Forest of Death

Shino's eyes glinted with a dangerous intensity as he received the details from Alina regarding the transparent bug that had just returned from its reconnaissance mission.

"It seems that those ones at the top have a wait-and-see attitude. No wonder no one came to support Sasuke's group. They clearly want to use bait to catch a big fish. Tsk- tsk- they are more cruel to Genins than I thought," Shino mused inwardly as he followed his team to rush through the forest.

Ever since the group stepped through the gate and into the forest, their senses immediately assaulted by the unfamiliar surroundings. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and decaying leaves, and the sound of rustling underbrush surrounded them.

Shino took point, his insect companions scouting ahead for any potential dangers. Hinata and Kiba followed close behind, their eyes scanning for any signs of movement.

As they walked deeper into the forest, the tension began to mount. The group could seemingly feel eyes watching them from the shadows, and the rustling of leaves sounded like whispers in their ears.

Kiba and Hinata were vigilant as their eyes scanned around, but noting that both Shino and Akamaru didn't alert them of danger, they silently continued forward.

However, it wasn't long before Kiba became impatient with running on a wild goose chase. So, he proposed a different plan – using themselves as bait.

Now, the group had remained stationary in the forest, nonchalantly speaking to each other… well, mostly just Kiba speaking because both Shino and Hinata were quiet people.

As Shino adjusted his glasses, his obscured eyes peeked at the top right corner of his vision. To others, there was nothing there, but in Shino's vision, there was a 2D mini-map display! It was a radar detecting the area around him!

This was a part of his new system interface function that he chose to project in his own vision!

Checking the radar and confirming it was safe nearby, Shino's obscured eyes closed as he delved into the full system interface in his mind. After months of growth, there were naturally new functions.

The interface in his mind sprang to life and displayed the function currently in use.

A 3D map of the forest appeared in his mind, constructed from months of exploration with his drones. In the holographic display, Shino could see everything in the forest, from the towering trees to the smallest blades of grass.

With months of drone exploration, Shino had created this 3D model of the Forest of Death with the assistance of Alina. At first, it was meant to be a static map, but a fortunate turn of events a month ago allowed him to collect a strand of gene that completed his Zerg communication ability, upgrading it into a veratile Zerg Network!

Now, Shino could receive information from his bugs over long distances, without physical contact. These include both visual and audio data!

Of course, there was still a transmission time depending on the data size.

With this upgrade and the power of an army of insects, Alina was able to transform the static map into a pseudo real-time map.

Scattered out across the map were many green dots. They were his drones and insects, which he used to gather information and scout out the area, keeping the map updated when there are changes. Alina will analyze the received data and modify the map as needed.

An uncountable number of yellow dots appeared on the map, representing creatures living in the forest. Shino didn't have to worry about finding a food source in the forest. Well, even without this function, his team was fully capable of doing so.

The truly useful function of the map was the tracking of scattered orange dots, representing dangerous animals that lived in the Forest of Death. Shino made a mental note to stay away from those areas.

There were also over 50 red dots, indicating the positions of enemy Genins marked by Shino's bugs during the first exam! They were scattered throughout the forest, but Shino was confident that he could take them down if necessary.

Right now, the map was zoomed in and focused on a white dot that represented his location.

Besides him, two blue dots appeared on the map, representing Hinata and Kiba. They were close by, within a few meters of his position.

[Alert. Multiple enemies has been detected to be approaching Overmind's position.]

Several bold, red dots appeared nearby on the map, indicating the positions of enemy ninja that were moving quickly, heading in their direction.

Adjusting his glasses, Shino opened his eyes and saw the incoming red dots on the mini-radar. It seems the first batch of enemy has fallen into their trap.

"We have company. Prepare for-"

"Finally! Thought they would never come- Yo, play along, don't reveal anything suspicious!" Kiba reminded before he continued his loud speech, "Anyway, the tower is everyone's goal right? It would be smart for us to…"

Shino glanced at Kiba with a stoic face as he heard the 'ding' sound, signifying the increment of a certain variable once again.

Shino then looked forward calmly, while the corner of his vision locked onto the incoming humanoid shapes that were highlighted in red by Alina. Pity, they weren't at the level where they could hide from his detection. Heck, they couldn't even hide from Akamaru's detection.

Meanwhile, the unsuspecting enemy Genins hid in the trees, discussing their ambush plan while observing the trio that they had determined to be prey. Alas, they met the wrong team.

[Detected enemies in range of established trap. Executing Flying Leeches Protocol…]

Moments later, surprised exclamations echoed in the forest, followed by screams of pain and agony.

They were caught in the trap the team had prepared.

With the Flying Leeches of the forest that Kiba had 'discovered', the group set up an ambush for unsuspecting enemies drawn to them.

The enemies were surprised by the giant leeches falling from above, and when they tried to escape the assault, they would end up in the deadly traps below. A simple yet efficient trap.

Kiba, who came up with the plan, confidently boasted out loud to the enemy regarding the inner workings of the plan. Fortunately, he wasn't facing the protagonist – so he didn't die from talking too much.

It wasn't long before the side characters were given the bento as they ended up trapped in a net. Moments later, Shino's bugs had already started to consume the trapped Genins alive, causing them to scream in agony.

"That's one team down..."

Kiba watched with a mixture of awe over his own trap design and disgust as he saw Shino's bugs devouring their enemies. He still couldn't get used to seeing the spectacle – no matter how many times he saw it.

It was a horrifying feat, but after months of being a ninja, he had learned the harsh truth of the ninja world – it was cruel, and Shino's bugs weren't completely unacceptable compared to some of things they had seen on missions.

