— The head of the Akimichi clan came to visit me, you know?
Surprised by the sudden change of topic, Yashin raised both eyebrows.
— It seems his son, Chōji, spoke to him about your proposal, and he wanted to get some information before letting him approach you.
Not quite following, Yashin narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.
— I told him you're a handful, but also that if you'd offered it, you'd surely have a way to make it happen.
Shino, somewhat stifled by the atmosphere of the conversation, pulled the collar of his coat down slightly, as if that would help him breathe easier.
— Do you know why I'm saying all this?
Yashin didn't answer.
— Because even though I'm confident that your contributions would be worth any price, there are still limits I won't cross.
The faint smile on the pink-haired boy's face twisted to reveal his fangs.
— And here I thought the Aburame were discreet by nature. For the clan leader, you seem to enjoy talking quite a bit.
Instead of taking offense, Shibi responded to his words with a much more measured smile, barely visible above the collar of his coat.
— Besides, you're taking this too seriously. There's no need to talk like that to a mere child, is there?
— Just as I've learned that sometimes it's better to say more, I also know that treating all kids like ignorant brats is idiotic. After all, there are many geniuses in this world. Underestimating others because of their age is often a mistake you pay for with your life.
— Flattering me won't do you any good.
— At least I tried.
Finally, Yashin relaxed his expression as he let out a slight sigh.
— Do you know what the Aburame's greatest weakness is, Chief Shibi?
Since the clan chief himself wasn't eager to get to the main topic, Yashin figured he might as well oblige him and lay out a few things as well.
— It's their dependence on their own insects.
Unlike Shino, Shibi wasn't in the least bit surprised by the, at first glance, absurd statement.
He simply adjusted his glasses and waited calmly for Yashin to continue.
— It seems you still don't understand. I'm not just referring to the fact that their strength comes purely from them, and that their physical abilities, due to their own bodily modifications, are destined to be little more than mediocre at best.
Turning their body into a colony, beyond the grotesqueness of the idea, also has the disadvantage that the body riddled with holes will have countless fewer cells compared to any other normal Shinobi.
It's not just a matter of poorer physical condition; even their chakra reserves will be more limited.
However, Yashin didn't need to lecture the clan leader himself on any of that, so he continued without changing his tone.
— Madara Uchiha or the First Hokage himself—take away their Sharingan and Wood Release, and they won't be half as strong as they were in their prime. But that's not a bad thing. It just proves that maximizing a strength is the true path to the top. However, the Aburame's strength lies in their bugs, and that makes them vulnerable.
Unconcerned by Shibi's change in expression, as soon as he called his prized kikaichū "bugs," Yashin extended his arm toward one of the house's walls, simultaneously mobilizing a very small portion of his chakra.
— You lot don't know how lucky you are that someone like me was born in Konoha.
Soon, the kikaichū that had been resting quietly inside the wall began to stir and look for a way out; however, before they could get too far, Shibi's chakra calmed them down again.
But unlike the kikaichū, Shibi could no longer remain as relaxed as he had been at first. It was one thing for the pink-haired to control Shino's insects, but it was quite another for him to interfere with the ones Shibi had raised himself.
— Now imagine if I did the same thing to the bugs inside their bodies.
Yashin's chakra sprang into action again, but this time with the help of a simple hand seal.
The thousands of kikaichū dwelling inside Shibi shuddered. A movement insignificant from a human's perspective, like a slight stirring in the midst of sleep; but for the Aburame, it was more colossal than an earthquake.
— See? Just a little more chakra, and how many of them would have woken up? How many of them would have bitten, frantic to devour their own host?
Shibi didn't need it explained to him.
For a second, for an instant, his entire colony was no longer under his control.
If it hadn't been for the minuscule amount of chakra used in the process and the instinctive tension of his own chakra the moment he sensed the disturbance, the colony he had raised his entire life would have ceased to belong to him.
The way he looked at the pink-haired boy in front of him changed completely.
He couldn't even begin to understand how he'd done it.
It was so illogical that it went against everything he knew. Almost as absurd as seeing an alien goddess descend from the moon and claim to be the mother of the Sage of the Six Paths. And yet, it had just happened to him.
— H-how?
Shibi no longer knew how to deal with the youngest of the Harunos.
For a moment, he even felt the urge to attack him and end his life.
Seeing the tension in the Aburame clan leader, Yashin let out a soft laugh.
