Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 38: What a peaceful and serene village.

On his third day as the team leader, You Nu Zhicheng spent his days cultivating the land and growing vegetables at home, especially the two small fields in the yard, which he kept neat and tidy.

At night, he would spend some time in the underground laboratory, either controlling the insects to cultivate the underground kingdom or breeding and researching new types of scout insects. Of course, sometimes he would also go to the fields and forests to catch local insects.

After all, he needed local insect materials to crossbreed with the insects he controlled, so that when they were released into the wild, their appearance would not arouse suspicion from the village ninjas.

Moreover, when catching insects at night, Shisei Aburame would occasionally encounter spies who came out to exchange information. These spies came in many forms, including ninjas and villagers.

Most of them came from the Five Great Nations, but Konoha's intelligence agents were divided into two groups: one group came from the orthodox Hokage faction, and the other group came from Root.

Aburame Shisei sometimes wondered if the world was full of people from the Five Great Nations. However, he was also glad that he hadn't entered Takigakure Village, and began to use his Plan Bug to monitor intelligence.

If there were any Konoha spies here, they would probably recognize his insects very quickly and then trace his location.

However, the appearance of these spies only strengthened his resolve to accelerate the research on new reconnaissance insects.

Of course, before he had figured out exactly how many spies from other villages were in Takigakure, he didn't think about taking action against any of them, lest he alert them.

However, it's possible to secretly gather intelligence gathered by those spies without their knowledge.

Last night, he happened to encounter two masked ninjas who seemed to be discussing plotting the location of the Seven-Tails, Jōmei.

At the time, he used the Invisible Scorpion to hide behind a big tree. One of the ninjas said, "Takigakure is guarded more tightly than we thought. On the surface, only the elders and a few elite ninjas know the exact location of the seal. Our pawns have not been able to reach the core location yet."

The other person, however, seemed to be issuing a death order: "It doesn't matter how many people we sacrifice. We've been driven to the brink by Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure. We must control the Tailed Beasts, and we must proclaim our victory."

"But sir, spies from the surrounding countries have been making frequent unusual movements lately. There are people in Konoha and Iwagakure secretly gathering intelligence, and the Root members are practically everywhere. If the news leaks out, the Seven-Tails might be moved ahead of time, or even... destroyed and sealed by the higher-ups of Takigakure, resulting in mutual destruction."

"But we can't wait any longer. Let's activate the hidden agent that's been lurking here all along."

"It's been too long; many people have probably already been assimilated."

"Then threaten them with their precious possessions. I believe they will soon remember where they came from."

Finally, the man added: "Remember, although Takigakure is weak, it has many sealing techniques for tailed beasts. In addition, there are spies everywhere, so any move you make will expose you."

"Let's remain in hiding as planned, and make our move only after we obtain more accurate intelligence. Our only target is the Seven-Tails; we absolutely cannot allow ourselves to be dragged into the chaos by other forces."

Through their conversation, Shisei Aburame deduced that they were probably ninjas from Amegakure, since the three great nations were not very reasonable and had fought a major battle in Amegakure.

On the surface, they claimed to be maintaining peace in the ninja world and suppressing the rebellion, but in reality, they wanted to destroy the suddenly emerging Amegakure to prevent it from threatening their position.

Besides, the other four major powers also want to take advantage of this opportunity to take a big bite out of the land of fire.

The Sand Village, which is fighting the fiercest among them, has already used its Tailed Beasts. If the Land of Rain wants to win on the main battlefield, it must also use its Tailed Beasts.

As for the spies they mentioned, Aburame Shisei didn't pay much attention to them, saying that this was just routine practice for the various ninja villages.

Some intelligence agents even moved their families to other ninja villages and stayed there for ten or twenty years.

If it weren't for the higher-ups coming to meet them and gather intelligence, they probably wouldn't even recognize themselves as spies anymore.

However, there are also those with unwavering will and steadfast determination. But most of these people harbor hatred, and they are the easiest to expose in the early stages. It is a miracle if they can survive.

"Takikawa boy!" Just then, an old but cheerful voice came from outside the courtyard gate.

Oil Girl Zhicheng turned her head and saw her neighbor Uncle Shi walking over carrying a bamboo basket.

"Uncle Shi," Zhicheng greeted him with a smile.

"These are the best seedlings I picked out from the market yesterday." Uncle Shi handed over a bamboo basket, which was neatly filled with eggplant, pepper, and tomato seedlings. "Consider these a thank you gift for helping me clean the river last time."

"You're too kind."

You Nu Zhicheng took the bamboo basket, his gaze lingering on the emerald green seedlings for a moment.

"How's it going on the other side of the river?"

"Much better! The water flows smoothly, and several households nearby say that irrigation is much easier this year." Uncle Shi said with a smile, "It's rare to see a ninja of your age willing to help us old folks with these chores."

Zhicheng just smiled and didn't reply.

After chatting for a while, Uncle Shi took his leave.

Yu Nuzhicheng took the seedlings to the edge of the vegetable garden, squatted down, and began transplanting them.

He planted the vegetables casually, but he carefully protected the roots of each plant, as these vegetables would be his future source of food. Growing vegetables was also a great pleasure in his life.

He traded these vegetable seeds with his neighbor, Uncle Shi, through his labor. In fact, he suspected that Uncle Shi also had a hidden identity, especially his appearance, which did not quite match the appearance of people from the Land of Waterfalls. He was broad-shouldered and had a flat nose, but he looked more like people from the Land of Earth.

In addition, he had another characteristic: he had no children and no relatives.

However, he did not have any chakra or any signs of training.

After the transplant was completed, he got up, patted the dirt off his hands, and glanced around the yard.

"What a peaceful and serene village!"

As evening approached, he finished cooking dinner, and there was another knock on the door.

The visitor was in the summer, and after not seeing her for many days, her face showed a hint of longing and sadness.

The look in his eyes left Aburame Shicheng bewildered. He wondered, "Is he no longer trying to hide it?"

Why didn't you choose to join our team?

Summer tilts her head back, sounding like she's questioning, but actually hiding her true emotions and asking cautiously.

Aburame Shisei maintained his gentle smile: "Mainly because I'm closer to Naoto. Also, it seems like your teammates don't like me."