Plus, this was the Chunin exam, they had to do whatever it took to win.

"Shino, can you hurry it up?" Kiba asked, his voice laced with disgust. "The longer you take, the more disgusted I feel."

"Arf! Arf!"

"See? Akamaru agrees!"

Shino turned to look at Kiba, his expression unreadable. "My bugs can only eat so-"

"Yo, I get it, your bugs can't eat that fast. You told me many times already- sheesh," Kiba said with a grin as he ruffled Akamaru's head.

Meanwhile, Hinata looked away, unable to watch as the screams of their enemies echoed through the forest. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for what they were doing, but she knew that it was either them or their enemies.

As the screams died down, Shino turned his attention back to the task at hand.

Don't underestimate his months of exploration. These leeches had long been under his control. With the genetic lock of Zerg Dominator system, even the new generations of leeches were born under the influence of the hive!

If he could also dominate the other creatures of the forest, the Forest of Death would become his own domain! Alas, his absolute control was limited to insects at the moment.

Thanks to his Aburame clan technique, he could coerce insects into entering his body – designed as a veritable haven for bugs, but he didn't have the ability to control the other smaller species to enter his body, let alone trying to fit the massive forest creatures that were multiple times the size of his body body.

But this was only for now. After all, the Zergs were never limited to being measly insects.

For now, his domination was limited to most of the relatively powerful insects in the Forest of Death. He couldn't even expand beyond the scope of Konoha.

Also, he just couldn't keep these dominated bugs, such as the leeches, in his body because it would difficult to explain when and how he had tamed them.

It was well known that the Aburame clan could tame bugs with their own chakra or special methods, but it wasn't something that can be done instantly nor was it something that could be applied to every type of insects.

So, Shino could reveal that he had tamed any of these bugs. At most, Shino could reveal that he could prevent the leeches from assaulting the team along with the hidden characteristics of the leeches, such as their heat and sweat sensing.

Fortunately, Kiba wasn't a brute force idiot, and he was able to come up with a plan after Shino dropped some hints.

Under the guise of using his bugs to carrying them, he arranged the living leeches in their ambush positions, ensuring that no enemy was able to escape their grasp.

Hinata and Kiba were in charge of setting up the traps all around the area, preventing their enemies from making a break for it. Now, the results paid off. They had drawn first blood, and it felt like a victory.

Naturally, the trap was almost triggered a couple of times by wild forest creatures.

However, the team's scouting abilities were a great asset, and they had learned to use them to their greatest advantage over the course of months. As long as it wasn't an enemy beyond their level or hidden mist ninjas with anti-perception mist, their enemies didn't stand a chance.

So, the trio worked together, their teamwork seamless as they continued to eliminate the cannon fodder and finally waited for the big fish.

Of course, this was under the condition that they were trash fish mobs and not the overwhelming monsters of the forest.

As they retrieved their first matching scroll, Hinata approached them with a worried look on her face. "Are you guys okay?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

Kiba grinned, his confidence soaring. "We're more than okay," he said. "We finally completed out first set of scrolls, thanks to Shino's bugs and our trap skills. Now, we can start heading over to the central tower! We'll be the first ones!"

Shino remained stoic as always while Hinata seemed a bit relieved that things would be over soon.

Shino adjusted his glasses while he inwardly shook his head. Things that were meant to come still had to come. Their journey was far from over.

"Well done, Shino-kun," Hinata encouraged, sweetly smiling at him as she handed over the scroll.

Shino nodded and kept the scroll.

A mischievous glint in his eye, Kiba nudged Shino with his elbow. "Hey, Shino, you better not lose them. I don't want to stay out here for a couple more days, right Akamaru?"

"Arf. Arf!"

Shino looked at Kiba, his expression unchanging.

Kiba grinned, understanding he could trust Shino. Little did Kiba know, he had already been etched into the black book of his companion.

"Yaho! Let's head over to the tower," he said. "Hinata, point us in the right direction."

Hinata smiled, nodding in agreement. "Byakugan!"

With a goal, the team rushed forward, chatting happily on the way.

However, Shino was inwardly wary. And his vigilance was well-founded.

[Alert. Alert! Sand Ninja Kankuro detected in route! There is a 99% probability that high-risk target, Gaara, will be nearby. Overmind is advised to implement avoidance protocol…]

Shino adjusted his glasses and glanced over at the reckless Kiba and Hinata whose Byakugan had already detected the situation.

Although he wanted to plan a route that avoided Gaara, this was an extravagant hope. After all, Gaara is on the same route as them, and they would have to go a long way around if they wanted to avoid Gaara.

Let's not say that Shino didn't have a reason to do so, even if he did, Shino didn't want to risk it.

Bumping into Gaara has a risk that Shino can still control because he believed in his current strength, however, if he took a detour and accidentally bump into Uncle Snake, it would truly be game over.

After all, the original grass ninjas' corpses were already cold. The current grass ninjas had no trackers on them, and it was impossible for Shino to know their movement. The anti-tracking capabilities of Uncle Snake were top notch, something that he was unwilling to risk his drones and bugs to test.

Plus, the reality of Gaara's true strength was a necessary lesson that Kiba needed to learn, lest he foolishly provoke the future Kazekage once they reach the central tower.

This young man's ego had begun to swell with each successful mission, ignorant of the possible dangers that lay ahead. It's time for him to tone down his reckless and bloodthirsty nature.

So, he can only hope for the best and that everything would end well, just like in the anime.

If not…

Then, Shino is afraid that the Shukaku may have to arrive ahead of schedule.