Chapter 4: Yamanaka Ino Makes the First Move

A knock on the door echoed through the room.

Shinho Aburame woke up with a start.

He quickly changed his clothes and opened the door, finding his younger brother, Shino.

"Did Dad send you?"

Shinho Aburame raised an eyebrow and asked.

His younger brother nodded.

The two of them made their way to the living room.

There sat their father, Shibi Aburame, whose appearance was just as it had been in the original story—bearded, carrying a gourd on his back, and wearing his signature sunglasses.

In front of him on the table was an instrument resembling a petri dish, with two Parasitic Destruction Insects inside.

The Parasitic Destruction Insects were the most commonly used insects of the Aburame clan, and most of their secret jutsu involved these insects.

"You two are about to enter the Ninja Academy," Shibi said in a low voice. "It's time for you to form your contract with the insects and become true bug controllers."

Shinho Aburame's younger brother's eyes lit up with excitement.

He had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

Shinho, on the other hand, remained calm and collected.

But he didn't refuse.

[Shibi Aburame.]

[Current Achievement: "Revive the Glory of the Aburame Clan."]

[Passive Achievement: Unknown.]

Shino Aburame wasn't sure when the Aburame clan had ever experienced "glory," but as the future clan head, he felt obligated to take up the challenge.

He planned to experiment with primeval essence.

Parasitic Destruction Insects fed on chakra.

What would happen if they were exposed to the higher-level primeval essence?

Moreover, Shinho's primeval essence could evolve. Right now, it was just the most basic Bronze Primeval Essence, but there were several higher levels.

"Sign your names."

Shibi produced a scroll.

The Parasitic Destruction Insects were essentially summoned creatures.

Shinho's younger brother eagerly signed his name first, then carefully held the insect in his hands, looking at it with curiosity.

For once, his normally stoic face showed some expression, a clear sign of his excitement.

Shinho's eyes narrowed.

[Shino Aburame (Brother).]

[Current Achievement: "I Want to Be the Strongest Bug Controller."]

[Passive Achievement: Unknown.]

His younger brother had an active achievement.

But wasn't this achievement similar to saying, "I want to be an astronaut when I grow up"?

What did "strongest" even mean? Was it relative to others or some internal measure of strength?

If it meant being the strongest in the entire ninja world, that was a steep climb.

However, Shinho had plenty of achievements to pursue. There were more than enough for him to tackle.

The Parasitic Destruction Insects resembled the beetles he used to catch as a child in his past life—not too ugly, at least tolerable.

His sense of aesthetics had been greatly refined, especially after working with Gu.

For example, the Moonlight Gu resembled a piece of jade that shimmered with soft moonlight, a beautiful and translucent sight.

"Dad, I'm heading to the hospital now. See you later."

After finishing breakfast, Shinho got up to leave.

His younger brother looked at him with a hint of envy in his eyes.

He really is a genius.

His talent as a medical ninja had even drawn the attention of the Hokage himself.

At Konoha Hospital, Shinho encountered his daily challenge.

"Shinho, let big sister give you a hug."

"Shinho-chan, you're getting cuter every day."

"Don't be shy. Big sister smells nice—come give me a kiss."

One after another, older nurses, dressed in white uniforms, approached him.

Shinho felt like he might be swallowed whole by them at any moment.

He'd come to understand something very clearly: if he didn't work hard, he'd end up as nothing more than a plaything for these women.

Barely managing to escape the nurses, Shinho made his way to his teacher, Miyata Rika's office.

Miyata Rika was the assistant head of the medical team, a talented medical ninja.

Shinho had met her through his father's connections.

Of course, the main reason for his success was his own talent.

In just six short months, Shinho had earned the unanimous praise of the entire Konoha Hospital staff.

And with his cute and handsome appearance, it was no wonder the nurses were eager to dote on him.

"Shinho."

Miyata Rika entered the office with a gentle smile.

"Sensei," Shinho called out, snapping back to reality.

"Let's go," she said, patting his head affectionately. "We've got a few surgeries lined up today."

Though Shinho was still too young to perform surgery, he was allowed to observe.

It was a way to give him a sense of participation.

After the surgeries were over, Shinho sat in a chair in the hallway, resting.

Although he had only observed, he had occasionally helped out by passing tools and the like.

"Are you a doctor?"

A young but pleasant voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Shinho opened his eyes to see a blonde girl standing in front of him.

He only needed a moment to remember her name: Yamanaka Ino.

Her gaze held a strong emotion, similar to the way the older nurses looked at him.

Yamanaka Ino was a typical "face fanatic."

She liked Sasuke Uchiha purely because he was handsome.

Later on, she even married Sai because he resembled Sasuke.

Honestly, she just had a type.

"I'm not a doctor, just an intern."

Shinho shook his head.

"Even interns are amazing!"

Yamanaka Ino sat down beside him and said, "You look younger than me, though."

She was quite talkative, or perhaps just very lively.

Her personality didn't seem too different from how she was portrayed in the original story.

"I'm older," Shinho said confidently.

He remembered that Ino's birthday was September 23rd.

"When's your birthday?" Ino leaned in slightly, her cute face suddenly carrying a hint of aggression.

Is this what a bold "face fanatic" looks like?

It's almost like she's saying, "I'm onto you."

Shinho stood up and said, "Break time is over. We can talk next time."

Yamanaka Ino stared blankly at him as he walked away, then quickly covered her face with both hands and stamped her feet in excitement.

She had often teased her best friend, Sakura Haruno, for having a crush, but now she understood—her own "hunting instinct" had awakened!

"What are you smiling about?"

A pink-haired girl emerged from a room, holding her stomach and looking unwell.

"I was just thinking of something happy."

Ino coughed lightly, then asked, "What did the doctor say?"

"Just need to rest for a couple of days," Sakura replied weakly.

Ino stepped forward to help support her friend.

After lunch, Shinho returned to his cabin.

As for Ino, he hadn't run into her again, so she must have left.

After feeding the Moonlight Gu with some Moon Orchids, Shinho's mind sank into his aperture.

He examined his new Parasitic Destruction Insects.

Despite being bathed in primeval essence, the insects were still lively and active.

Shinho sighed in relief, thankful they hadn't died. If they had, he wouldn't have known how to explain it to his father.

After watering his plants, Shinho began his daily cultivation.

Consuming primeval essence, he refined his aperture.

The Great Love Immortal once said that raising Gu is like tending to lovers.

The more lovers you have, the stronger you need to be.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, the day of the Ninja Academy's opening ceremony had arrived.

For the past few days, Shinho had been focusing on his cultivation, only leaving once to feed his Black Boar Gu a whole pig.

The good news was that, just the night before, he had finally learned the Chakra Scalpel.

Though still clumsy with it, there was no time to mourn his lost vacation—he was about to meet Tsunade on the battlefield.

Shinho planned to meet Miyata Rika after school.

At the Ninja Academy, the crowd was enormous, and the atmosphere was almost festive, just short of having drums and gongs.

In the original story, this cohort was considered one of the most talented, known as the Konoha 12.

Of course, the main reason was the presence of characters blessed by the protagonist's aura—specifically, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.

"Remember to pay attention in class."

Shibi Aburame reminded his son. "And make some friends while you're at it."

There was a nostalgic glint in Shibi's eyes as he spoke.

Back in the day, his friend had been none other than the fastest man in the ninja world—Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.