Chương 164: Loose Ends
High above the ocean outside of the Land of Fire, aboard one of his Overlord, Shino leaned back, a sense of accomplishment washing over him as he made yet another deposit into his beautiful bank.
A special kunai with a Flying Thunder God technique formula attached to it twirled gracefully in his hand as Shino observed Karina snaking down to ensure all his remaining funds were safely secured in his savings account.
As Shino watched the holographic screens before him, he assessed the situation, his mind sharp and calculating.
The Konoha 11, or rather, the Konoha 8 after Shino's rebellion, had all been dispatched on separate missions, avoiding the confrontation. Naruto was naturally off training with Jiraiya, and their appearances on their radar were sporadic, fleeting.
Hinata was last determined to be in her clan, but Shino's bugs couldn't infiltrate her clan's defenses to confirm her status. Hide-and-seek against the Byakugan was clearly impossible, especially when they were alert against Shino's bugs.
On the other hand, Kiba, once a vibrant and reckless boy, now helplessly lay in his house, despondent and empty, accompanied only by the melancholic whimpers of Akamaru.
On another screen was a scene of the capital, where a covert squad of Anbu stealthily dismantled his growing cult.
Though the masked leader couldn't be identified, Shino knew it was Yamato. With his mighty wood release and combat prowess, Yamato easily crushed Shino's experimental creations, their power only limited to chunin-level capabilities.
Much of Shino's cult was quelled in this encounter, leaving his army in need of rebuilding.
Yet, Shino remained undaunted. The cult's legacy would persist, fueled by the unyielding desires for power among the slum-dwellers.
Don't underestimate the denizens of the slums and their desires for power. The denizens' fervent longing for a better life would ensure that Shino's scheme would endure, even if the odds were stacked against them.
On another holographic screen, the figure of Danzo, the cunning old mastermind behind the siege, loomed ominously… far away from the battlefield.
Shino couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle as he remarked, "That old crackpot is always up to his tricks, avoiding the real confrontation and lurking on the borders of the Land of Fire and Land of Rain, waiting for Hanzo's ninjas. But what's he up to this time?"
Karina, with her trademark playful demeanor, did a final flourish with her tongue before replying, "According to the intel we've gathered, it seems Danzo wants to sneak those ninjas, his temporary allies from Amegakure, into the Land of Fire. But his true motives remain shrouded in mystery. It's either to aid in the siege against us or to clean up the mess after both sides have weakened each other. Classic Danzo, always scheming for his own gain."
With a smirk, Shino added, "He's probably waiting for the perfect moment to strike, ready to pick the peaches after everything is over. Perhaps he's even thinking about seizing the Hokage position if Tsunade falls. But little does he know that his calculations won't succeed this time and Amegakure won't be coming."
After juggling the two picked peaches with her mouth, Karina assured Shino, "I gave Konan the reins on that front. After all, she's the de facto leader of Amegakure, and I trust she's got it under control. By now, one of her paper clones should have met up with the Hidden Rain ninjas and sent them back. But even if that had failed due to some accidents, we're well-prepared for any eventuality. We never intended to engage in a lose-lose battle in the first place."
Satisfied with Karina's response, Shino nodded in approval, letting her focus on her main task.
Indeed, Shino knew Danzo probably didn't anticipate his methods of escape. Konoha had readied itself with contingencies to counter him, even bringing in the Kurama clan to nullify his genjutsu.
Yet, it was all in vain because they either didn't expect him to master the Flying Thunder God technique or they simply had no methods to counter it.
The Fourth Hokage was a true legend and his mastery of the Flying Thunder God technique played a pivotal role in bringing an end to one of the ninja world wars.
Needless to say, if the technique could be learned and used proficiently, it's an overpowered and broken technique. Frankly, even Shino wouldn't want to face an enemy who wields it, despite his ability to use it himself.
Shino's escape from Konoha wasn't surprising to him; he had carefully planned every step, and he had also held back on using some of his most potent trump cards. This was only because Shino was cautious, fearing that pushing Might Guy too hard would cause him to burn youth, activating the overpowered death gate.
He knew that even with Guy's seventh gate's ultimate move, Day Tiger, Guy already posed a deadly threat to him, but at least he could react and escape from danger.
However, when it came to the fast and formidable Evening Elephant, that even Ten-Tails Madara struggled to defend against it, Shino had no confidence that he could react in time to escape from such an attack.
And then there was Night Guy, a forbidden technique that distorted the very space around the target, making it impossible to dodge. In such a situation, Shino wasn't willing to test the reliability of his Stage Two Flying Thunder God technique.
Of course, now that he had successfully escaped, Shino wasn't too concerned about Guy taking on his disposable zergs. Guy can burn youth and play all he wants now, and it won't affect him unless Guy can throw his kick from Konoha all the way to the Land of Water… Well, that is if Guy can still play after his injury from activating the seventh gate.
