Once Aburame Tetsumaru had solidified his reputation as the top student in his grade, he began to let loose. He started skipping classes every other day.
However, he didn't leave the campus. Instead, he spent most of his time holed up in the Academy library, managing to skim through almost every book in the building.
The library didn't contain any high-level ninjutsu scrolls—let alone Forbidden Jutsus—but it still held plenty of scattered "hidden gems." Tetsumaru managed to find and transcribe over seventy different ninjutsu techniques, covering all five elemental natures.
Moreover, he discovered a wealth of valuable information tucked away in miscellaneous notes and travelogues. He painstakingly recorded and organized these fragments, knowing that piecing them together would eventually yield an even greater harvest of knowledge.
But his streak of good luck ended in frustration. During the winter break, the school renovated the library, adding several new bookshelves and a massive shipment of new volumes.
Initially, Tetsumaru was ecstatic. When the spring semester began, he rushed in to check out the new stock—only to nearly blow a fuse in anger.
The valuable manuscripts, handbooks, and ninjutsu scrolls were gone. In their place were rows upon rows of nonsensical "trash" like The Founding of Konoha, The Will of Fire and the First Hokage, and The Life of the Second Hokage. To Tetsumaru, these were nothing but poorly written propaganda pieces where even the basic logic was riddled with holes.
He knew reality was often stranger than fiction, but there was one iron rule that reality always followed: the flow of interest. An individual might betray their own interests, but the leader of a powerful faction never would—otherwise, they wouldn't remain the leader for long.
Even in a supernatural world like the Shinobi World, where power resided in the individual, one couldn't simply betray their own interests without turning into a "Demon King" like Madara Uchiha.
Unwilling to give up, Tetsumaru spent a week turning the newly renovated library upside down. Finally, he had to accept the truth: this place was now useless to him.
I was even thinking about applying for a part-time job as a librarian. There goes that dream, he thought regretfully.
In his old world, the position of "librarian" was a classic trope for "hidden masters"—an unassuming, stable job where many legendary figures had started their journeys.
With his dream shattered and the library now a wasteland of propaganda, Tetsumaru actually attended class for a few days. His sudden appearance left Domoto Oomono-sensei in a state of sheer shock.
In his past life, after hitting middle age, Tetsumaru had often dreamed of returning to his childhood to relive his student days. Now that he was actually back in school, the reality was unbearable. He was so bored he could cry, and now he didn't even have a good place to escape to.
Tetsumaru slumped over his desk during the newly added "Will of Fire Education" class. To kill time, he directed a swarm of Kikaichu and a single tiger-striped beetle to play a "wargame" on his desk.
Thanks to his chakra reserves, which were steadily approaching the level of the Third Hokage, and his family's wealth providing ample resources, his Kikaichu were incredibly well-fed. Among his peers, his bugs were indisputably the strongest. The only reason his secret arts weren't "top tier" was because his micro-management talent was simply garbage.
In any skill, the overall strength is determined by the weakest link. No matter how strong his Kikaichu were, they were useless if he couldn't control them properly—and the Aburame arts were all about finesse and control.
In his past life, Tetsumaru had played StarCraft against true pros. Those guys were terrifying; given the same tech and unit cap, a pro could crush three average players through sheer APM (Actions Per Minute).
The depressing reality was that micro-management was 90% talent and only 10% hard work. Had Tetsumaru practiced? Of course. He had improved, but it all depended on who he was being compared to.
For the past two years, Tetsumaru had trained for four hours every day, but the gap between him and Aburame Shibi was only widening.
Shibi, for his part, was quite impressed by his older cousin. Tetsumaru's chakra and bugs were so powerful that Shibi had to concentrate with everything he had during their spars, using several times the effort in micro-management just to negate the raw power gap. Every duel left Shibi exhausted.
Of course, that only applied to "stationary" duels. In a real-world combat scenario where Tetsumaru could leverage his full physical advantage, the gap between them was vast.
Among the current generation of Aburame, Tetsumaru was the undisputed number two. Only the eldest, Aburame Shige, could consistently beat him. Every other child in the clan was a guaranteed win for Tetsumaru. He'd even defeated Aburame Puwan, a Genin who had graduated four years ago.
Without this overwhelming strength, the clan elders would never have given him special treatment, nor would they have tolerated his mediocre performance in the secret arts. In the Shinobi World, strength was the ultimate logic. Arts, jutsus, and bloodlines were just means to an end; winning was all that mattered.
But being strong today didn't guarantee being strong tomorrow.
No matter how much chakra he had, it had to be expressed through ninjutsu. With the library "neutered," Tetsumaru had lost his primary channel for learning new techniques. This was his biggest worry.
If only one of the Sannin would take me as a student, like they did with Minato Namikaze, he mused.
On his desk, the beetle and the Kikaichu continued their struggle. Surprisingly, the beetle was winning—charging through the swarm with ease and knocking the smaller bugs aside.
It took Tetsumaru releasing over a hundred Kikaichu to finally pin the beetle down, and even then, it took a while to flip it over.
Tetsumaru's eyes suddenly lit up. Wait a minute. When I played StarCraft, why did I hate the Zerg and love the Protoss? Because the Protoss had strong individual units! It was easier for me to manage a few elites than a swarm of fodder!
I can modify the bugs! Instead of a swarm of thousands, I can breed giant ninja insects—one bug as strong as a hundred Kikaichu—and use them as my primary combat units!
