To the outside world, the friendship of 'The Insect-Pig' seemed as non-existent as the Aburame Clan itself—yet it was truly a bond and friendship passed down from ancient history. The Root of Konoha was able to sink into the darkness precisely because of the assistance of an insect and a pig... It was these two who created Danzo's reputation as 'the shadow of the ninja world'!
In the entirety of Konoha's light and shadow—
Ino–Shika–Chō assisted Hiruzen Sarutobi, who represented the light; they were Hiruzen Sarutobi's right-hand men, the inner circle of his inner circle.
The Insect-Pig assisted Danzo Shimura, who represented the dark; they were the sharpest blade and the strongest brain of 'the shadow of the ninja world'.
It was perfectly normal for the Yamanaka family to have some of the Aburame family's insect repellent powder. However, this could only apply to the Yamanaka family—if the Akimichi and Nara families had such things, the Hokage would likely lose sleep!
"Speaking of which, that child from the Aburame family is named Shino, right? He's the same age as Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji!"
Shikaku Nara remarked.
"Yes, his name is Shino. A very talented little fellow," Inoichi Yamanaka nodded and said with a smile. "His family treasures him immensely... But then again, with the Aburame family's Ninjutsu, the children suffer too much. At such a young age, they have to endure the pain of being gnawed by ten thousand insects—they must replace their internal organs with insect hives while their bodies are still developing to form a symbiosis with the swarm!"
"That's true, that kind of Secret Technique..."
The cruelty of the Aburame family's Secret Technique caused the three of them to sigh with emotion as they spoke.
However—the power of this cruel Secret Technique was indeed startling. By relying on the insects within their bodies, they could gnaw away at a person's Chakra, achieving an effect similar to 'Chakra Absorption.' They could also use the insects to block a person's Tenketsu, causing damage similar to the Gentle Fist. Furthermore... by relying on the low-level nature of the insects' senses, they were immune to Genjutsu.
There were also some powerful moves that the Aburame Clan rarely used in public, such as using insects to devour a person until only bones remained in an instant.
In conventional combat, they were mostly quite 'gentle,' causing people to lose or die by depleting their Chakra!
...Next, the three adults idly chatted about some matters related to the Aburame and Yamanaka Clans... "Hokage-sama has asked me several times about ideas for graduating Genin teams; he intends to break up The Insect-Pig combination—"
"Modern Ninjas mostly operate in three-man squads, but The Insect-Pig is a two-man squad. No matter what other type of Ninja is added, it seems somewhat inappropriate... The Hokage's intention is to run a trial starting this year to see if the Aburame can be combined with wide-range sensory Ninjas like the Hyuga or Inuzuka. That way, the power of the Aburame Clan might be better utilized..."
As for the Yamanaka Clan... this group of office-dwelling Ninjas could be paired with anyone, aside from the future 'Ino–Shika–Chō' bond—
After all, those were all temporary.
"Well, we'll see what Hokage-sama intends..."
This was actually an old topic of conversation—
Every year at this time, the Hokage would'show concern' for the Ninja Academy's graduation status and discuss the issue of squad groupings.
The Hokage had long had ideas regarding the 'Insect-Pig + Random' squad model, but Danzo was resolutely opposed to splitting this 'CP' of Insect and Pig... After all, every pair counted as his 'power.' Compared to the assassins and cannon fodder raised from orphans, the Yamanaka and Aburame were his true inner circle. He naturally hoped this bond would never, ever change.
The Hokage naturally understood this as well—otherwise, why would he keep trying to split this CP? If possible, he even wanted to create some conflict between the Yamanaka and Aburame Clans; it would be best if they had a falling out.
Unfortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi waited and waited, but simply could not find such an opportunity:
The Yamanaka and Aburame Clans truly had a 'friendship between gentlemen as light as water,' maintaining a state of no contact for years.
Yet, these two clans that didn't interact could actually go through fire and water for each other, their friendship not diminishing in the slightest due to the lack of social calls... Inoichi Yamanaka couldn't explain this. Anyway, the Hokage could do as he pleased; it didn't matter whether they were split or not.
Outsiders didn't truly understand the Aburame Clan—people of the Aburame Clan actually lacked human emotions and appeared very cold.
Similarly, their definition of a 'companion' was very cautious; they identified 'their own' through the insects in their bodies in a chemical way. It just so happened that the Yamanaka Clan was the one that had signed an eternal covenant with the Aburame Clan—whether they interacted or not was completely irrelevant under the influence of chemical pheromones. When needed, they would naturally come together.
On the contrary, the friendship with the Nara and Akimichi families required daily maintenance... The mushroom and rabbit stew in the pot was ready to eat, so the three stopped their idle chatter and each took a large bowl to eat.
After eating and drinking their fill, the three families gathered around the campfire to watch the stars and chat about everything under the sun... Ino found it interesting to listen to Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, and Chōza Akimichi talk about the graduation placement arrangements, while Shikamaru and Choji found it boring.
Seeing Ino's interest, Inoichi Yamanaka pulled her into his lap and continued the topic of graduation placements.
The scheduled number of graduates for this term was fifteen, divided into five classes with three people per class. The number of graduates was less than half of the total number of students in the graduating class—
There were slightly more students in this term, thirty-seven in total. If nothing unexpected happened, twenty-two people would fail to become Genin.
"Then how are the ones who don't graduate arranged?" Ino asked, full of curiosity—this was something that hadn't appeared in the manga from her 'previous life.'
Shikaku Nara explained, "The graduation assessment of the Ninja Academy is actually split into two parts. This conventional graduation exam actually tests combat ability—such Ninjas will generally perform missions in squads, and those who can pass this exam to become Genin will almost certainly become Jonin in the future."
This was almost equivalent to an 'internal' quota, providing a broad path to success—every squad would be personally led and guided by a Jonin, who would pass on relevant experience.
This meant the Jonin would give up their own lucrative mission rewards and money, spending a vast amount of time and energy to lead a Genin squad!
"The remaining portion will continue their studies and further their training, but the location of study isn't the Ninja Academy; it's other departments."
"For instance, the Medical Department, Administrative Department, and various other departments, as well as some intelligence analysis specialties... They can become Chunin through clerical exams—but the highest achievement of their lives will be limited to that. As for when it comes to actual combat with others..."
...
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