Aburame Tetsumaru led his three subordinates deep into the mountains, stopping near the border of the Land of Rivers. This was Training Ground No. 3, a site Tetsumaru had specifically designated for complex mountain warfare.
The training ground was vast, characterized by jagged cliffs, steep ravines, and dense forests—terrain that perfectly mirrored the primary combat zones of the northern front.
Without a word, Tetsumaru released a massive swarm. He gave his subordinates a single order: do not attack. Their only goal was to evade and escape.
When Hiro Uchiha and O Inuzuka saw the sky-blotting swarm, their motivation vanished instantly, matching Yoshito Nara's habitual lethargy.
Yesterday, a single Scythe-Mantis had taken them hours of grueling effort to bring down. Today, the field was crawling with two of those 3.5-meter-tall monsters, plus thousands of palm-sized spiders, locusts, beetles, and dragonflies. The crawling, buzzing tide occupied every inch of the forest.
Screw this, O thought, staring at the horror. I'm checking out. If I'm gonna die anyway, I might as well save some energy and die lying down.
Tetsumaru chuckled inwardly. Lying flat, huh? I pioneered that lifestyle, kids. You're still too green.
With a flick of his wrist, the seven to eight thousand insects surged forward.
Insects are creepy enough when they're small. When they're enlarged, they become ghoulish, alien monstrosities that trigger a primal, genetic terror.
"Lying down to play dead?" Tetsumaru mused. "Let's see if your survival instincts allow it."
Zip! Zip! Zip!
Three shadows blurred into the thicket, disappearing instantly.
High above, a Sky-Patrol Dragonfly hovered, acting as the "eye in the sky." It coordinated the swarm, directing the ground forces to box the Genin in while signaling the giant beetles and mantises to strike.
The Black Assault Beetle, sporting a massive horn like a rhinoceros beetle, lowered its head and charged toward the fleeing shinobi. It functioned like a biological bulldozer; trees were leveled in rows, protruding rocks were pulverized into dust, and head-sized stones flew through the air like shrapnel.
Nearby, a lethargic Red Flame Beetle clicked its frontal appendages, generating a shower of sparks before spewing a high-pressure stream of light oil. A dragon of fire roared to life, incinerating a large swathe of the forest.
Tetsumaru's face darkened. That fire didn't even touch his subordinates, but it roasted a good number of his own Poison-Needle Beetles. The Red Flame Beetle was either blind or brain-dead.
Of the four giant insect types Tetsumaru had focused his resources on—the Black Assault Beetle, the Red Flame Beetle, the Scythe-Mantis, and the Sky-Patrol Dragonfly—only the Scythe-Mantis was truly combat-ready after mutating to adapt to chakra.
The dragonfly and the two beetles hadn't been as lucky. The beetles, in particular, were "broken prototypes" riddled with more biological flaws than Tetsumaru could count. Currently, they were mostly hollow shells meant for intimidation.
He didn't plan on developing the dragonfly or the beetles further. His next generation of heavy-hitters would be built from the ground up using a giant scorpion template.
Tetsumaru's grand vision was a "Swarm Legion": a core of a million standard insects, four thousand Scythe-Mantises, and two hundred elite Giant Scorpions. Such a force would be capable of single-handedly dismantling mid-tier ninja villages like the Stone or the Star.
But for three Genin, this flawed lineup was still overkill. It wasn't just "using a sledgehammer to crack a nut"—it was using a mountain. On one hand, he wanted to shock his subordinates into competence; on the other, he was trying to prevent his "expensive" bugs from being destroyed.
The Scythe-Mantis that the kids had managed to kill yesterday had just entered mass production, with a unit cost of 170,000 Ryo. Including the six that had run themselves to death during testing, the financial loss was already starting to sting.
The Sky-Patrol Dragonfly was fine—it floated too high to be hit. The real worry was the two beetle prototypes. Their R&D costs had reached a staggering 4.4 million Ryo. If one of them got wrecked by a stray kunai, Tetsumaru would literally cough up blood.
