Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 71 The Piece of Naruto

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his hand, silencing the discussion: "Jiraiya's actions were indeed too frivolous. However, the situation in the Land of Rain also needs close monitoring."

As for Jiraiya, since he's unwilling to return, let him gather intelligence outside from now on. Orochimaru, you relay a message to him, instructing him to assist in the search for the rogue ninja in the White Cloud Mountains.

Everyone fell silent again.

On the surface, the Hokage's words were assigning a task to Jiraiya, but in reality, everyone could hear that he was endorsing and covering up his student's somewhat outrageous behavior, bringing it within the framework of the mission. But since the Hokage had spoken, naturally no one dared to openly object.

Just as the meeting seemed to be shifting to other topics, a senior Jonin suddenly spoke up: "Hokage-sama, the war is over, and the village is about to enter a new phase. Regarding... the selection of the Fourth Hokage, have you considered this? The future of Konoha needs a young leader to guide it."

The topic was too sensitive, and the meeting room fell silent instantly; even breathing could be heard clearly.

All eyes, whether open or hidden, were focused on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently lit his pipe, the smoke obscuring his expression.

However, he still turned his gaze to his friend beside him, that Jonin, who was probably one of his men.

Sigh, I just don't know how much his words are worth.

After a long silence, he said, "I do feel that my energy is not what it used to be. It is only right to hand over the future of Konoha to younger, more energetic leaders."

"However—" Hiruzen Sarutobi changed the subject, "Although the war has come to an end, its aftershocks have not subsided. Konoha and even the Land of Fire are still in a critical period of turmoil and adjustment. To rashly change the Hokage at this time would be a drastic move with far-reaching consequences. My opinion is that this matter can be postponed until the situation is more stable before discussing it further."

He not only expressed his intention to step down, but also gave sufficient reasons for the postponement, and sent a clear signal to the outside world that the position of Hokage will inevitably be handed over in the future.

During this transition period, whoever performs better and can shoulder the future of Konoha will gain an advantage in the upcoming competition.

The meeting ended in a delicate atmosphere.

Danzo Shimura remained silent throughout the entire meeting. He was the first to stand up and walk out of the meeting room.

As for the other Konoha Jonin, they have already turned their attention to the few Jonin who performed exceptionally well this time.

Among them, the most senior and prestigious is Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha.

Meanwhile, in the distant Land of Earth and Land of Lightning.

The high-ranking officials of Iwagakure and Kumogakure received nearly identical emergency reports.

Without exception, all the reconnaissance teams they sent to the Land of Waterfall to investigate the internal situation vanished without a trace.

Even their intelligence agents, who were sent to Takigakure disguised as tourists, have vanished without a trace.

On the contrary, those who entered the village openly and honestly, bearing the name of Iwagakure ninjas, were treated as normal visitors.

"It's Takigakure again. There must be something wrong with this report."

As Ōnoki looked at the report of continuous manpower losses, a sense of unease rose within him. He felt that Takigakure might become the next Amegakure.

"Keep sending people, but in a more covert way. We must find out!"

Meanwhile, the situation in Kumogakure was similar, only more volatile, leading to the Raikage replacing several desks in his office.

-

Deep within the underground palace of Takigaku Village.

Aburame Shisei was completely indifferent to the changes happening in the outside world, or perhaps he already knew them all along.

Because some major historical events are inevitable and do not require speculation.

In the laboratory, he spread out his notebook and recorded the number of times the experiment failed, one by one.

In addition, there is a scroll on the other side containing sensory records left by successive Takigakure ninjas before their death after consuming the Hero's Water.

However, after his extensive research, he realized that this substance was essentially a mixed extract of natural energy.

This tree can indeed condense a mixture of natural energy and chakra, but it doesn't quite qualify as Sage Chakra; while it can be called pure chakra, a large part of it comes from natural energy.

If the surge in chakra within the body originates from natural energy, then what it transforms into is pure chakra.

Moreover, the Hero's Water would deplete one's life essence; otherwise, such a small bottle wouldn't be enough to exchange for so much chakra.

The reason why people who take it die from their bodies exploding is entirely because their bodies and meridians cannot withstand such powerful and violent chakra.

In theory, if the body can withstand this powerful chakra and has the ability to repair meridians and replenish the squeezed life energy, this is the easiest thing to comprehend natural energy.

However, so far, Shisei Aburame has not been able to verify what kind of physical condition is required to take this product.

Therefore, the best way to deal with this thing is to dilute it with water, turn it into a small pond, and then seal it with a sealing spell to prevent the natural energy from dissipating and becoming nourishment for the insects.

As for the rest, let time do its work.

In another laboratory, a large cauldron was imprisoned. The outer seal had been broken open with a small gap, and beneath this gap were a large number of various insects.

These insects are all failed products of Aburame Shisei's recent experiments. Based on the principle of making use of waste, let's see if we can select some promising individuals from them.

The Seven-Tails' chakra possesses strong insect-like characteristics, toxic scales, and the ability to fly. More importantly, its chakra seems to have a unique activity and fusion quality.

Tailed beast chakra is more advanced and violent than ordinary chakra. Even though the Seven-Tails is considered a relatively mild type, the experimental results still showed that 99% of the insects died, and very few insects were able to survive for a day and reproduce.

However, there was a type of aquatic insect slowly absorbing and nurturing it, but unfortunately there was only one of them.

Above the underground shrine is the entrance to Togo Shrine.

Naoto appeared before Aburame Shisei's insect clone with three ninjas: a middle-aged man, a young man, and a teenager.

Aburame Shisei looked at the three of them and sensed that new insect species had been implanted in their bodies. Their physical abilities were close to those of Jonin, and most of their chakra was between that of Chunin and Jonin.

Aburame Shisei walked up to them and said, "The place you are going to is the Snow Country in the north. Your mission is to survive, gain a foothold, and establish your own identity."

Remember, from this day forward, you are no longer my people, nor are you people of Takigakure. You are merely wandering ninjas, merchants, and refugees. Your past is a blank slate; your future is to be written by yourselves. In six months, I will send someone to find you. Then, we'll discuss the next steps.