"Eh?"
Shino Aburame was stunned.
He looked at Hikari in disbelief and said, "Almost no attack power, and yet so fragile?"
This was hard for Shino to believe.
After all, Hikari had saved the remaining two types of insects for last.
That had to mean there was something special about them, even more special than the armored beetles or the giant devouring insects.
But if Hikari said these two insects had no attack power, why not classify them as defective?
No, that wasn't like Hikari.
She wouldn't bother with insects that didn't matter.
They had to be very special for her to treat them so seriously.
"They may not have attack power, but they possess a unique ability," Hikari said, pausing before pointing to one of the insects and speaking slowly.
"This insect can nurture the mind and strengthen one's spirit."
"An insect that can enhance the mind?"
Shino was stunned.
Could there really be such a special ability?
Genya narrowed his eyes.
Even he hadn't expected such a capability from this insect.
"The genes of this insect are a combination of the Light Divine Bird and some from the Sharing Spider, working together to enhance a ninja's mental strength," Hikari explained seriously.
Genya's eyes lit up.
He hadn't realized Hikari had made such innovations in insect research.
Her talent for scientific research was truly exceptional.
"Is this real?" Shino asked, still shocked.
Despite that, he reached toward the petri dish Hikari had indicated and gently touched the insect.
The lazy-looking insect seemed to sense something.
It slowly turned toward Shino and crawled onto his finger.
Buzz~
In an instant, Shino felt a sudden clarity in his mind.
Even the surrounding scenery seemed sharper.
It really could enhance mental strength!
Thoughts flashed through Shino's mind, and his eyes widened—not with mere surprise, but with sheer awe.
Hikari was terrifying.
She had only been here for a short time, yet she had managed to cultivate such powerful insects.
Imagine what she could do with more time.
With that thought, Shino looked at Hikari with newfound admiration.
At the same time, he had already made up his mind in his heart. He would follow Genya's steps. Whatever Genya wanted to do, he would do as well.
"Stop teasing. Introduce the last bug too!" Genya said to Hikari.
"This type of bug is very special. They can store chakra, compressing it inside their bodies. Each bug can store an amount of chakra comparable to a Chunin!"
Hikari's gaze fell on the last petri dish as she slowly introduced it.
Listening to her explanation, Shino's hand trembled slightly. Not to mention, the chakra stored in these bugs could be shared with him!
As he thought this, Shino gently touched the bug.
Sure enough, as the bug crawled onto his finger and bit into his flesh, a continuous stream of chakra began flowing into Shino's body.
"Is this a power of the Uzumaki clan?" Genya narrowed his eyes. His memory told him that Uzumaki Karin had a similar ability, but back then, someone else bit her. Now, the bug could bite someone else and transfer chakra.
Hikari's imagination in her research was boundless, and it was precisely this that made her scientific work limitless.
These two special types of bugs were probably beyond the reach of Orochimaru or even the Aburame Clan.
"What a unique ability!" Feeling the constant flow of chakra into his body, Shino couldn't even close his excited eyes. "Thank you… thank you!"
Shino's gratitude was sincere.
"What are the names of these two bugs?" Shino gently touched them as he asked seriously.
"The names are simple and easy to understand," Hikari said, looking at these two works she was most proud of for the moment. "Spirit Insect… and Chakra Insect?"
"Spirit Insect… Chakra Insect?" Shino murmured the names, this time slowly. "Spirit Insect… stores spiritual energy? Chakra Insect… stores chakra? Sensei said chakra is also a type of energy…"
Shino repeated their names carefully.
At the same time, he quietly began thinking about how to control these bugs in battle.
The incomplete bugs could, for now, only act as engineers. They weren't much stronger than the bugs he had before, but the method of control was the same as his previous ones.
But the Iron Beetles were different!
The Iron Beetles not only had incredible defense, but their bite strength was terrifying.
Then there were the Giant Devourer Insects, whose attack power and speed were frightening, and they could even enhance physical strength!
On top of that, with the Spirit Insects and Chakra Insects, his spiritual energy and chakra were boosted.
Shino Aburame suddenly realized that this time, he had improved in every way.
It was almost a perfect combination!
There were controllable beetles, protective Iron Beetles, Giant Devourer Insects to attack and strengthen the body, and Spirit and Chakra Insects to maintain spiritual energy and chakra!
Now, he was terrifyingly confident.
He even believed that as long as he tamed these insects, his strength would at least reach the level of an elite jōnin—no, he would absolutely surpass the elite jōnin. These insects were just too terrifying.
"All right… you can now try to absorb these insectsinto your body!" Hikari waved his hand and said seriously.
"Oh, and leave some insects here for further research!"
"Further research?" Shino's eyes lit up. "My insects can still evolve?"
"Of course… do you think they're perfect as they are now?" Hikari said with a hint of exasperation, then continued: "These insects are only in their initial state. They have a lot of room to evolve!"
"Yes!" Shino nodded seriously and began attempting to control the evolved insects.
Although these insects had evolved from the ones Shino had given to Genya, their properties might have changed slightly during evolution.
Shino had to carefully regain control, bit by bit.
He started by trying to control the defective ones first.
Perhaps the changes in these insects were too great, or perhaps Shino was too excited and impatient, but after more than an hour, he finally achieved perfect control over the defective ones.
Then he used his spiritual energy to control the Iron Beetles.
The Iron Beetles were much harder to control than the defective ones.
Next came the Giant Devourer Insects, and by the time he finished controlling them, his spiritual energy was nearly exhausted.
Finally, he turned his gaze to the Spirit and Chakra Insects.
"These two types don't have offensive power, but they are extremely difficult to control," Hikari said, looking at Shino. "Do you want to take a break first?"
****
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