Having tasted the sweetness of chemical-based gene splicing, Aburame Tetsumaru naturally began to look forward to more advanced gene-editing techniques—specifically, those that could operate at the level of individual base pairs.
To achieve this, the precision of his Insight ability would first need to break through the nanometer scale and enter the picometer range. Only then could he identify and accurately record genetic sequences at that level.
Furthermore, even if his perception reached that level, he would still need a tool capable of manipulating base pairs. His current chemical tools were far too coarse; they were like trying to perform watch repair with a sledgehammer.
At present, the ceiling of Tetsumaru's capabilities was dictated by his tools of observation and manipulation. While there was hope for his observation methods to improve, the manipulation tools remained his greatest hurdle.
However, those were concerns for the future. For now, he had a new objective: Desert Giant Insects.
Orochimaru's advice had been to seek out naturally occurring giant insects as a reference. Intelligence reports suggested traces of such creatures in the desert—information reported by none other than Sakumo Hatake. Given the source, the reliability was incredibly high.
This was a godsend, a literal "timely rain" for his research.
Tetsumaru had originally assumed he would have to wait until the war ended, then apply for a few years of travel to find the giant insects summoned by the Path of Hell, or perhaps sneak into the Hidden Cloud's forbidden Turtle Island.
Thanks to Orochimaru's reminder, he finally remembered that the deserts of the Land of Wind were home to giant insects. There were at least two types: social ants exceeding eight meters in length, and four-tailed giant scorpions that reached over forty meters.
Both species perfectly matched his expectations.
His current "giant" insects were only able to reach such sizes by brute-forcing the genes of palm-sized bugs. Their biological systems were a fragile mess, entirely dependent on symbiotic insects and Chakra Runes to keep them from collapsing.
Essentially, most of his modification efforts were spent simply keeping the bugs alive. There was almost nothing left over to enhance their combat effectiveness; they relied solely on their sheer mass to fight.
If he could obtain samples of naturally giant insects, he could focus entirely on strengthening their defense, speed, and attack power. That was how a giant insect was supposed to be.
Tetsumaru bypassed the main entrance of Konoha to make a quick trip home. He made a show of "adjusting" the configuration of the insects in his summoning array to mask the existence of his Broodmother. He intended to keep that secret hidden for as long as possible; it was one of his ultimate trump cards.
When he finally left the village, Tetsumaru did so openly, accompanied by two massive insects. The sight caused a minor stir; some civilians were even frightened into fainting. He was eventually pulled aside by the Uchiha Police Force to "have some tea" and explain himself.
Fortunately, thanks to his relationship with Uchiha Akira, there was no real conflict, and he was released quickly.
Revealing his Scythe-Mantises was a necessity. Although they were quite spindly, they were incredibly tall. Only his largest insect hives could house them, and even then, only one per hive.
If he wanted to bring the Scythe-Mantises to the battlefield, they would largely have to travel on their own legs. Since he hadn't accounted for long-distance travel during their design, he needed to conduct a field test before reaching the front lines.
The long-distance march quickly revealed its flaws. After three hundred kilometers of continuous movement, both Scythe-Mantises died within half an hour of each other. The cause: total organ failure.
Insects that were forcibly enlarged simply couldn't handle the strain. They lacked an intuitive grasp of their own physical limits and didn't even register the sensation of fatigue. They had literally run themselves to death.
Tetsumaru let out a long sigh—partly out of relief for identifying a critical flaw, and partly out of mourning for the cost of the dead mantises. Without hesitation, he summoned a new one and continued the tests.
The Land of Rivers, wedged between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, was a famous buffer zone and a natural battlefield during wartime.
Seventy percent of the massive rainfall from the Land of Rain flowed into the Land of Rivers. This narrow, north-south country was carved by countless rivers racing toward the sea.
Under the massive elevation drop from north to south, the raging waters had sliced the land into numerous north-south canyons, effectively cutting off east-west transit.
The torrential waters had also stripped away the topsoil. Despite being densely forested, the Land of Rivers lacked flat land suitable for farming. It was a notoriously poor nation; only the southern plains held a significant population and the Hidden Valley Village.
While the terrain hindered supply wagons, it was ideal for shinobi squads. Moreover, the main highways connecting the Wind and Fire nations to the south ran very close to the Land of Rivers' borders.
This geography dictated that the Land of Rivers would be the primary theater of war. The southern plains were the main battlefield for large-scale armies, while the central canyons were the secondary theater for infiltration and raids.
Both nations fought to control the Land of Rivers to prevent infiltration, secure their own supply lines, and launch offensives through the southern plains.
Early in the war, the Sand had the upper hand, controlling the Land of Rivers and repeatedly attacking the Land of Fire.
However, with the sudden rise of the White Fang of the Leaf, the situation changed. Sakumo Hatake had killed over thirty Sand Jonin—most of them puppeteers—single-handedly shifting the power balance and pushing the front line back to the Land of Wind.
