46 In-Depth Analysis

Shino Aburame sat in his newly upgraded underground lab, deep beneath the forests of the Land of Fire. The room was dimly lit, with only the soft glow of bioluminescent creep illuminating the shelves upon shelves of glass containers filled with various insects, fungi, and other organisms.

Shino was poring over a thick, leather-bound holographic tome in his vision. His glasses glinted in the dim light as he traced a finger over a particularly interesting diagram of a beautiful face.

Since the birth of Karina, Shino had lifted the constraints on some of his mutated drones, unleashing them into the vast and limitless expanse of the Naruto world. Their mission: to stealthily scour for books and scrolls, adding precious knowledge to his database.

He was well aware that these drones could become a prime target for hunting, so he took extra precautions and set up covert measures to prevent it from ending up in the hand of others.

Although this was just an initial reveal of the zerg army and wasn't a full-blown invasion, it may be enough to draw some eyes towards him.

But with Karina defending his secret base and his main body, Shino felt less apprehensive about the possibility of his zergs being discovered. He saw this as an opportunity to devote his time to strengthening his army, honing his skills, and perfecting his database.

As he suspected that he may have become a subject of interest to some cunning masterminds, Shino's intuition urged him to accelerate his efforts. In the training grounds, his diligent drones also intensified their biomass harvesting.

To ensure his covert base remains hidden, Shino devised an ingenious plan – a network of smaller creep biospheres scattered across the subterranean world under Konoha, acting as temporary storage containers for his drones to deposit their precious resource.

He knew all too well that the frequent return of his drones to the same location could jeopardize the secrecy of his base. He would rather risk his main body to collect his harvest once a month, after securing the area of course.

After all, safeguarding his main body was paramount to Shino, for he knew the stakes were high. He understood the strategic advantage of manipulating an avatar, and he wasn't willing to relinquish it.

Shrouded in secrecy, Shino and Karina worked tirelessly to improve the defense of their biosphere. The walls were fortified and the security measures were upgraded to ensure that no one could discover their hidden location.

Now, even if an intruder manages to penetrate the biosphere, it's still a question if Karina would let them leave alive. Even the filial scheming son may fall if he delved too deeply. Perhaps the only exception would be the number one actor with his buggy Kamui ability.

Naturally, Shino wasn't going to mention the powerful foes who could pose a threat to his base with their raw destructive force. After all, they might have a hard time finding their way to his hidden lair. His great focus on anti-detection security measures were not for nothing.

The biosphere's security upgrade was just a precursor to what Shino had in mind. A small expansion that he had planned for a while was now underway, and many rooms had been optimized to enhance his research, while a few new rooms were constructed.

One of the new rooms was this second lab, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment he found and repaired from an abandoned lab near Konoha.

The abandoned lab had many useful scientific equipment, many still functioning properly despite their lack of maintenance.

Since its owner had recently left Konoha and won't be coming back any time soon, Shino was determined to not let these equipment rot. So, he 'borrowed' them permanently. Thank you, Uncle Snake- Ahem.

Shino looked up, turning his attention to a large glass chamber in the corner of the room. Inside, a small, humanoid figure was suspended in a thick, nutrient-rich solution. It was a clone, grown from Shino's essence, but with a twist.

"Karina, is there any things to note on the clone?" he asked, returning to flipping through the pages of the virtual book, but his eyes betrayed a bit of distraction.

[Lord Shino, the clone is progressing well and is nearing completion. As you can see, it has the signature red hair of the Uzumaki clan and did not deviate from the predicted trajectory of growth. That's because it was cultivated with your essence, my Uzumaki blood, and the power of biomass.]

This was one of Karina's new abilities as a queen. She could create fleshly clones using Shino's essence and biomass, but the results still left much to be desired. After all, it was supposedly just a biological shell.

Shino nodded again. "By combining the genetic code of my zerg body and your bloodline, we're hoping to use it to upgrade my own body's bloodline. But are you sure this clone has no consciousness and soul? If it has a soul, there will be many complications..."

[Karina is positive. Although Karina can clone Lord Shino with his life essence, Karina still doesn't have the ability to give the clone a soul. This will require further research in the future. If any signs of consciousness is detected, Karina will notify Lord Shino. As for this clone, it can only be temporarily used for other purposes. Once the clone reaches the stable stage, we can exchange its blood- Umph...]

Shino's gaze deepened into a dangerous intensity as he peered through the virtual book, where there was a stunning figure with lustrous purple and red locks, her eyes widened in astonishment.

After a few moments, Karina rose languidly to her feet, arching her back and showcasing the alluring contours of her body. As she stretched, she licked her lips, cleaning and savoring the remnants of her previous activities. "Shino-sama, the extraction has been completed."

Shino's eyes fixated on Karina's lips, his gaze smoldering with intensity.

Karina's lips curled into a playful smirk, ignoring Shino's heated gaze. She swayed her hips seductively and sauntered over to the chamber.

Placing her hand on the chamber, some fluid seemed to be injected into the chamber. It wasn't long before it was absorbed by the growing clone.

Karin peered into the chamber. "This clone has both Shino-sama's essence and mine? Wa- That's incredible!"

