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Chapter 1 Nara Shikane

The weather was fine, the sun hung in the sky, and the sunlight was neither dazzling nor scorching. A gentle breeze blew across the roof, slightly tilting a hat.

Slap!

A slender hand, looking somewhat juvenile, gently patted the hat, stabilizing it on the face that had been ruffled by the breeze.

Nara Shikane's face, covered by the hat, had his eyes tightly closed, intently looking at the card that appeared in his mind.

A man in strange clothes, with heavy makeup on his face, was grinning, revealing a mouthful of golden teeth, printed on the card.

[Talent Card: Mayuri Kurotsuchi

World: Bleach

Quality: Blue (77/1000)]

Effect: Growth-type research talent (You are a born scientist and researcher, your talent will shine in the field of research and development)

Field: Your research talent in the fields of biology and neuroscience is far superior to other research and development fields!

Passive: Biological modification!

Accumulation: Any research is inseparable from the accumulation of a large amount of knowledge and material experiments. All the knowledge you have mastered will be understood and memorized in a more efficient way, and then rewarded in the form of alternative knowledge feedback!

Achievement: Every time a recognized work is created, the higher the degree of recognition, the physical fitness and strength of oneself can be improved.

Obsession: Become a scientist who surpasses Kisuke Urahara]

Bleach Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

Seeing the character on the card, Nara Shikane immediately recognized his identity.

If you ask why he can be sure at a glance, it is of course the memory left when he died and crossed over to remind him!

As one of the three major scientific research giants in another world, Mayuri Kurotsuchi may not be as powerful as the other two perverts, and his highest research results seem to be somewhat inferior, but in key battles, he can still rely on his research and development capabilities. The existence of competing for MVP with those two perverts.

Although it is a pity that his golden finger is not Aizen and the store manager who have both strength and intelligence, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who is dedicated to science and immersed in research, seems to be acceptable?

It's just that this card has a bit of a psychological impact on him, and it always unconsciously makes his mind turn to some perverted directions.

Hoo!

Nara Shikane lazily propped himself up with his hands and sat up from the eaves. His six-year-old body was thin and thin, like a bean sprout, and his hair was the iconic pineapple head of the Nara clan.

He was a little bit reluctant to part with the warm place he had just laid on. This place was his favorite place for relaxation and leisure. But unfortunately, leisure time is over.

Nara Shikane sighed. In his previous life, as a doctor who had just graduated, he was neither high nor low, and was exhausted at his post. After crossing over, it seemed to make up for it.

Although this world is not stable, and can even be called dangerous, at least it is not a helpless orphan, and there is a family to rely on.

Otherwise, an orphan facing a golden finger plug-in that requires knowledge and resources would be a bit of a hellish difficulty.

If you are lucky enough to survive on the battlefield, you can rely on your merits to be promoted and exchange for a few D-level or B-level ninjutsu. If you are unlucky, you can only be a cannon fodder who charges into battle and explains it all at once. As for finding a good teacher or something, that also requires great luck.

So since there is a relatively good start, we must seize the opportunity. Although the blood nature of the Nara clan kept holding him back and wanted him to give up, he still controlled his lazy body and prepared to start today's knowledge acquisition.

He jumped off the eaves easily, landed on the ground steadily, bowed and supported the ground with his hands, got up and clapped his hands, identified the direction, and walked towards his house.

The Nara clan, as a family that has been passed down for hundreds of years, has a considerable number of secret techniques and collected ninjutsu in their family, but more of them are knowledge related to pharmacology and the human body.

As one of the three families of Ino-Shika-Cho, except for the secret techniques of their respective families, other knowledge is almost common and shared to a certain extent, and the same is true for resources, and the three families will also complement each other to a certain extent.

For example, as the Akimichi clan of butterflies, they are quite good at the knowledge of human meridians and some body-strengthening pharmacology. In this timeline where medical ninjas are still lacking, the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans focus on pharmacology and the human body The clansmen, inconspicuously, supported the newly established medical department.

And just so happens that this knowledge is exactly what Nara Shikane needs. Anyway, at his current age, with the talent of this body, he can't compare to those real geniuses who can soar all the way in the field of gaining power!

He can only consolidate his foundation from other aspects. Anyway, as a talented model, Mayuri Kurotsuchi is not someone who fights purely on his own strength in another world.

This is very similar to the Nara clan, both of whom use their brains. Even if the direction of using the brain is different.

