Chapter 14: bad feeling

Facing the group of elderly men, the insect girl looked visibly nervous. After glancing at Maki, she shifted into a defensive stance.

There was a sharp shing—a sound like a blade being drawn—as sharp, dangerous spikes extended from her wrists.

She looked more like a wild beast than a human child.

"Maki, tell her not to resist," old man Zetsugan said.

Maki responded coolly, "Don't move."

At her command, Insect girl froze in place, standing perfectly still.

"Incredible… Is this child human or insect?" muttered old man Kaigan in awe.

Old man Kurozane stepped forward and released a parasitic insect. It slipped through the tiny pores in Insect girl's armor-like exoskeleton, crawling beneath her outer shell to begin an internal examination.

After a moment, Kurozane spoke. "This child can produce chakra. The parasite sensed it right away. But… it's still very weak. Her chakra generation is extremely slow."

Zetsugan narrowed his eyes as he studied insect girl. "Strange. She doesn't show any of the usual parasite traits."

Despite her humanoid shape, The Insect girl had four arms—two in the usual position at her shoulders, and two more, thinner ones, sprouting from her lower sides near the waist. Her exoskeleton was sleek and reflective, a deep purple like a tightly fitted suit of armor.

Her face was small and delicate. Instead of hair, she had a cluster of fine tentacle-like appendages, and two broad, leaf-shaped carapace extensions trailed from the back of her head down to her back and abdomen.

She had three pairs of eyes: one larger central pair—golden, gemlike, and slightly bigger than human eyes—with no eyelids, only a translucent shell for protection. The other two pairs were smaller and arranged above the main eyes on her brow.

They weren't just for show.

The tentacles were sensory organs—gathering data from the environment. And the eyes...

Maki reached out with her perception, and what she sensed surprised her.

Each of Insect girls's four secondary eyes had specialized functions: X-ray vision, zoom, thermal imaging, and ultra-high-speed motion detection.

To the insect girl, the world must seem like it was moving in slow motion.

Maki tested the connection and realized she could shut these abilities off by simply closing each eye. But the primary eyes… they saw colors so vividly and in such complex detail that Maki felt dizzy just trying to process the input.

Her brain is more advanced than mine, Maki thought, bracing herself as the dizziness subsided.

"She's missing something though… where are the wings?" Zetsugan asked.

"Try flying," Maki said casually, though she wasn't sure it was even possible.

The insect girl immediately responded.

The carapace-like plates on the back of her head lifted, and from the exposed slits, purple chakra streamed out in glowing ribbons.

A breeze stirred in the room as the insect girl lifted off the ground—unsteady, but flying. It was a jet propulsion system.

Maki observed the chakra jets closely. Pores along the plates were acting like nozzles.

But just moments later, insect girl wobbled and crashed to the ground. The plates drooped behind her head.

She was out of chakra.

So far, she was a child born for battle—pure offense, no reserves.

"Brother, something's wrong," Kurozane said, voice grave.

"What is it, Kurozane?" Zetsugan asked.

Kurozane hesitated, then explained, "This child has the Aburame clan's insect nest within her body… but no insects. They're all gone."

"You mean…" Zetsugan's expression grew serious. "You think she might actually be one of us? One of our own reborn?"

"It's a possibility we can't ignore."

"You remember the old legend?" Kurozane asked quietly. "The one about being reborn as a bug?"

Zetsugan looked down at insect girl for a long moment. "To go this far… they must have truly been desperate."

Maki narrowed her eyes, thoughtful. Is that how it works? It was exactly like her own theory—but reversed.

Unfortunately, that one had failed.

Still... there's something to learn from this.

For a long time, Maki had never dared to perform genetic manipulation on herself. She feared the worst-case scenario—gene collapse and instant death. Even though she was capable of such manipulation, the risks were too great.

The egg she had found was essentially dead—no signs of life—but traces of chakra within it still clung to a powerful will to survive.

So Maki took a chance. Using her own abilities, she reassembled the chaotic genes in the insect egg. Without her, it never could have hatched.

And yet, the result turned out… surprisingly well.

"What should we do with this child?" Old Man Shiho asked.

"She belongs to Kurohime now. Besides, she doesn't look like someone who can be controlled easily." Zetsugan replied.

Shiho nodded. "That's the only option. Kurohime, I hope you'll treat her like your own sister."

Maki looked at the kind-hearted old man and nodded solemnly. "Every cat and dog I've taken care of has died after school," she said bluntly.

Then she waved casually to the insect girl and said, "Come here," like calling a puppy.

The three old men were stunned.

Insect girl, who had been resting, instantly perked up at Maki's voice. She rushed over, wrapped her arms around Maki, and clung to her tightly.

She seemed very fond of her.

"Mom… Mom… Mom…"

The word repeated softly from her mouth.

Maki held her back, keeping the girl's face away from hers as she tried to lick her using her parasitic chewing and sucking mouthparts. Underneath the exoskeleton, however, was a normal human mouth.

It looked creepy.

But there was no malice. Just enthusiasm. Maki was more grossed out than annoyed.

"Give her a name," said Zetsugan, smiling at the strange but warm scene.

"Peach," Maki replied immediately, without a second thought.

"She's not a pet!" Old Man Shiho yelled.

"Fine, fine… call her Kiko," Maki said, giving up.

Kurozane smiled. "See? You can be sweet when you try."

"Stop!" Maki barked at Kiko.

Reluctantly, Kiko let go of her.

"No jumping on me without permission," Maki ordered sternly.

Some of the parasites on Maki had been crushed during the excitement. Maki instructed the others to dispose of the remains—by eating them. Protein was too valuable to waste.

"I don't mind raising her at home," Maki added. "But I don't have much money right now."

She turned to Zetsugan and extended her hand.

She had been waiting for a chance to ask for funds.

A strange clicking sound came from Maki—instinctive, insect-like.

"Kurohime, I have no money," Kaigan said shamelessly.

She looked at Kurozane. He shook his head.

Then at Zetsugan, who silently turned away.

Was this how a princess was supposed to be treated?

After a long pause, Maki said, "Don't tell me the clan's really out of money."

"You're right," Kurozane replied. "Ever since joining Konoha, our financial situation has been tight. The village manages our missions and takes a cut of the earnings. Clan members are risking their lives for money, but we haven't seen a proper commission in a long time. And we don't own much property anymore."

"So now everyone's expected to make a living on their own," Maki said flatly.

"Exactly," Zetsugan confirmed. "We have a small fund for the old, sick, and disabled."

"The last ninja war hit us hard," Kaigan added. "Many of our people died. We've been using that money to support the widows and orphans left behind."

"Isn't she an orphan?" Maki pointed at Kiko.

"I told you—she's a bug now," Zetsugan said firmly. "And bugs take care of their own. That's one of the clan's unshakable rules."

Maki looked at Kiko, uncertain.

Could this kid really take care of herself?

She had a bad feeling about all this.

________

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