The Buried Gu King!

The names on the display screen began spinning madly once more, as if stirring the fates of everyone present.

[Second Round: Shino Aburame VS Zaku Abumi]

"Tch... it's that gloomy guy who plays with bugs." Kiba held Akamaru as he muttered at the screen. "His opponent's that Sound Ninja, right? I thought that guy's hands were already crippled."

At that moment, in the center of the arena.

Zaku, one of the Sound Ninja trio, limped onto the field. He looked utterly miserable, his arms bent at unnatural angles—Sasuke had forcibly snapped them during his rampage in the Forest of Death.

Though they had received emergency treatment and were wrapped in thick bandages, his pain-twisted face was still drenched in cold sweat.

"I... I can still fight!"

Zaku stared fixedly at Orochimaru in the shadows of the stands, a nearly pathological obsession burning in his eyes. "Lord Orochimaru is watching me... I absolutely cannot fall here! I have to prove that I'm useful!"

Standing across from him was Shino Aburame, who always wrapped himself in a thick coat and wore dark glasses that concealed his expression.

"I advise you to forfeit as well." Shino's voice was as placid as still water. "Your arms are already broken. If you keep fighting, there will only be one result—you'll be permanently crippled."

"Shut up! Even without my hands, I can kill you!"

Zaku roared hysterically. He actually forced his Chakra into motion, attempting to unleash Air Cutter through the vents in his arms.

"So this is... a mortal's obsession?"

On the second-floor stands, Ye Tian still held his thermos cup as he watched with half-lidded eyes. Rather than being moved by Zaku's "determination," he shook his head.

"His Meridians are completely severed, yet he still wants to force his way through." Ye Tian took a sip of Goji Berry Tea and sighed inwardly. "In the cultivation world, this is a sign of Corpse Liberation. Is it really worth it for a master who doesn't even see you as human?"

Compared to the Sound Ninja who was destined to be cannon fodder, Ye Tian paid far more attention to the seemingly unremarkable Shino Aburame.

Or rather, to what was inside his body.

As Gekko Hayate announced, "Begin," Zaku let out a desperate roar and attempted to attack. Shino merely stood there quietly, one hand in his pocket while the other slowly extended.

Bzzz—

A faint yet dense buzzing of wings arose.

Countless black insects, each no larger than sesame seeds, crawled out from Shino's sleeves, collar, and even the pores of his skin. They converged in midair into a black cloud, their scalp-numbing rustling instantly engulfing the battlefield.

"Eek—! So disgusting!"

Ino and Sakura instantly broke out in goosebumps. Covering their mouths, they backed away several steps. "What are those?! How can his body be full of bugs?!"

Even Naruto could not help shivering. "Whoa! That guy isn't much better than me! He actually keeps that many bugs in his stomach!"

However.

Amid all those disgusted and fearful gazes, one pair of eyes shone frighteningly bright.

"Magnificent..."

Leaning over the railing, Ye Tian looked as though his once-clouded eyes could see straight through Shino. He even stuck out his tongue and licked his somewhat chapped lips.

Under the sweep of his Divine Sense, the Kikaichū that ordinary people avoided like the plague presented an entirely different sight.

Every insect was individually weak, yet each contained a special structure capable of devouring and converting Chakra. They were closely connected to their host, Shino, through a symbiotic bond resembling a blood pact.

"Fed with one's own Essence Blood, feeding on Chakra, linked in mind, gathering and dispersing at will..."

Ye Tian muttered, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter. "What kind of ninjutsu is this? This is clearly the embryonic form of the Gu Path from the cultivation world!"

In the cultivation world, the witch gu arts of Southern Border struck terror into countless righteous cultivators.

The Aburame Clan's insects were still in a primitive stage, but their potential was enormous!

"These are practically the larvae of incompletely evolved Gold-Devouring Insects or Six-Winged Heavenly Silkworms!"

Countless possible uses immediately flashed through Ye Tian's mind.

"If I used Spiritual Energy instead of Chakra to raise them, then combined them with artifact-refining materials, could I refine them into indestructible Vajra Insects?"

"Or temper them with poisonous herbs and raise them into Myriad Poison Gu that kill at the sight of blood?"