Nara Shikane's small room was filled with opened books, among which the opened books had densely packed human meridian diagrams and anatomical diagrams. By the window, a fat, palm-sized green worm was lying motionless in a flower pot, as if dead.

Taking the book he had marked in his hand, Nara Shikane began today's fixed course.

With the IQ of the Nara clan above ordinary people and the talent application of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, even if the knowledge in these books is profound and boring for a six-year-old child, he can understand it by himself and immerse himself in it with relish.

Woof!

Time passed unconsciously while reading, Nara Shikane woke up amidst the cheerful barking of dogs, he raised his head, and saw a half-grown snow-white puppy, with its two front paws stepping on a head and trying hard to prop up its body , barking happily at him.

Seeing Nara Shikane's gaze turning around, the puppy's tail behind him spun like a fan, slapping the head it was stepping on.

Then two hands reached out from below, lifted the overly active puppy on his head, and revealed a familiar face with two camouflage patterns on his face.

"Shika, it's feeding time today." Inuzuka Yama held his dog in one hand, and beckoned to Nara Shika with the other, then propped himself on the guardrail with his hand and nimbly jumped in.

Woof woof!

The puppy in Inuzuka Yama's arms heard its owner's words, its body struggled vigorously, looking overly excited.

"It seems that Shanwan likes the new flavor very much." Nara Shikane stood up, came to Inuzuka Yama, reached out to take the puppy from his arms, held it high, and looked at it with scrutiny.

Facing Shika's somewhat aggressive and dangerous gaze, Shanwan sensitively curled up, and his excited mood subsided a lot. He licked his lips and was quietly held high.

"After eating those new dog foods at your place last time, my father gave Shanwan a checkup and found that his physical fitness has improved a lot, and he is very energetic. He told me that he will visit your parents in a few days. "

Inuzuka Yama excitedly explained to Nara Shikane the changes in Shanwan in the past two days in detail, and repeated and conveyed what his father said to him.

New book!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 2 Shadow Coffin

[Dog food made by Nara Shikane:

Quality: Blue

Materials: herbs, meat.

Effect: Strengthen the physical fitness of ninja dogs, no side effects! The best period is in the infancy of dogs after weaning.

Conclusion: It has a high temptation for dogs, you can use it to capture an entire dog group. Grab its stomach, and you grab everything about it.

Recognition: 780/1000 (The higher the recognition, the more inspiration and rewards will be given to similar works in subdivided fields)

Reward: Physical fitness +1, Chakra amount +10]

Looking at Shanwan who was burying his head in a basin with his small body arched, Nara Shikane breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

The original recognition was only [10/100], which obviously means that someone among the adults of the Inuzuka clan recognized the effect of this dog food.

As an authoritative family in the field of raising dogs, their recognition is obviously outstanding. As for Inuzuka Yama's father revealing that he will visit his parents in the past two days, it clearly shows his interest in this kind of dog food, and see if he can cooperate.

Nara Shikane is still looking forward to this.

There is no way, if it is a genius in the sense of ninja cognition, then it is possible to survive and develop. With the secret skills of the Nara clan, he does not need to worry about the source of ninjutsu and the teacher's teaching, just need time to grow.

But talents like Nie Da's research type can't be tolerated at all. This is a talent that extremely needs resources and burns money. In terms of resource consumption, it can even be said that there is no upper limit.

For the sake of his own future safety and growth, Nara Shikane must plan ahead and try his best to show his worth and find ways to make money for himself in the early stage.

After all, although he is backed by the Nara clan, the family's training of clansmen, the amount of resources invested, and the weight of the right to speak at critical moments also depend on talent and importance.

If it goes well this time, he should be able to get a relatively generous start-up capital from the Inuzuka family. At that time, he will be able to start some technological research within his capabilities.

Of course, it is mainly for life saving. The soul of Nie Da is that you can kill him at first sight, but you can never kill him. Just like in this world, you can defeat Orochimaru, but you can't completely kill him.

In a dangerous world, there is a future only if you live.

Woohoo.

Feeling a touch on his knee, Shika looked down and saw that it was Shanwan who had finished eating, rubbing his leg contentedly, lying on the ground showing his bulging belly, and whining.

"I just made this today, you can take it home when you leave." Shika handed the opened bag to Inuzuka Yama, and Inuzuka Yama reached out and took it without any surprise.

