Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 59 New Secret Technique: Condensing Dew

Although Naoto was there to help and Shisei Aburame was there to assist, the newly modified secret technique still needed to be learned from scratch.

Putting aside other things, the basic training alone took Naoto nearly a hundred days. This training included mental perception training and precise control of chakra.

The remaining task is to learn some sealing techniques and the principles of human organ and body modification techniques, followed by the creation of modification techniques themselves.

Some secret techniques are advanced knowledge materials that cannot be learned simply by acquiring them, nor can they be learned by recognizing characters and understanding words, much less by copying pictures.

Especially this secret technique; to ensure its completeness and safety, Aburame Shisei added quite a few things to it. It can be said that even if Kakuzu, who had mastered the Earth Grudge Technique, obtained this secret technique, he would have to start learning it from scratch.

During the day, Naoto carried out his mission as usual, but his relationship with his two other friends gradually became distant. It wasn't that he was heartless; he just didn't want to involve them.

Given their abilities and qualifications, the less they know, the safer they will be in the future.

Some strong people have very few friends, and if they become strong in the future, they will try their best not to let these people become their weaknesses.

The best approach is to exercise restraint, see them less often, and gradually distance yourself.

In September of the third year of Konoha, a year and a half had passed since Shisei Aburame defected from Konoha, and only a year and a half remained until the end of the Second Shinobi World War.

A faint sense of urgency arose in Aburame Shisei's heart. After the great battle ended, Konoha would definitely settle scores later, so his escape method was not particularly clever.

He believed that the ninjas of Konoha had the ability to find him, but he didn't know if it would take three or five years. Therefore, he still needed to complete the experiment as soon as possible and break through his current strength.

At the end of October, the village completed another autumn harvest. This time, Jing Tianlong brought in the latest fertilizer and, in addition, he intentionally or unintentionally influenced and improved the planting methods, resulting in a bumper harvest in Chengzi's fields, with more grain than they could eat.

After selling their grain, most villagers were quite wealthy and had spare money, so they wanted to spend it. However, there were no expensive entertainment venues in the village.

Ordinary villagers might be able to tolerate it, but those ninjas who had experienced the world found it hard to bear and began to stir.

When will this cowardly village be able to break free of its barrier? This is what most Chunin and some Genin are thinking. Most of them are between seventeen or eighteen and thirty-five years old, so they are all adult men.

After two years of lockdown, the village is now like a prison. The new leader is diligently carrying out his duties, but he doesn't know why some of the chunin in the village are becoming increasingly irritable.

In early November, the underground kingdom was filled with the chirping of insects and the twinkling of fireflies.

Naoto sat cross-legged under the huge tree root, his face as pale as paper.

For six months, a full six months, he endured unimaginable suffering in this sunless underground palace. It was not physical pain, but mental exhaustion and torment.

For the first time, he realized that the knowledge he had longed to learn could also bring him unimaginable pain.

Aburame Shisei stood not far away, with scout bugs hovering in the air, monitoring the data changes on Naoto's body in real time.

"Keep your breathing steady, and don't resist those tentacles. They are an extension of your body, a part of you."

Zhi Ren gritted his teeth, and veins bulged on his forehead.

He could clearly feel that those damned blood vessels in his body were undergoing a mutation. They seemed to be alive, extending out of his original vascular system and turning into countless soft white tentacles that wandered between his flesh and blood.

That feeling...

It was as if countless tiny snakes were wriggling inside his body.

"ah--!"

He finally couldn't hold back and let out a low growl.

Aburame Shicheng frowned slightly, but did not stop. He raised his hand, and a reddish-brown insect landed on his shoulder.

"The stinky bug can only relieve 30% of your pain; you have to bear the remaining 70% on your own."

This isn't actually its limit, but excessive pheromone secretion can affect the fusion process.

Naoto was breathing heavily, sweat dripping down his cheeks and hitting the ground with a slight hissing sound. His sweat contained energy impurities far exceeding those of ordinary people.

"I...I can still hold on..."

Aburame Shisei nodded slightly.

In the past six months, Naoto's performance has far exceeded his expectations.

There is something special about Naoto: it is not talent, nor perseverance, but a kind of stubborn tenacity.

Just like that person from before...

three days later.

Deep within the underground kingdom, Naoto slowly opened his eyes.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands. On the surface, nothing had changed; they were still the hands of an ordinary boy. But he could feel that his body had undergone a complete upheaval.

Chakra surged through his meridians like a thawing spring river, flowing endlessly. The feeling... was like he used to be carrying a bucket of water, but now, he had a lake following behind him.

"It's a success."

Aburame Shisei's voice came from behind him, carrying a sense of relief that he himself could not perceive.

This project has been going on for two and a half years since it was first launched, and it has gone through many twists and turns. Now it's finally time to reap the rewards.

Naoto stood up and tried to move his limbs. His bones made a slight popping sound, and every muscle contraction was full of explosive power.

"I feel like... I have a different body."

"It's not just a different body, it's a breakthrough beyond its original limits." Aburame Shigeaki walked up to him and handed him a mirror: "Take a look."

The boy in the mirror still had the same features, but his eyes had changed.

The confusion and timidity that once belonged to youth have disappeared, replaced by a kind of self-confidence—or rather, a clarity that has been tempered by strength.

"Let's try to consolidate it."

Naoto closed his eyes and, following the methods he had learned over the past few days, gathered the strange power within his body into his palm.

A moment later, a tentacle grew from his palm, condensing into a white droplet.

The liquid emitted a faint fluorescent glow, and just by looking at it, one could sense the terrifying life force it contained.

"Is this what you call condensed dew?"

Yu Nu Zhicheng nodded, took out a specially made jade bottle, and put the drop of dew into it.

"This one drop has depleted 30% of your body's energy reserves."

He looked at the weak Naoto and said, "Go to the dining room. I've already had three days' worth of food prepared for you."