He originally thought he was up against a king but ended up facing a bronze.
Fortunately, the battle ended quickly. Before anyone could come in, Shigeo Aburame had already retrieved all his parasitic insects.
When the Konoha Police Force burst into the room, all they saw was a corpse lying on the bed and Shigeo Aburame trembling under it.
They took away the corpse with visible disdain, muttering "coward" as they left.
After that, there was no follow-up. No one came to question Shigeo, as though nothing had ever happened.
Six months passed in a blur.
To others, Shigeo still seemed frail and sickly. But in reality, his chakra reserves now surpassed most genin in Konoha.
He had cultivated over 3,000 special chakra-feeding insects, which returned enough energy daily to maintain a population of 30,000 regular parasitic insects.
Combined with his own chakra production, he could hatch up to 60,000 insects using the Aburame secret technique, **Insect Cocoon**, whenever needed.
For the Aburame clan, the strength of a shinobi is often measured by their chakra reserves and the number of insects they control.
Shigeo believed that by the time he graduated from the ninja academy in two years, his abilities would surpass most chunin in Konoha, rivaling even those of special jonin.
But life is full of surprises.
In the fall of the 30th year of Konoha, Hanzo of the Salamander, leader of the Land of Rain, sought to expand his territory. Declaring war on the Lands of Fire, Wind, and Iron, he launched an invasion.
Yet the great nations do not tolerate provocation. At the Fire Daimyo's command, the Third Hokage sent an elite ninja force into the Land of Rain, sparking intense battles.
Though small in size, the Land of Rain was a military powerhouse, equal to the Five Great Nations. The war quickly reached a stalemate.
Soon, the Lands of Wind and Earth also entered the fray, marking the official beginning of the **Second Shinobi World War**.
With many ninja deployed to the front lines, Konoha faced a severe manpower shortage, particularly at the genin level.
To address this, the Third Hokage ordered the academy to shorten its training time to produce genin as quickly as possible.
As a result, a large number of students graduated, including Shigeo—long considered a "one-trick pony" and the "dead last." He passed the graduation exam and received a Konoha forehead protector, officially becoming a registered genin.
The next step for new genin was team assignment.
To maximize survival rates, Konoha placed careful thought into team compositions.
Each team of three students typically included one strong overall, one strategic thinker, and one with obvious weaknesses. These were led by an experienced jonin.
This structure was jokingly called the "Three Heroes and a Deadweight" formation.
Despite its odd name, years of practice had proven it to be the most effective for completing missions and ensuring survival.
To Shigeo's delight, he was placed on the same team as Minato Namikaze. Later, Chojiro Akimichi joined their team as well.
Shigeo couldn't have been happier.
"Now my safety is guaranteed, and I won't run out of food pills, all while earning mission rewards!" he thought, thrilled.
In the ninja world, completing missions earns monetary rewards corresponding to the mission's rank.
Even the lowest-ranked D-rank missions paid more than the monthly allowance Shigeo received from his clan.
"Dangerous as it may be, with money, I can finally break free from financial constraints and fully focus on strengthening myself. That's what it means to fund battles through battle!"
The thought filled Shigeo with hope and determination.
Other graduates wore similar expressions, each lost in their own dreams of the future.
After team assignments, the groups mingled, chatting among themselves. Chojiro approached Shigeo and Minato.
"Hey, Shigeo, Minato! My mom said I should invite you to our house for dinner after this."
"Oh?" Shigeo raised an eyebrow. "Does she want to invite just us, or all your teammates?"
"Uh…" Chojiro scratched his head. "Isn't that the same thing? You two are my teammates."
Hearing this, Shigeo and Minato exchanged a glance and chuckled.
…
As the saying goes, "When elders offer, one cannot refuse." Since Chojiro's mother had invited them, Shigeo and Minato had no reason to decline.
Neither had family obligations, so they headed to the Akimichi household after school.
Chojiro's mother prepared a grand meal, while his father joined them to celebrate their graduation.
Both parents were warm and welcoming, and Shigeo and Minato were polite and respectful, making the dinner a delightful experience.
Afterward, Chojiro's father personally escorted them home, giving each a colorfully wrapped gift box as they parted.
Having already eaten, neither hesitated to accept the gifts with a grateful "thank you."
Back at home, Shigeo unwrapped his box and froze in surprise.
Inside was a brand-new lunchbox.
Suspecting something, he opened it to reveal a neatly packed box of medicinal food pills, emanating a strong herbal aroma.
He couldn't help but smile.
"Just as I thought."
Clearly, Chojiro's father had learned about the food pills his son had been bringing.
Sending a box of food pills as a gift carried an unspoken message.
But Shigeo didn't see it as a warning. After all, he was just a ten-year-old in their eyes. If they wanted to warn him, they could have simply thrown Chojiro's old lunchbox at him.
A harsher approach would've been reporting him to the Konoha Police, where the cold-faced Uchiha officers wouldn't show any leniency.
Instead, the Akimichi family chose to offer dinner and send food pills, sending a clear message:
**"I know you need this. So take it. Just look out for my son."**
It was a gesture in line with the honest and kindhearted Akimichi ways.
And Shigeo appreciated it.
He was willing to exploit others, even trick them, but never those with genuine kindness—especially not a friend.
"Ah, the favor of an elder!"
Shigeo smacked his lips and chuckled as he skillfully rolled the pills into bite-sized balls.
"Don't worry. As long as I'm around, your son will stay safe. Even if we have to run, I'll make sure to take him with me."
**(End of Chapter)**