It was the same last time, he took two copies back to the clan and handed them over to his parents. He lifted this bag with one hand, and knew that it was enough for Shanwan to eat for three or four days, but if his parents' partners were added, it would be today's rations.

…

night.

When Nara Shikaku returned home exhausted, he saw Nara Shikane kneeling upright on the floor, looking at him with bright eyes.

"I succeeded, father."

Just when Nara Shikaku was having a headache about how to dismiss and appease his son who gave him a bit of a headache, Nara Shikane's words made his high-speed brain stop instantly. He was even a little dazed, thinking he had heard it wrong.

"What did you say?" Nara Shikaku widened his listless eyes, walked quickly to Nara Shikane's side and sat down, asking in surprise.

Nara Shikane didn't speak any more, but spread his palm towards Nara Shikaku. There was a small peach in the palm of his palm. Under his gaze, a mass of pitch-black shadow quickly formed in Shika's small palm. , forming a black, coffin-like cuboid that rises up.

On the coffin, black protrusions like thorns suddenly pierced into the black coffin. When the black shadow faded, the small peach that was trapped in the coffin had already experienced It was like being ravaged by a blade, a mess.

Looking at Shika who was sweating profusely and panting heavily, even with Nara Shikaku's smart brain, he was speechless for a while.

Although the technique that Shika tried hard to display was not perfect in his eyes, and even the shape of the black coffin when it was formed was a bit too thin to be seen, he still couldn't deny that this was a very advanced shadow secret technique.

Recalling Shika's previous consultation and discussion with him, Nara Shikaku was able to understand more deeply that the potential of this technique is more than that, and it can even become a high-level Yin Dun secret technique in the true sense, not limited to shadows.

Giving form to the formless, creating form from the formless! This is the characteristic of Yin Dun.

Compared with the illusion that also belongs to Yin Dun, the shadow secret technique of the Nara clan is closer to the deep-level power of Yin Dun.

It is not that there is no secret technique in the Nara clan that makes shadows lethal, but this does not affect the gold content of the shadow black coffin at all! If you add that its creator is a child who is not yet six years old, it is even more shocking!

Although Nara Shikaku also knew that this technique was based on the secret collection of the Nara clan, as well as the unreserved explanations and teachings of several Nara clan elders including him.

But even he didn't think this was a technique that could be created in a short period of time when he first heard about it. This short period of time is calculated in years.

The knowledge, experience, and understanding and perception of Yin Dun required in this technique are beyond the control of Nara Shikane at this age. Even if the elders of the family make up for him in terms of experience and knowledge, the difficulty is still not low.

"Prepare a copy of your ideas and seals." Nara Shikaku took a deep breath and asked Nara Shikane. This technique, without a doubt, can be listed as a new secret ninjutsu in the family. And the family will undoubtedly give him the due gifts and rewards. He knew that was what his son needed.

Nara Shikane almost without hesitation pushed some notes on the table to his father's hand, as if he had already made preparations. At the same time, another interface that had been stagnant for a long time also sounded in his mind.

[Secret Ninjutsu·New

Quality: A+ (+ stands for growth)

Basic requirements for practice: master Yin Dun

Advanced requirements: shadow secret skills

Effect: Use the power of Yin Dun to give the shadow the power of physical damage, gather it into a black coffin and seal the target in it, and the target inside will receive a lot of stab wounds at the same time.

Conclusion: Don't go in there.

Recognition: 10/1000. (The higher the recognition, the more inspiration and rewards will be given to similar works in subdivided fields)]

Seeing the interface the next moment, Nara Shikane's mind cleared up, and some knowledge that was still obscure when it came to the power of Yin Dun was suddenly understood a lot, and at this moment, his brain was targeting the next stage of this secret technique. Development, inspiration began to emerge.

PS: Those who have invested can start!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 3 Embryo and School

Returning to his room, Shikane first went to see the big green worm lying dead in the flower pot by the window, and gently poked it with his finger. It lazily turned over, exposing its belly, and squirmed twice, as if stretched, and stopped moving again.

This is a gift when Shikane's talent was promoted from white to blue. In addition, there is some basic knowledge of ghosts.

Naturally, this ghost knowledge has no effect in this world, and one cannot expect to be able to cast ghosts in this world after obtaining them, and then create a ghost system that is completely different from the ninjutsu system.

But this does not mean that this knowledge is useless in this world. At least it can be used as a reference. After a thorough makeover, some of the ideas in it can be integrated into the ninjutsu system.