Once Konoha shifted to an offensive posture, they faced the same dilemma the Sand once had: they had to simultaneously manage the southern offensive and the defense of the central canyons.
At that time, Konoha was fighting on three fronts. the Third Hokage had withdrawn Sakumo and a portion of the forces from the Land of Rivers to support other theaters.
This year, the tide of war had turned in Konoha's favor. Several fronts had stabilized, particularly in the East, where Konoha had won four major battles and temporarily driven the Land of Water off the continent.
Looking around, the Land of Rain was a four-way mess; the Hidden Cloud in the Land of Grass was biding its time; and the Hidden Mist in the East was the weakest but also the hardest to attack across the sea.
Only the Sand remained—economically fragile and clearly on the decline. Furthermore, the desert was hardly a forbidden zone for skilled shinobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to make the Land of Wind the primary target this year. He intended to crush the Hidden Sand within six months and force them out of the war.
The Hokage's resolve was set. Konoha began recalling elites from various fronts—the Land of Waves, the Land of Whirlpools, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Grass. Over a hundred elite shinobi began to assemble, including Sakumo Hatake, who was recalled from the Lightning theater.
As Tetsumaru traveled, he felt a spark of excitement at the thought of meeting the White Fang.
In the eleven years since his awakening, he had seen many famous figures: the Third Hokage, the Sannin, and Danzo. During this trip home, he had even glimpsed Minato and Kushina. Among the top-tier powerhouses of this era, only the White Fang and "Wicked Eye" Fugaku remained unseen.
Sakumo Hatake was currently the most prestigious ninja in Konoha—bar none. His record was incomparable.
Even the Third Hokage couldn't compete. Since becoming Hokage, Hiruzen had not stepped onto the battlefield; no matter how much propaganda they spun, they couldn't fabricate a combat record.
Shimura Danzo had lost to Hanzo, then to Chiyo, and finally ended up disfigured and blinded by Roshi. His string of defeats had become a joke; he was essentially the "gatekeeper" of the Kage-level rank.
The Sannin's fame grew daily, but their records were merely "not suffering a total defeat" against the likes of Chiyo and Hanzo. At the end of the day, those were still strategic retreats.
Sakumo Hatake was different. His record was one of absolute victory. He had killed 34 Sand Jonin in the Land of Rivers, 11 Mist Jonin in the Land of Waves, and 13 Cloud Jonin in the Land of Lightning—including a Jinchuriki.
It was staggering. He was Konoha's God of Death, the ultimate "firefighter" sent wherever the danger was greatest.
Regardless of the battlefield, the White Fang was responsible for rampaging through the enemy's rear, killing until the tides turned. His value had ascended from the tactical level to the strategic level.
The sheer scale of Sakumo's fame was something Konoha ninja twenty years later would struggle to comprehend—much like how those born after 1995 might struggle to understand the peak popularity of Jay Chou, or the frenzy Michael Jackson caused in his prime.
However, in Konoha, having a reputation too good often invited trouble.
After the war, both Sakumo Hatake and Fugaku Uchiha would be suppressed. The first step was successful: Fugaku was a "turtle" by nature, retreating into his shell the moment pressure was applied.
The second step, however, blew up in the leadership's faces. The White Fang committed suicide in indignation, and Konoha's top-tier combat power was suddenly cut in half. It was a defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.
I need to make sure I see him, Tetsumaru thought. If I don't, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.
After four days of hard travel and running six Scythe-Mantises to death, Tetsumaru finally reached the southern Land of Rivers.
The frontline camp was located on the coast at the southwestern corner of the Land of Fire, adjacent to the southern alluvial plains. Crossing that small plain led directly into the Land of Wind.
He had one day left before his reporting deadline. Tetsumaru went to the mission center to observe. He found that half of the available "Free Missions" involved building or guarding bridges.
Not bad, he thought. If he wasn't assigned a specific defensive post, he could take his squad on these missions. They were safer than protecting transport teams in the rear.
The rivers in the delta were dense, and there were an exaggerated number of bridges—more bridges than there were Sand Jonin. Consequently, the Sand ninjas harassing the construction were mostly Chunin squads.
Bridge-related missions had a high encounter rate, but without enemy Jonin involved, they remained B-rank.
Escort missions were the opposite. Since the routes were within the Land of Fire, the difficulty of infiltrating from the Konoha-occupied Land of Rivers was immense. Any Sand squad that successfully slipped through was guaranteed to be elite. These escort missions were usually C-rank on paper, but if combat occurred, they immediately jumped to A-rank. They were extremely dangerous.
Having understood the mission landscape, Tetsumaru toured the entire camp, memorizing the environment and functional facilities. Finally, he mapped out locations suitable for training, drills, and instruction before heading to report.
