I'm in Konoha, and I started with Ashura Chakra.

Chapter 98 Superstar, Yagyu's Lingering Fear, and the Land of Wind's Plea for Help

These days, Yagyu has experienced firsthand the superstar effect that comes with Naruto saving Konoha and the ninja world.

Having learned that besides the Hokage, there are other people in the village who are descendants of the First Hokage, and that the First Hokage possesses the bloodline limit that allowed him to quell the chaos, large numbers of villagers have been gathering outside the Yagyu family residence to watch these past few days.

Not only the villagers of Konoha, but also a large number of civilians from the Land of Fire, and even civilians from neighboring countries, traveled thousands of miles to Konoha, either to visit the Yagyu family or to see the forest formed by the arrival of the Flower and Tree World.

It's like traveling thousands of miles to watch the Chunin Exams just to catch a glimpse of the Sharingan.

Wood Release is more famous than Sharingan; before Yagyu, it was a bloodline limit possessed only by the God of Shinobi.

Currently, only Yagyu possesses Wood Release, and since he is a descendant of the Senju clan, it's normal for him to be considered a national treasure-level "animal."

Karin was so overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of these people that she stayed at Tsunade's house for the time being.

The same applies to Yagyu.

Before the hype died down, he would use the wooden transformation when he went out.

So Tsunade gave Team 8 a task: to let Yagyu go out and relax, and then come back after the hype died down.

And the person who commissioned this task was none other than... Shino Aburame.

"Shino, what's wrong with you?"

Kurenai Yuhi placed her hand on Shino Aburame's shoulder and scolded, "If you need any help, just tell the teacher. Why are you asking for a task?"

"Yes, Shino, we're all comrades, we'll all help you," Hinata nodded in agreement.

Yagyu frowned slightly, looking somewhat displeased, and said, "Shino, you don't consider us your comrades, do you?"

"No, everyone, let me explain."

The usually aloof and mysterious Shino Aburame shook her head and waved her hands in a rare flustered manner, saying, "This mission was actually commissioned by my clan because I need to find a very rare Dream Insect. This insect is extremely rare, only laying eggs once every few years, and the chance of finding it is only ten percent, so I can't let you accompany me on this trip for nothing."

Even so, it's just a waste of time. Just treat it as going out for a walk to clear your head.

Kurenai patted Shino Aburame on the head and then turned to Tsunade, who was frowning and deep in thought, and said, "Hokage-sama, please cancel Shino Aburame's request. Our Team 8 needs to apply for a few days' leave."

After speaking, Kurenai Yuhi turned to Yagyu and Hinata and asked, "You two have no objections, right?"

"certainly."

"Um."

Both Yagyu and Hinata nodded with smiles.

"Everyone……"

A warm feeling welled up in Shino Aburame's heart, but she had no idea what her expression was like behind her sunglasses and high collar.

Tsunade did not immediately agree to Kurenai's request, and remained deep in thought, as if she was thinking about something.

Suddenly, she looked at Shino Aburame with a surprised expression and asked, "Shino, the 'dream insect' you mentioned, it's not the Misty Fragrance Insect, is it?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Aburame Shino nodded respectfully.

"Micro-fragrant insects?"

Hinata cast a questioning look at Shino Aburame, while Kurenai Yuhi and Yagyu, like Tsunade earlier, wore thoughtful expressions.

Before they could even rummage through their memories, Tsunade began to explain, "The Misaki Insect is an endangered insect. Because of its extreme rarity, the Aburame clan stopped using it and began to protect it. The last time the Aburame clan used it was during the Third Shinobi World War."

"It is said that the sense of smell of the micro-fragrant insect is thousands of times that of the ninja dog, so it is also known as the dream insect."

"A sense of smell thousands of times better than a ninja dog?!"

Kurenai Yuhi and Hinata both looked surprised, and Yagyu was also greatly taken aback.

If that's the case, he suddenly understood why Hiruzen Sarutobi kicked Kiba Inuzuka out of Team 8 instead of abandoning Shino Aburame.

Konoha has three major sensory clans. The Hyuga clan is ranked first among them, and then the Inuzuka and Aburame clans are ranked second.

Both of these ninja clans rely on scent perception.

If we're talking about who's stronger, then it's impossible to tell.

However, the most commonly used sensory tracking method by ninjas is the ninja dogs of the Inuzuka clan.

Because they are cheap and easy to train.

After all, dogs are man's best friend and are very loyal.

Aside from the Aburame clan, normal male and female ninjas would definitely choose dogs over insects.

Even though the Inuzuka clan wasn't particularly strong, they were still one of Konoha's major ninja clans by raising and training ninja dogs for others.

