Abundant Harvest

Staring at the system interface in his mind that showed his abundant savings of more than 200 biomass, Shino calmly played with the bug in his hand as he evaluated his assets.

"Normal human corpses average around 50 biomass. My drone devoured two for a total of 100 from the escaping bandits. The last bonus was from Kurenai sensei telling the us to handle a corpse each," he thought to himself. "Learning to dispose of corpses was a must, either through burying, incineration, or other means. Although I was eager for more, but it would have been strange to ask for bodies I didn't kill."

It wasn't easy to resist the temptation, especially when he knew ninja corpses provided an average biomass that was well above 50. If his speculations were correct, the stronger the ninja, the more biomass he can collect.

Unfortunately, the only ninja he killed was a trash fish. Although he did harvest more biomass from that ninja compared to the normal bandits, it was still under the 100 value range.

"However, it is still worth it. There is no way I could accumulate biomass so fast in the village with just one drone. This outing really brought me lots of benefits."

He closed his eyes and looked at the interface in his mind. He could feel the excitement building inside him over his progress.

"As expected, I finally collected more genes of humans and ninjas," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "This boosted the research progress for new Zerg units greatly, with the Zergling being the highest at over 50% completion! Unfortunately, it is still not enough to unlock a new Zerg. According to the gene list displayed under the Zergling, I may need to find the genes of some desert creatures in order to satisfy the requirement. Other Zergs also have unique gene strands that don't overlap with others."

He had always been fascinated by the Zerg, by their ability to adapt, evolve, and overcome any obstacle. Now, he was a part of that, a part of something greater than himself, but he needs to work hard to catch them all… and no, he won't stuff them in a ball after catching them. He will simply have them devoured.

But there was still much to do. He had to keep pushing forward, no matter what. For now, let's start with spawning more drones.

"System, show me the data on my Zerg," he said, his voice firm and commanding.

The interface responded with a series of numbers and graphs, showing the growth rate, the biomass levels, and the number of drones he could create.

"Excellent," he said, his lips curling into a smile. "Now, let's see to it that I turn these biomass into working drones as soon as possible."

Once again, Shino's hands slowly raised up as bugs surged out from his body.

"Arise."

After watching his fifth drone enter the Forest of Death, Shino recovered the buzzing bugs into his body.

He calmly stood there as he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned, ready to face whatever danger lay ahead. But it was just his classmate, Shikamaru Nara.

Shikamaru is known for his intelligence, analytical skills, and strategic thinking. Despite his reputation for being lazy, Shikamaru is actually a highly capable and observant ninja, which have earned him the nickname "The Lazy Genius". He is certainly not someone he can underestimate.

"What are you doing out here?" Shikamaru asked, his voice laced with boredom.

"I'm training my bugs," Shino replied, his voice calm and even.

"Here?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at the forest.

"Yes," Shino repeated. "This environment is perfect for their growth."

"What a drag," Shikamaru said, scratching his head. "Why bother with all the secrecy when you could just send it over like normal?"

"Because it's my trump card," Shino replied as he adjusted his glasses. "I don't want anyone discovering them until I am ready to use them, which may be soon."

"Soon huh?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes as his thoughts spun.

Moments later, it seems that he had confirmed something in his mind, "What a drag… Man, just don't get too carried away."

Watching Shikamaru lazily stroll away, Shino bowed his head deep in thought.

"I'm still not careful enough. I was overly excited and eager to get my drones to work as soon as possible, but carrying a box over multiple times attracted attention. Fortunately, it's just Shikamaru who finds it troublesome to dig deeper. However, I don't know if there are other observers."

Although he didn't discover anyone else with his bugs, he knew he couldn't underestimate any ninja. Shino furrowed his brows, but in the end, he smoothed it out.

"It's meaningless to think of this now. I'll just take things as they come. I just need to be more cautious in the future. Perhaps, this was also a reminder from Shikamaru…"

Shino's glasses glinted. He doesn't know if he is overthinking. After all, it is always difficult to speculate the minds of geniuses.

Holding a bug journal in his hand, Shino Aburame sat on the grassy training ground, staring at the system interface in his mind. The system interface blinked back at him, displaying a detailed report of his biomass points he had collected in the past week and the number of drones he could create.

With five drones working for him, he could acquire fifty biomass points every couple of days, which was enough to create a new drone. The more drones he had, the more efficient his collection process would become. It was like a snowball effect, and Shino knew he had to keep the momentum going.