Although it didn't make sense—and to some extent annoyed him, since it brought back some vague but unpleasant memories from his past life—the pink-haired also found a certain amusement in wasting time this way.
A brat playing games with an old fox at the negotiating table.
Something completely unthinkable in his past life.
Shino surely enjoyed the spectacle.
However, it seemed the card he'd drawn was too much for the other side to continue.
— It's nothing too impressive. The relationship between the Aburame and their kikaichū is symbiotic. You offer them your bodies to live in, and they obey your commands, but how do they do it? How do you transmit your orders? That was the first question I asked myself.
After talking so much, Yashin's throat was starting to feel dry, so without asking permission, he stood up and made his way to one side of the room, straight toward the tea set laid out on one of the countertops.
Neither Shibi nor Shino said anything.
It wasn't until Yashin had quenched his thirst that the silence he had left behind was broken again.
— It's not the Yamanakas, so it can't be mental techniques; therefore, it should be simpler. And for a Shinobi, what could be simpler than chakra? I didn't even need to investigate their techniques. A little knowledge of insects and a few experiments proved me right.
By this point, Shibi had regained his composure and was now listening intently.
At one point, he too had thought that the pink-haired had somehow stolen his clan's secrets. However, whether because of his overly direct personality, because of all the eyes that were on the boy at the time, or because of the friendship he shared with his son, Shibi decided to take the risk of waiting and investigating thoroughly before drawing a conclusion.
But it didn't take him long to realize that the pink-haired was entirely self-taught, and that aside from commanding and modifying a few kikaichū, he hadn't delved into the essence of his clan.
— I must say that conveying one's intentions through chakra waves was quite ingenious for those living in the Warring States period, but how many years have passed since Konoha was founded? More than 70? And you're still doing the same thing.
Yashin shook his head as he poured himself another cup of tea.
— Truly, all the clans have become leeches living off past achievements.
There was no trace of regret in his voice, only simple contempt.
Both Shibi and Shino instinctively wanted to refute his words; however, even if Yashin was being too harsh, there wasn't much they could say.
At least not in front of the creator of insects like honey ants capable of storing chakra—the very creatures their clan had always dreamed of.
— People's chakras aren't fixed. Sometimes they're warmer, sometimes colder; sometimes they're stronger or weaker, like a flickering candle. The kikaichū try to latch onto a kind of unique "flavor" in the chakra that's familiar to them—something that never changes despite the uncontrollable fluctuations. Unfortunately, no such thing exists. People's chakra isn't a fingerprint; instead, it's more like body odor—always similar, but never the same. You, whose only method of utilizing your greatest strength is to send your instructions through chakra, can be easily neutralized by someone capable of imitating it.
Even though he had already proven his point, Yashin once again messed with the kikaichū inside Shibi; but this time, unlike last time, the head of the Aburame clan was prepared.
Even so, it was all for naught.
Everything Yashin had revealed had caused the stability of his chakra to fluctuate. On the other hand, the pink-haired had shaped it to perfection.
Despite the difference in chakra invested, Yashin was still able to make some kikaichū emerge from Shibi's pores.
— That's why I say you're lucky I was born in Konoha. If I were your enemy, even if I couldn't completely destroy this village, at least all your civilians would be dead with this simple trick.
Despite the thick coat covering his body, Shibi felt cold.
Shino did too, but his shock was much less.
The head of the Aburame clan realized this, just as he noticed the thin sheen of sweat on Yashin's forehead and the slight pallor of his face.
The boy wasn't lying.
He could have, but at the same time, he was unable to.
His own body was preventing him from doing so.
Shibi didn't know if that was a misfortune or a blessing.
After a long while, once Yashin had finished drinking his second cup of tea and Shibi had regained his composure, the pink-haired spoke again.
— I can share my modification methods and even some knowledge about other hypothetical insects. But I will only do so with one person, and that person will be forbidden from sharing it with others, with the exception of their direct descendants.
Shibi didn't even need to ask.
Yashin's eyes were fixed on the figure of the bewildered Shino, still sitting on the ground.
— I have only two conditions. First. Shino will become my follower. His life, his death, his fate will belong to me. Even if I ever become a renegade ninja and leave the village, he will have to follow me.
Yashin didn't rush to continue speaking.
He let his words sink in before continuing.
— The second condition is…