After finalizing his arrival and receiving his appointment letter, Tetsumaru was officially the Captain of Team 121. His subordinates were three recent graduates: Nara Yoshito, Inuzuka O, and Uchiha Hiro.
As expected of a Jonin-led squad—they're all from Great Clans, Tetsumaru noted. However, he didn't recognize any of them; they weren't the parents of the "Konoha 11." Having a Nara in the squad was also a bit odd, as the Ino-Shika-Cho trio usually weren't split up, and if they were, they were typically regrouped elsewhere. These kids were only ten years old.
Through the mission center's staff, Tetsumaru issued orders to his three subordinates: they were to assemble at Training Ground No. 1 the following morning.
"Training Ground No. 1" was simply an empty lot Tetsumaru had named. He left three hand-drawn maps with the staff, marking his selected training sites clearly.
Now that he had captain status, he tried to claim a bridge mission for three days later, only to be told that those were "contingent missions" and couldn't be reserved in advance.
Tetsumaru shrugged and left the center. He would wait until the squad had built some chemistry before picking a task.
In addition to the hundred elites, Konoha had deployed four thousand more shinobi—including fresh graduates, clan members, and even those previously recovering from injuries.
The camp had been built for four thousand people; with over seven thousand now crammed inside, it was suffocatingly crowded.
Even in the middle of the night, the constant movement and noise made sleep impossible. Tetsumaru simply dismantled his tent and moved to "Camp No. 1" outside the main perimeter. As an Aburame, he was the last person to worry about insects in the wild.
After moving, he slept soundly until the next morning, when his insects alerted him that three young ninjas had arrived.
The assembly time was 6:00 AM. It was barely past 5:00 AM. They were eager.
Tetsumaru didn't rush. He got up, dressed, and packed his gear at his own pace, observing the children through his insects.
The first to arrive was Uchiha Hiro, a black-haired boy wearing clothes emblazoned with the Uchiha crest. After confirming his location with the map, he leaped into a tree, folded his arms, and leaned against the trunk to rest with his eyes closed.
Next was Inuzuka O, his face painted with clan markings, accompanied by a lean, adult hunting dog.
Finally, the lazy-looking "pineapple-head," Nara Yoshito, wandered in.
Once Yoshito arrived, Hiro jumped down from the tree. The three of them stood in a triangle in the center of the clearing, sizing each other up.
"Uchiha Hiro."
"I know. Top of the class," Inuzuka O replied. "I'm Inuzuka O."
"Sigh... Nara Yoshito."
"As I thought, a Nara," Hiro said, voicing his confusion. "But why are you in a squad with us?"
Yoshito simply shook his head and said nothing. The other two didn't press; tragedy was common in times of war.
Hiro automatically positioned himself as the leader. "Let's report our specialties. The Captain will probably test us soon."
"I'll go first. I'm proficient in Fire Style, Uchiha Shurikenjutsu, and Uchiha Kenjutsu. I also know a bit of Genjutsu."
"Hmph. Arrogant Uchiha," O scoffed. "I specialize in Taijutsu and Inuzuka Secret Arts. I'm best at tracking."
"As for me... I know a little Shadow Mimicry. I can handle support."
Yoshito glanced at the Uchiha, silently conceding the leadership role to Hiro for now. Hiro looked at his teammates—one lazy, one brash—and felt a flicker of dissatisfaction. He didn't think they were quite up to his level.
"Between the three of us, I'll be the main attacker," Hiro declared. "The dog-boy will handle scouting and frontal assaults. Pineapple-head will handle support. The configuration is reasonable."
"Hey! Who are you calling 'dog-boy'? Watch your mouth!"
"You're the one who said 'Arrogant Uchiha' first. You have a problem?"
"I..." Inuzuka O was cut off, unable to find a retort. The veins on his forehead pulsed with irritation.
Yoshito quickly stepped in to play peacemaker. "Alright, alright. We're all on the same team now."
To prevent a fight, he quickly changed the subject. "Hiro, do you have any intel on our Captain?"
"Nothing special," Hiro pouted. "I heard he's an Aburame, recently promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin. We're his first squad since the promotion."
Since the decline of the Senju, the Uchiha were the undisputed top clan of Konoha, but their relationship with the Hokage's faction was poor, leaving them somewhat isolated from internal news.
The Hyuga were in a similar boat, but their high strategic value meant they were welcomed everywhere, so their situation was slightly better.
The Nara, however, were exceptionally clever and had members in every department—especially among the frontline strategists. They were second only to the Yamanaka in terms of information access.
But the clever Nara strictly followed secrecy protocols and wouldn't leak info to the younger generation. Therefore, Yoshito only knew about the "Sugar Ants," as the Aburame had leased large tracts of Nara land.
"My family has some ties to the Aburame," Yoshito added. "I've heard he's a very capable manager and excellent at protecting his subordinates. Beyond that, I don't know much."
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