Even though he'd gotten rid of the annoyances several hours ago, Yashin still felt tired.
Finding helpers to take care of the trash in the surrounding area.
Although that had been his initial goal, after two meetings with those brats, he felt as if he were saddled with even more useless stuff.
As if his own body weren't enough.
Unless both of those brats developed some brain matter over the next few months and could take care of themselves, he might as well give up on the idea of taking on subordinates.
Better to be alone than in bad company.
Although a bit out of context, the saying from his previous life still applied to his current situation.
With those thoughts in mind, the pink-haired finally reached his destination.
The park near his house.
Say what you will about Konoha and its corrupt society, but its green spaces were something to admire.
Even something as simple as a park was teeming with life.
All the more so with the countless critters the pink-haired had unleashed to contribute to the local wildlife.
Parks, groves, training grounds—even the edges of the Forest of Death—were home to some invasive species modified by the youngest Haruno.
One only had to look at the trees, the grass on the ground, and the cobwebs with their intricate patterns among the branches—or the endless lines of ants carrying some dismembered carcass back to their colony—and they would be plain for anyone to see.
However, unless there were a plague or something that threatened the villagers' safety, the people of Konoha couldn't care less about the bugs in their green spaces.
The consequences of being a ninja village.
What matters is war, not wildlife.
Unless it serves a purpose in war, of course.
After reaching the base of the nearest tree, Yashin sank down to rest in its shade.
Although his chakra reserves grew with each passing day, life still felt exhausting to him.
There was more he could do, but at the same time, it was never enough.
Bees, dragonflies, spiders, ants, beetles, bedbugs—various creatures began to gather quietly around the pink-haired, like pack mules.
Whether in their jaws, on their legs, or on the backs of each of the insects, large quantities of eggs were being carried.
With an expressionless face, Yashin watched the swarm of insects until it stopped moving.
Dedicating one day each week to doing this was starting to become a real nuisance.
Especially now that the modification process no longer posed any challenge to his chakra control.
The process of stressing the animals before they reproduced or intervening in the embryos to force a change was as monotonous and tedious as maintaining his hormonal production.
At least that last part served to keep him alive; on the other hand, modifying insects only drained his already scarce time and limited chakra reserves.
…
"Three years with no results other than being the Aburame family's box of surprises, and you're just now starting to lose patience with these bugs. You're definitely not the brightest."
…
Focused on the dozens of caterpillars in front of him, Yashin didn't respond to the voice in his head.
It was more productive to pay attention to the subtle changes in each insect than to his own internal ramblings.
But the other party didn't need a response from him anyway.
…
"Even those animals you torture with chakra to force them to mutate eventually learn what's best for them; but you remain stuck, wasting your time."
…
The voice was annoying, but at the same time, Yashin also found it amusing.
A somewhat familiar stranger, a little more impulsive and with an intellect slightly below his own.
Listening to him wasn't always a headache.
Even more so when he laid bare his ignorance so openly.
…
"What about the Demodex mites? You were so obsessed with them, even before you got sick, but now that you're more pathetic than a mangy Inuzuka—when they would have actually been useful—you're setting them aside to play around here."
…
Although he didn't say anything in response, the pink-haired's involuntary smile was enough to heighten his initially restrained annoyance.
…
"Weak and lacking in determination. Whenever you come up against a wall, you try to avoid it, even when you could tear it all down. If, instead of wasting your time on these kinds of petty tricks, you had devoted yourself to building your strength, even if you still couldn't sweep everything away, at least you wouldn't be so pathetic—much less have to put up with being looked down on by others. After all, this is a damn world where personal strength is the only thing that matters."
…
After the caterpillars left, some moths began to swarm around the pink-haired boy.
Insignificant tricks.
His counterpart was right.
Many of his methods, many of his plans, belonged to the weak.
But Yashin Haruno now considered himself weak.
Always accustomed to the top, he no longer possessed that brute strength capable of sweeping everything aside.
Even though he knew he was better than anyone in his generation, even though he knew he could achieve more than any other man in the history of this world, at this moment he was weak.
But how interesting it seemed to him to see the world from below—to put himself at risk, to plan as if any misstep meant stepping over the edge of the precipice, only to brush that empty air with the tip of his foot the very next moment.
Being strong was fine, but up on that soporific summit, he would never have found—nor would he have deigned to look at—a measly moth capable of communicating at ultrasonic frequencies.
Gently, Yashin reached out to catch one of the moths before using his chakra to stimulate it and force it to rub its wings against its thorax.
Immediately, several of the moths swarming around him froze in place.