The shadow coffin he took out is like this, it is a variant of the yin and dun ninjutsu of the ghost black coffin in the world of death.

If it weren't for the Nara clan's good at using the power of Yin Dun to control shadows, and having a variety of related Yin Dun skills, experience and knowledge accumulation for his reference, as well as the full support of Nara Shikaneku, his cheap father in this world, his ideas would have been a long time ago. For a while it can only be a mirror image.

As for the free gift that looks like an ordinary bug, when Shikane's finger touches it, the relevant information panel immediately appears in his mind.

[Name: Unknown Larva

Quality: White (+)

Features: Ordinary, the only feature is strong vitality, strong adaptability, and excellent transformability.

Skills: pupa (crawling), eating, spinning

Evaluation: How far it can grow depends on the breeder's technology and feeding.

Conclusion: It is now a useless bug with zero combat effectiveness. ]

The panel is a mess, and the combat effectiveness is zero. Let alone the ninja dogs of the Inuzuka family, even an ordinary bird has much more lethality than this bug.

Without the support of characteristics and evaluation prompts, this bug is simply unsightly as a summoned beast, and everyone will be dumbfounded when thrown out.

After so many days, Shikane finally decided how to cultivate this unknown larva in the early stage. If it is regarded as a hardware that can be continuously updated according to the investment of resources, then what Shikane needs to do is to decide the combination between its hardware and give it a copy of the operating system and functional software.

The reference is naturally Mayuri Kurotsuchi's biological Zanpakuto, Ashisogi Jizo. The strength may not be good, but it is enough to cheat people and yin people.

First of all, I will try to ask the Akimichi clan for help to cultivate the foundation. The Akimichi clan's Yang Dun secret technique, in Shikane's view, can solve the problem of the future body size of the larvae.

Of course, this is only the initial stage of cultivation. If you want to grow and cultivate to the state that Shikane wants, there are still a lot of big troubles that need to be solved, and it is not even possible for one person to solve them in a short time.

As for whether the Akimichi clan will help cultivate this point, Shikane has never doubted it. His personal request may be rejected, but the family's request, with the relationship between the three Ino-Shikane-Cho families sharing weal and woe, the Akimichi clan is unlikely to refuse.

After all, what the Nara clan asks for is just to help cultivate a special larva in the way the Akimichi clan cultivates its own people. As for the Yang Dun secret technique, after hundreds of years of cooperation, no matter what, the three families are familiar with each other's cultivation system and secret techniques. And have a high degree of awareness.

Different from the blood succession limit, the secret ninjutsu is more of a family, based on a certain characteristic of its own blood or body, after a lot of experiments and summaries, a set of training methods extracted by investing resources.

If you don't have this set of training methods, even if you steal all the ninjutsu of a secret family, it will be difficult for you to use them. Even if you have the characteristics of a certain attribute and can barely use them, the effect may not be as good as you. It is more effective to release another ninjutsu.

After all, Nara's shadow secret technique, Yamanaka's spiritual perception, and Akimichi's physical fitness were all cultivated bit by bit from a young age in a summarized way. Compared with those so-called secret ninjutsu that are exposed, these training methods and resource allocation are the core inheritance of a secret ninjutsu family.

Take the flower pot away from the window and put it beside your bed, so as not to wake up in the morning and find that it was snatched away by birds as food, Shikane then covered the quilt and closed his eyes.

…

Konoha Ninja School.

The third generation Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, holding a pipe, was speaking on the podium.

Nara Shikanene sat lazily on the seat, his listless eyes scanned the surroundings, and he saw many familiar costumes and faces in the crowd.

Uchiha and Hyuga are bound to be there, a silver-haired figure wearing a mask is sitting in the front row, a kid in a green tights with thick eyebrows is doing push-ups on the aisle next to him regardless of others, almost doing Afterimages.

In the corner, there is also a lonely child wearing sunglasses and wrapped in a large robe, who seems to be ignored by everyone.

Almost all the children from various families gathered in this class. Seeing these people, Nara Shikanene had an irresistible desire in his heart, which was the influence of Mayuri Kurotsuchi's talent!

These people are all good research materials in his mind at this moment. He really wants to draw some blood from these classmates with various bloodstains and strange physiques, and even dissect them to study them carefully.

