After returning home, Gisei trained for a while before heading out to buy groceries.
Passing the graduation exam was something worth celebrating, after all.
Eisawa hadn't come home for lunch. Gisei ate alone, cleared the table, and then spent the entire afternoon training before starting on dinner.
By 8:00 PM, Gisei sat staring blankly at a table full of food. Eisawa still wasn't back.
The dishes had gone cold, so he took them back to the kitchen to reheat them.
At 10:00 PM, the sound of the front door finally opening broke the silence.
Gisei hurried to the entrance and bowed.
"Welcome home, Uncle."
Eisawa looked surprised. "You're still up?"
Walking into the room and seeing the table full of food, Eisawa's expression became complicated. The boy had really grown up.
He sat down, poured himself a glass of sake, and downed it in one gulp.
"My mistake. On such an important day, I should have come back earlier."
Gisei picked up the bottle and poured him another drink. "I didn't wait that long. Besides, I should be the one apologizing—I can't help much with family matters yet."
"It's enough that you understand me."
The two of them poured and drank, and soon the bottle was empty.
"Speaking of family matters, there's something I want your opinion on," Eisawa said suddenly.
"What is it?"
"I'm thinking of selling everything here and moving to the area near the Takemoto family. What do you think?"
The question silenced Gisei for a moment.
"I understand. Uncle, you can make the decision."
"Don't give me that. I want to hear your opinion."
"I think it's a good idea. This place is desolate and remote—it can't compare to the liveliness and prosperity over there. Plus, it's close to the hospital, so it would be very convenient for me in the future."
Eisawa gave him a deep look before changing the subject entirely.
"To be honest, I'm very happy you defeated the Aburame boy today. But in the future... try to avoid fighting them."
Gisei looked confused. "Why?"
"Because they are our natural enemies."
Natural enemies? Gisei was stunned.
"The Aburame's kikaichū restrain our summoning butterflies significantly. Let me give you an analogy: if we're only using secret techniques, an Aburame genin could probably hold their own against one of our jōnin."
Hearing this, Gisei couldn't sit still.
Isn't a genin fighting a jōnin usually the privilege of a protagonist? Were the taciturn Aburame really that powerful?
Eisawa sighed. "Don't look at me like I'm joking. The truth is, the Aburame clan restrains almost all summoning clans."
"There used to be many summoning clans in the Land of Fire. Most of them were wiped out or defeated by the Aburame. Before Konoha was established, if we encountered them on a mission, we usually had to abandon it immediately."
The importance of completing missions for a ninja went without saying, so abandoning them was a huge deal.
"Is the gap really that big? Can we not fight back at all?"
"It's not that we can't fight, it's that the loss outweighs the gain. Our clan's summoning butterflies cost a fortune to cultivate. Their kikaichū, on the other hand, use the human body as a nest. They reproduce quickly and evolve even faster."
"In a battle between us and the Aburame, the casualties for our butterflies are immense. It weakens the clansman significantly and entails a massive financial loss. Even if you complete the mission, the reward won't cover the cost."
"The Aburame don't have this problem. No matter how many bugs die, their strength isn't permanently damaged."
"We've suffered too much at their hands. Fortunately, after Konoha was founded, they joined the village too. Otherwise, I'm afraid we would have had to move the entire clan to another country."
Gisei recalled the strange reactions from the audience earlier that day and smiled bitterly. Now it made sense.
"But if their kikaichū are so convenient, don't they have any weaknesses?"
"Their clan has very few members."
Gisei looked thoughtful. "Does inheriting their secret technique carry a risk of death?"
Eisawa nodded. "Turning your own body into a living nest for bugs... our clan tried to replicate it once. The result was almost a 100% death rate."
Thinking of his own butterfly species devouring his lifespan, Gisei sighed. "None of this is easy..."
Come to think of it, Gisei still hadn't actually summoned a butterfly yet.
"Uncle, I should be able to summon butterflies now, right? How do I actually do it?"
He still hadn't figured this part out. The summoning scroll he signed only worked for the giant ninja butterflies; the smaller summoning butterflies couldn't be summoned that way. Yet, he had seen Eisawa summon them without even using hand seals.
So, the question remained: how exactly do they appear?
"As long as you communicate with the butterfly species inside your body, you can summon them."
Gisei had never communicated with the thing inside him. He didn't exactly think humans and butterflies had much in common to talk about. Besides, can you really have a conversation with a bug? He had always been skeptical.
Let's try it, he thought.
He focused his chakra, directing it toward the butterfly species inside him.
The moment the thought of communication crossed his mind, he found himself in a strange, magical space.
It was vast and white, with a single cocoon standing alone in the center.
"You finally came."
Who said that?
Gisei looked around. There was nothing here but the cocoon.
