There was no doubt—slugs were chakra creatures. And not just any chakra creatures—they were among the rarest of the sage chakra types.
Using them as a base template, Maki was already planning a new series of rare insect species to enrich her growing toolset.
Their main role? Medical support.
But what made them truly special wasn't their healing ninjutsu—it was their subtle, almost overlooked ability:
Wireless chakra transmission.
Under normal circumstances, chakra needs a medium for transmission—some kind of conductor. That conductor could be physical contact, or chakra itself. Chakra threads, for example, could theoretically extend endlessly if enough chakra was supplied—like the Golden Wheel Reincarnation technique that sliced through the moon.
Usually, lifeforms served as the primary conductors. That's why most jutsu couldn't just pop up miles away without a connecting path. Even if you could send a fireball that far, it would still have to travel a continuous trajectory.
Slugs, however, were different.
They could transmit chakra across vast distances—from one slug to another—without any visible link. It didn't matter how far apart they were.
Whether it involved space-time manipulation, quantum entanglement, or something else entirely, the result was the same—and that was all Maki needed.
Remote chakra transmission.
Naturally, the first thing that came to Maki's mind was a wireless chakra grid. With slugs as relay points, she could expand the range of her insect swarm control dramatically.
She'd even picked out a name for the future technique:
"Lord of the Swarm."
All she needed now was for the slug to cooperate.
---
"Don't come any closer!!" the small slug squealed as Maki unscrewed the lid of the glass jar.
"Are you hungry? I'll feed you," Maki cooed.
Slugs were nearly indestructible—hard to kill even if you tried.
Still, the little Slug Sage looked like she wanted to bash her head against the glass in despair.
"Don't come any closer!"
"I'm not a devil. Be good now."
Maki dropped in a clump of protein-rich meatworms.
Naori watched closely. She'd never seen a slug eat before.
After a moment's hesitation, the slug sniffled and began to eat—slowly, reluctantly. She needed chakra to cast jutsu or connect with her main body. Without that, she couldn't send a distress signal. Her true form might think she'd been stewed alive.
She needed life energy to convert into chakra.
But the moment she began to recover, dozens of black parasites hidden at the bottom of the jar erupted, swarming her. They pinned her down, leeching her chakra greedily.
She couldn't even secrete mucus. She didn't have the strength.
She began to cry.
Never in her life—her grand, immortal slug life—had she been treated this way.
Not a drop left.
A true demon.
Naori looked away, disturbed. "Maki… this is scary."
"Huh?" Maki blinked. "It's just to stop her from escaping. Without sealing techniques, this is the best physical containment method we have."
"This is what you call sealing?" Naori muttered. "Looks more like a prison…"
"Don't worry," Maki shrugged. "If she'd been discovered, Tsunade would've stormed in by now. Look at her—do you think anyone's noticed?"
"And worst case," she added, "we just give her back."
"...That's true," Naori nodded, feeling slightly reassured.
Seeing the sympathy in Naori's eyes, the little slug sage lit up like a drowning swimmer spotting a lifeline.
"Save me! Save me, kind little Uchiha girl!"
Maki gave the slug a side glance, eyes narrowing slightly.
The slug's cries grew weaker.
"Sorry, I can't," Naori replied with an apologetic expression. After thinking for a moment, she added sincerely, "At least you've got food and water…"
"Aaaaugh!" the little slug wailed.
"Stop acting pitiful," Maki scoffed. "You're a famous summoning beast. Don't embarrass yourself."
She set the slug down on the table.
"Then make her stay away from me!!" the slug screamed, pointing—well, somehow gesturing—toward Naori.
"...Huh?" Naori blinked, confused.
"She keeps drooling over me!" the slug squealed.
Maki and Naori turned to look at Kiko.
Drool streamed from beneath her mask like a leaking faucet.
Maki trusted Kiko's instincts.
So… this thing must be delicious?
The Slug Immortal's eyes narrowed warily.
Under Maki's gaze, the slug began to tremble.
After a moment of silence, Maki sighed.
"Too bad. It's the kind that can talk."
If it couldn't speak, it would've been edible.
"Wipe your mouth. You can't eat this one," she said to Kiko.
Kiko obediently dabbed at her mask with a cloth.
But Naori tilted her head, genuinely confused.
"We can't eat it? Aren't all creatures edible?"
After eating so many bugs, her definition of 'food' had gotten… flexible.
There was nothing to fear anymore.
Maki gave a shrug. "It's not about taste. Physically, it's just hard to digest. Even with your appetite, you wouldn't be able to break it down."
Hearing that, the Slug Immortal let out a deep breath of relief.
Exactly! I can't be digested. I'm practically a ball of stomach acid myself!
Still… she glanced uneasily at the bug girl.
Something about her… felt genuinely dangerous.
Maki raised an eyebrow, as if reading the slug's mind.
"She probably could eat you," she muttered.
"Wait, Kiko can eat it?" Naori asked, eyes wide.
"Oh yeah. She can eat anything," Maki replied casually. "Though she'll probably roll on the ground groaning for a bit after."
"So she can't eat it," Naori concluded.
"Naori, everyone's body is different. Don't compare yourself to her," Maki said with a tired tone.
Kiko was more than just a person.
She was a symbiosis of three separate lifeforms.
First, there was the insect girl herself—already a mutant variant of parasitic insects.
Then came the nest of parasites naturally living inside her.
And finally, Maki had introduced a second strain of parasites to complete the fusion.
The result?
Three digestive systems. Three stomachs.
One was a storage stomach—a shared "public" space to hold temporary matter.
The second was a filtering stomach, sorting out indigestible materials like dirt or debris.
The third… was the real deal.
A digestive stomach, lined with parasites that could extract chakra and even life energy if the food was too tough.
Her digestive ability bordered on monstrous.
---
"Come here for a second," Maki said.
She led Naori to a nearby table.
Naori peeked over… and recoiled slightly.
Each basin was packed with squirming larvae—fat, writhing, and endlessly chewing.
"What… are those?"
"You've eaten them before," Maki said.
"...Huh?"
"Larvae of the cold silkworm moth."
"Oh. So… babies?" Naori squinted. "Can I eat them?"
She sounded curious, not disturbed. She really had changed.
"They're edible," Maki confirmed.
"In fact, the ninja game we're playing today is called: 'Stripping the Cocoon.'"
She brought out another basin, this one filled with snow-white chrysalis shells.
Naori frowned. "What kind of ninja game is that?"
The ninja games she remembered were things like hide-and-seek or throwing kunai. Not… worm shell peeling.
Maki shrugged. "Ninja tool crafting is a ninja game too."
She handed her a large basin.
The bugs weren't good with delicate work like this. Maki had to supervise constantly, so it was easier just to do it herself—or rope someone in.
Naori stared down at the basin in her arms.
"…What exactly am I supposed to do?"
"Easy. Just pull out the silk."
Naori squinted.
"You're just making me do free labor, aren't you?"
Maki smiled. "Shh. Let's preserve the illusion that we're friends."
Naori groaned.
"Ugh, you really are a devil."
"Thanks. I try."
__________________
Support me on patreon and read
1)Insect princess from Konoha
2)Second girls journey in Naruto
3)Orochimaru's Magic lamp
patreon.com/Silver757