Lush, dense leaves intertwined, softening the once scorching sunlight. Sunbeams pierced through the gaps in the foliage, casting shadows on the ground, but these patterns were quickly disturbed by several figures speeding through.
Along the way, Naruto's squad traveled in utter silence. Due to Naruto and Rock Lee's formidable physical conditioning, their stamina was abundant, and they had barely slowed their pace. Aburame Neri, following behind, was suffering miserably. For a newly formed team, understanding a teammate's strength was a crucial first step. Neri considered her own abilities to be on par with a jonin's, which should have made her quite strong within the team. This initial leg of the journey was a process of gauging her teammates. Yet, she hadn't expected Naruto and Rock Lee's taijutsu to be so exceptional.
She wasn't a ninja who excelled in taijutsu to begin with; her stamina depleted rapidly, and her speed unconsciously flagged. But from start to finish, Naruto and Rock Lee's pace remained steady and unchanged. This indicated they still had energy to spare.
'To have such taijutsu at this age... I really want to cut open their bodies and take a look.' The thought flashed through Aburame Neri's mind. But it was just a thought. After all, these two were valued by Danzo. Neri mobilized her chakra, painstakingly increasing her speed to keep up with Naruto. She didn't want to admit weakness so easily.
Naruto glanced sideways at Aburame Neri out of the corner of his eye. Noticing the slight disarray in her chakra, he understood she was likely nearing her limit. He consciously slowed down and called out to Rock Lee, "Sage, let's slow down a bit. I'm getting a little tired."
"Huh? Tired?" The blockheaded Rock Lee looked bewildered. "Shinigami, your stamina shouldn't be any worse than mine! You're tired at this slow pace?" But after seeing Aburame Neri, he had a sudden realization and consciously reduced his speed.
Neri sighed in relief at this, and a flicker of something passed through her eyes as she looked at Naruto. It seemed Naruto was just as the intel described: gentle-natured and very considerate of others. But could such a person truly become the leader of Root? Neri remained skeptical. She had been raised by Root since childhood; both her personality and her way of thinking were Root-style. In her view, only someone sufficiently ruthless could lead Root.
During the remainder of the journey, Aburame Neri was profoundly shaken. Naruto and Rock Lee, who maintained their traveling pace, would even train during rest breaks, operating like tireless machines. And she, a genius of the Aburame clan, already possessed jonin-level strength at merely sixteen, along with considerable expertise in human experimentation. She had originally thought herself to be exceptionally brilliant. Even geniuses from powerful clans like the Uchiha or Hyuga were likely no more than this. Coupled with her Root upbringing from a young age, Neri had developed an extremely ruthless and cruel personality.
On a mission several years ago, she had captured a Kekkei Genkai user alive. Out of curiosity, she dissected them. From then on, it was as if a door to a new world had opened for her. In subsequent missions, she would always conduct some human experiments, yearning to glimpse the secrets of Kekkei Genkai. This desire had been suppressed and hidden by her for a long time. Unexpectedly, today, this desire was reawakened. She desperately wanted to obtain Naruto's body, to study and savor it meticulously.
Naruto was unaware that he had attracted the attention of this beauty who nurtured insects with her body. He himself was filled with curiosity about Aburame Neri. It was said that the bodies of the Aburame clan were nests for insects, and the clan had always practiced endogamy. He wondered if their "tools of procreation" were also riddled with insect holes, with bugs occasionally crawling out. Or perhaps, while they "communicated," were the insects within their bodies also communicating, thereby producing little insects with special genes?
In this rather bizarre atmosphere, they continued onward.
"This rogue ninja organization is located at the border of the Land of Fire. There are rogue ninja from various villages within it, about six in total. Try to capture them alive if possible. If the situation becomes critical, you can kill them directly."
"Sage, your taijutsu is stronger, so you'll handle the combat. Insect Queen," Naruto looked at Aburame Neri, his eyes calm, "your insects will conduct reconnaissance first. After gathering intelligence, you'll support us." Naruto, having entered his "ninja mode," seemed to have become emotionless.
Aburame Neri listened quietly to Naruto's subsequent series of battle plans. It had to be said, if she hadn't known Naruto's information beforehand, she would never have equated him with a twelve-year-old ninja.
After making simple arrangements, the group entered a small town on the border of the Land of Fire. The town was rather desolate, with few pedestrians, but it had frequent interactions with the Land of Fire. It was said that a cruel rogue ninja organization had once appeared in this town, rampaging, killing, and plundering. Since then, the small town had been severely weakened and had yet to recover. According to intelligence, the target rogue organization frequented this town.
Naruto's squad, disguised as merchants, entered the town without attracting any attention. Aburame Neri silently observed Naruto, recording details as per Danzo's instructions. Naruto, despite not having much ninja experience, possessed an extremely meticulous mind, arranging the entire commission process thoroughly. Although many details were still somewhat naive, the overall plan was competent.
'Has this guy really been a ninja for less than a year?' Aburame Neri couldn't help but mutter to herself internally.
Soon, they temporarily lodged at a small inn. They roasted a few animals they had hunted along the way and managed a meager dinner. While on a mission, it was necessary to avoid consuming others' food as much as possible.
"Since we've become teammates and will be working together from now on, understanding each other's intel is also very important."
"Before us, did you have other squad members?" Naruto asked gently while they were having dinner.
"They all died on missions," Aburame Neri replied, her tone icy. She added silently in her heart, 'And then I dissected them.'
"Then what are your views on squadmates?" Naruto pressed.
Aburame Neri looked up, her eyes calm, and said in a flat tone, "People who complete missions together."
"That—" Rock Lee's eyebrows knitted together, and he retorted with some displeasure, "Comrades are people you can entrust your back to, people you can trust!"
"Entrust my back?" Hearing this, Aburame Neri's pretty eyebrows furrowed, a hint of mockery in her eyes. She stood up and said coldly, "A foolish notion. As a ninja, the mission should be paramount. So-called bonds with comrades are unreliable." With that, she headed towards her room.
"That girl!!" Anger rushed to Rock Lee's head. He shot up, wanting to chase after her and demand an explanation, but Naruto stopped him.
"Naruto, why are you stopping me? Do you really want to cooperate with such a heartless person?" Rock Lee's eyes were filled with incomprehension.
Naruto smiled and shook his head, then said something profound: "She grew up in Root; her way of thinking is naturally different from ours. But these things are acquired, and they can be changed, can't they?" He looked towards Aburame Neri's room with a gentle smile. 'Girls often have more delicate emotions than boys. There's still plenty of time ahead.'
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