Naruto: Swarm System

"Alright, that's all the mission information."

"Shishou, do you have anything to say?"

Shizune detailed the mission information and requirements regarding Sasori's jutsu and then asked for Shishou's opinion.

Shishou thought for a moment and then said, "I want to carry out the mission alone."

As long as he didn't have teammates, leaving the village was like a vacation for him.

Hearing Shishou's request, Shizune shook her head. "No, Sasori is very powerful. For safety, everyone must work in groups of three."

Although most of Sasori's puppets were destroyed, he was still a formidable opponent.

Shishou shook his head. "I can ensure my own safety."

As long as he was alone, he could switch between his identities as the user of the Flying Thunder God technique and Shishou of the Aburame clan at any time.

Shizune frowned and then reviewed Shishou's personal file.

"Escaped from Sasori's clutches with Temari of the Sand Village, successfully seizing the Third Kazekage puppet."

Seeing this latest record, Shizune nodded, handed the mission scroll to Shishou, and said, "You can act alone then, but be careful. The mission starts no later than tomorrow."

Since Shishou had experience escaping from Sasori, Shizune trusted his abilities.

"Got it."

Shishou replied and left the Hokage's office.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Kiba Inuzuka's sister, Hana Inuzuka, heading toward the office.

Hana saw Shishou, hesitated for a moment, then smiled and greeted him.

"Shishou, did you also receive the mission to search for Sasori?"

"Yes," Shishou nodded.

Hana's eyes lit up with some anticipation, "Which team are you in?"

She was also summoned by Shizune to participate in the mission to search for Sasori.

"I'm going alone."

Shishou patted Hana on the shoulder and walked past her.

"Alone..."

Seeing Shishou leave, Hana was stunned.

Thinking about how he patted her shoulder, Hana opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.

"I'm the adult here, so why do I feel like a child in front of Shishou..."

Puzzled, Hana pushed open the office door and walked in.

...

Back home.

Shishou packed his things, preparing to leave the village today for a vacation.

Before leaving, he found Sakura and gave her assignments to study during his absence.

He also left two ninjutsu scrolls for Tenten, instructing her to practice diligently.

Hinata and Ino were on missions outside the village, so Shishou didn't seek them out.

Ever since they became ninjas, they rarely had time to be together.

At the village gate, after registering with the gate guards, Shishou set off towards the Land of Earth with his backpack.

Reaching a secluded spot, Shishou created a shadow clone to continue towards the Land of Earth while his real body disappeared.

Shikkotsu Forest.

Shishou appeared atop the enormous Katsuyu, the Giant Slug Sage.

As soon as he arrived, Shishou lay down on her head.

Over the years, he had focused on sage training, somewhat neglecting the cultivation of his bug army, mainly enhancing only Katsuyu, Kushina, and the Phosphorus Worm.

His power had increased too rapidly due to the Phosphorus Worm's bloodline feedback, making it less worthwhile to spend more time, energy, and visual power cultivating the bugs.

Moreover, the rarer the bugs became, the more energy was required to accelerate their growth with his Mangekyō Sharingan, leading to a shortage of livestock in his breeding grounds.

Whether it was cultivating White Zetsu for division, Hashirama cells, or the cells of Hyuga Rimei, as well as cultivating the Giant Slug Sage, Kushina, and the Phosphorus Worm, all required enormous energy consumption.

For instance, each evolution of the Giant Slug Sage required the energy equivalent to over a hundred thousand pigs, and the energy needed increased significantly with each evolution.

Of course, each evolution doubled the sage energy within the Giant Slug Sage.

Currently, after three enhancements by Shishou, the sage chakra in the Giant Slug Sage was more than three times the original, surpassing that of the White Snake Sage by twofold, making her Shishou's strongest trump card.

Given the energy shortage in his breeding grounds, Shishou prioritized cultivating the most valuable entities.

This time, he planned to evolve the Giant Slug Sage again to prepare for his battle with Nagato in a month.

After resting for a while, Shishou said, "Katsuyu, come with me later."

The Giant Slug Sage responded, "Okay, Shishou."

Shishou placed his hand on Katsuyu, storing her in the bug space.

After a glance in the direction of Tsunade and the others, Shishou vanished.

He then traveled through the Land of Demons, the Land of Water, and the Land of Lightning, slaughtering all the livestock in his breeding grounds.

Once the Giant Slug Sage met the conditions for evolution, Shishou stopped.

[Sage Slug: Epic species, thrives in damp and dark environments, possesses healing, splitting, corrosion, and liquefaction abilities, extremely powerful.]

[Sage Slug, epic bug species, can currently evolve.]

[Do you want to evolve?]

Seeing the prompt, Shishou chose to evolve.

This time, there was no special evolution. After some thought, Shishou decided to enhance the Giant Slug Sage's liquefaction ability, reducing energy consumption during liquefaction.

After making his choice, the Giant Slug Sage entered a state of evolution-induced slumber.

This time, she would sleep for twenty-five days.

With these preparations done, Shishou, feeling refreshed, returned to the vicinity of Takigakure where his shadow clone had already arrived.

Takigakure, located between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, was one of the routes Konoha used to reach the Land of Earth.

Shishou planned to search for the Seven Tails in Takigakure while en route to the Land of Earth, intending to control it.

However, it seemed Nagato had similar plans.

Upon arriving near Takigakure, Shishou saw Fu, the Seven Tails Jinchuriki, covered in blood and desperately fleeing.

Chasing her were the Animal Path, Asura Path, and Preta Path of the Six Paths of Pain.