"Why... are you still asking why?"
Shibi Abura looked at his son seriously and spoke with weight. "Do you realize that behind us stands the entire Abura clan? One wrong move, and our clan could fall into ruin!"
Did he understand the struggles for power?
Right now, although the Uchiha clan appeared to be on good terms with Konoha on the surface, in reality, tensions with Konoha’s leadership were reaching a breaking point. It could erupt into war at any opportunity.
If the Abura clan were to take sides now, they might get caught in the conflict.
If they sided with the Uchiha clan, it might be fine if Uchiha Kinya beca Hokage in the future. But if they failed, both the Abura clan and their interests would suffer severe consequences.
Therefore, maintaining neutrality was the best choice for now.
Once the conflict ended, they could carefully choose sides to maximize their benefits.
"No. I need you—and the Abura clan—to take sides in advance, to stand with the Uchiha clan now!" Shino Abura said seriously, looking at his father with determination.
He could not explain why he had to take sides, but he knew choosing Uchiha Genya was the right decision.
Shibi’s eyes grew cold, and his voice turned solemn. "Has that Uchiha Genya kid brainwashed you? Let make this clear: No. I cannot—will not—risk the future of the Abura clan for your madness!"
Shibi’s words were sharp and serious. He was warning Shino that this plan would not succeed as long as he was involved.
"Then I insist on siding with the Uchiha clan," Shino replied, his expression equally serious.
He had made up his mind. He wasn’t just doing this to repay Genya for everything he had done, but also for the sake of the Abura clan.
At present, the Uchiha clan had completely broken ties with the Sarutobi clan.
But from what Shino knew, Genya and the Uchiha clan would soon gain the upper hand in the upcoming confrontations.
They might even compete for the position of Hokage.
This would bring better prospects for the Abura clan as well. Not to ntion, if Hanayu could develop a type of insect usable across the clan, it would be an unparalleled advantage for their people.
"You’re not yet qualified to speak to like that!"
Seeing that his son was unwavering, Shibi’s temper flared. He glared at Shino. "When you can defeat and beco the head of the Abura clan, then the decision will be yours!"
Shino Abura suddenly beca serious.
"To beat you... I guess I can give it a try!"
His eyes locked onto his father with unwavering focus, his expression turning solemn. He had been planning to challenge his father ever since he gained his insects, and now, he had no choice but to test himself.
He didn’t know if he could actually win.
At the sa ti, he wanted to show his father how much he had improved, and to explain why he firmly stood by Genya, standing with the Uchiha clan.
"You want to challenge , boy?" Shibi Abura’s eyes narrowed, his tone serious.
But when he looked at Shino, he added, "You don’t even have a full insect jar. Just with the few insects inside you, you’re no match for . Not enough for my insects to even bother devouring!"
Shibi warned his son seriously, "If we fight, you could lose more than half of your insects."
"More than half?" Shino shook his head, staring at his father with determination. "Father, you haven’t even started yet. Maybe... I’ll win!"
Shino was confident. His insects were among the strongest in the Abura clan. His father’s insects were powerful, yes, but there was no way they could completely overpower him.
"Heh... Confidence is good, but arrogance is not!" Shibi said, looking down at his son with a sneer.
"You’re young and reckless. It might cost you dearly in battle. Looks like I, as your father, need to give you a proper lesson!"
"Follow !"
With that, Shibi led Shino to a training area in their backyard, the place where they usually practiced various jutsu.
"Now, I’ll show you that there’s always soone stronger, soone better!" Shibi said.
With a single motion of his hand, a swarm of insects shot out from his jar, circling around him like a black mist.
For Shino, the pressure was imnse.
These were his father’s insects. Just in sheer numbers alone, he had no chance of matching them.
"I want to test my father’s strength too!" Shino said coldly, releasing his unmodified insects to gauge the power of his father’s swarm.
After all...
With the constant proliferation of his special insects, there wasn’t much space left for the ordinary ones. If they didn’t perform well, they could easily be consud by the others inside him.
"Oh? You really want to go all out against ? And these are just half the insects you have?" Shibi observed his son’s determined expression and straightened up.
"Fine. Then I’ll destroy so of your insects first, so you understand the gap between us. From now on... train properly and don’t think about anything else!"
With that, he commanded his insects to surge toward Shino’s swarm.
With just a single gesture of his hand, the sheer number of his father’s insects—four to five tis more than Shino’s—sward and completely overwheld them in an instant.
Two clouds of black mist swirled and twisted around each other.
In just a few breaths, there were already casualties.
Because it was a numbers ga, the insects controlled by Shino were almost completely surrounded.
Shino’s insects were slowly dwindling.
"This is a difference in numbers," Shino murmured, his tone calm and untroubled.
He wasn’t worried because these insects were only being used to test his father’s strength.
As he commanded his insects to attack, so of his father’s insects fell too.
But for the most part, it was a three-for-one exchange.
Even so, Shino was able to assess the combat strength of his father’s insects.
These insects... were still not enough for the Giant Devourer to consu.
"Shino... it’s not too late to give up now!" Shibi looked at his son, whose eyes were full of determination, and issued a warning.
"If you give up now, you can recall these insects. Otherwise..."
The warning had been made.
If Shino knew when to be sensible, he would surrender.
But Shino just grinned.
He lifted his head and looked at his father.
"Dad, if this is all the strength you have, then I will win this battle!"
As his words fell, Shino murmured, "Giant Devourer, co out!"
At his command, so insects flew out from within him, swirling in front of him.
Their wings buzzed as they hovered in the air.
****
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