I need to prepare medicine. The Eve Swarm will notify you where to pick it up in three days.
With that, Miki stood up and glanced at Orochimaru, saying, "Organize your research materials and bring them to me then."
"No!" Orochimaru protested.
"Forget it, I'm not interested in your crappy research anyway. Keep it yourself."
With that, Miki left.
Watching Miki's retreating figure, Orochimaru's face flickered between emotions.
Free?
He felt it was even more terrifying than Jiraiya's usurious loan.
But...
Orochimaru took a small bite of the yokan...
The yokan...
It no longer tasted good.
After Miki left Amanaguri Ama, she continued to stroll through the Village.
For the past ten years, she had been studying sealing technique, Medical Ninjutsu, and Barrier Ninjutsu, so the progress of the Eve Swarm naturally slowed down. The only notable achievement was the preliminary super-individualization.
Miki released this Eve Swarm into the Konoha Forest. After six years of development, it had now completely taken over the entire Konoha.
Living by planting, raising, and scavenging, though it was a bit different from what she had envisioned, the strength of this Eve Swarm lay in its harmonious coexistence with nature.
They were the most diligent gardeners in this garden.
They would care for any vegetation within their territory, which led to the forest becoming increasingly lush recently. The abundant resources attracted small animals, which in turn attracted predators. When these creatures died, any uneaten corpses would be dragged away by the Eve Swarm.
However, they generally didn't eat them. Instead, they dragged them away to use as plant fertilizer, caring for poor, malnourished flowers and plants.
The Eve Swarm intentionally maintained the ecological balance.
And with Konoha as its center, it began to gradually expand outwards.
Miki named this Eve Swarm the Spirit Swarm, or the Eve Swarm.
Because these guys were truly peace-loving; they had offensive capabilities but were not aggressive at all.
They would only retaliate if a knife was held to their throats.
Meaning, if a few were killed or their current work was disturbed, they would repel the aggressor.
Even more bizarrely, this Eve Swarm would care for young ones.
Other species' young ones.
They would care for them until they were capable of survival, then leave.
Whether it was small animals or large animals, if they had no parents to care for them, the Eve Swarm would inevitably come within three days.
Bringing food and drink.
Based on this characteristic, Miki's own Eve Swarm were also cared for in this way.
However, it was curious that unless born within their nests, the Eve Swarm would not bring wild young ones home.
If the environment was truly too harsh, at most they would move the young ones to a more comfortable, safe place.
If they found wild bird eggs, they would even incubate them themselves.
And some individuals within the Eve Swarm whose lives were nearing their end would crawl into the mouths of these young birds.
They truly understood the cycle of nature.
Everyone's well-being was truly well-being.
After observing these various actions, Miki came to a conclusion.
As a super-individual life, the Eve Swarm transcended the two-dimensional perspective of ants, no longer limiting its view to the temporary rise and fall of its own ant empire.
Instead, it regarded this part of nature as part of its own Eve Swarm.
That is, a super-individual composed of different species.
Prospering together.
The natural forest thus became more and more prosperous.
Ultimately, the Eve Swarm also grew stronger.
However, if something threatened this balance and could not integrate, the Eve Swarm would become extremely fierce.
Meaning, several species completely disappeared from the Konoha Forest.
So far, Miki was extremely satisfied with the Eve Swarm.
It could be said to be even more formidable than expected.
But Miki was conflicted about whether to make them giant-sized.
Currently, while individual members of the Eve Swarm were small, the efficiency of resource accumulation was not low.
And while giant-sizing would increase work efficiency, the consumption would also increase exponentially.
Without conducting experiments, it was difficult to compare the advantages and disadvantages.
Moreover, a small-sized Eve Swarm did not mean they lacked brutal killing power.
But if they were to break through the planet, large-scale development was inevitable.
Wings alone couldn't fly out of the atmosphere, and a larger size meant more Chakra.
However, a large size was not so easily achieved.
There were many things to do and solve in this regard.
So Miki decided she wanted it all.
Unconsciously, Miki walked to Konoha Park and couldn't help but stop.
She looked at a child of about two years old, squatting by the edge of the grass.
Miki walked over and squatted beside him.
The blonde child noticed Miki's approach and looked up with a cute, chubby face. His blue eyes reflected Miki's mask.
After a strange head tilt, the child continued to look at the ants on the ground.
He was pondering something.
These little guys were beautiful, with vibrant purple patterns on their bodies and translucent white exoskeletons.
The smallest were not even as big as a grain of rice, while the largest were almost thumb-sized.
"What are you looking at?" Miki asked.
The child pointed at the Eve Swarm and said in a childish voice, "Ants..."
"They're not ants, they're called Eve," Miki said.
The Eve Swarm was moving in a triangular formation, with thumb-sized individuals carrying numerous smaller individuals on their backs.
Among them, the most basic were the worker Eve Swarm, who handled almost all tasks, including fighting.
The soldier Eve Swarm came in several types, the largest being thumb-sized.
They generally didn't easily engage in combat; when they did, they were responsible for beheading encircled prey.
Each type had its own purpose; smaller ones usually cut leaves, cut meat, or carried heavy objects that small worker Eve Swarm couldn't.
But for Miki, all of these were categorized as worker-soldiers, performing daily tasks through cooperation.
The true combat roles were filled by other types of Eve Swarm.
"Eve?" The child was a little confused and said, "Eat, eat, eat..."
He was wondering why the Eve Swarm would bring him food.
"Mhm." Miki ruffled the boy's spiky blonde hair.
The little one's head swayed from side to side under Miki's hand.
"Don't tell anyone, just eat it quietly yourself."
The Eve Swarm had finished their work and were returning.
This work was not the first time.
Delivering meals, that is.
There were eggs, milk, fish, and fruit.
This boy had eaten it before, too.
But it was the first time he had seen Miki.
Miki ruffled his head, then stood up and turned to leave.
The blonde, blue-eyed boy looked at Miki's retreating back with confusion.
He tilted his head in bewilderment.
After a while, he broke into a bright smile, picked up the milk with his small hands, and struggled to open it.
He gulped it down.
But who cared.
No matter who that older sister was, all he saw now was the milk.
"Thank you, Eve."
He drank half of it in one go; he was tired from playing all morning, hungry and thirsty.
Clasping his hands together, the little boy thanked the Eve Swarm in a childish voice, facing the direction they had left.
But the Eve Swarm left him only with their silent, departing figures.
It will be on sale on Friday, soon.
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