Even if he wasn't continuing their line, the technical data they generated was invaluable. Carrying tens of thousands of specialized parasites within their massive bodies, these beetles underwent fascinating biological shifts every hour. Every day they stayed alive meant more data; their death would be a catastrophic waste of investment.
To their credit, the three Genin from the Great Clans had incredible potential. By noon, they were being chased to the brink of death; by the afternoon, the beetles and mantises had to employ complex pincer maneuvers under the dragonfly's direction just to keep them cornered.
As the sun began to set, the three kids finally hit their limit. They were buried under a pile of the remaining two thousand insects, their panicked screams echoing through the valley.
They had managed to take down five or six thousand insects over the course of the day. Even with Tetsumaru pulling his punches, he was pleased with their performance. The loss of a few thousand standard bugs was "pocket change"—mere hours of production for a single Broodmother, costing him nothing.
Most importantly, the six expensive giant insects were unharmed.
With a solid grasp of his subordinates' current levels, Tetsumaru finalized the training plan for the third day and happily lugged the three exhausted boys back to camp.
The third day was dedicated to ninjutsu instruction and a few hours of recovery drills. They had a real mission tomorrow, so he couldn't push them to the breaking point again.
Looking at his three bruised and aching subordinates, Tetsumaru suppressed a grin and began critiquing their performance.
"First, Uchiha Hiro. Your skillset is well-rounded, and your raw power is the highest in the squad. You are our 'ace.'"
"However," Tetsumaru added, "your attacks still aren't powerful enough."
Hiro lowered his head. "I know, Sensei. Neither my Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, nor Ninjutsu could even scratch the Assault Beetle's shell."
Tetsumaru had agreed to teach them ninjutsu today, so they had naturally transitioned to calling him "Sensei." In the shinobi world, the bond of tutelage was sacred and carried immense weight. Tetsumaru enjoyed teaching, though the traditional "mentor-slaying" tropes of the ninja world occasionally gave him a headache.
"Hiro, your role is Squad Leader and Main Attacker, with secondary responsibility for defense. You will specialize in Fire Style, supplemented by Earth Style."
"The Uchiha Great Fireball is powerful but slow—it rarely hits an alert target. However, with Yoshito on the team, we can compensate for that speed gap. It's a perfect fit."
"Later, we can look into B-rank techniques like Fire Dragon Flame Bullet or Great Fire Annihilation."
"For Earth Style, you'll start with Barrier, then progress to Earth-Style Wall for defense and battlefield control. Defense is the backbone of any squad. Hiro, you're the only one suited for it, so you must shoulder that burden."
Tetsumaru pulled three scrolls from his pouch and handed them over. "From left to right: Great Fireball, Barrier, and Earth-Style Wall. Learn them in that order. If you hit a wall, ask me."
"Yes, Sensei!"
"Oh, and I don't have the B-rank Fire Styles on me. But you're an Uchiha; you guys have more Fire Style scrolls than sense. Go ask your clan for those later."
Turning to Inuzuka O, Tetsumaru was blunt. "O, your role is Scouting and Assault. Honestly? You're the one furthest from my requirements."
O's head slumped. Yesterday's failures had often started with him losing his mark, and his inability to bypass the armor of the Mantis or Beetles made him feel useless as an attacker.
"The Inuzuka style is an all-or-nothing charge. But your speed is average, your power is lacking, and you have zero escape options. Every time you attack, it looks like a suicide mission. That's a problem."
"Your clan has secret arts to fix this, but relying solely on clan techniques is inefficient. I want you to master two Wind Style jutsus to boost your speed and lethality."
"First: Wind Style: Wings of the Wind. It makes you faster, harder to hit, and increases your impact force. Second: Wind Style: Whirlwind Array. This will add a cutting edge to your impact and can be layered with your Fang Over Fang."
O took the scrolls with a mix of dread and excitement. Inuzuka dogs preferred brawling to studying, but they hated feeling weak even more.
Hiro and Yoshito were stunned. They were well-versed in jutsu theory, but they had never heard of these Wind Style techniques. Were they B-rank? Could O even learn something that complex?
"B-rank?" Tetsumaru laughed when Hiro asked. "Of course not. These are D-rank jutsus I developed myself."
