Naruto: Flash Reborn — Minato’s Second Life

Chapter 61 Shibi Aburame (Please add to favorites and leave a recommendation!!!)

"We have nineteen people here. How should we assign the battle slots?" Nawaki asked, puzzled.

Sakumo Hatake smiled and said, "Hurry up and draw lots. Then you'll know."

After he spoke, Minato and the other eighteen participants took a slip of paper one by one from a box held by Sakumo. When Minato opened his slip, it showed the number "17".

"Face your numbers toward me," Sakumo instructed. They obeyed, and he quickly scanned them before stopping in front of Rina Takeuchi.

"You've passed," Sakumo said with a smile to the girl.

Everyone froze in surprise; Rina herself stood completely stunned.

"Why? Isn't it supposed to be a competition?" Immediately someone protested—one of the Genin from another team.

Sakumo turned his head to look at him. "There are nineteen survivors altogether, but only this young lady drew the '0'. In drawing the '0', she's demonstrated more strength than any of you..."

"Sometimes luck is also part of strength!"

As he finished speaking, he cast his gaze around the group. Most people didn't feel anything was wrong. Though the Genin still looked discontent, one teammate patted his shoulder just then and said, "Hey, there's no need to complain. Luck is part of our strength too. Since we can't control luck, we can only rely on our real abilities."

"Asei..." Hearing his teammate's advice, though still somewhat confused, the Genin eventually accepted it.

"Congratulations, Rina!" Kushina approached the still-stunned Rina to offer her congratulations.

Gradually regaining her senses, Rina hadn't even imagined becoming one of the ten qualified individuals among nearly three hundred participants...

"Your luck is pretty good."

Satoshi Miyazaki laughed. Rina looked around and saw nothing but happy faces, all genuinely excited for her.

Minato smiled encouragingly at her, making her cheeks slightly flush as she replied to everyone, "You guys must do your best too!"

Sakumo glanced again at the numbers they held before announcing, "The first match: Yu Akasaka versus Shibi Aburame."

Soon after, everyone was led to the battlefield. Except for Yu Akasaka and the boy wearing dark glasses and a hooded coat, all others jumped up to the second floor corridor.

"That person seems to be a newcomer..." Because of his clothing, it was difficult to see the face of the student named Shibi Aburame. Judging merely from his build, he appeared younger than Minato and the others.

"If that's the case, won't Yu have a huge advantage?"

Since they had been together for three days, Satoshi naturally had become friends with Yu Akasaka and wanted him to win.

Minato, however, didn't share that view. He shook his head and said, "Think about it—he came in alone, which means he managed to survive three days in the Forest of Death by himself. I'm afraid Yu might lose to him."

None of them had ever heard of the new student named Shibi Aburame... But the mere fact that he had been brought here alone was enough to prove his extraordinariness.

Meanwhile, as Minato observed the situation on the field, Kushina patted his shoulder and said, "Minato, let's swap numbers?"

Minato was slightly taken aback—he and Kushina had only shown their numbers to Sakumo Hatake, not even revealing them to each other yet.

Still, the numbers weren't hidden either. Following Kushina's somewhat resentful gaze, Yan Uchiha stood there alone, excitedly staring toward Minato, clearly uninterested in watching the ongoing battle.

And he seemed deliberately displaying the number "18" written in his palm for Minato to see.

Minato's eyes gradually darkened as he looked down at his own number "17."

His opponent was actually Yan Uchiha!

He turned toward Kushina again and said, "No need. I promised you I wouldn't interfere with your fight against him, but this one's different—I've got to handle it myself..."

Then, a fierce determination blazed within his bright blue eyes!

...

On the battlefield, Yu Akasaka and Shibi Aburame stood facing each other. After exchanging respectful bows, Yu's expression gradually sharpened. As soon as Sakumo announced the start, he dashed toward Shibi at full speed.

To most people present, Yu's speed wasn't particularly impressive—but among students from the Ninja Academy, it was quite remarkable indeed.

Shibi Aburame, seemingly not adept in such things, could do nothing but passively defend when Yu launched his first attack.

This fight appeared utterly uninteresting to the crowd; most were simply confirming their respective opponents.

However, Shikiku and the three others, along with Nawaki, and the brothers Hizashi and Hiashi, all watched the battle closely.

After some back-and-forth combat, Shibi finally broke free from Yu's relentless pressure. He kept his hands in his pockets as he calmly said, "You should give up now."

Yu looked as if he'd just heard a joke and replied, "Did you forget to wake up? Ha!"

He laughed loudly, while Shibi replied flatly, "Then I'm sorry."

The moment his voice fell, more than a dozen black insects crawled out from Yu's sleeves.

"What the hell is this?! Ugh, what is this?!"

Yu screamed in shock. Minato and Kushina also turned their attention back, discovering that bugs were crawling out not only from his sleeves but also from his pant legs.

Panicked, Yu suddenly found himself under siege. Shibi slowly approached, and from beneath Yu's feet, swarms upon swarms of black insects spread densely around him.

"What?!"

Everyone gasped—the countless crawling insects climbed onto Yu's body, linked together like black chains that bound his hands, feet, and neck.

Shibi walked straight up to him. A single bug climbed onto his fingertip, and gently tapped Yu on the forehead.

The chakra mark on his forehead was instantly absorbed by the black insects.

"You're right," Nawaki said, widening his eyes. "He's one of that clan..."

Minato leaned closer and curiously asked, "Senior Nawaki, exactly what kind of ability is this?"

Nawaki turned sideways and explained, "In Konoha, there exists a clan that has passed down the art of insect controlling generation after generation. Their technique involves using insects for battle, but their abilities go even further. Because there are so many different kinds of insects, they can be used not only for healing and sensing, but also for gathering intelligence."

Minato was slightly taken aback—he had never heard of this before.

The shinobi world was full of rare and unique techniques. During the early days of Konoha's founding, aside from major clans like the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga, there were numerous other smaller factions who pledged allegiance. Most of these groups possessed secret ninjutsu techniques passed down through their lineages.

Take for example Shibi Aburame's [Insect-Control Jutsu].

It was likely due to his insects' sensory abilities that he managed to survive this long in the Forest of Death...

After Shibi Aburame's victory, all the black insects clinging onto Yu Akasaka crawled back into his body. Nawaki shivered involuntarily at the sight.

"It's impressive," Nawaki added, smacking his tongue uncomfortably, "but to control insects, this clan must allow their own bodies to serve as an insect hive from birth—feeding them with their chakra constantly while letting these creatures live inside their meridians. Just imagining it makes my skin crawl."

Minato could only crack a wry smile, beads of sweat forming along his brow while his lips twitched slightly.

There was no doubt that the first match went to Shibi Aburame. Yu Akasaka dragged himself back, clearly crushed by the defeat. But he couldn't do much—it was clear his skills were way beneath those around him. And unlike Rina Takeuchi, he didn't have much luck either.

Shortly afterward, the next round of intense battling kicked off...

...

...

Since I previously wrote cultivation fantasy fanfiction, I'm bound to make some mistakes writing Naruto fanfiction. I believe many readers here are experienced web novel readers, whether you're from Qidian (Qidian Chinese novels) or Chuangshi (Chuangshi Chinese novels)—I really appreciate it if you can point out my flaws and leave your comments in the review section.

Also, I still owe two more chapters, which I will definitely catch up on. Please show your support—add to your favorites and leave a recommendation if you enjoy it!

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