He shook his head, shaking this terrible thought out of his head. If he really did it, he would really poke a hornet's nest. With his small arms and legs, he doesn't even have the qualifications to be a rebel ninja.

"...Wherever there are leaves flying, fire will burn. The shadow of the fire shines on the village, and new leaves will sprout..."

With the end of this sentence, Hokage's speech finally ended.

Compared with some students in the class who were excited like chicken blood, the lazy Shikane, and the always expressionless and extraordinarily calm people like the Aburame clan were somewhat out of place.

However, it doesn't matter. Unlike other transmigrators with civilian status, or Uchiha Hyuga and other embarrassing statuses, who will take the initiative to get together to get a good impression, or treat them indifferently, as a member of the Nara clan, there is no need to consider these , and forced himself to do things to please the eyes and goodwill.

The three clans of Ino-Shikane-Cho are naturally allies of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Even if he saw Shikane who couldn't get motivated, the Third Hokage would just smile and not take it to heart, after all, the Nara clan has always given people the impression of being lazy. Together with the Akimichi clan always eating, the Aburame clan always having a weak sense of presence, and the Hyuga and Uchiha being arrogant, they are all deeply rooted.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 4: Assessment

In the two years since the Second Great Ninja War, all the ninja villages have been licking their wounds and focusing on training new ninjas to handle the increasing number of missions that come with the renewed peace and prosperity.

As the victor of the war, Konohagakure (the Village Hidden in the Leaves) has taken on a significant share of these missions. So much so that every ninja in the village is eager to use shadow clones to take on even more tasks.

Having experienced the pain and fear of war, Konoha has also, in these two years, shaken off the shadow of conflict and resumed various commercial activities.

However, the high proportion of war orphans in the Ninja Academy serves as a stark reminder that the aftermath and hatred of war will linger for a long time.

Although he couldn't recall the exact timeline, Shikane vaguely remembered that the gap between the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars wasn't very long, and the Third War caused even greater destruction and impact.

He had to make the most of this rare period of peace in the ninja world to quickly gain some self-preservation skills.

Some time ago, Inuzuka Yama's father paid a special visit to the Nara clan to negotiate a partnership regarding the new dog food formula and medicinal herb supply that Shikane had developed.

The negotiations were swift, and a few days later, Shikane received the necessary funds and herbs from his clan.

This was a long-term business. Although the clan took the lion's share, Shikane, the creator of the formula, would continuously receive a portion of the profits.

His plan, which had been revised countless times but never implemented, finally took a step forward and had a foundation for realization.

Shikane used the funds to purchase some simple, urgently needed equipment and converted a spare room into a makeshift laboratory.

Nighttime.

"Is he still in his laboratory?" Yoshino Nara looked worriedly towards the backyard and asked her husband.

"Hasn't it been going on for a long time?" Shikaku Nara replied lazily with a helpless expression.

"So what?" Yoshino's gaze at her husband turned dangerous.

"I'm going to check on him!" Almost instinctively sensing the killing intent emanating from his wife, Shikaku immediately stood up, stretched, and yawned as he walked towards Shikane's laboratory in the backyard.

Although he hadn't stopped or hindered Shikane's so-called research, he always had a lingering unease in his heart.

As the strategist of the Hokage's team, he had assisted the Third Hokage in handling numerous affairs and had access to a considerable number of classified documents. He couldn't claim to know everything about confidential experiments involving human and biological research, but after gathering information from various sources, he could piece together a rough picture.

Therefore, despite his seemingly indifferent and unconcerned attitude, he was always vigilant about Shikane's mental state.

Shikaku felt somewhat frustrated. Why would the Nara clan, known for their laziness and aversion to trouble, produce such an anomaly like Shikane, who actively sought out things to do?

"Have you finished your research for today?" Before Shikaku reached his destination, he saw Shikane walking towards him, holding a flower pot.

"Yes, I have," Shikane nodded.

"Can you tell me what you're researching?" Shikaku asked casually as he walked side-by-side with Shikane towards the main house's bedroom.

"Just making some preparations for tomorrow's practical exam," Shikane replied without hesitation.

Shikaku nodded upon hearing this and didn't press further. As long as it didn't involve those life-consuming human experiments, he would consider it Shikane's hobby.

...

Ninja Academy training ground.

A Chunin named Nokatsuki, who was Shikane's class teacher, held a battle list and announced to all the students standing on the field the various assessments and their opponents for the final practical exam.

The first assessment was shuriken and kunai throwing.

