An egg

"Gen will work with Minato and me. His Sharingan has a slight suppressive effect on Jinchūriki. Besides, Gen has already received an exceptional promotion to Chunin, and once he earns enough battle merits, he'll be promoted again."

Shibi Aburame's lips curled upward as he spoke softly.

Who wouldn't want a genius for a student? Well, he just happened to have one.

"A Jinchūriki?"

Uchiha Gen raised an eyebrow at that.

Jinchūriki-it was a word that carried immense pressure, no matter when he heard it.

After all, every Jinchūriki represented a powerful tailed beast.

In the normal Shinobi World, the power of tailed beasts was beyond question. Then... what about here?

For a moment, Uchiha Gen couldn't help feeling curious.

The Uchiha Clan had few records concerning tailed beasts. Aside from listing which tailed beasts each ninja village possessed, there was no other information.

Uchiha Gen had also asked Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Ganghuo, who served as his guard, but both had given the same answer: don't get curious.

It seemed that tailed beasts were something of a taboo for the Uchiha.

Taking a bold guess, had someone already gone down that road and left it a dead end?

That's right, I'm talking about you, Madara Uchiha.

Although he didn't know what Madara Uchiha had done back then, it certainly couldn't have been anything good for Konoha.

Surely he hadn't gone off alone, controlled all the tailed beasts, and taken them to fight Hashirama?

Hiss... that actually is possible.

Speaking of which, since Madara Uchiha is still alive, his strength...

He should...

He shouldn't be that strong anymore, right?

In a forest within the Land of Fire, near the border with the Land of Grass.

After traveling for some time, Team 8 prepared to rest there.

Uchiha Gen leaned against a tree, his brow furrowed as he examined the Insect Egg Incubator in his hands.

He was wondering whether this thing could hatch his Pokémon Egg.

Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi sat nearby.

"Gen, did you ask Shibi-sensei for that because you have something you need to hatch?"

Kurenai Yuhi looked puzzled as she watched Uchiha Gen staring at the Insect Egg Incubator.

At her words, Asuma Sarutobi turned to look.

He was also curious about what Uchiha Gen intended to do with something like that.

Could Uchiha Gen be planning to hatch a summoning beast himself?

But hadn't the Uchiha Clan signed a Summoning Contract with the Nekomata Clan?

The Nekomata Clan... didn't seem to lay eggs, did they?

"Yeah, I have an egg. I don't know whether this thing can hatch it."

Uchiha Gen answered softly, with no intention of hiding it.

He had no experience with a technical task like hatching eggs, so why hide it? Besides, anyone would know what this incubator was for.

"It should work, right? After all, didn't Shibi-sensei say that when he was in Konoha, he hatched over a hundred battle insects every day?

"Speaking of which, Shibi-sensei really is rich. He has another hundred mouths to feed every day, yet he still has enough spare money to treat us to barbecue so often."

Kurenai Yuhi spoke uncertainly. She wasn't sure whether insect eggs and eggs were the same kind of thing, but they probably weren't all that different.

At that, Uchiha Gen simply raised his hand and took out a pale purple Pokémon Egg with a few spots, opened the Insect Egg Incubator, and placed the Pokémon Egg inside.

As he watched the strange, sticky green liquid that resembled snot continuously seeping out inside the incubator, the corner of Uchiha Gen's mouth twitched.

This thing... is this disgusting? Hopefully, the little one inside the egg won't feel uncomfortable when it comes out.

After placing the Pokémon Egg in the incubator, Uchiha Gen casually put it into his backpack and slung it onto his back. Then he looked at Kurenai Yuhi, whose face plainly said that Shibi-sensei was rich.

He didn't know whether Shibi Aburame was rich, but... of those hundred extra mouths each day, Shibi Aburame would be lucky if two survived the day.

Genetic modification combined with gu-style insect cultivation meant it could take practically a month to produce a single battle insect fit for combat, though even the weakest insects cultivated this way had Chunin-level combat strength.

"Let's leave your teacher's finances aside for now. Have you rested enough? We need to get moving again."

Shibi Aburame appeared beside Uchiha Gen. After casting a curious glance at the Pokémon Egg in Uchiha Gen's hands, he spoke with a smile.

"We're setting off again already? Come to think of it, why don't we just ride that mighty big bug?"

Asuma Sarutobi, who was lying motionless nearby, asked the question. He still couldn't forget that mighty giant beetle.

"If we were heading to another front, we could indeed ride the beetle. But that won't really work when we're going to the Land of Grass, where Iwagakure has troops stationed.

"Iwagakure's Aerial Rapid Response Force has extremely long-range anti-air capabilities. If we're spotted, we'll most likely be riddled with holes by meteorites, so we'll have to travel the old-fashioned way."

Shibi Aburame gave his answer.

"..."

Uchiha Gen silently rolled his eyes nearby.

Never mind why Iwagakure has an Aerial Rapid Response Force for now. Explain what you mean by meteorites riddling people with holes.

"Ugh, if you fall behind, you get beaten."

At that, Asuma Sarutobi immediately abandoned the idea of riding the giant beetle again and said something that made Uchiha Gen glance sideways at him.

Those words... could actually come out of this guy's mouth?

"Behind? Konoha isn't behind at all. Konoha has anti-air measures too, and after extensive development by Lord Orochimaru, Konoha's anti-air ninja-tool system array is far stronger than Iwagakure's.

"Think about it carefully. If Konoha had no anti-air measures, wouldn't Iwagakure be able to use it for target practice? And it's not just Konoha. The other ninja villages actually have similar measures too. They just don't normally show them."

Shibi Aburame couldn't help glancing at Asuma Sarutobi. Was this subordinate of his really Lord Hokage's child? Shinnosuke Sarutobi hadn't been like this back then.

He was the Hokage's son, yet he didn't even know what Konoha had.

"Huh? Is that so? I never paid attention."

Asuma Sarutobi scratched his head. He really hadn't known. Before, he'd been too busy opposing the old man, and afterward, he'd spent all his time observing Uchiha Gen.

It seemed he really hadn't taken a close look at Konoha. The only time he'd asked the old man about Konoha was when he'd asked about the Jonin assigned to their teams.

"All right, let's talk as we walk."

At that, Shibi Aburame couldn't help lightly pressing a hand to his forehead. Fortunately, Uchiha Gen and Kurenai Yuhi were less trouble.