"At worst, they're high in protein... ahem, never mind that."

There was no suspense in the battle below.

Though Zaku fought back desperately, it was meaningless before absolute restraint. Shino calmly directed the swarm, not only blocking the vents in Zaku's arms but also launching a sneak attack from behind the moment Zaku's Chakra fell into disarray.

"Though your determination is admirable, this is reality."

At Shino's quiet words, countless insects crawled all over Zaku's body and began greedily devouring his Chakra.

"AAAAAHHH!"

Zaku let out a despairing scream. His arms completely exploded as air pressure surged back into them, and he convulsed as he collapsed to the ground, fully unconscious.

"The winner is Shino Aburame," Gekko Hayate announced with a cough.

The Medical Corps quickly entered and carried Zaku away. Shino recalled the swarm filling the air and silently returned to the second-floor stands.

When Shino returned, the Konoha Genin around him—even classmates from the same year—instinctively took a step back, opening up a wide circle around him.

After all, no one wanted to get close to a freak whose body was full of bugs.

Shino's gaze beneath his dark glasses dimmed slightly. He had long grown used to this feeling of loneliness and rejection.

However.

Just as he prepared to walk alone toward a corner, someone went against the flow. Not only did he not retreat, he even leaned on his cane and eagerly approached.

"Ahem... um, Shino, congratulations on your victory."

With the cordial smile of an insurance salesman on his face, Ye Tian completely ignored the few insects still crawling over Shino's shoulders.

Shino paused, then adjusted his glasses. "...Thank you."

"Um... I noticed these bugs of yours are raised pretty well. Their shells are nice and glossy." Ye Tian rubbed his hands, finally revealing his true intentions. "I was wondering whether you might be interested... ahem, in parting with a few?"

"Parting with them?" Shino could not quite follow Ye Tian's train of thought.

"That's right. Look, I've done quite a bit of research in biology too."

Ye Tian pulled out a small bottle containing several pale yellow pills. They were "Spirit Beast Feed" made by kneading low-grade demon beast meat powder together with Spirit Grass, originally intended for raising dogs or birds in the future.

"This is my specially formulated 'High-Protein Explosive Juicy Feed.'" Ye Tian hawked it like a shady merchant. "As long as your bugs eat it, their shells will become tougher, they'll fly faster, and they might even undergo a second growth spurt! What do you say? I'll trade this whole bottle for a male and female pair of Breeding Insects. Or... even the corpses of bugs that are about to die of old age would do. I can take them back and soak them in liquor... ah, no, make specimens."

Everyone around them was dumbfounded.

Kiba's eyes widened. "Hey, Ye Tian, is something wrong with your head? You want to buy bugs?"

Naruto looked even more horrified. "Big Brother Ye Tian, you're not planning to eat them, are you?!"

Looking at the bottle of pills in Ye Tian's hand, which gave off an enticing aroma—at least to insects—Shino could clearly feel the Kikaichū inside him stirring intensely, as if yearning for what was in that bottle.

What he took out... isn't ordinary.

But selling the clan's secret insects to an outsider? That was absolutely impossible.

"...Not for sale."

Shino fell silent for a moment. Though he desperately wanted to know what that feed was, he could not abandon his principles. Turning around, he left Ye Tian with a cold back. "This is a secret technique of the Aburame Clan. It will not be passed on."

"Hey, don't go! The price is negotiable! How about adding a packet of isatis root granules?"

Ye Tian shouted after him twice, but when Shino truly ignored him, he could only sigh regretfully.

"What a stubborn guy."

Ye Tian put away the bottle, but he had not given up inwardly. Looks like I'll have to find a chance during the main matches to secretly swipe a few. Missing such prime gu-refining material would be a crime against heaven.

Just then, the electronic screen began spinning again, interrupting Ye Tian's "business plan."

[Third Round: Kankuro VS Misumi Tsurugi]

"Hmph, it's finally this great lord's turn."

Kankuro, the Sand Ninja with purple face paint and the Puppet Crow on his back, swaggered down into the arena.

His opponent was Kabuto's teammate, Misumi Tsurugi, who could soften his body.