The second was the demonstration and execution of ninjutsu.

The gap between clan ninjas and civilian ninjas was immediately apparent in these two assessments.

Compared to civilian ninjas who could only learn a few ninja skills from the Academy, clan ninjas enjoyed superior training from a young age.

Even those from lesser-known clans, if necessary, would not lack the opportunity to learn ninjutsu appropriate for their level.

For example, Uchiha Obito, wearing goggles, performed the Grand Fireball Technique in the second assessment, a technique not taught at the Academy.

The best way for civilian ninjas to learn these techniques was to become Genin, earn merit, and exchange it with the village. Or, upon graduation, they might encounter a kind-hearted team leader who might teach them a technique or two depending on the situation.

After the two practical assessments, the one-on-one sparring was the final event.

This was the assessment that some sensitive students cared about the most. It was usually observed by Chunin or higher-ranked ninjas.

Because if one performed exceptionally well in this assessment and caught the attention of a certain ninja, there was a good chance of being taken on as a disciple and receiving dedicated training.

This was evident from the early days of the Ninja Academy when the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, took on Hiruzen Sarutobi and others as his disciples, and later when Hiruzen, as the Third Hokage, took on the Sannin as his own.

Even those unaware of this history were eager to prove themselves in front of their teachers and classmates. For instance, a certain Uchiha with burning eyes fixated on a silver-haired boy.

"Kakashi, let's have a showdown!" Uchiha Obito leaped from the ranks, stood on the sparring ground, and pointed at the silver-haired boy, his voice loud enough to drown out all other sounds and attract everyone's attention.

"This idiot," Kakashi, wearing a mask, rolled his eyes helplessly.

"Get back here!"

A roar from Nokatsuki shattered Obito's excitement. He reluctantly glanced at Kakashi, who remained indifferent to his challenge, and shuffled back to his original position under everyone's gaze.

"First round, Nara Shikane versus Aburame ," Nokatsuki cleared his throat after Obito returned to the ranks and selected the first pair of students for sparring based on the battle list.

"The Aburame and Nara clans?" On the viewing platform, several Chunin looked curiously at the battlefield. As two renowned secret clans in Konoha, one manipulated shadows, and the other controlled insects.

Although it wasn't a battle between the top ninjas of the two clans, it still piqued their interest.

Shikane and Shiho stood on opposite ends of the battlefield, formed the confrontation seal, and as their teacher Nokatsuki stepped back, the battle began.

From Aburame Shiho's wide sleeves poured countless black insects, buzzing in mid-air. Silently, they split into two groups, like black arrows, darting towards Nara Shikane.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 5: Shikane's Battle Style

A black shadow instantly stretched from beneath Shikane's feet, like a snake lying flat on the ground, darting towards Aburame Shino on the opposite side with incredible speed.

However, as if anticipating this, Shino retreated almost simultaneously with Shikane's move after releasing his insects. His toes tapped the ground several times before he flipped in mid-air and landed gracefully.

The black line extending from Shikane's feet abruptly stopped three meters away from Shino, as if a rope had reached its limit.

"What's that?" Uchiha Obito stared wide-eyed at the line, which looked like an elongated shadow, and exclaimed in surprise.

"That's the Nara clan's secret technique. They are a clan that manipulates shadows," a somewhat muffled voice sounded behind Obito. He turned around and saw a chubby boy holding snacks, pouring the remaining contents into his mouth, chewing, and answering his question.

"Don't talk to the dead-last, Fu!" A girl with a ponytail behind the chubby boy pulled his collar.

"Okay, Yuki," Choji Akimichi pulled out another bag of snacks from somewhere on his body, skillfully opened it with his chubby fingers, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Who are you calling dead-last?" Obito was about to jump up, provoked by Yamanaka Ino's words, but the exclamations around him diverted his attention back to the ongoing battle.

"That's the Nara clan's Shadow Possession Jutsu. Some say it can control a person's body, but as long as you keep your distance and avoid shadow contact, your technique is useless."

After repeatedly confirming the maximum range of Shikane's shadow extension, Shino established it as a safe distance. While maintaining this distance from Shikane, he commanded his kikaichu (parasitic insects) to attack.

A dense cloud of insects, like an open bag in mid-air, rushed towards Shikane under Shino's control.

This scene made everyone's scalp tingle. The girls, including Ino, took a step back, looking with some fear at the insect cloud chasing Shikane in the air, making them feel uncomfortable all over.