The kids stared at him. Wait, aren't you an Aburame? Don't you just play with bugs? Why are you so good at Ninjutsu development?
"I just happen to like Wind Style," Tetsumaru said casually. "I tinker with it in my spare time. D-ranks are easy enough to whip up."
Is this guy even human? they wondered.
"Anyway, master those and you'll run faster and hit harder. You'll be a proper assault specialist."
Finally, he turned to Yoshito Nara. The most complicated case.
"Yoshito, are you a member of the Nara main branch?"
"No, Sensei. I'm from a side family."
"I see. So, out of Shadow Sewing, Shadow Neck Bind, Shadow Shuriken, and Shadow Gathering... how many are you allowed to learn?"
Yoshito gave a bitter smile. "Only Shadow Neck Bind."
"Fine. Not the worst starting point." Tetsumaru confirmed Yoshito's chakra affinities: Water and Earth. Not ideal; that combination was a notorious chakra sink.
"Yoshito, your role is Strategist and Support." Tetsumaru saw Hiro about to protest and quickly corrected himself. "Fine—Advisor and Support."
"You're doing fine as an advisor; keep doing what you're doing. But your support work is barely passing. We need to upgrade your utility."
"First: Earth Style: Yellow Mud Swamp. It creates a mire to trap enemies; the size depends on your chakra. Second: Water Style: Hiding in Mist. Try not to use this when Hiro is attacking; it messes with his vision more than the enemy's. Third: Earth Style: Dust Storm. It obscures vision and, for you, creates massive patches of shadow to fuel your Shadow Style."
"Once you master those, we'll focus on nature transformation. You'll learn Earth Style: Lime Technique—an upgrade to the dust storm with a blinded effect—and Water Style: Glue Technique for area denial."
"You've got the brains for it, so you'll eventually pick up Wind Style to combo with Hiro's fire."
Yoshito stood there, cradling nearly a dozen scrolls, looking like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Hiro and O looked at him with pure, unadulterated sympathy.
I think we called him 'Sensei' way too early, they thought.
Tetsumaru ignored their suffering. He'd seen the Second Hokage's scroll of forbidden techniques; that was a real workload. This was nothing.
After dismissing the boys to practice, Tetsumaru got to work on his own priorities. His top goal remained the Land of Wind Exploration Plan.
Based on his memories of the "original story" (from the anime he'd seen in his previous life), the legendary giant scorpion lived in the heart of a dangerous desert zone—a forbidden area similar to Konoha's Forest of Death. The giant ants were found in a set of ruins. The details were fuzzy, largely because he'd skipped those episodes or hadn't paid enough attention at the time.
He had ignored this info until Orochimaru's recent confirmation. Now, the priority was clear.
But how to enter the Land of Wind? During a war, a Konoha shinobi couldn't just walk across the border.
The only "official" way was to join the Rear-Guard Harassment Units. These were the elites of the Land of Rivers front. However, after Sakumo Hatake had been reassigned, the unit had suffered heavy losses. They were desperate for reinforcements.
Unfortunately, Tetsumaru knew he wouldn't be accepted. To the high-ups, his "Swarm Tide" was way too loud and flashy for stealthy sabotage. More importantly, he was a "Strategic Asset" currently being kept in reserve. They wouldn't even let him take standard combat missions, let alone a suicide run into enemy territory.
Furthermore, the harassment units targeted Sunagakure's supply lines, mines, and oases. The giant insects he sought would be deep in the uninhabited wastes, far from any human infrastructure.
That left only one option: a secret, unauthorized solo infiltration.
The problem was secrecy. With no support and no backup, he would be deep in a hostile nation that was currently on high alert. Even the official harassment units were dying in droves with full Konoha backing; a solo run was borderline suicidal.
He cycled through plan after plan, discarding them for being too risky or too complex. Finally, he settled on a remarkably "clunky" strategy—one that actually felt feasible.
"Old Lu... I'm taking a page out of your book," Tetsumaru muttered, referring to a certain legendarily cautious protagonist from his past life's reading. "Let's see if I can build a 'budget version' of a detection barrier across the Land of Wind."