NOVEL NEXT Chapter 57: Return and Aftermath
Shino didn’t hesitate for long. His hand quivered and with a wave, he summoned walls of bugs to enclose the small area in every direction.
Minutes later, the wall of bugs disappeared, and so did the corpse, its whereabouts shrouded in mystery.
"Time to head back. Hinata, Kiba, and Kurenai sensei had already solved the other assailants and should be searching for me. As for the rest..."
He'll worry about how to cross that bridge when the time comes. No worries, he still had many tricks up his sleeve.
A smart person always keeps a hand. So, he hadn't revealed the full extent of his abilities just yet.
Plus, even if the worst-case scenario happened and he lost a clone, it wouldn't be a devastating blow.
The question was how much value could he trade it for.
They were gathering intel on his abilities, but who’s to say he wasn’t trying to fish for some loophole he could chink into?
Ha. Ninjas, what a fun game. Shino adjusted his glasses with a calm demeanor and made his way back to reunite with his team.
...
The sun was rising, casting a warm golden hue across the dense foliage of the forest.
Team Kurenai had just finished cleaning up the aftermath of their skirmish with enemy ninjas.
After searching for another safe location, they sat around a small snuffed-out fire pit.
Seeing her student's weary expressions, Kurenai spoke up. "We should rest here to recover out strength for the day. We'll need it for the journey back."
Kiba grumbled. "I can't wait to get back home. Akamaru needs a bath after that dog fight."
"Arf! Arf!"
With hands clasped behind her back, Hinata gave him a small smile. "Kiba-kun, we'll be back before you know it."
Indeed they will, if no other enemies come to bug them. Shino exchanged a glance with his teacher Kurenai, and he let his bugs disseminate into the forest.
Well, he acquiescence to being first watch. After all, it was him that dragged them into the water...
...
In a concealed location, beneath the grounds of Konoha, a shadowy figure sat motionless in a chamber shrouded in darkness. Leaning back in his chair, he kept his fingers steepled in front of him.
A feeling of tension hung thick in the air, as if something crucial was about to unfold.
The room was silent as his subordinate entered, a scroll clutched in their hands.
His subordinate knelt with the utmost respect, raising the scroll above his head.
Taking the scroll, the shadowy figure looked down at his subordinate, his eye piercing and cold. "What news do you have for me?"
"Danzo-sama, the people you sent were wiped out." The response that came out was devoid of any feeling.
Danzo didn't even flinch. "It doesn't matter. They were disloyal wastes inserted by that old man and his supporters anyways. Now that he's gone, there's no need for them to stay."
The subordinate maintained a stoic face, but the continuation of the questioning betrayed his doubt. "But sir, if they come..."
Danzo cut him off. "As long as there is no evidence, they can't do anything to me. After all, I was just doing it for Konoha. You may leave."
With a curt nod, the subordinate silently slunk back into the shadows.
Danzo raised the scroll in his hand, slowly unfurling it. Danzo's eyes scanned the contents of the scroll with a steely focus, his expression betraying nothing. As he finished reading, a small sneer crept across his lips.
"Really hiding deeply." Danzo's fingers clenched tightly around the scroll, his body tensing as if to unleash the power within.
A spark ignited in the dark, and soon, the scroll was engulfed in flames, illuminating the room in a fiery glow that revealed the figure hidden by the darkness.
Despite the X-shaped scar on his chin, the figure's face appeared as a deceptively fragile old man. A cane lay idle by his side, a mere accessory to the casual observer, adding to the appearance of vulnerability.
However, all of this was a facade that belied the immense power lurking in the darkness.
Drifting over the floorboards, the hem of his dark grey robe trailed up his legs like the wake of a ghostly presence, concealing his right arm, an appendage that held many secrets yet to be revealed.
His mystery was heightened by the bandage over his right eye, hiding a dangerous power waiting to be unleashed.
This was Danzo Shimura, the leader of Root.
"Only loyal to the Hokage? Attempting to test my intentions? But such actions are reserved only for the worthy." A foreboding gleam flickered in the eyes of the frail old man. "I am the roots that grow in the dark, and all my chosen nutrients will eventually bleed into the ground. Everything is for Konoha."
The man's eye closed as if to rest, but there was a sense of foreboding that deep thoughts was happening beneath the surface. What machinations were taking place in the depths of his mind, no one could tell.
...
After their brief rest, Team 8 set out on their journey back to Konoha.
The team's return to Konoha was met with little fanfare.
Kurenai led them to the Hokage's office, where they reported to the two elderly advisors who seemed to play a deaf ear to their words.
When they left the office, they were in a somber mood, the weight of their mission still heavy on their minds.
Kurenai, turned towards them with a grim expression on her face. "We need to be careful. Especially you, Shino. The one behind this is a powerful man, and he has many loyal followers. We…"
Kurenai's eyes rolled in frustration as she heaved. Eventually, she leaked an exasperated sigh, her head shaking with a sense of discontent. "Just be careful. Sensei is also helpless in this matter."
The team nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. They went their separate ways, each lost in their own thoughts.
The others were perhaps ruminating on the dangers of the mission and the implications behind the matter, but Shino...
While Shino made his way back to the Aburame clan, his mind was naturally consumed by thoughts of... his harvest. Duh.
There was a lot of body count this time, which was good news for his gene bank and biomass.
Alas... compared to the yield of his vast array of drones working in unison, it was merely a drop in the ocean.
However, even the yield of his drones had a limit.
Despite Konoha's size and its bountiful resources, the amount he could discreetly harvest were limited in the end.
The boundless potential of his vision clashed against the stark reality. With each passing day, the need for expansion grew more pressing.
Yet, he was still lacking a critical link to his expansion...
Suddenly, Shino's bugs had detected a signal that he had never encountered before. It was the alert... from the bugs in his lab!
After realizing what it meant, Shino's heart skipped a beat in excitement!
His queen was about to be born!