To Ye Tian, this battle was unbearably boring.

Misumi Tsurugi's technique of softening his body and coiling around opponents like a snake looked to Ye Tian like a cheap version of bone-shrinking arts. And Kankuro's puppet technique...

Click, click, click...

Kankuro manipulated the Puppet Crow to tightly constrict Misumi Tsurugi until his ribs snapped, ending the battle.

"What a weakling." Kankuro smugly retrieved his Puppet, then deliberately threw a provocative look toward Ye Tian in the stands—he clearly still remembered Ye Tian striking his wrist with a pebble on the street.

Ye Tian did not respond to the provocation. Instead, he swept his gaze over the Puppet Crow as if looking at junk.

"That Black Secret Technique just now..."

Ye Tian silently mocked it in his heart. The mechanism's bite was delayed by 0.5 seconds, the poison smoke was released too unevenly, and the noise from that joint transmission shaft was louder than a tractor. I wouldn't even want this trash artifact if someone gave it to me as a poker—it would just take up space.

Only those few frames mixed with Chakra metal are barely worth recycling.

Ye Tian yawned, finding this childish sort of battle utterly uninteresting.

"Is it still not my turn... I'm going to fall asleep if I don't fight soon."

As Ye Tian languished in boredom, Gekko Hayate coughed and announced the next matchup.

The names on the screen froze once more.

This time, the air throughout the entire venue seemed to solidify for an instant.

[Fourth Round: Sakura Haruno VS Ino Yamanaka]

"Eh?!!"

Sakura and Ino cried out at the same time. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with both surprise and a fateful complexity.

Former best friends, now romantic rivals—were they finally going to decide the winner here?

However, just as the two prepared to enter the arena, the screen suddenly flickered.

Bzzzt...

It seemed the system had malfunctioned, or perhaps fate had played a joke.

The names that had been frozen suddenly jumped.

[Fourth Round: Ye Tian VS Kin Tsuchi]

The entire venue erupted.

"What happened? Wasn't it Sakura and Ino just now?"

"Did the system malfunction and skip them?"

Gekko Hayate glanced at the display, then at the list in his hand, and calmly coughed. "Ahem... the screen display takes precedence. The next match will be Ye Tian versus the Sound Ninja, Kin Tsuchi."

"Phew..." Sakura and Ino both let out sighs of relief, though they were also somewhat disappointed.

Meanwhile, Ye Tian, who had been regarded by everyone in the corner as the "weakest invalid," finally slowly straightened up.

"Has it finally... come to me?"

Ye Tian stretched lazily, and the indolent air around him receded slightly.

He glanced at the female Sound Ninja across from him, who wore a cold sneer and toyed with Senbon in her hand—Kin Tsuchi, the woman who had grabbed Sakura's hair and humiliated her in the Forest of Death.

"Fine."

Leaning on his cane, Ye Tian slowly made his way toward the stairs, trembling with every step.

As he passed Team 7, Naruto shouted anxiously, "Big Brother Ye Tian! Be careful! That woman's really underhanded! If you can't do it, just forfeit!"

Sasuke also frowned. "Don't push yourself."

After all, everyone believed that aside from cooking, treating injuries, and having good luck, Ye Tian's combat ability was basically nonexistent. As for those few moves he had used against the Sound Ninja in the Forest of Death, everyone assumed he had merely ambushed them with some secret ninja tool.

Faced with everyone's concern, Ye Tian merely turned back and revealed an extremely weak smile, as though he could faint at any moment.

"Don't worry... ahem..."

"I'm best at... convincing people with reason."

After saying that, his foot slipped, and he nearly rolled down the stairs, drawing laughter from the entire venue.

However, no one noticed that the instant he lowered his head, a teasing, icy gleam flashed through the eyes hidden beneath his bangs.

"A bell-based genjutsu?"

Ye Tian sneered inwardly. Using auditory illusions before a Cultivator with Divine Sense... that's like showing off a broadsword before Guan Yu or swinging an axe outside Lu Ban's door.

"Little girl, I hope your bells ring loudly enough. Otherwise... I'm afraid you won't even get the chance to beg for mercy."