Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 34 The Sudden Breakup

Hearing this, Chiho remained quiet in his arms for a long time before slowly pushing him away.

She looked up and carefully examined his face. Aburame Shisei could clearly sense that the girl in front of him seemed somewhat disappointed, but she still maintained a gentle smile.

"Xiujun seems to have grown taller, her shoulders are broader, and she seems more reliable."

She reached out, her fingertips gently tracing his brow bone and bridge of his nose, finally stopping on his cheek: "But I don't want to wait like this anymore."

"I often fantasize about our life after we get married. Every time you go on a mission, I stay home and count the days. One day, two days, ten days, half a year... Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night when I hear a little noise, thinking that you've come back. But most of the time, it's just the sound of the wind."

Chiho withdrew her hand, took a step back, her smile still gentle, but with a hint of determination: "Let's break up, Xiu-kun."

Aburame Shisei looked at her, remained silent for a few seconds, and then nodded slightly, saying, "Okay."

"Feel sorry."

Aburame Shigeaki scratched his head and smiled apologetically, "I really can't give you the stable life you want. Chiho, you must find someone who can make you happy in the future."

His calmness surprised Chiho, and the surprise made her feel even more disappointed.

She wanted to say something more, but in the end, it all turned into a long sigh.

"Don't say things like that. You must take good care of yourself... and stay safe and sound."

After saying that, she stepped forward, opened her arms, and said, "Can we have one last hug?"

"Of course." Aburame Shisei pulled her into his arms and gently stroked her hair.

To be honest, he felt a little regretful, but this outcome was perhaps the best for him.

Chiho hugged him tightly, as if drawing the last warmth from him, and Shisei Aburame could feel two small wet patches on the fabric of his shirt.

After a long while, she let go of her hand, turned and left without looking back even once. The setting sun cast a long shadow of hers until it disappeared around the corner of the village road.

Yu Nu Zhicheng stood there, watching her figure disappear completely.

Did you discover something?

A moment of doubt flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

Based on our interaction and conversation just now, Chiho made this decision simply because of the anxiety that had accumulated over the long wait, and she did not show any suspicion towards him.

"Well, that's fine too. Without the entanglement of a close relationship, it will be much easier for him to play the role of Takikawa Hide, and he can focus more on his own plans." Aburame Shisei stood at a distance and muttered to himself.

Then he walked towards his own little house.

By the time I got home, it was completely dark.

Aburame Shisei didn't light a lamp; instead, he started working immediately.

He walked to the corner of the room, formed a hand seal, and immediately a faint rustling sound came from under the floor, which was the earth-eating insects he had secretly released the night before.

These insects eat almost anything, including soil. After a day of digging, Yu Nu Zhicheng discovered that some of the soil-eating insects had begun to differentiate.

Their excrement forms a hard, sand-like substance that is initially sticky and may be manipulated with chakra to perform a unique form of earth-escape.

In addition, an underground passage, one meter wide, two meters deep, and extending downwards for about twenty meters, has been excavated.

He plans to build a basement here to store the insects that have been decommissioned from the main combat sequence in the petri dishes.

For example, in the earliest cases of parasitic insects, he only planned to keep one thousand as experimental materials and for collection.

Even eliminating pests requires innovation.

Although they excel at surveillance, reconnaissance, and information gathering, their appearance is too conspicuous, so they must change their skin to mimic the most common insects in the wild and add the ability to conceal their chakra.

While this modification has a certain foundation, it still requires a lot of experimentation.

And the Invisible Scorpion has been cooped up in its box all this time, becoming quite lazy. Now that the basement is built, it's time to let it out and get some exercise.

Besides this, the necessary training and development cannot be neglected, after all, they are considered high-end combatants. Having a medium will also make future research into immortal arts and natural forces much easier.

There are also buoyant insects that can survive on water alone, and a pair of new insects whose effects are unknown; the functions of these new insects also need to be studied.

Yu Nu Zhicheng began to focus on building his underground nest. Ventilation was not a concern for the time being, since the floating insects in the swarm could produce oxygen using water and carbon dioxide.

Hours later, a makeshift basement began to take shape.

He moved most of the insect population from the petri dish to this location, instantly emptying half of the twelve-compartment insect box.

Finally, he unrolled the scroll, took out half a pork slice, and gently stroked the scorpion that had emerged from its invisible state.

"Eat up. After you're done eating, take good care of them for me."

The invisible scorpion nodded obediently, nuzzled his fingers affectionately, and then began to eat.

By the time everything was arranged, it was already late at night.

Aburame Shisei lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and suddenly felt as if he had forgotten something. But as soon as his head touched the pillow, a strong sense of drowsiness swept over him.

He thought to himself, "Since it can be forgotten, it's probably not a big deal."

With that thought in mind, he gave up thinking and fell into a deep sleep.

At the same time, in the woods behind the waterfall outside the village.

Summer sat alone on that flat rock, two cans of beer and a bag of snacks in front of her. She hummed a tuneless little tune, occasionally glancing up at the forest path.

As the moon slowly rose to its zenith, the number of mosquitoes in the forest increased.

At first she waved them away, but later she became too lazy to move and let the swarm of mosquitoes buzz and swirl around her.

The beer that was brought soon had become lukewarm, and the snacks that were meant to accompany it had gone cold.

The starlight twinkled in the night sky, and the roar of the distant waterfall sounded exceptionally clear in the silence.

A night breeze blew by.

"Achoo!"

Summer sneezed and curled up in a ball, hugging her knees.

Time slips away, bit by bit.

As the eastern sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, summer finally stirred its stiff body.

Her face was expressionless, except for a faint bluish-black tinge under her eyes.

She stared at the untouched cans of beer for a few seconds, then reached out and picked one up.

The aluminum can gradually deformed and dented in her palm, finally bursting open with a bang, splashing the icy liquid all over her hand.

Xia Ri shook his hand expressionlessly, got up and walked towards the village.

The next morning, Aburame Shisei was awakened by a violent kicking sound at the door.

He had just opened his eyes when he saw the door being kicked open—Xia Ri stood in the doorway with a gloomy face and a murderous aura in his eyes.

"Takikawa Hide!"

Yu Nu Zhicheng sat up, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He finally remembered what he had forgotten last night.

Oh right...it seems someone invited him to drink in the grove yesterday.