Shinho Aburame strolled slowly down the street.
It had been six years since the Nine-Tails attack, and Konoha had fully regained its prosperity.
But this was merely the calm before the storm.
A convoy carrying rice was soon heading to the battlefield.
The Aburame clan belonged to Konoha's third echelon.
The first echelon consisted of the Sarutobi, Hyuga, and Uchiha clans.
The second echelon included the Ino-Shika-Cho trio: the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans.
The third echelon was composed of the Aburame and Inuzuka clans.
The Aburame clan didn't possess a bloodline limit, but they had secret techniques— a ninjustu that revolved around insects.
Their abilities were quite versatile—scouting, combat, defense, healing, and sensory detection. You could call them a well-rounded clan.
But being a jack of all trades meant being a master of none.
In the later stages of the original story, the Aburame clan was practically relegated to the background, overshadowed by others.
They weren't exactly useless, but they weren't prominent either.
Shinho suspected that if it weren't for his Gu, he might have died from some unknown area-of-effect (AOE) attack, like the aftermath of a massive jutsu.
"Brother."
A sudden voice startled Shinho Aburame.
He glanced around and saw his little brother, Shino, standing beside him. Just like in the original story, he was nearly invisible.
Wearing the same sunglasses and white trench coat as ever, Shino stood silently. The Aburame clan was known for their ability to mask their presence, making them easy to overlook if you weren't paying attention.
"Here!"
Shino handed him a notice.
It was from the Konoha Ninja Academy.
Shinho Aburame glanced at the words and felt his heart stir slightly.
The Ninja Academy meant more plot characters, which also meant more opportunities for achievements.
Now, I really am going back to being an elementary school student.
Shinho returned to his room after grabbing a bag of potato chips and went out to the yard.
It was time for his daily training.
This time, it wasn't related to Gu; instead, it was medical ninjutsu, specifically the Chakra Scalpel.
After receiving the Miracle Hand Gu, Shinho naturally had a thought.
He wanted to become a medical ninja and apprentice under Tsunade.
As everyone knew, in Konoha, if you wanted to live a long life, you needed someone powerful backing you up.
Both men and women could do this, but Shinho was set on a woman—Tsunade.
The Aburame clan had learned this lesson the hard way with their past prodigies.
Take Aburame Torune and Aburame Ryoma for example.
Both were recruited by Danzo Shimura and filled with his "Will of Root," eventually being used as pawns and discarded as fall guys.
Shinho had no intention of giving his loyalty—or his heart—to an old man.
After much thought, Tsunade was the best option.
For one thing, she wouldn't let her students starve.
Greatness needs no further explanation.
The only problem was that Tsunade had been away from Konoha for years, unwilling to return.
Although difficulties are meant to be overcome, Shino still had a plan in place.
The only people who could reach Tsunade and potentially convince her to come back were Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Jiraiya was off wandering the world, searching for the "Child of Prophecy" and gathering "research material" from various women, making him difficult to reach.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, was the Third Hokage and remained in Konoha, making him easier to approach.
Though Hiruzen had his share of detractors, when it came to Konoha's benefit, he wouldn't budge.
Using his father's connections, Shino Aburame managed to infiltrate Konoha Hospital.
After slowly demonstrating his exceptional talent, his father, Shibi, was overjoyed.
Shinho proposed that he wanted to apprentice under Tsunade, and Shibi decided to give it a shot.
He reported the request to Hiruzen Sarutobi and offered an extremely generous payment for the mentorship.
Though it was a formal apprenticeship request, it felt more like a mission contract.
Knowing Tsunade's financial troubles, Shinho had decided to use the power of money.
'Apologies! but when you have money, you can do almost anything.'
Hiruzen Sarutobi, already hoping to bring Tsunade back, now had an additional reason to act and readily agreed.
Soon, Tsunade sent her reply.
She would consider returning to Konoha if Shino could learn the Chakra Scalpel within one month.
The Chakra Scalpel is a medical ninjutsu that most medical ninjas are required to learn, but it is by no means easy.
Typically, it is a jutsu mastered by chunin or jonin-level ninjas.
From Hiruzen's and Shibi's perspectives, this was Tsunade's way of rejecting the request.
Expecting a child, not yet even a genin, to learn the Chakra Scalpel was absurd.
But miracles do happen.
The Miracle Hand Gu had granted Shinho the best medical ninja talent.
A weaker version of Sage Chakra—his primeval essence—provided him with enough chakra, approximately 0.3 "Kakas."
"Kaka" was a commonly used ninja unit of measurement, referring to the amount of chakra possessed by Jonin Kakashi Hatake.
Besides, Tsunade didn't ask for mastery, only that he learn it.
Once his primeval essence was exhausted, Shinho stopped his training.
"I should be able to master it before the academy starts."
Shinho estimated his progress, feeling a spark of excitement.
In his previous life, he had been a huge fan of Tsunade.
"Let's push forward."
Shinho returned to his room and sat cross-legged on the bed.
In the world of Gu Masters, there are nine major realms, from Rank 1 to Rank 9, with Rank 6 marking the threshold of immortality, representing a qualitative leap.
His goal was to first reach Rank 5, which would give him the power to move freely.
This world had no primeval stones, or at least Shinho hadn't found any yet.
For now, he could only absorb the natural energy from the heavens and earth, slowly replenishing his primeval essence.
Once his primeval essence was full, he began refining and nourishing his aperture.
For a Gu Master to advance, they needed to constantly refine the walls of their aperture with primeval essence, a long and painstaking process.
Night fell.
Moonlight poured through the windows.
Hinata Hyuga sat at her desk, propping her face on one hand, lost in thought.
Her little cheeks were squished under her hand's pressure, changing her expression from that of a dumpling to a pancake, but it did nothing to diminish her cuteness.
'The tide must crash against the rocks to create beautiful waves.'
Hinata stared at the moonlight, hearing those words echo in her ears again.
Could she really do it?
Every time she faced her father's expectations, she messed up, leaving him disappointed time and time again.
"Don't think. Just throw a punch."
His face suddenly flashed through her mind.
She didn't understand why he was so decisive.
The new day dawned.
Hinata couldn't remember when she had fallen asleep.
But when she woke up, she felt a sense of warmth.
She had dreamt of the previous day—how his had appeared like a hero and saved her.
The only thing was, she didn't know his name.
"Lady Hinata."
A voice came from outside her door.
"Come in."
Hinata quickly dressed and sat down in front of the mirror.
A maid entered and began brushing her hair.
"I want to go out today."
Hinata mustered the courage to say.
"Go out?"
The maid was taken aback.
This was the first time she had ever heard Hinata make such a request.
"I'm sorry, but Lord Hiashi has ordered that you must wait until the academy starts before you can leave the house."
The maid shook her head, gently rejecting Hinata's rare request.
Hinata bit her lip, clearly upset.
She knew why.
It was because of her disappearance the day before, which had caused her father to fly into a rage.
The academy would start in four days.
Will he be there?
Suddenly, Hinata thought of her cousin, Neji Hyuga.
Ever since the Caged Bird Seal was placed on him, their relationship had grown distant.
He often said the Hyuga clan was nothing more than a prison.
Today, Miss Hinata simply wanted to go outside.