Facing the old men's scrutiny, Insect Sister appeared very nervous. After glancing at Miki, she assumed a defensive, attacking posture.
With the sound of a blade being drawn, dangerous-looking spikes shot out from her wrists.
This child resembles a beast more than a human.
"Miki, tell her not to resist."
Old Man Shiyū instructed Miki.
Miki said coldly, "Don't move!"
Hearing this, Insect Sister froze in place, completely still.
"How marvelous. Is this child human or insect?"
Old Man Shihu exclaimed in wonder.
Old Man Shihō, on the other hand, directly reached out. A Insects emerged from a spiracle on his outer armor, burrowed into Insect Sister's body, and began its examination. After a moment, he said, "This child can produce Chakra. The Insects has already sensed it."
"However, she is still very weak, and her Chakra production rate is slow."
After continuously observing Insect Sister, Old Man Shiyū said, "Strange, there are no characteristics of a Insects."
Although in an upright, human-like form, this child possessed four arms: one pair at the shoulders, and another pair below the shoulders at the waist and abdomen. The abdominal arms were much more slender.
Her tight, smooth exoskeleton was a reflective purple, appearing like a form-fitting armor.
Her face was delicate with feminine softness. Her hair consisted of clustered chitinous tendrils, and at the back of her head were two broad, leaf-shaped carapaces that trailed behind her, reaching her lower back.
She had three pairs of compound eyes. One pair was the size of normal human eyes, just slightly larger, making them appear adorably big. They were golden and had the texture of gemstones, lacking eyelids, replaced instead by transparent protective chitinous shells. The other two pairs of eyes were much smaller, arranged in a row above the large eyes, at the brow bone.
Neither the tendrils nor the eyes seemed like mere decorations.
The tendrils on her head were used to collect various information, and as for her eyes…
Miki sensed them, somewhat amazed.
In addition to x-ray vision and telephoto capabilities, she also possessed infrared thermal imaging and ultra-high-speed photography.
Everything in the world appeared in slow motion to Insect Sister's eyes.
The four abilities corresponded precisely to the four small auxiliary eyes.
She could activate and deactivate these abilities by closing her eyes.
And her main pair of eyes perceived colors with an almost excessive richness.
Within a few short seconds, Miki experienced severe dizziness, a result of her brain being unable to process the overwhelming amount of information.
This creature's brain is even more advanced than mine, Miki thought after her dizziness subsided, acknowledging this simple fact.
"Where are her wings?" Old Man Shiyū asked curiously.
"Let her fly and see," Miki said.
Although her appearance didn't suggest she could fly.
As soon as Miki spoke, Insect Sister moved.
The two carapaces at the back of her head tilted up, followed by purple Chakra light bands emanating from them.
As a breeze stirred in the room, Insect Sister floated unsteadily upwards.
It was a jet-propelled type.
Miki observed the spiracles arranged on the carapaces.
After only a moment, Insect Sister swayed, landed, and slumped to the ground, the two carapaces on her head drooping behind her.
She had run out of Chakra.
So far, it seemed this creature was a killing machine born for battle.
"Brother, something's not right."
At this moment, Shihō said gravely.
"What is it, Shihō?"
"This…" Shihō hesitated, then said, "This child, she has our clan's insect nest inside her body, but there are no Insects left."
"So that means…"
"She might be one of our clan members, right?" Old Man Shiyū said in a deep voice, "We can't rule out that possibility."
"Brother, do you remember the clan legend about someone transforming into an insect and being reborn?"
Old Man Shiyū pondered for a moment, looking at Insect Sister, and said, "To actually go to such lengths."
Miki, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes and thought, "So that's how it works? It's the same as my idea, yet opposite."
Unfortunately, she failed.
But it could be worth learning from.
Miki had always been hesitant to perform genetic manipulation on herself, fearing precisely this kind of situation—the worst outcome being genetic collapse and immediate death.
Even though Miki was already capable of performing genetic manipulation on herself.
This insect egg itself was a dead egg, but not entirely so; the residual Chakra within it possessed a strong will to survive.
Therefore, Miki gave her a hand, activating her ability to reassemble the chaotic genes within this insect egg.
If not for Miki, it would have been absolutely impossible for it to hatch.
The result, it seemed, was quite good.
"What should we do with this child?" Old Man Shihō asked.
"Treat her as an insect," Old Man Shiyū said. "She is already Mushi-Hime's property. Besides, judging by her appearance, she doesn't seem like a little girl who can be easily controlled."
"That's the only way," Old Man Shihō said, looking at Miki. "Mushi-Hime, I hope you can take care of her as you would your own sister."
Miki looked at the kind-hearted Old Man Shihō and nodded in agreement.
"The cats and dogs I've taken care of after school have never failed to die."
Then, she beckoned to Insect Sister, like calling a small dog, and said, "Come here."
The three old men's faces darkened upon hearing this.
Insect Sister, who had recovered her strength while slumped, immediately got up and pounced, grabbing onto Miki and clinging to her body.
She seemed to be very fond of Miki.
"Ma… Mama…"
She repeated these words.
Miki firmly held down Insect Sister, who was about to start licking her face, using her Insects-like chewing and sucking mouthparts to prevent her from getting close.
This child had two sets of mouths; beneath the exoskeleton was a normal human mouth.
It looked quite terrifying.
Miki didn't give any commands.
She was merely a bit disgusted, but not averse.
"Give her a name, Mushi-Hime."
Old Man Shiyū said with a smile, watching this warm yet bizarre scene.
"Peach," Miki named her without a second thought.
"Don't give her a cat or dog's name!" Old Man Shihō roared.
"So troublesome. Just call her Imouto, Mushi (insect) Imouto (sister)."
"Mushi (insect) Hime (princess), it suits your name well," Old Man Shihō chuckled. "You can do it if you try."
"Get off!" Miki yelled at Insect Sister.
Insect Sister reluctantly got off Miki.
"Don't pounce on me without a command from now on."
Some of the Insects on Miki's body had been crushed, and Miki instructed the remaining Insects to dispose of their comrades' bodies.
By eating them.
Protein was an important energy source; it couldn't be wasted.
"Keeping her at my house is fine, but I don't have much money yet."
Miki looked at Old Man Shiyū, extending her hand.
Miki had been looking for an excuse to ask for money for a while.
At this moment, a series of clicking sounds emanated from Miki's body, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
"Mushi-Hime, this old man has no money," Old Man Shiyū said bluntly.
Miki looked at Shihō.
Shihō shook his head.
Then she looked at Shihu.
The taciturn Shihu simply turned his head away.
Is this how a princess is treated?
After a long silence, Miki said, "Could it be that the clan simply has no money?"
"That's right," Old Man Shiyū said. "Since joining Konoha, the clan's financial situation has not been optimistic. Previous clan missions were handled by the Village, and a portion of the mission fees were taken by Konoha. The money clan members earned with their lives, the clan hasn't taken a cut from it for a long time. Moreover, the clan doesn't have many industries."
Miki said, "So now the clan members are all fending for themselves?"
"That's how it is," Old Man Shiyū said. "There's a special fund specifically for caring for the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled."
"The previous ninja war caused significant losses to the clan; many people died, and the orphans and widows left behind must be cared for by the clan."
"Isn't this creature an orphan?" Miki asked, pointing at Insect Sister.
"I said, she is already an insect. You take care of your own insects; that is an ironclad rule in the clan," Old Man Shiyū said.
Miki looked at Insect Sister, wondering if she could afford to feed this creature.
All in all, she had a bad premonition.