Tread, tread, tread.
The faint sound of footsteps echoed through the dark corridor, rhythmic and gradually slowing.
Shino Aburame walked cautiously, eyes scanning the walls around him. The place felt oppressive, and the corridor seemed to descend deep underground.
"Feeling a bit suffocated?" Genya looked at Shino, who was becoming more careful with each step, and smiled gently.
"When this laboratory was built, it was intentionally complicated to avoid being discovered by certain people from Konoha."
After a brief explanation, Genya continued forward.
Shino took a deep breath and followed. As they went deeper, light appeared ahead, growing brighter and brighter.
When they entered, they saw a massive laboratory. In one corner, a young girl was studying something with several researchers dressed in white lab coats.
From his years of experience, Shino could tell that the girl held the dominant role among them. He also recognized her—Hikari, who had always been by Genya's side.
Seeing Genya and Shino arrive, the girl quickly ran over, her face lit with excitement. "Lord Genya, you're here!"
"Hikari… I told you not to overwork yourself. Take some rest," Genya said softly, ruffling her hair with a rare gentle tone.
The way he doted on her even surprised Shino.
He was used to seeing Genya act careless and frivolous, but he had never witnessed him pamper anyone like this. Not even Hinata had been treated this way.
"I'm not tired. Besides, I haven't finished the task you assigned me. Today is perfect for wrapping it up," Hikari replied, shyly glancing at Genya. But then her gaze shifted to Shino, standing quietly beside them. "You must be Shino Aburame!"
Her tone was serious now, leaving behind any trace of shyness she had shown to Genya.
"Yes, that's me," Shino replied, still trying to process the sudden shift in her demeanor. "Is there something you need?"
"Your insects have fully evolved. Come with me, and I'll explain their new abilities," Hikari said, giving Shino a look before leading Genya to the workbench.
On the workbench lay seven or eight transparent Petri dishes, each crawling with countless insects.
But these insects remained calm, their temperament steady. Even if someone appeared nearby, they showed no unusual reactions.
"These are my insects?" Shino Aburame looked at the nearly motionless insects in the petri dish. He sensed them… and indeed, they were his insects!
However, these insects didn't seem to have changed at all. There was no difference from when he had sent them to Genya, no sign of evolution, nothing special at all.
This made him glance at Genya, a hint of doubt flickering in his eyes.
Genya wouldn't be lying, would he? Maybe he was just trying to boost Shino's confidence, yet the insects showed no change.
"Hikari… it seems this guy doesn't know the abilities of these insects. Next, you show him!" Genya noticed the doubt in Shino's eyes. He looked at Hikari and gestured for him to personally demonstrate the insects' abilities.
"Fine, then I'll show you the first ability of the insects!" Hikari's temper flared slightly. To doubt Genya was to doubt her own abilities.
She was clearly displeased, and she gave Shino a sharp glance.
Then her hand reached into the petri dish and picked up an insect.
Pop!
With a squeeze, the insect exploded! Its flesh and blood disintegrated!
"This?" Shino's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the crushed insect, startled.
Yet, he was also curious about what Hikari intended to show him.
"Look closely at the first ability of your insects!" Hikari said, focusing her gaze on Shino. A faint green light placed the insect's remains on the table.
"Uh? Look at what?" Shino was confused, uncertain what Hikari wanted to convey.
But Hikari's serious tone prompted him to follow her gaze.
Uh?
He then saw the body, crushed into a mass of blood and flesh, slowly begin to gather itself.
Bit by bit, it reformed, eventually taking the shape of a bug—exactly like his own.
But when he bent down to look closely, the bug moved.
It seemed to adjust to its new body and, as if nothing had happened, crawled toward the petri dish.
"What… what kind of bug is this? How can it come back to life after being crushed?" Shino's eyes were wide with disbelief.
A bug that could survive being crushed?
It was unbelievable.
Was it even a bug anymore?
When he looked at Genya and Hikari, his eyes were filled with admiration.
The mere immortality of this bug exceeded all his expectations.
If he could have a bug like this, his own power would increase dramatically.
Genya hadn't lied.
He had truly evolved the bug.
And it wasn't just a normal evolution—it was a super evolution, turning the bug into an immortal creature.
"This bug is a new bloodline I created by fusing the Evil God's genes with a trace of the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai," Hikari explained, her words flowing as she recounted her experiment. "Even if the bug is crushed, it can reconstruct its body on its own!"
Of course, she was explaining it to Shino.
The Evil God genes could grant the bug immortality, but it couldn't self-reassemble.
So she added some genetic sequences from the Shikotsumyaku.
The bug's skeletal structure acted as a thread linking its fragmented body.
Even after fatal injuries, it could rebuild itself.
"This is incredible!" Shino said, eyes shining as he looked at most of the bugs in the petri dish, trying to manipulate them.
"Hikari, are all these bugs evolved?"
He was fascinated.
The bugs in this dish were the most impressive, and he believed they were the perfect specimens Hikari had evolved.
But these bugs surpassed his expectations.
With them, his strength could multiply several times over.
Even if someone killed a bug, they wouldn't realize it could come back.
It was almost a perfect backup plan.
And no one would suspect these bugs were immortal… Haha.
While Shino fantasized, Hikari shook her head.
"No, these are just experimental failures. They only have genes from the Evil God and the Shikotsumyaku, plus those giant teeth."
"F… failures?"
Shino stared at his bugs in disbelief, eyes wide.
"You mean the teeth of these evolved bugs are a failure?"
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