The insect in his hand didn't hesitate for a single second before pouncing on the nearest female.
For a second, he wondered if this world also had an equivalent to those clowns at the vegan sanctuaries or the Wild Animal Suffering (WAS) activists.
Well, even if there were, Yashin was sure that, just like in his previous world, those idiots wouldn't be concerned about how a few measly moths reproduce either.
However, for him, seeing the "fake bat" trick here as well was quite significant and interesting.
If he were too strong, if he still believed he were at the top, he would never have appreciated something so insignificant, much less thought of putting it to any use.
Sometimes, being weak wasn't all bad.
With a calm smile, he reached out his hand once more toward the terrified, petrified creatures, his chakra surging beneath his skin.
Indifferent to the feelings of the small animals, he resumed his experiment—to force them into an unwanted and uncertain perfection, to maintain his own interest, to continue the suffering he had inflicted upon them for generations.
…
Apathetic, Yashin watched the afternoon sun push aside the shadow that had covered him all day.
Although it was warm, spending too much time under the clear sky would inevitably become uncomfortable.
However, the pink-haired was unable to leave.
His chakra reserves, once again depleted, forced him to remain as still as a corpse.
As usual, he'd let himself get carried away.
That's why it was important to have Sakura around to get him home. But unfortunately, his exclusive means of transportation seemed to be otherwise engaged after she disappeared that morning.
Now, because of her, he had to endure the hardships of an African slave, working on a cotton plantation.
After letting out a faint sigh, lamenting that he hadn't even brought something to eat to speed up the process, he closed his eyes.
— And here I was thinking the Akimichi was just a pig, when he was always one step ahead.
— What are you muttering about over there?
Just hearing that voice was enough to make Yashin's expression turn sour.
He didn't answer; he didn't even open his eyes to look at the other person.
He didn't need to, since that same voice had been haunting him like a ghost for the past few weeks.
— Sarada, it looks like he's sleeping. Why don't you let him rest?
However, the new speaker inevitably made the pink-haired's eyebrows furrow.
— See? He's just pretending. You should learn to read people better, Natsuki.
In the end, having already been discovered, Yashin opened his eyes to find himself looking into the blue and black eyes of the girls standing before him.
— You two again. What do you want this time?
Yashin was fed up.
After the Hyuga fiasco, the two anomalies had unexpectedly decided to become friends. But if that were all there was to it, the pink-haired wouldn't be nearly as annoyed by their presence.
The real problem lay in the fact that after talking too much that day, the bespectacled Uchiha—instead of avoiding him like the plague—began to harass him with an intensity not even seen between Naruto and Sasuke or Hashirama and Madara.
— What do you mean, "us again"?
Sarada's confrontational posture and stern expression only served to increase the pink-haired's annoyance.
— The last time we saw you was two days ago, when you skipped the last class of the day. By the way, Iruka-sensei was pretty upset with you for skipping out.
Not only had she become a persistent nuisance, but worse yet, for some reason she'd also started to lose the caution that always gripped her when she was around him.
— Besides, that's no way to treat someone who came over to see if you were okay. After all, you looked like a stray dog.
After his sister, the Uchiha was perhaps the most annoying person he had to deal with.
— So, why are you slumped over here?
— I pushed my body's cells too hard, so now I'm waiting for them to recover so I can draw some physical energy from them, before combining it with my spiritual energy to sustain my hormone constants—at least until I get home.
— …
— …
— So, you ran out of chakra and now you can't move, right?
Instead of wasting any more breath on the black-haired girl, Yashin turned his attention to the silent blonde with pigtails.
— You—even if it's just because of the Hyuga situation—take this brat with you, will you?
Instead of answering, Natsuki immediately turned her face away, as if none of it had anything to do with her.
It wasn't that she didn't want to keep Sarada away from the youngest Haruno; however, she knew that trying to do so was a lost cause.
— How childish! If you have a problem with me, you should tell me to my face, instead of relying on others.
A little embarrassed by Yashin's incredulous gaze, the Uchiha looked away toward her friend, only to find the blonde trying to suppress a smile.
Although that only added to her embarrassment, she forced herself to keep a straight face.
After all, she had important matters to attend to.
— Natsuki, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to go with you.
Surprised, the Uzumaki turned immediately to face Sarada.
However, her protest got stuck in her throat the moment she met the Uchiha's steady gaze.
— I have a few things to discuss with Yashin, is that okay?
Despite the question, there was nothing Natsuki could say.
In the end, she simply nodded before glancing at the pink-haired and walking away in silence.
For his part, Yashin just glared resentfully at the ungrateful blonde's back until she disappeared from the park.