Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 48 New Understanding of Symbiotes

The courtyard fell completely silent, with only the occasional soft crackling of the campfire.

He stood up, reached out and carried Naoto into his bedroom, laying him flat on the tatami mat.

After closing the door, he removed the cumbersome clothing, formed hand seals, and his chakra flowed slowly. His consciousness, guided by the chakra's perception, probed towards Naoto's sleeping body—

After completing the inspection, Shisei Aburame sat cross-legged in the corner of the room and took out his notebook to start taking notes.

After this period of self-development, the symbiotic relationship between the insect and Naoto's body has become even closer. Some unique tentacles have attached themselves to the chakra meridians within his body, following the chakra pathways.

This symbiotic relationship is something that those rapidly proliferating insects never did before.

However, the assistance it provides is enormous. After testing, Naoto's physical qualities, strength, speed, and endurance are now close to the level of a Jonin, and his chakra reserves are also among the top of the Chunin.

"But with such a close connection, how can this symbiotic worm be inactivated?"

Aburame Shigeaki stroked his chin, lost in thought. Although only half a month had passed, the insect had clearly passed its larval stage, and the next stage was its growth stage, and finally its maturity stage.

If our previous deductions hold true, Naoto only has one year left to live.

Once the insects enter their growth period, their thirst for various forms of energy and nutrients becomes even stronger.

If a person with a strong will is not strong, there is a high probability that they will be controlled by the insect's will and completely manipulated, and may even turn into a monster that only knows how to eat like crazy.

However, the symbiotic balance between parasites and their bodies is now very delicate, and forcibly removing them carries a great risk.

Fortunately, the parasite has not yet taken over, and he still has control.

"Sigh! If only insects could self-destruct after reaching their growth limit. But that's impossible, because an insect's instinct is to survive, reproduce, and evolve."

Aburame Shisei shook his head, abandoning those unrealistic fantasies. After forming the hand seals again, he placed his hands on Naoto's body.

This is a sealing technique he learned in the last two days. Although it cannot completely solve the problem, it can effectively slow down the growth rate of the insects.

No rush. He already has the experimental subject under his control. He still has time and will have plenty of opportunities to study it later.

This research is also important to him, as the results mean whether he can break through existing physical limitations, allowing his physical abilities and chakra to break through bottlenecks and continue to grow.

The next morning, Naoto woke up to find himself in Takikawa Hide's bed, his clothes completely removed, with only a thin sheet covering him.

My body felt clean and refreshed, without any stickiness.

At that moment, Aburame Shisei was sitting to the side, looking at a thick book.

Seeing that he was awake, she closed the book and smiled at him, saying, "You're awake. I just made some breakfast. Would you like some?"

"Takikawa-nii, yesterday..." He scratched his head, his face slightly flushed.

"You drank too much yesterday and threw up all over yourself."

As he spoke, he placed a set of clean clothes in front of him. "These are my clothes; you can wear them for now. As for your clothes, I've already thrown them into the basin outside; you can wash them yourself."

"Thank you so much!"

Zhi Ren nodded, speaking haltingly.

After getting dressed, he hurriedly fled with his dirty clothes, without even eating breakfast.

In the nearby fields, trees and spring grass twisted their stiff necks as they crawled out of the mud pits.

After meeting Yu Nu Zhicheng's ambiguous smile, he hurriedly got up and dragged his aching body away from the scene.

"Heh, what a vibrant body. It's just a pity that your physical fitness and willpower aren't quite up to par for becoming test subjects for insect egg experiments."

At the same time, at Lord Heiji's mansion.

Ryuji Ida stood in the reception room with Ichiro Kurosaki. Butler Matsumoto brought out tea and refreshments, his expression respectful.

"Lord Castle Commander has been busy with official duties lately, so he specifically ordered me to receive Mr. Ida. The ore you sent earlier was of excellent quality, and the Lord was very satisfied."

Ryuji Ida keenly noticed the change in Matsumoto's words. The last time they met, the butler, though polite, always seemed to be scrutinizing him.

This time, however, there was none of that; it felt like a polite formality between close friends.

But when did he become one of his own with this butler, Matsumoto?

This feeling baffled him, and he even thought for a moment that he was imagining things.

"I'm glad the castle lord is satisfied," Ryuji Ida said with a smile. "I wonder what kind of ore you'll need next time? I'm preparing to travel to the Land of Earth again."

"My lord does indeed have a favor to ask. If Mr. Ida is capable, I hope you can help procure some chakra metal, in any quantity, the higher the quality the better. This is a task specifically assigned by my lord."

Chakra Metal!

Ryuji Ida was startled. This rare metal was a strategic resource in the ninja world, expensive and strictly controlled. It was already difficult to purchase ordinary ore in the Land of Earth, let alone chakra metal.

His expression remained impassive: "I will do my best. However, chakra metal is a controlled substance in all countries, so it may take some time and connections."

Matsumoto said, "I understand, sir. There's no rush. Mr. Ida can proceed according to his capabilities. In addition, the mining of the vein is progressing smoothly, and the first batch of refined aluminum-iron has been produced. As agreed, 30% of it will be given to you to sell."

The so-called refined ferrosilicon is not actually refined in a furnace. Instead, it is produced by the insects in the mine that feed on it day and night, eventually excreting pure aluminum and steel beads, which are then melted at high temperatures and solidified into ingots.

Because of the addition of trace amounts of chakra elements, if this batch of materials were transported to the Land of Iron or the Land of Craftsmen for sale, the profit could increase tenfold.

Although Ryuji Ida did not understand forging, he had a keen business sense and could tell the quality of the iron and aluminum ingots at a glance.

He was just wondering why the city lord would be so generous, giving up such a large piece of meat.

Also, is the "master" Matsumoto mentioned really Lord Heiji?

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became, and he felt that there was a lot of logic behind it.

He said no more, but simply smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Lord Castle Guardian, you keep your word. Then I will not disturb you any longer, and will set off for the Land of Earth tomorrow."

After leaving the castle lord's mansion, Kurosaki Ichiro muttered to himself, "Chakra metal... It seems that lord has been controlling everything all along."

"What did you say?" Ryuji Ida asked, turning his head to ask, snapping out of his daze.

Kurosaki Ichiro immediately changed the subject: "It's nothing, I just think chakra metal is hard to deal with."

"Even if it's difficult, I'll give it a try. But speaking of which, Mr. Kurosaki, are you still going to come with me?"