Deploying Drone

Returning home, Shino summoned his dog-size drone and watched it burrow out from the ground. He then stored it in a box he had prepared.

Leaving the house, Shino discreetly spread his bugs out to scout as he made his way towards his destination, following his route that traversed through less populated areas that he discovered ninjas don't frequent.

Shino was ready to be questioned by an Anbu who would pop out of nowhere, but even when he reached his destination, nobody stopped him. Heck, he wasn't even sure anyone noticed him. Shino had a strange feeling inside. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or sad over this fact.

Shino carried the box containing the Zerg towards the edge of the Forest of Death, where he saw the metallic fence that was erected to enclose the forest.

He paused, looking around for any potential observers. Satisfied that there was no one around, he released his swarm of bugs to scout the area, creating a wall of insects that would alert him to any incoming observers.

Shino Aburame stood outside the entrance to the Forest of Death, his eyes surveying the area for any signs of potential danger.

He then opened the box and released his Zerg, which scurried across the ground towards the entrance of the forest. Shino watched as the Zerg burrowed into the soil, disappearing from sight. He turned and began to walk away, leaving the Zerg to carry out its mission.

The drone had been specially designed to collect biomass, and he was eager to see the results of its expedition. But for now, all he could do was wait. Meanwhile, he'll train his own strength. He was close to establishing a passive chakra disturbance system...

As the drone burrowed deeper into the soil, it began to scan its surroundings, searching for any signs of life or potential danger. It was equipped with a variety of sensors unique to Zergs, which allowed it to navigate the treacherous terrain of the forest with ease.

The trees were tall and twisted, their branches covered in thick vines and moss. The ground was littered with fallen leaves and debris, and the air was thick with the scent of decaying vegetation, but the drone never stopped to admire these.

Its goal was exploration and assimilation. Plants, bugs, dead creatures, were all inside its target book.

It didn't matter if they were poisonous or not. Zergs were born with resistance and can adapt to most abnormal conditions!

Although small critters such as bugs and most plants don't provide much biomass, the drone was programmed to collect samples of them just for their genes.

As it burrowed in and out of the ground, the drone continued to move deeper into the forest. Its sensors scanning the area for any signs of life and potential dangers. It detected the faint sound of rushing water in the distance and made its way towards the source.

As it got closer, it could see a small stream winding its way through the underbrush. The water was crystal clear and teeming with life, small fish darting back and forth beneath the surface.

There were uncanny leeches mixed in that told careful observers that the water is not always safe.

The drone continued to explore the stream, capturing every detail as it knows this information will be transferred back to the hive when they reunite.

It saw a family of turtles basking in the sun on a nearby rock, and a group of frogs leaping from one lily pad to another. As it scanned the area, it detected the presence of a small snake, its body coiled up in the branches of a nearby tree.

Naturally, these small critters were hunted down. Don't look down on this basic Zerg unit. As a Zerg born for combat, it can only be a predator when faced with normal creatures.

Unfortunately, the drone can't swim. So, the creatures within the water could only be let off for now.

Continuing its exploration of the forest, it continued to map out the forest and archive the information. It didn't understand why this was necessary. It only follows the command of its creator.

It moved through the trees, its optical sensors capturing every detail of the dense foliage. It detected the faint scent of rotting flesh and followed it to a small clearing. There, it saw a large pile of bones, picked clean by scavengers. The skull resembled a bear but the drone had no way to determine this with its intelligence.

As a Zerg, it learned to never waste food. Even bones aren't let off. So, the drone provided free cleaning service and swept away the bones in the clearing. A fine amount of biomass was collected and some fine genetic information was also gathered from the residues of meat on the bones.

As the drone continued to scan the area, it detected movement in the trees above. It quickly burrowed into the ground.

Peeking out, it saw a family of monkeys swinging from branch to branch, their high-pitched calls echoing through the forest. The drone watched as the monkeys played, their antics providing a welcome distraction from the danger that lurked in the shadows.

Although these monkeys were definitely in the drone's target list, but it knows that it was outnumbered. Without the death command of the hive, it would not send itself to die.

Quietly slinking away, it detected the presence of a large predator lurking in the trees above. It was a large cat, its sleek body covered in black fur. The cat had not detected the drone, and the drone quickly burrowed into the ground once more, not wanting to attract the predator's attention.