He approached it and noticed it was covered in dense formulas.
Is this a sealing jutsu?
"It's not a sealing jutsu, it's a space transfer formula."
The voice spoke again.
Gisei was confused. He poked the cocoon a few times with his finger. "Are you talking to me?"
"Of course."
Hmm...
Gisei fell into deep thought. This isn't scientific.
"Chakra is the bridge connecting hearts. When you have the thought of communicating with me, you can naturally hear my voice."
The voice was erratic, hard to tell if it was male or female.
Gisei tilted his head, doubts growing in his mind. He hadn't even spoken out loud, yet this thing knew exactly what he was thinking.
Mind reading?
"Idiot, I'm right inside your heart—of course I know what you're thinking."
Calling me an idiot...
This was the first time Gisei had been insulted by a bug.
"Come out if you have the guts! See if I don't beat you to death."
"Do you really want me to come out?"
"What, scared?"
"I'm quite willing to come out, but are you sure you want me to?"
"Why so much nonsense? Just come out!"
"If I come out, you die."
Hearing the word "die," Gisei instantly lost his bravado.
"What do you mean I die?"
"Cocoon Binding Jutsu."
Hearing the name of that suicide technique, Gisei shuddered and immediately backed down.
"No, no, no. Please don't come out. You are the Boss, okay? I will definitely raise you to be big and fat."
Confirmed: this is a tenant he can't afford to evict.
"Did you come here to summon the butterflies?"
Gisei nodded hurriedly.
"Understood."
The black formulas on the cocoon began to glow, activating the jutsu.
"Alright, leave here and you'll be able to see them."
How do I leave?
Gisei looked around the empty white space, confused.
"You really are an idiot. I just said chakra is the bridge connecting hearts. Just think about leaving."
Called an idiot again...
I'll endure it.
When he opened his eyes back in the real world, he saw a swarm of butterflies fluttering around him.
He extended a finger, and several landed gently on it.
Gisei tilted his head, looking at them curiously. How should he command them? With willpower or chakra?
Let's try.
He pointed at a white butterfly. "Play dead!"
Eisawa, watching from the side, twitched his eyelid at the command but said nothing.
The butterfly fluttered its wings twice, then dropped straight to the ground, motionless.
Gisei was amused. He quickly lay on the floor and blew on the butterfly. It tumbled away across the floor without moving a muscle.
Truly magical.
"Get up."
The "dead" butterfly immediately fluttered its wings, flew up, and landed back on his hand.
"Uncle, this is really fun. By the way, what abilities do they have?"
"Ordinary summoning butterflies only have the ability to absorb chakra. Their consciousness is simple, and their life cycle is very short."
"The three special types you are cultivating will take at least another half a year before they can be summoned."
"How do I send them back?"
"Same method. Communicate with the butterfly species."
Gisei returned to the white space once again.
He looked at his hands, then gave himself a slap.
"Ouch..."
Did my physical body enter this time?
"Idiot, this is your consciousness. I've already sent the butterflies back."
"Boss, this mind-reading ability of yours is a total cheat code. Can I use it?"
"Call me Daddy."
Nani?
Gisei's mouth twitched. Pushing your luck, aren't you?
"This is really strange. 'Boss' is already a respectful title. Isn't asking me to call you 'Daddy' actually a step down for you?"
Gisei was dumbfounded. It was weird enough that the bug could talk, but now it wanted him to call it Daddy? Raising a dad inside his own body?
Hey, what weird things am I thinking about!
Gisei refused flatly. "Impossible."
"Then call me Shiro. Don't think I don't know what you mean by calling me 'Boss'—you're being sarcastic."
Gisei: "..."
This butterfly has basically become a spirit, hasn't it?
And Shiro... remembering the ninja butterfly Aki that his father turned into, that name was also taken from the last character of his name.
Can butterflies really turn into humans? The question surfaced in his mind again.
"Butterflies are not humans; butterflies are just butterflies. In a sense, I am telepathically connected to you; I know whatever you think. But I am a different species, so I hope you don't misunderstand."
Gisei became interested. "Then why do my clansmen treat you like relatives?"
"Human thoughts are hard to understand. We have never had such thoughts. After all, we are different species, and the structure of our emotions is different."
"Then what is our clan in your eyes?"
"If described in your human language... probably parents."
Parents?
It really was a bit like that. The Butterfly Clan raised the ninja butterflies, giving them different abilities and longer lifespans. It wasn't an exaggeration to call them parents, only...
"Since you treat me as a parent, why did you ask me to call you Daddy just now?"
"This is related to my personality. Or perhaps I should say, this is your personality. After all, everything I have comes from you."
Gisei was confused.
I asked myself to call myself Daddy?
What a psycho.