"Shikane's shadow technique has been seen through. That Aburame Shino was prepared beforehand," Ino frowned, watching Shikane dodging left and right under the insect cloud's attack, trying to close the distance with Shino. Her tone was somewhat worried.

"He can just surrender if he can't win. But Shikane probably won't lose so quickly, right?" Choji paused, thinking about his usual understanding of Shikane, and hesitantly gave his answer.

For him, as long as no one took his food, losing a battle was no big deal. The children of the Akimichi clan were naturally optimistic. Those who weren't optimistic were often beaten down by the gazes of others.

Of course, what maintained his optimism was having friends like Shikane and Ino who had played together since childhood.

"Hmph! Those bugs can be easily dealt with using a Grand Fireball Technique," Obito looked eager to try, imagining himself on the field, releasing a grand fireball to eliminate the insects, defeating the gloomy opponent with sunglasses, and receiving Ino's admiring gaze and praise when he left the field.

"He seems a bit stupid."

After silently evaluating Obito's words, Ino took another step back and pulled Choji, who was still focused on his snacks, to her side.

Having spent a lot of time with Shikane, she inevitably absorbed some of his wisdom, such as: stay away from stupid people to avoid being affected or assimilated.

"Did he make a mistake?" The Chunin on the viewing platform suddenly saw Shikane stumble, then get caught up by the insect cloud chasing closely behind him, covering his entire body.

Shikane's body was completely submerged in the dense insect cloud, becoming invisible. All everyone could see was a figure stumbling forward, wrapped in a bulky insect coat.

The girls, including Ino, covered their eyes. The sight of countless crawling insects enveloping a person, as if about to devour him, made everyone uncomfortable and gasp in shock.

Many people subconsciously looked at Nokatsuki by the field and the Chunin on the viewing platform, expecting them to intervene.

But no one, including Nokatsuki, rushed forward immediately.

Shino, who had been maintaining a distance from Shikane, stopped at a safe spot. He observed Shikane, now completely encased in insects, like a cocoon. After a moment, he slowly raised his hand towards Nokatsuki.

"Teacher, he has lost his combat ability," Shino declared.

Nokatsuki looked at the field, pondered for a moment, and was about to blow the whistle to end the fight when a sudden change occurred.

"Shadow Imitation Technique, successful."

Shikane's voice emerged from the dense insect swarm. In an instant, Shino lost control of his body.

Under everyone's surprised, confused, shocked, or puzzled gazes, the insects covering Shikane like clothing began to peel off in large chunks.

Under Shino's pained gaze, some kikaichu, sensing danger and attempting to escape, fluttered away from Shikane's body. However, they didn't fly far before falling to the ground.

As the insect coat peeled away, Shikane's face and body were revealed. Beneath his feet lay a pile of dead kikaichu and the shadows connecting him and Shino.

"How is this possible?" Shino could only move his eyes and mouth under his own control at this point.

"'I should be at a safe distance!' Is that what you want to say?" Shikane spoke while releasing the hand seals maintaining the secret technique.

"You deliberately misled me about the safe distance?" Shino, clearly quick-witted, instantly thought of a possibility.

"Yes, from the beginning, you showed caution towards my shadow, and I knew you had knowledge and defenses against the Nara clan's techniques. With leaked information and your preparedness, the chances of winning in an all-out attack were slim. Your physical abilities are much better than those of the Nara clan."

With victory secured and the situation reversed, Shikane didn't mind explaining a bit more while his hands continued their movements. He also needed time for his next technique.

"So you tested and realized you couldn't control me in one go, then deliberately made me believe in a false safe distance. But what about my kikaichu? How did you deal with them?"

Shino confirmed his guess from Shikane's words. But now he was puzzled about how Shikane countered his kikaichu.

He had lost contact with most of the kikaichu he had released. The pile of insect corpses not only surprised the onlookers but also left him full of questions.

Could it be that the Nara clan had other secret techniques specifically targeting insects?

"It's just a neurotoxin and physiological insecticide. By applying and spreading it all over my body during the battle and then deliberately letting the insects capture me, it achieved a good killing effect."

Shikane walked step by step towards Shino. Under his control through the Shadow Imitation Technique, Shino also moved closer to Shikane, mirroring his actions.

"Impossible," Shino's instinctive reaction to Shikane's answer was disbelief. The Aburame clan's insects were diverse and multifunctional. As long as information about the insects wasn't leaked, it was almost impossible for outsiders to develop targeted defenses against them.