As it continued to explore the forest, the drone detected the presence of a large, ancient tree, its branches reaching towards the sky. The tree was covered in moss and vines, and its trunk was massive, its roots buried deep in the soil. The drone approached the tree and began to scrape off samples to devour while scanning it with its optical senses.

As it scanned the trunk of the tree, the drone detected the presence of a small colony of insects living in the bark. It saw the ants scurrying back and forth, transferring bits of a dead leech. The drone watched as the ants worked, marveling at the intricate society they had created- not.

The drone doesn't have such intricate and complex emotions- it only swiped its claw to crush the lifeforms before devouring them. An extra addition to the gene pool.

As the drone moved on, it continued to collect samples of various specimens of flora and fauna while accumulating biomass in its storage.

As the drone continued to explore the forest, it detected the presence of a group of humans approaching. They were dressed in the attire of the ninjas, and the drone recognized them as Konoha ninjas. The drone quickly retreated, burrowing deep into the ground to avoid detection.

Perhaps they were talking about secret or important information, but the drone had no way to find out. Firstly it had no way to deal with the power of ninjas at the moment. Second, it doesn't have any organ specifically to perceive sound. At most vibrations can be detected to sense its surroundings.

After a while of hibernation, the drone finally burrowed out of the ground and continued its exploration of the forest. It detected the presence of a large tower in the distance, its spires reaching towards the sky. The drone made its way towards the tower to explore its surroundings.

As the drone approached the tower, it detected the presence of several traps and obstacles designed to deter intruders. Although the drone was not deterred, it did not trigger these traps unnecessarily. After capturing the details of the tower with its optical senses, it slunk back into the shadows of the forest.

As the drone made its way back to the surface, it detected the presence of an extremely large predator lurking in the shadows. Its optical sensors captured the vague silhouette of what seemed to be an extremely large centipede!

The drone quickly burrowed deep into the ground, hibernating and reducing its sense of presence.

At an unknown time later, it sensed through vibrations that the enormous predator was leaving. After it was gone, the drone slowly burrowed out from the ground and continued its journey.

It wasn't until several days later that the drone felt that its biomass storage was full. Following its own trail of pheremones, it made its way back to the entrance of the Forest of Death.

It then burrowed into the ground and kept out of sight as it sent a signal back to the hive. The resources were ready for collection!

Shino, who was eagerly awaiting its return, was thrilled. Although the drone could communicate with the hive, it was only basic signals and commands.

In fact, the drone itself had limited communication as it was only a low-ranked unit. There was no way to send back complicated data such as gene info nor can it transmit visual info.

So, Shino had to manually collect the samples the drone collected. Afterwards, his hatchery ability will passively process the samples for usage.

On the day Shino received the signal, he had already initially established a chakra disruption system with his bugs. Now, he can be considered to be pseudo-immune to illusions… well, lower-level ones.

He had tested it with Kurenai sensei through combat, and he knew that the system can still be optimized and upgraded to enhance its disruption against more powerful illusions. However, this will take time.

Nevertheless, Shino knew he had some improvement in strength. Naturally, he also practiced taijutsu and ninjutsu outside of building this bug system. He didn't know if it was more than the original Shino because the original Shino was fairly mysterious, but Shino knew that it still wasn't enough in the face of upcoming danger.

He didn't want to bet that he would safely survive like the original Shino. After all, he didn't know if he accidentally cause a butterfly effect somewhere that would result in his early death.

So, seeing the return of the drone that marks the milestone for his first improvement in strength through his cheat, Shino was naturally excited.

"Excellent work," Shino said as he reached out his hand to collect his harvest, "With your help, I can expand my Zerg forces. I will also be able to map out the Forest of Death before the Chuunin exam and have an edge over other competitors."

The drone hummed in acknowledgement. It had successfully explored the Forest of Death and collected valuable samples of biomass, all without detection. It knew that its mission was far from over because a drone will work till its death. There was no dissatisfaction however. They were like model workers.

As Shino absorbed the samples with his hatchery ability, he could sense the surge of energy within himself. Not only that, he could also hear the notifications from the system.

Notification regarding the research progress of new units!