba's arms.
Shinraku lifted his chin.
"So much for the Inuzuka clan's nose."
"That's enough."
Mizuki raised a hand to hold Kiba back.
"Aburame Shinraku has requested a spar. Chiba, you may refuse."
The students around them began whispering.
"Can't Shinraku's bugs eat chakra?"
"I heard he once drained a group of older students until they passed out."
"Chiba's strong, but it won't help if he can't touch him."
"The Aburame clan naturally has the advantage against people who only fight up close."
Naruto pushed between two students and poked his head out.
"Chiba, don't accept! Those bugs are disgusting when they crawl inside your clothes!"
"Are you afraid of bugs?" Chiba asked.
Naruto immediately puffed out his chest.
"I'm not afraid! I'm just worried you'll cry if you lose!"
"Then shut up and watch."
Chiba walked into the training area and tossed the practice Kunai back into the wooden box.
"I accept."
Shinraku didn't approach right away.
"You're not using a weapon?"
"I don't need one to deal with bugs."
The crowd murmured again. Kiba clutched the bandaged wrist that hadn't yet been unwrapped and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Aburame, don't be fooled by his looks! His punches are ridiculously strong!"
Shinraku adjusted his goggles.
"The bugs won't be testing his strength."
Mizuki retreated to the edge of the field and raised his right hand.
"Begin. No attacks to vital areas. The match ends when either side can no longer resist."
At his words, Shinraku spread both arms.
A swarm of black bugs poured from his sleeves, splitting into several streams that hugged the ground and blocked Chiba's way forward and back.
Chiba didn't retreat.
The bugs crawled over his shoes and up his pant legs, soon covering his arms.
"It's over," Shinraku said.
He brought his fingers together, directing the swarm to cling tightly to Chiba's skin.
"My Kikaichū only need to touch your body to follow your chakra pathways and drain your chakra. It doesn't matter how strong you are if you can't use your strength."
"Is that so?"
Chiba lowered his eyes to the back of his hand.
The foremost beetles had already opened their mouthparts, and their abdomens were beginning to swell. But the chakra they absorbed wasn't returning to Shinraku.
A faint warmth spread from Chiba's chest.
The Natural Energy that had entered his Sage Body the night before flowed out with his chakra. The bugs' shells began to lift, and their movements grew erratic.
Shinraku's fingers jerked to one side.
"Come back!"
The beetles didn't obey.
Once Natural Energy entered their bodies, the tiny creatures couldn't keep their balance. They fell from Chiba in droves and tumbled in the dirt.
A few others beat their wings and crashed into their fellows, scattering the neatly arranged swarm.
Mizuki took half a step toward them.
"Aburame Shinraku, have you lost control of your swarm?"
"Impossible! I've fed them my chakra since they hatched!"
Shinraku bit his fingertip and smeared blood over the insect crest on his sleeve.
"Come back! All of you!"
A few scattered beetles managed to turn around, but they hadn't crawled far before toppling over again.
Chiba bent down and picked one up.
Faint traces of Natural Energy remained inside its abdomen. His Sage Body had simply rejected the parasites, severing the chakra link between the bugs and their controller.
"What did you feed them?"
Shinraku stared at the motionless beetle.
"Chakra."
Chiba opened his hand, and the beetle dropped back into the dirt.
"But they can't digest it."
Kiba laughed from the sidelines.
"Who was it that said losers had no right to speak?"
"Shut up! The match isn't over yet!"
Shinraku took a bug jar from behind his waist. He tore off the seal and dumped its contents onto the ground.
More gray-mottled beetles crawled out. They were larger than the first batch, and their mouthparts were a dark red.
Mizuki's expression changed.
"Shinraku, the practice Kikaichū aren't aggressive. What did you bring?"
"Combat bugs raised by my branch family."
Shinraku grabbed his sleeve. The openings of the insect nests on his arm sprang open one after another.
"They don't just absorb chakra. They can burrow into your skin!"
The crowd backed away. Hinata caught Naruto by the arm as he tried to approach.
"Don't go over there. The chakra flow in those bugs is wrong."
Naruto shook her off.
"Teacher Mizuki is right there. Chiba won't get hurt, will he?"
Sasuke didn't answer. His gaze stayed fixed on Shinraku's right hand.
Beneath his sleeve, that hand wasn't forming Hand Seals or controlling the swarm.
It was reaching for his ninja pouch.
Chiba saw the movement too.
"The bugs didn't work, so you're switching to something else?"
"Don't get cocky."
Shinraku pulled open his ninja pouch. The sound of metal clinking came from inside.
Chiba didn't move. He simply slipped both hands into his pockets.
What Shinraku pulled out wasn't a wooden practice Kunai, but a sharpened short blade.
"I'll make you understand that the Senju name should have been buried long ago!"
Before the blade left Shinraku's hand, Chiba had already decided to cripple the hand holding it.
Before you continue