The kikaichu he chose wasn't the most powerful contract insect of the Aburame clan, but it was the most versatile and practical.

Whether it was for attack, defense, healing, support, or reconnaissance, it could be considered an all-around unique summon. And because of its small size and inconspicuousness, it could often play unexpected roles.

To create targeted insecticides, one first needed to understand the types of insects. Most importantly, one needed insect specimens for research and experimentation.

Maintaining secrecy about the insects was something the Aburame clan emphasized from childhood.

In terms of insect combat and understanding, only the Kamizuru clan of Iwagakure, also insect users, could rival them.

Shino couldn't imagine where Shikane obtained the insecticide that could harm and kill the Aburame clan's kikaichu. He felt the need to ask for clarification.

"How did you know the characteristics of my insects and create a targeted insecticide?"

Shikane didn't continue answering because he was ready for his next technique.

A black hand formed from shadows crawled up Shino's legs like vines, eventually reaching his throat and slightly tightening its grip.

Shino immediately felt something tangible pressing against his trachea and throat.

"Surrender. Or do you want to wait for Nokatsuki-sensei to make a judgment?" Shikane controlled the shadow, letting Shino feel the danger, and offered a surrender.

"I surrender!" Hearing Shikane's words, Shino didn't persist stubbornly. While he could still speak, he calmly and decisively admitted defeat.

He knew Shikane was telling the truth. With his insects targeted and himself under the control of the Shadow Imitation Technique, it was difficult for him to turn the tables. Surrendering at this moment was the best choice.

"The first round between Nara Shikane and Aburame Shino, the winner is Nara Shikane!"

Hearing Shino's surrender, the examiner Nokatsuki, who had been observing from the sidelines for a while, immediately stepped forward to announce the result. He then instructed the two to perform the reconciliation seal and leave the field.

After Shikane dispelled the Shadow Imitation Technique, Shino, regaining control of his body, didn't leave immediately. Instead, he silently went to where the insect corpses had gathered, released another wave of insects, and cleaned up the remains of the dead insects.

"Well done, Shikane! Congratulations on your win!" Back in the ranks, Shikane immediately received congratulations from his friends. The lively Ino was the first, followed by Choji Akimichi, who nodded repeatedly and mumbled, "Me too!"

"Thanks, I made some preparations beforehand," Shikane waved his hand. Although his current research conditions were relatively harsh and rudimentary, he could still find ways to conduct research that didn't require advanced equipment or manpower.

In the days since school started, he hadn't been idle. He had meticulously created a table listing some particularly noteworthy individuals in his class.

The table included all the information he could gather about these people, along with potential countermeasures he could employ against them in combat.

Aburame Shino was one of them.

"Can we talk, Nara?" A somewhat deep voice suddenly sounded behind Shikane. The voice startled Ino and Choji beside him.

"When did you get here?" Seeing Shino standing right in front of them, Ino's eyes widened in surprise. Even with the Yamanaka clan's proficiency in sensory perception, she hadn't noticed when he approached, although she hadn't been particularly focused either.

Shino glanced at Ino but didn't respond. His gaze, hidden behind his sunglasses, was clearly fixed on Shikane.

Seeing herself ignored, Ino bristled a bit but was calmed down by Shikane's reassuring touch.

"What do you want to ask?" Shikane glanced at the two people currently sparring in the second round. They weren't on his list, which gave him some time to deal with Shino. He knew what Shino wanted to ask, but he had to wait for him to speak first.

"The insects, the insecticide," Shino said concisely, "Where did you get the kikaichu from my body?"

"Is this an interrogation?" Shikane countered.

"No, just an exchange. I want to know where I slipped up," Shino shook his head.

He had figured it out. It was impossible for Nara Shikane to create a targeted insecticide without having kikaichu specimens. So, there must have been some oversight on his part, leaving some kikaichu behind for Shikane to obtain.

As for the insecticide, it probably came from the Nara clan?

However, as long as one of the new kikaichu that devoured the dead insect corpses survived, he could use that one to breed and cultivate new kikaichu with antibodies against this insecticide.

This was a characteristic of the Aburame clan's kikaichu. With enough time, enough insects, and sufficient chakra and food for their evolution and reproduction, they possessed the ability to rapidly evolve in a targeted manner!

(End of Chapter)