With a seductive glance over her shoulder, she licked her lips invitingly.

Interesting. It appears she's up for a little game.

Her alluring gaze lingered on Shino as he approached the chamber, coiling his arm around her waist as he studied the clone with keen interest. "What do you think will be the effects of the replacement? Besides the greatly increased chakra capacity and its compatibility with sealing jutsu, will I have your healing abilities?"

Karina leaned against his chest, her body rubbing against his as she shrugged nonchalantly. "It's hard to say at this stage. We won't know until it fully develops. But the possibilities are endless…"

"After all, it's the essence of Shino-sama and me." Karina's body suddenly trembled as she gasped for air, a rosy hue spreading across her cheeks.

The merging had preserved most of Karin's personality, and a certain fantasizing personality had also awakened its full potential…

"Speaking of possibilities," Shino's attention was drawn to Karina's left hand. "I've been thinking about your infestation ability. I believe we can find a way to put it to good use."

As if a switch had been flipped, Karina's demeanor transformed, and a new personality seemed to emerge from within her. Her expression turned eerily serene, giving off an air of otherworldly calmness.

Karina held her hand out in front of her, and from the palm of her hand, a sharp needle emerged. Shino had seen this before; it was part of the kit of Karina's infestation ability, a needle that allows her to inject neural parasites directly into the victim's brain!

As Project Queen's core success has its basis in neural parasites, Karina's birth from Project Queen gave her a unique complementary advantage - the ability to breed neural parasites directly within her own body!

Karina possessed a remarkable ability to inject neural parasites into others, be it through her sharp needles or her incredible healing ability.

Now, let's see who would be foolish enough to try and heal themselves by biting Karina. Little did they know, they would be in for a shocking surprise.

As the luminescent light reflected off the quivering needle, a fiery desire sparked in Karina's eyes, revealing her an intense interest with the current situation. "Really? How? Shino-sama, just point me in a direction, and Karina will research the result you desire."

"Remember I've told you to search for a Hidden Stone kunoichi named Suzumebachi Kamizuru?" With a subtle movement, Shino attempted to jog Karina's memory, all while posing his question.

Karina's eyes rolled, but the seductive curve of her lips remained. "Shino-sama, if you really want to create a new queen, Karina had already told you the condition has she not?"

"Be serious." Shino's hand tightened, eliciting a tantalizing gasp from Karina's lush, parted lips.

"The reason I'm looking for her is because she could summon giant insects, mainly a giant bee with needle-like appendages." Shino explained. "If we could get our hands on her summon, I believe we can breed them to be your envoys, letting them become infestors while you stay safely in the base."

"T-that's a wonderful idea, Shino-sama! I'll speed up the search r-right away?" Karin's mouth hung open, her cheeks flushed with excitement, "With envoys- we can begin digging into the secrets of ninjas' minds and controlling the useful humans- And… Karina can stay with Shino-sama all day!"

"Of course, just be careful and don't be discovered by the short old man." Shino's grip tightened as his mind raced with thoughts of the catastrophic dust escape, but a small smile was playing at the corner of his lips. "The zerg queen is known as a support unit in the game, and its best to not engage unless necessary. After all, besides safety considerations, we also have in-depth research we must do at the base, such as clone development."

With head bouncing in a feverish nod, Karin eagerly agreed, "W-we can begin testing new variations once the first clone is successfully developed- ha- We can also put Project: Six Paths of Stain on the schedule-"

And the two began to formulate a plan for their next experiment, discussing the intricate details. As they worked, Shino couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. He knew that their research could potentially change the way he plays his development game, forever.

Shino could almost imagine Nagato's face when the Six Paths of Pain meets his Six Paths of Stain! Ahem- development still in progress.

It has been weeks since they began development, but Shino and Karina still worked tirelessly, constantly experimenting, tweaking, and refining their techniques. The clone grew closer to completion and more like the original with each passing day, and the database became more complete and effective.

While conducting research, Karina's busy demeanor might make it seem like she's not paying attention, but don't be fooled. Her mind is constantly at work in the system background, analyzing data and running calculations to perfect their established research projects and systems.

Not only that, Karina possessed a mastery of multi-tasking that surpasses the limits of ordinary ninjas, allowing her to simultaneously control an entourage of bug clones to perform tasks and conduct research.

Unlike shadow clones, these clones did not possess the same physical capabilities as Karina's main body. Despite this, these clones shared a persistent connection with each other and the system database, allowing them to achieve progress seemingly under one single mind!

It is no wonder, then, that Shino's base demanded an expansion, for his other lab has been occupied by this new batch of research masters.

Underestimating the capabilities of a human merged with an artificial intelligence would be a grave mistake.

But just as the flesh clone was about to come to fruition, a momentous event unfolded in Konoha.

Jiraiya and Naruto had returned to Konoha, and with them, the third Sannin: Senju Tsunade.

The village was abuzz with excitement and anticipation, the air thick with the promise of change, for the Fifth Hokage was about to take her rightful position!

And with that, the long-awaited rewards of the Chunin exam were also on the horizon! But will Shino really receive his rewards smoothly?