Yes! It's perfect!
Tetsumaru had finally found a viable path. He immediately began to map out the future of this "Swarm Strategy."
First, find a bug to replace the Kikaichu. Then, breed bigger bugs. Finally, create a combat system based on giant and ultra-giant insects.
If he needed a blueprint, the Zerg from StarCraft were the most obvious choice. Their system was complete and their functions were clear. The Tyranids from Warhammer 40k were too powerful and chaotic, and the Arachnids from Starship Troopers were a bit too "cannon-fodder" for his taste. Though, some of the Arachnid species were great references—like the Plasma Bug that could shoot down ships in low orbit. That would be awesome.
I really miss those Zerglings, Hydralisks, Mutalisks, and Ultralisks...
Time flies when you're daydreaming. Tetsumaru finished school, went home, ate, washed up, and climbed into bed, but his mind never stopped churning through the "Swarm Plan." He was too excited to sleep.
If I can unlock all the key tech points and create my own Swarm...
I'll have essentially built a complete biological tech tree. That tree could be the ladder to my ultimate dream.
That distant, seemingly impossible dream: Immortality.
He hopped out of bed, flicked on the light, and sat at his desk. He began to outline the "Tech Points" he needed to create his Swarm, starting with the equivalent of a Zergling.
Controlled Hatching: I can't let them breed naturally. Either they'll produce too few to be useful, or they'll turn into a world-ending plague. I need total control.Efficient Respiration: The biggest limit on an insect's size is the inefficiency of breathing through spiracles. I need a solution. Built-in artificial lungs? But I don't know the first thing about pulmonary science.Lightweight Exoskeleton: Giant bugs weigh a lot. The exoskeleton needs to handle immense pressure, but the tougher it is, the harder it is to molt. Maybe an aluminum or titanium alloy? No, I'm a biologist, not a metallurgist.Robust Musculature: Moving a massive body requires insane power. This is a century-level scientific puzzle.Efficient Energy Storage: High power means high consumption. The body must store massive amounts of energy. No lead on this one yet.Remote Signaling: How do I command them? I need a biological equivalent of long-range signal control. This is cutting-edge frontier tech.Basic Intelligence: The bugs need enough "AI" to follow orders and fight on their own. I don't know anything about AI, especially not how to build one from scratch using the logic of the Shinobi World.
Tetsumaru put down his pen. He needed to unlock these seven points just to make a basic "Zergling." But there was a problem. He didn't even have the "pre-requisite" technology to begin enlarging a bug. He had zero leads.
Was I oversimplifying this? Is this even something one person can accomplish?
Sigh. I'm thinking too far ahead.
One step at a time. Let's start with the practical stuff.
He needed a bug to replace the Kikaichu. What were the requirements?
It must fly. Otherwise, it lacks speed and agility.It must be "tanky." It needs to be tough enough to survive a blast of Fire Style without dying instantly.It must be able to reproduce in significant numbers.
Tetsumaru spent hours scouring his personal encyclopedia—Aburame Tetsumaru's Big Book of Bugs—which contained over 11,600 species he'd found in the Aburame forest. He filtered for every flying insect he'd recorded. By dawn, he had to admit: nothing fit the bill.
It was an awkward realization. He'd found a brilliant path, yet he couldn't even take the first step.
Ultimately, it came down to a lack of knowledge and technology. But there was hope. The Aburame forest still held thousands of undiscovered species, and his Insight was evolving every day.
More importantly, he knew that in the future, Nagato's Animal Path would summon giant insects. This was proof that giant insects existed in this world; the path wasn't a dead end.
That was enough. As long as the road was open, he would keep walking.
He revised his plan: continue collecting insects, specifically looking for candidates to replace the Kikaichu.
He felt a bit uneasy. His current situation was quite comfortable: he was wealthy, the top student, strong, and progressing steadily. People in "comfort zones" often lose the motivation to change. They get bored with repetitive work and lose faith in long-term goals.
If I lose my drive, I'll slack off. And unlike my past life, I don't have a great nation behind me or heroes to carry the burden for me.
Without a safety net, if I relax, I'm essentially handing my life over to the 'Child of Prophecy.' That's not a risk I'm willing to take.
He needed a grand ambition to keep him moving. Something so big it would prevent him from ever feeling complacent.
Tetsumaru looked at the rising sun. Alright, time for school.
As the top student, skipping class wasn't a huge deal. The teachers wouldn't give him a hard time. But skipping entire days wasn't viable yet. He'd wait until he'd held the #1 spot for another two or three years. By then, he could skip an entire week and the teachers would probably invent an excuse for him.
Over the next few days, Tetsumaru drafted his ultimate goal: The Aburame Tetsumaru Swarm Plan.
On the very first page, under the "General Principles," he wrote his final objective: Ascension and Immortality.
Building a plan that looked like it belonged to a Type III Civilization without having even a single prototype felt like pure fantasy even to him. But a young man should be ambitious. Better to aim for the stars and miss than to aim for a bush and hit it.
He didn't just set a ridiculous end-goal; he broke the "Swarm Plan" into several phases.
Phase One: Within ten years, establish the prototype of the Swarm. Develop five distinct combat species and achieve mass production.Phase Two: Within thirty years (Konoha Year 47), implement the "Shinobi World Surface Control Project" and launch atmospheric satellites.Phase Three...