Shibi told Shino to take his guests around while he prepared the meal himself.
Shino was actually a little nervous. It was his first time having friends over, and even though his relationship with Natsuki and TenTen was very close, he couldn't help but care about the impression they'd get.
He took them to see the insect breeding room and the vegetable garden.
The Aburame clan's insect techniques were famous, so keeping bugs at home was normal—though not exactly friendly to people with trypophobia.
Natsuki and TenTen weren't afraid though. After all, they were used to Shino. Every time they trained together, Shino would summon a bunch of insects. After seeing them so many times, they had naturally gotten used to it.
Still, seeing a swarm of bugs munching away at leaves with that crunchy kacha-kacha sound wasn't exactly pleasant. To anyone not from the Aburame clan, it was downright creepy.
Afterward, Shino brought them to the training field in the backyard.
Natsuki brought up the real reason for the visit. "Shino, I've developed a new ninja taijutsu system called the Six Styles. It includes the Kami-e I taught you before, and Soru, which I refined myself using something like the Body Flicker Technique. The remaining four are Tekkai, Geppō, Shigan, and Rankyaku. These should help make up for your lack of close-combat techniques. Split off a few bug clones and come at me—I'll demonstrate one by one."
"Alright. I'm looking forward to it."
Shino didn't refuse—just like Natsuki hadn't refused when he handed over that stack of ninjutsu scrolls.
He raised his hand, and a swarm of insects gathered into three bug clones, all rushing at Natsuki with kunai in hand.
"Soru!"
Natsuki vanished in a flash.
When he reappeared, he was behind one of the clones. His right index finger suddenly turned pitch black as he jabbed it right into the clone's heart.
"Shigan!"
The clone exploded.
The other two bug clones immediately charged in with kunai, but Natsuki didn't even dodge. He formed a few seals casually, and when the kunai struck him, the only sound was that of metal hitting metal—there wasn't a scratch on him.
"This is Tekkai! Now watch—Geppō! And after that—Rankyaku!"
Natsuki stepped into midair and began running through the sky, leaving TenTen and Shino stunned. Then, he swept a leg midair, and a crescent-shaped chakra blade flew out, slashing the two clones into pieces.
As for Kami-e, there was no need to demonstrate it—Shino had already mastered it.
After landing, Natsuki met TenTen's sparkling eyes and Shino's reflective sunglasses, and smiled. "That's the Six Styles. While it requires water and earth chakra natures, you can still learn it even if you don't have those elements. Now let me explain the mechanics behind it…"
Not long after, Natsuki thoroughly explained the principles and training methods behind the Six Styles—without holding anything back.
He even went into detail on the precautions. For instance, Tekkai and Shigan involved ironification, which temporarily gave the body the properties of iron. It was a dangerous process, so it should only be practiced using shadow clones. Also, the ironification should never exceed one minute, or it could damage the body.
Shino nodded repeatedly, clearly impressed and satisfied.
Once he mastered these techniques, he'd no longer be helpless when enemies closed in. Just Tekkai alone would render most close-range attacks useless.
"Oh right, Shino," Natsuki said suddenly, "once you've got it down, hand over the Six Styles to Shibi-ojisan and let him handle the rest."
"Wait…" Shino hesitated. "Natsuki, this is your research result…"
Natsuki chuckled. "Yeah, it's mine. But it's also thanks to the Aburame clan's support that I made this progress. Don't think I don't know you got permission from Shibi-ojisan to give me those scrolls. I might not stand on ceremony with you, but I still have to express gratitude to your father. Otherwise, what kind of person would I be?"
Shino opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.
He understood Natsuki's thinking and knew he was right.
Even if those jutsu weren't valued by the clan, they were still clan property. As the clan heir, giving them to an outsider could invite criticism—not only towards him, but possibly even towards Natsuki and the clan leader.
But if Natsuki gave back something that could make up for the Aburame clan's weakness in taijutsu, there would be no criticism—only praise.
And in doing so, Natsuki would only deepen his ties with the Aburame clan.
Even so, Shino felt conflicted. His original intent was to help Natsuki, not to get something in return. Even if he could accept the Six Styles as a gift, he didn't want to watch Natsuki hand over his own research for the sake of the clan.
It made the friendship feel… transactional.
TenTen seemed to sense Shino's mood and quickly said, "Shino, don't overthink it. The Six Styles are just a small part of Natsuki's results. He's actually got something much more impressive, but he doesn't dare tell you yet—he's worried you'd think he's being selfish by keeping it to himself."
"Oh? There's something more impressive?"
Shino didn't quite believe it. He figured TenTen was just trying to comfort him.
Natsuki had no choice but to explain in a low voice, "Thanks to the jutsu you gave me, I've already grasped chakra nature transformation. And I've started combining it with shape transformation. The technique I'm working on is too powerful and unstable, so I can't use it yet."
Shino's eyes widened in shock—then lit up with joy.
He hadn't expected Natsuki to already be merging chakra shape and nature transformation. That was something only jōnin could usually do.
Compared to that, the Six Styles really didn't seem all that important anymore.
"You're serious?" he asked uncertainly.
Natsuki nodded firmly. "Of course. But I can't teach you."
Shino quickly waved his hand. "It's fine, it's fine. I mainly train in insect techniques anyway—I couldn't learn something like that. This actually makes things easier. I'll go ahead and spread the Six Styles within the clan."
Natsuki finally let out a sigh of relief. He'd been worried Shino would take it the wrong way.
Still, he added seriously, "For now, keep it a secret. Don't mention that I created it. Wait until I officially become a ninja—otherwise, I'm afraid I'll wake up one morning and find the dark ninja standing at my bedside."
Shino understood completely and nodded solemnly.
TenTen also looked serious. After spending so much time with Natsuki, she too had been warned to stay low-key. Just thinking about those so-called dark ninja—the ones who abducted geniuses in secret—made her nervous.
Her future boyfriend was such a prodigy. She really hoped no one would target him.
Before long, Shibi called the three in for dinner.
Despite raising bugs, the Aburame clan didn't eat them—they actually loved them.
Shino was a prime example. If he saw a bug crossing the road, he wouldn't let his teammates step on it. He found that too upsetting.
Their vegetables, on the other hand, were excellently cultivated. Some were grown for the bugs, others for their own meals.
And when it came to cooking those vegetables, they were quite skilled. For instance, Shino's mom was an amazing cook.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]