But he also knew that he had to be careful. The forest was a dangerous place, filled with dangerous predators and shinobi who might hunt his drones.

He couldn't risk losing all of his hard work in a single moment of carelessness. Every loss in the early stages of the game would be infinitely magnified, delaying his growth towards his apex.

This is also the reason why it takes multiple days to fill up the biomass storage for each drone. If he decides to unscrupulously let his drones run amok, he could gain biomass much faster, but the result will be the annihilation of his drones.

After all, there are always ninjas checking up on the forest to prevent the ecosystem from being destroyed and to prevent the birth of creatures that has strength exceeding the safety index of the training ground.

That's why Shino had chosen the Forest of Death to be the primary location for his Zerg. It was an ideal hiding spot, and even if discovered, it wouldn't be hunted due to its danger index not exceeding the estimate. However, he knew that relying solely on one location could become problematic.

"The Forest of Death is certainly not the only dangerous training ground in Konoha. Perhaps I should start diversifying my Zerg's work space and station them in different training grounds. However, I have to find the right balance between the number of training grounds and the collection efficiency. After all, harvesting is also a risk in itself."

After confirming this thought, Shino made a note to spend the break time between missions to scout for training grounds that meet his requirements.

As for why Shino mentioned break time, that's because-

"Shino."

It was Kurenai Sensei. He was so engrossed in his planning that he didn't notice when Kurenai sensei appeared in front of him.

"I've been looking for you. Team 8's break is nearly over. We have a new mission."

Shino nodded, his expression blank. "What kind of mission?"

"It's a C-level mission," Kurenai explained. "We're to investigate a series of disappearances in a nearby village. We leave in two days. I've already told Hinata and Kiba. We'll gather at the gates."

Shino nodded again, his mind already racing with the possibilities. This could be a perfect opportunity to collect more genetic material and increase his biomass points. But he had to be careful, as always.

Kurenai nodded and reminded, "Remember to rest well before the mission."

"Understood, sensei," he said, his voice low and measured. "I'll be ready."

As Kurenai turned to leave, Shino couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency. There was less than five months before the chunin exams, and he knew he had to speed up his gene collection if he wanted to have any chance of implementing his plans.

And with the return of the infamous Kakashi team from his Bridge Builder mission in just a month, the competition would only get tougher.

Don't expect that Shino could downright excel in the Chunin exam like the original. No character was powerful from the very beginning.

Due to his portrayal, many fans may hold the belief that Shino was a character inherently endowed with greater strength compared to the other members of the Konoha 11.

But beneath the cover of the original Shino's formidable prowess, shrouded in secrecy, remained a hidden tale of tireless effort and untold sacrifices leading up to the fateful Chunin exam, a chapter missing from the annals of his character development.

In order for the new Shino to strive for a semblance of parity with the original, he also must exert significant effort.

Of course, Shino's goal was never to win the Chunin exam. After all, he knew there was no winner. His final goal was to be recognized and be promoted to Chunin just like Shikamaru.

With the promotion, his freedom will be less restricted, and he can go implement some of his plans outside of Konoha.

"Honestly, the protection for a Genin is great and all, but it also makes it hard for them to hide anything. No wonder geniuses like Shishui and Itachi were so easily discovered and exploited by that bad old man. They were under observation from the very start."

Although his situation wasn't as bad, but its true that he is restricted in his Zerg development due to being a Genin.

"However, for now, drones are enough. If I spawn enough, the harvest may be exceptional by the time the exams start. Instead, I should focus on improving other factors, such as my own strength. Perhaps, I should ask my parents for a sealing technique, such as the enclosing seal, which will be a great assistance for my Zerg transport. My shurikenjutsu also needs practice…"

After pondering a bit, Shino felt that he didn't have enough life-saving means.

"Even if I have an insect clone, it was best to have one more life saving skill for the Chuunin exam. So, the body substitution technique should also be mastered. The illusion disruption system definitely still needs finetuning. Although it didn't seem to be prominent, who knows if there is a Genin that could use illusions during the second phase of the Chuunin exam. After all, I can't just base my info off the groups shown in the anime. It'll be bad if someone controls me with illusion and have me spit out all the secrets regarding my system."

After confirming his plans, Shino stood up and began his arduous training.

Two days later, Shino found himself standing outside the gates of the village, his team gathered around him. Once again, he was carrying a box on his back, but heavier. This time no one questioned him. It seems this might become part of his image in the future.

With the appearance of Kurenai sensei, it was time to set off. It was time for their second C-level task.

Hopefully, everything will go smoothly like the first time.