Miki drew her sword again, took a deep breath, and thrust repeatedly. Due to the weight and it being her first time using it, her movements were extremely unstandardized.
After thrusting dozens of times, Miki looked at Shihu and asked, "How was it?"
"How was what?" Shihu asked, but he seemed to have grasped something.
"The Dance of the Butterfly: Storm, of course," Miki said. "Increase the speed by five hundred times, and hundreds of continuous thrusts are completed in an instant."
"Interesting," the old man Shihu said. "But to the extent you're talking about, it's impossible."
"With your wrist strength, even in the future, you won't be able to do it."
"That's because you can't do it," Miki retorted. "Even a scaled-down Dance of the Butterfly has considerable lethality. Let's set a small goal first: ten thrusts."
"Not a bad idea," Shihu said. "Ten instant thrusts are still extremely difficult to accomplish. The Second Hokage had a sword technique, Dance of the Three Moons, where he would release Shadow Clones and deliver fatal blows from the left, right, and above simultaneously with sword techniques. It was three slashes delivered in an instant, combined with Flying Thunder God Slash, making it very dangerous."
And the implication was that ten thrusts was not a small goal at all.
"There's a clever solution. If Shadow Clone shuriken works, then Shadow Clone sword technique shouldn't be impossible, right?"
Miki said.
Flying Thunder God Technique would also work.
The future Yellow Flash had the impressive record of instantly killing fifty Jonin; it was simply inhuman.
"That's a good idea, but it requires a certain level of Ninjutsu mastery." Shihu nodded, then shook his head, saying, "I don't have high hopes for you creating your own Ninjutsu."
"It's not impossible with just wrist strength," Miki said. "Sage Mode."
"Where did you get that information?"
"To me, Konoha has no secrets. There are Insects everywhere," Miki said.
"Do it discreetly, don't get caught, Mushi-Hime." Without dissuasion, Shihu offered criminal advice. "Don't think about messing with other people's secret Ninjutsu transmissions, or something will happen."
"I'm not stupid," Miki said. "Can Ninjutsu of unknown origin be used freely?"
"Very good!"
"Also, don't talk carelessly. Silence is golden!"
"Laughing out loud, no one talks to me anyway." Saying this, Miki thought of Chiri's face.
Besides Hyuga Hitomi, who spoke to her at the very beginning without understanding the situation, Miki had only exchanged a few words with Tsunade.
Although it was quite interesting.
But other children basically avoided Miki.
At this moment, Shihō said worriedly, "Mushi-Hime, there are no children your age in the clan. If there's an opportunity, we should try to make some friends or something."
"Fourth Brother, the children in the clan won't want to play with Mushi-Hime," Shihu said. "Mushi-Hime has almost completed the path they will walk in their entire lives. No child in the clan can endure such stimulation. Outsiders might be possible, but I'm worried Mushi-Hime will play them to death. Geniuses are lonely."
Towards the end, Shihu sighed with emotion.
Since childhood, the children in the clan had avoided him because of the poisonous Insects on his body.
"You're underestimating me. At most, I'd just cripple them," Miki chuckled playfully.
"Oh, you." The old man Shihō affectionately ruffled the Mushi-Hime's head, saying nothing more.
"Old man, patting my head will stunt my growth. If you do it again, I'll unleash my Insects."
Originally, the Mushi-Hime subconsciously dodged a little, but not completely.
"Okay, it won't happen next time," the old man Shihō said with a smile.
This old man was a good person, but Miki felt awkward about his excessive familiarity.
"Old man Shihu, do you still want to hear my thoughts on sword techniques?" Miki asked.
"No need. Follow your own ideas and strive to research them in the future."
"Give me a surprise when the time comes."
"Okay!"
Miki nodded in agreement.
The day's training officially ended.
After saying goodbye, Miki took Insect Sister home.
After Miki had gone far, the old man Shihu slumped to the ground, panting rapidly.
"Can you still hold on?" Shihō asked.
"No big problem, I won't die for now," Shihu replied in a low voice.
"Hold on until the Mushi-Hime grows a little older."
"No problem!" Shihu said in a deep voice.
"The Mushi-Hime wants to learn sealing technique," Shihō said. "The Third Hokage said so."
"What are his conditions?"
"No conditions," Shihō said. "Konoha currently has no wars, and the younger generation is capable enough for external missions. There's no place for us to be used."
"What did Big Brother say?"
"Find a way," Shihō said. "Fulfill all of the Mushi-Hime's requests."
"So, are we siding with Princess Tsunade?" Shihu asked.
"It depends on what the Third Hokage thinks," Shihō said.
"Hmph, the Sarutobi Clan is developing a bit too fast."
"The Senju will step in," Shihō said. "It's not for us to worry about."
"Then we wait," Shihu said. "That woman Uzumaki Mito, I'm not confident about her. Siding with the Third Hokage is a bit risky."
"Did you forget something?" Shihō asked.
"What?"
"The Hyuga, Uchiha, Kurama—the old geezers aren't all dead yet."
"Tch, troublesome fellows."
"So, maintaining neutrality is most beneficial to us."
"What about the sealing technique?"
"If that woman Uzumaki Mito is still a competent grandmother, she will pave the way for Tsunade," Shihō said. "The opportunity will come."
On the way, Miki pulled out a silkworm moth and popped it into her mouth.
The flying Insects returned one after another.
"Uzumaki Mito, huh."
"The opportunity has come."
Beside her, Insect Sister looked at Miki with longing eyes.
Seeing this, Miki casually flicked out a silkworm moth.
It was all flesh, too plump, and couldn't fly at all.
Insect Sister pounced out and swallowed it in mid-air.
"What a glutton," Miki smiled.
After eating, Insect Sister looked at Miki with longing eyes again.
These special silkworm moths, the original flavor was the most fragrant, with a unique sweet taste and a deep, clear aroma.
There was no disgusting fishy smell or anything like that.
The taste was highly addictive, the kind where you feel uncomfortable if you don't eat it for a day.
On Earth, silkworm moths were originally a good edible item.
They contained a large amount of complete protein and fat, rich in physiologically active substances, making them a medicinal food ingredient that integrated dietary therapy, health preservation, and healthcare.
The silkworm moths in Miki's hand had even stronger functions, similar to military ration pills, and were very invigorating. Eating one when tired was like a full recovery.
And there were no obvious after-effects or addictive properties.
The main effect came from the tenacious life force within the silkworm moth's body; Miki hadn't yet figured out the principle.
But she couldn't eat too many, or she would become overly excited.
It was very stimulating.
Fortunately, Miki did not lack self-control.
She was very happy to have an extra snack.
However, Miki felt that the capabilities of the silkworm moths had not been fully explored.
If it was only this level, there was no need to painstakingly cultivate them.
Military ration pills of the same type were convenient and affordable.
Although this Insects might have existed before military ration pills, there was also the possibility that it was specially created for this purpose.
But Miki always felt that she was subtly missing an important detail.
Where could it be?
After some thought, Miki gave up and turned to ponder other matters.
Under the moon, the gentle Gekko stretched her shadow long. Insect Sister followed closely behind, curiously and carefully stepping on Miki's shadow, occasionally letting out innocent, happy laughter.
This child was learning.
First, she was perceiving the world, like a pure and innocent infant.
"Ma... Mama..."
Insect Sister called out thoughtlessly.
"Shut up."
Miki replied without thinking.
"Ma... Mama..."
"Shut up."
The two repeated their back-and-forth, never tiring, as they walked home.