"How did you do it?"
Kakashi took Naruto from Shishou and asked curiously.
Shishou's ability to suppress the rampaging Nine-Tails Naruto had greatly surprised Kakashi.
Shishou shrugged and explained:
"Naruto went berserk because of the Nine-Tails' chakra. I used my insects to absorb the excess chakra, which naturally subdued him."
"Can the Aburame clan's kikaichū really do that?" Asuma asked, frowning at Shishou.
The kikaichū can indeed absorb chakra, but not at the efficiency Shishou had just demonstrated.
Shishou nonchalantly replied:
"I used a binding technique to temporarily restrain Naruto, then let my giant bugs absorb his chakra. Afterward, the kikaichū absorbed the chakra from the giant bugs, making the process highly efficient."
As he spoke, Shishou waved his hand, dispersing the giant insect cocoon, revealing several dead giant bugs.
Of course, this was just an excuse. The real insects absorbing Naruto's chakra were his special phosphorescent bugs.
Seeing Shishou dare to use giant bugs, Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and the others all had their mouths twitch.
At this moment, they had a new understanding of Shishou's audacity.
The Aburame clan's giant bugs absorb chakra quickly, but once they reach a certain threshold, they expand rapidly, tearing apart their host's body from the inside.
In other words, one small mistake and Shishou could have caused Naruto to explode.
Kurenai looked at Shishou with some fear and said:
"Next time, don't use that method, got it?"
If Shishou had accidentally caused Naruto to explode, the consequences would have been severe for her.
Naruto Uzumaki was the son of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, personally monitored by the Third Hokage and Tsunade. Any accident would have been unacceptable.
"I understand, Kurenai-sensei," Shishou replied casually.
Though audacious, Shishou had resolved the immediate crisis, which was commendable.
So Kakashi and the others praised him, encouraging him to perform well in the upcoming matches.
With this minor incident over, Hayate Gekkō declared Gaara the winner of the match.
The duels continued, and next up was Rock Lee versus Chōjūrō.
This match differed from the original storyline.
After removing his weights to the astonishment of the crowd, Lee swiftly defeated Chōjūrō.
The only regret was that Chōjūrō's strength wasn't enough to make Lee use the Eight Gates or the Hidden Lotus, disappointing Shishou.
Next was Neji Hyūga versus Sakura Haruno.
Facing a genius like Neji, Sakura was unsurprisingly defeated.
Following Neji and Sakura was a match between Hinata Hyūga and Ino Yamanaka.
This battle between friends ended with Hinata using her Gentle Fist to control Ino's chakra flow and securing the win.
Though Hinata wasn't as strong as Sasuke or Naruto, under the guidance of Hyūga Hime, she had mastered techniques like the Heavenly Spin and Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, making her unbeatable for the current Ino.
Wanting to prove herself, Hinata had to set aside her friendship with Ino for the match.
Ino was frustrated by her friend's betrayal, vowing to train hard and defeat Hinata in the future.
After Hinata and the injured Ino were taken away by the medical team, the screen displayed the next names.
Hayate Gekkō looked at the screen and announced:
"Next match: Shishou Aburame versus Temari."
Hearing Temari's opponent was Shishou, Baki, the Sand Siblings' jonin instructor, warned:
"Temari, this guy is strong. Be careful."
"If you can't win, surrender immediately and conserve your strength."
"I understand, sensei," Temari said, her expression serious.
The fact that Shishou had just subdued a rampaging jinchuriki was enough for Temari to take him seriously.
With a wave of her iron fan, Temari floated down to the arena, surrounded by wind, looking like a celestial being descending from the heavens.
Shishou couldn't help but smile when he heard his opponent was Temari.
He suddenly thought of a fun way to deal with her.
"Shishou, good luck," Sakura stammered, trying to hide her shyness.
Having endured her defeat to Neji, Sakura had stayed to cheer for Shishou.
"I got it, Sakura," Shishou replied with a smile as he walked toward the stairs.
As Shishou passed by her, Tenten encouraged him with a clenched fist, "Shishou, good luck!"
"Thanks."
Shishou nodded and continued on his way.
Seeing Shishou's leisurely pace, Temari frowned, and Hayate Gekkō sighed.
This slow pace was typical of the Aburame clan.
When Aburame Shino faced Kankuro, he had also walked down slowly.
It was hard to deny the similarities between these two brothers.
As Shishou took his position across from Temari, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of the beautiful young girl before him.
He decided to participate in tonight's Shukaku Cup soccer match.
Once Shishou was in place, Hayate Gekkō raised his hand and then swiftly brought it down.
"The match begins!"
As soon as Hayate's words fell, Temari swung her iron fan at Shishou.
"Wind Style: Sickle Weasel Technique!"
Temari planned to test Shishou's abilities first, ready to surrender if she couldn't win.
In response to Temari's attack, a swarm of insects flew out from the gourd on Shishou's back, forming a wall in front of him.
The insect wall was immediately blown away by Temari's wind, revealing Shishou's figure.
Seeing this, Temari felt a bit more confident.
As an Aburame, Shishou's insects were crucial. If her wind could blow them away with just one star opened, she had a good chance of winning.
With this thought, Temari opened her fan to reveal another star.
"Wind Style: Great Sickle Weasel Technique!"
A powerful gust of wind, filled with invisible wind blades, surged toward Shishou's newly formed insect wall.
As the strong wind approached, the insects in front of Shishou were once again scattered.
However, the small gourd on his back seemed like a bottomless pit, continuously releasing more insects to form layers of insect walls.
Shishou then took out a colorful caterpillar from his pocket and observed it in his hand.
"You'd better perform well. I got scolded badly because of you last time, almost causing the world to end."
With that odd statement, Shishou hid the caterpillar among the kikaichū, integrating it into the insect wall in front of him.
The show was about to begin.
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POWER STONE!!!!
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This fanfiction is complete on my P@treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at p@treon.com/Betek.
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