"Pig?"
Genya didn't expect it to involve him. He pointed to his own nose and asked again.
He had thought he was just here to watch, not to get involved.
"Lord, I need a test subject to demonstrate the Giant Devourer Insect's abilities!" Hikari said playfully, glancing at Genya with a slightly flattering expression.
The Giant Devourer Insect's power required absorbing energy… and actual devouring to show results.
"Alright. I'll satisfy you!" Genya looked at Hikari's charming expression and covered his face.
Then, in the blink of an eye,
Genya's figure disappeared, and within two breaths, several pigs appeared in the lab.
"Here, I brought the pigs for you!" Genya said to Hikari, signaling him to continue explaining the insect's abilities.
Earlier, he had observed the insects with his Sharingan. They were unusual, and he couldn't help but want to see more.
Hikari nodded and then tapped the table again in a different rhythm.
The Giant Devourer Insects immediately awoke. They weren't as orderly as the Iron Beetles, nor as aggressive as the defective ones. They seemed almost intelligent, scanning the surroundings.
At the same time,
They seemed to sense the pigs. From beneath their shells, a pair of delicate, shell-made wings unfolded.
"Wings?" Shino Aburame was shocked again. The Giant Devourer Insects had surprised him once more. These insects had wings—could they fly?
"These wings are from the gene sequence I extracted from hidden beetles. They allow the Giant Devourer Insects to fly, but that also lowers their defense!"
Seeing Shino's constant astonishment, Hikari couldn't help but explain further.
Shino had interrupted several times already, but Hikari patiently continued. If Genya hadn't been here, Hikari would have assigned this task to someone else long ago.
Shino nodded apologetically at Hikari, then listened carefully to his explanation, her eyes reflecting a flowing brilliance.
He kept his eyes fixed on the insects, not distracted for a moment.
This?
What kind of power did these insects have to make Hikari so serious?
Then,
He saw the flying insect shiver in midair before turning into a blur, appearing in front of the stunned pig in the blink of an eye.
"This speed…" Shino Aburame was shocked, and his eyes reflected the same astonishment.
The speed was so fast that even his keen eyesight couldn't keep up.
Before Shino could recover from his shock, he saw the insects land on the pigs—dozens on each pig.
The tiny insects suddenly grew to the size of fists and bit down!
Then—
The insects began devouring the pigs' flesh and blood furiously.
In just a few breaths, several pigs were completely consumed, yet the insects' appetite seemed endless, as if connected to another space—they showed no sign of slowing down.
Even the bones were gone without a trace.
"Are these still my insects?" Shino Aburame went completely mad at the scene.
The sheer voracity of these giant insects far exceeded his expectations.
No.
Could these even be called insects? They were more like masterpieces of killing.
"Oh—interesting!"
Genya squinted, his gaze lingering on the insects with some curiosity.
Through his Dual Pupil, he could see the insects' stomachs contained an extremely potent acid that could instantly absorb anything swallowed and convert it into more of the same acid.
But these insects could even use that stomach acid as a source of power.
The more acid they had, the stronger they became.
Quite interesting.
If they kept devouring like this, the insects would be practically invincible.
"The most special thing about these giant insects isn't their terrifying bite or devouring ability, but their stomachs," Hikari said, watching them carefully before explaining again.
"Their stomachs are fused with the traits of special ant-eating stomachs. They can rapidly absorb all the energy of what they consume and compress it to the extreme!"
"Also… you can channel the compressed energy into yourself, and even into the host!"
At this, Hikari lifted her gaze toward Shino Aburame, her meaning clear.
If these insects feed on flesh and then return energy to the host… wouldn't that mean themselves?
Shino's eyes instantly lit up. If so many insects could feed back to him at once, how much power could he wield simultaneously?
Could this power even rival Genya?
This thought excited him further. Originally, he had only modest expectations for the insects' evolution, but now it far exceeded anything he imagined. Each type of insect challenged everything he knew.
"However… they also have limits. Their stomachs are small. Even if energy can be compressed to the extreme, each insect's maximum load is like a pig. Beyond that… their stomachs would burst!" Hikari continued explaining.
"Also, to handle the feedback from the insects, your body itself must grow stronger. Otherwise, your body will be torn apart by the energy released simultaneously by these bloodthirsty insects!"
Huh?
Shino's heart sank at her words.
In a way, this wasn't much different from the Eight Gates technique. The Eight Gates is also limited by one's own body, so all eight gates cannot be opened.
"Do you understand? From now on, you need to train your taijutsu diligently. That's the only way to become stronger!" Genya patted Shino on the shoulder, giving a word of encouragement.
Although he still couldn't rely heavily on the Giant Devourer Insects to feed him energy, even these few types had already elevated Shino to the level of an elite jōnin… no… perhaps even a half-kage.
And maybe even higher.
"I'll do my best!" Shino nodded. Though a trace of disappointment lingered, today's excitement far outweighed it.
"Don't be disheartened… the feedback from these Giant Devourer Insects is far less severe than the side effects of the Eight Gates. How many insects' feedback you can endure depends on your own strength," Hikari said, noticing Shino's slight disappointment.
"However, in a war of attrition, as long as your mental energy doesn't collapse, the insects keep feeding, and you won't run out of strength!"
Shino Aburame nodded heavily, but his eyes fell on the remaining two insects. The ones in those two petri dishes were pitifully few.
Each dish seemed to hold only about thirty, but from the way they were described and the seriousness in the explanation, he knew these two kinds of insects were far more precious.
Yet now, they looked wilted, huddled together in the dishes… barely moving.
He couldn't help but ask, "Hikari, what abilities do these two insects have? Are they stronger than the Giant Devourer Insects?"
Shino was already eager to learn about their powers.
"No," Hikari shook her head. "These two kinds of insects have almost no combat ability. They're actually very fragile."
****
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