Therefore, in terms of sensory perception, the Inuzuka clan has a slight advantage over the other two ninja clans.

However, in terms of combat, the insects of the Aburame clan are very troublesome and unpredictable, and many of them are also poisonous. Therefore, the Aburame clan has the advantage in terms of combat and lethality.

At first glance, the two races seem to be evenly matched, each with its own advantages.

But now, with the appearance of the Misaki, known as the Dream Insect, the Inuzuka Clan is no match for them; in terms of foundation, they are not even in the same league.

What does it mean to have a sense of smell thousands of times better than that of a ninja dog?

This isn't just a difference in distance; things that dogs might not be able to smell, microbes might be able to detect.

Even traces whose scent has long since dissipated may be captured by the pheromones.

Thinking about this, Liu Sheng felt a strange sense of fear.

Honestly, he had no idea that there was such a thing as a micro-fragrant insect.

If he had known, he would never have simply jumped into the Naka River to wash away the scent traces during the Konoha Crush plan.

Fortunately, the Aburame clan has stopped using and is protecting these insects, otherwise Yagyu might have really made a mistake.

Thinking about this, Yagyu suddenly realized that he might have underestimated these ninja clans.

Although Konoha is no longer the strongest ninja village in terms of overall strength, it is definitely the ninja village with the strongest foundation.

The Aburame clan alone possesses nano-sized poisonous insects and the dreamlike, fragrant insects; who knows if other ninja clans have any other hidden trump cards?

Seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of Class 8, Shino Aburame adjusted her sunglasses and remained silent.

My heavy heart felt much lighter.

In fact, Shino Aburame's decision to seek out the pungent insects was a last resort.

Because... he was under too much pressure!

Kurenai Yuhi's strength had reached its limit, so seeing how outstanding Yagyu was, she could choose to give up.

However, Shino Aburame, who was in the same cohort as Yagyu and Hinata, could not choose to give up.

Yagyu, who revealed his Wood Release technique, is now a superstar in the ninja world and is almost certain to become the Sixth Hokage in the future.

Hinata is not only the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan's main branch, but she also recently became a disciple of the Fifth Hokage. If she also learns the Fifth Hokage's super-powerful fist technique, she will undoubtedly become a powerful taijutsu master who combines both strength and flexibility in the future.

Beneath its petite body lies a massive amount of chakra that would make even insects drool.

Hinata's future is destined to be that of one of Konoha's great figures.

Even among the most unique generation of Konoha's 60th generation, he might be ranked among the top five, only after Yagyu and Sasuke Uchiha, and even Naruto.

Compared to these two monsters, Shino Aburame is really too ordinary.

His combat strength is far inferior to Yagyu's, and his perception is not as comprehensive as Hinata's.

If I don't improve myself, I'll probably just become a burden to them.

Therefore, Shino Aburame, who was researching family records, unusually begged her father to let her go and find the fragrant insects that the family had stopped using.

Once the Fragrance Insect is found, he will be one of the top beings in Konoha in terms of perception, at least he won't be a burden to Yagyu and Hinata.

Knowing that Shino Aburame was under pressure, Shii Aburame also chose to agree.

So, we have the scene we see now.

Yagyu was unaware of Shino Aburame's thoughts; otherwise, he would have burst out laughing.

Good heavens, I never expected that my existence would put so much pressure on the most reliable and mysterious undefeated war god of the new generation.

"I understand, I approve of your leave."

After confirming that Shino Aburame was indeed after the Mikazuki Insect, Tsunade, who had originally just been thinking of giving Yagyu a casual mission to let him go out and relax, immediately nodded in agreement to Kurenai Yuhi's leave request.

So, the eighth class went back to pack their luggage, and after several months, they all left the village again.

Liu Sheng was in a very good mood when he left the village.

Because they did not encounter any powerful enemies along the way.

Unlike previous times when I left the village, I encountered either the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist or the strongest and immortal Akatsuki team.

If it weren't for Yagyu, Team 8 would probably have been wiped out long ago.

However, if it weren't for Yagyu, they might not have encountered such a powerful enemy.

This time, after leaving the village, it wasn't until Hinata helped Shino Aburame find the Misaki Insects that they encountered several very weak ninjas who were also after the Misaki Insects while collecting eggs.

The ninjas used bees to ambush Team 8, but before Yagyu and Kurenai could react, Hinata used her Rotation to block all the bees. Then, she unleashed several bursts of chakra energy from a distance, many times stronger than during the Chunin Exams, which instantly killed the ninjas.

Its power was so great that it not only sent the ninjas flying far away, but also caused them to vomit blood, suffer internal organ rupture, and experience severe bleeding.