Patting Karina's head, Shino felt the building momentum, his thoughts straying over to his maid, Ying. "How is everything on your end, Karina?"
As if her sixth sense picked up on his true question, Karina playfully bit down, giving him a glare as her voice echoed in his mind.
[Don't worry, my dear. The critical period has passed and the devouring process is going smoothly under Kurenai's watch. Of course, we won't let such powers remain in Ying's hands. Using her as the core, I've begun to assimilate the remnant powers of the unknown invaders and integrating it into my dear's system space. With just a small part of the power absorbed, we've already gained preliminary control over some of the abilities only Yakumo previously possessed, like storing objects and creatures into the system space.]
"Oh?" Shino's interest was immediately piqued, and with a thought, he summoned Konan to his side.
With her usual neutral expression, Konan glanced at Karina before fixing her gaze on Shino. "What is it?"
Stroking Karina's head, Shino opened his genjutsu domain with a thought, enveloping Karina and sending her into his system space, proving the feasibility of her words. He then turned his eyes towards Konan in silence.
Feeling Shino's intense gaze, Konan shifted her attention to Karina's unfinished task. With a neutral expression, she calmly glided over to take care of it. Shino observed with interest as the black pants wrapped even tighter around Konan's thighs as she knelt down.
Still maintaining her neutral expression, Konan's lips parted, "Finish faster. I'm still handling the business over at the Land of Rain," she said calmly.
Then, she gracefully sunk into her duty. Despite not catering to his needs and aiming for efficiency, her neutral, stoic expression that didn't change, even during such tasks, intrigued Shino and brought a strange sense of excitement to him regardless.
With another thought, Shino brought Karina back from the system space to his side, wrapping his arm around the sulking beauty's waist as she cutely pouted over having her job stolen, "And on such a special day, too..."
Shino soothed her in a soft voice, "She will be busy after. After you finish your report, we can continue. After all, you do need some rest after the exhausting your chakra to help me cast the Thunder God Technique repeatedly."
Despite her dissatisfaction, Karina's lips curved into a smile, rubbing the ring on her finger and showing it to Konan, who only glanced at it briefly before refocusing on her task objective. Seeing no reaction from Konan, Karina pouted, "No fun."
Karina then pressed herself against Shino's arm, holding him close as she pulled up a diagram of the demoness Yakumo. "My dear, once the devouring succeeds, we expect to gain much more than just the abilities displayed by the demoness. There is the strange power of the guardian of the tower, along with the unknown power that infiltrated your system space and established its own anchor at an unknown time. Both of these will bring significant benefits once absorbed. Not only that, Ying may also gain some advantages from regaining control over her own body."
As if delighted by one less competitor, albeit temporarily, Karina playfully twirled her red hair. "The only unfortunate thing is that we don't know how long this devouring process will last. The power of those infiltrators is exceptional. If Ying had to go through this alone, she might have been wiped out. Thankfully, the enemy is already trapped within my dear's domain, and we naturally have the advantage due to the system space's passive characteristic of assimilating foreign entities and our accumulation of sealing techniques. If everything goes well - eh? Already?!"
Shino applied pressure to Konan, signaling her to stay quiet. "Mm. Not bad. But it's probably due to your efforts before, Karina. So..."
Konan forcefully lifted her head, her neutral expression composed yet she squinted slightly. "I still have work- umph-"
Her eyes widened slightly with shock as Shino roughly sealed her mouth. With his hands slipping through the layers of her soft blue hair, Shino stood up. "Oh. That's a good reaction."
As Karina watched Shino discuss with Konan, she licked her lips seductively, as if recalling some memories. Standing up, she pressed herself against Shino's arm, raising her hand and displaying her ring in front of his eyes. "My dear, after all of this is over, how about we-"
Abruptly halting his movements, Shino quickly covered Karina's mouth with his hand, surprising her. "Hush, Karina. What you deserve, I will fulfill in due time. There's no need to say things that could set up death flags."
Karina blinked playfully, nodding slightly as she licked Shino's palm. Shino raised a brow and lowered his hand, sliding it back onto Konan's soft hair.
Seemingly satisfied with Shino's answer, Karina fixed her eyes on Konan, who had already returned to her neutral expression, and commanded, "You know the real rules around here by now. So... deeper, until my dear is satisfied."
Konan's amber eyes momentarily swept towards Karina before complying.
Hearing Shino's groan, Karina smiled blissfully as she controlled the Overlord, heading towards the islands they had discovered.
She was excited about their future, so naturally, she wanted to bring even more excitement to Shino. The Fifth Mizukage under the desk in her own office would be rather thrilling, wouldn't it?
But would everything really go as Karina planned? Or had they forgotten about the hidden danger that hadn't shown himself yet?
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