After landing, it quickly fell silent.

This is how Hinata has grown during this time!

The Gentle Fist of the clan originally possessed extremely profound chakra control.

After becoming Tsunade's apprentice, Hinata did not directly learn Tsunade's Super Strength Fist like Sakura did. Instead, she incorporated the foundation of Super Strength Fist, namely the chakra burst of the Senju clan, into her own Gentle Fist.

This caused Hinata's Eight Trigrams Empty Palm technique to become extremely powerful.

Hinata, who had already begun learning Healing Palm Technique and certain sealing techniques, possessed exceptional chakra control and was already qualified to cultivate Rejuvenation Technique.

Aside from certain Gentle Fist techniques, Hinata has already mastered all of the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist methods.

In fact, Hinata no longer needs to learn any other Gentle Fist techniques.

She needs to forge her own path to break the ceiling of the Hyuga clan's difficulty in producing Kage-level powerhouses.

A combination of strength and flexibility in taijutsu, or mastery of offensive medical ninjutsu, as well as certain sealing techniques she can master, can all raise Hinata's potential.

Looking at the dead bees scattered all over the ground, and the several ninjas killed by Hinata, who was completely different from her usual self when she was fighting, vague memories finally surfaced in Yagyu's mind.

He remembered!

He had read the chapter about the fragrant insect.

However, what impressed him most was the image of Hinata practicing Gentle Fist under the waterfall at night, which resembled dancing.

That was one of Hinata's few memorable moments.

If I remember correctly, Hinata was also captured by these people.

Looking at the corpses that Hinata had instantly killed, Yagyu's face immediately showed a relieved smile.

Under his tutelage, Hinata has become far stronger than in the original story.

Once she masters the Super Strength Fist, or like the Eight Trigrams Empty Palm, integrates chakra bursts into her Gentle Fist, her strength might even surpass Sakura's during Shippuden. Even without mastering the Yin Seal: Hundred Healings Technique, she wouldn't be much weaker than Sakura.

Hinata's transformation is so significant, which means that Ino is also undergoing a rapid change.

By the time Shippuden arrives, there might be four bootleg versions of Tsunade.

Thinking of this, Yagyu was filled with anticipation for the arrival of Shippuden.

After the little incident, Class 8, who had helped Shino Aburame collect the eggs of the Misaki Insect, began their return journey.

Knowing that Yagyu was now "homeless," Team 8 did not rush back to Konoha by teleportation. Instead, they walked back slowly, just as they had come.

Moreover, unlike the route they took to get there, Kurenai deliberately chose a different route to return, leading Yagyu and the others through various small towns where they sampled local delicacies and drinks.

When they passed by a scenic spot, Kurenai asked Yagyu to take out his film camera and take some photos of her and Hinata, or perhaps a group photo of Team 8.

Before they knew it, more than ten days had passed since the eighth squad left the village.

bang——

On this day, Class 8 continued their sightseeing trip on their return journey.

Yagyu, who was taking photos of Kurenai and Hinata with a film camera in hand, suddenly turned into a wisp of white smoke and disappeared.

"Shadow clones?"

Shino Aburame and Hinata subconsciously thought that the person who had been with them these past few days was just a shadow clone of Yagyu.

"It's not a shadow clone."

At this moment, Kurenai Yuhi shook her head with a solemn expression and said, "This is a reverse summoning technique. Yagyu has been summoned by a summoning beast."

"Yagyu-kun's summoned beast is Shikkotsu Forest, one of the three sacred lands."

Hinata said, "I also signed a contract with Shikkotsu Forest. I'll use my Summoning Katsuyu Sage clone to find out what happened."

After speaking, Hinata was about to form hand seals to perform a summoning jutsu.

bang——

Before she could form a hand seal to communicate with the spirit, white smoke suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Yagyu, who had just disappeared, has returned to his original position.

He held a film camera in one hand and a roll of film in the other, and said to Kurenai with a serious expression, "Kurenai-sensei, an urgent mission has arrived."

Yagyu handed the scroll to Kurenai Yuhi.

Kurenai Yuhi opened the package and her expression turned serious. She said to Team 8, "The Land of Wind has been attacked by an unknown enemy. Sunagakure has requested assistance from Konoha. The Hokage has ordered us to go and support them immediately. Let's go!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the crimson sunset transformed into a blur and flew away.

Class 8 followed closely behind.

Liu Sheng's heart was filled with helplessness.

I thought I was just going out for a walk to clear my head, but I still couldn't avoid an accident. Could Ashura's chakra really have a protagonist's aura?

(End of this chapter)