This child is a true genius!
After watching the match, Miki's shocking performance had left the Third Hokage disinclined to pay attention to the remaining matches, only occasionally glancing at them.
The Third Hokage was quite knowledgeable about the Aburame Clan, a hidden clan of Konoha.
The scale of the Ninjutsu Miki displayed earlier was no less impressive than that of an Aburame Jonin.
Given the unique nature of the Insects, there was no fundamental difference between the Insects of different Aburame Clan members.
In terms of offensive power, Miki could be considered an Aburame Jonin.
But how old was she?
Moreover, she hadn't formed hand seals; although she did form one with a single hand, the Third Hokage's eyes were too sharp, and he immediately saw how perfunctory it was.
Rather, it seemed she was too lazy to conceal it and was openly flaunting her talent.
On this point, the Third Hokage was certain that none of the Aburame Clan members he had met could achieve this.
This made the Third Hokage think of the deceased First Hokage, who could summon anything with a clap of his hands—something even the Second Hokage couldn't do.
From his perspective as the God of Ninjutsu, this was particularly astonishing.
Regarding the control of insects, although he understood the Aburame Clan, due to the highly specialized nature of their secret techniques, the Third Hokage wasn't entirely clear about their true depths, only knowing that the Aburame Clan's Ninjutsu appeared to be Yang Release secret techniques.
Therefore, he couldn't understand how this little one, Miki, managed it.
He could only sigh, marveling that she was indeed a genius, truly remarkable.
At this moment, Miki was watching the children fight from the sidelines, with part of her attention still on the nest, her gaze subtly sweeping over the insect corpses left on the field.
A large area, like a spread-out carpet.
Still too weak.
Insects.
These insects were crushed to death; insects, even Insects, couldn't be expected to be very tough.
A normal person, even a child, could crush an insect with a single finger.
Although Insects were fierce, they still fell within this normal range.
Given their size, they certainly couldn't win in a contest of mass.
Therefore, individual Insects were not terrifying; what was terrifying was their swarm suicide attack tactics.
There were four distinct attack methods.
The first was Chakra absorption, which was a basic skill of the Insects.
The second was tearing, cutting, and chewing with powerful mandibles.
Insects had very complex mouthparts; in addition to the mandibles for chewing, the hypopharynx, outer lobe of the maxilla, and labial palps combined to form a food canal, used to absorb Chakra.
This was a chewing-sucking mouthpart.
Typically, they would tear open a wound large enough to pass through, burrow under the skin to infest, or continue to destroy and absorb Chakra.
So it would be very, very painful.
The third was to raise their body temperature and form a cluster to overheat the target; typically, after forming a cluster, they would remain still, raising their body temperature by feeding and absorbing Chakra, rapidly increasing the temperature in an enclosed space. Within a mere ten seconds of forming a successful cluster, the temperature could rise above forty degrees Celsius, and a human body temperature rising to this level usually results in heatstroke and collapse.
The extreme temperature approached sixty degrees Celsius, at which point the insects themselves would also die from the heat.
This temperature, in enclosed conditions, was enough to cause continuous scalding, and its lethality was not weaker than Fire Release.
And the fourth, the most cruel and terrifying.
Suffocation.
This also involved forming a cluster to block air circulation; the swarm inside the cluster would quickly find openings and burrow in, with the lower body and head being primary targets, rapidly blocking the pharynx—the esophagus and trachea—through a massive influx, combined with the enclosed space of the cluster, to cause death by suffocation.
The death was extremely painful.
Generally, the Aburame Clan would choose to use one or two of these methods.
It wasn't a matter of operational precision, but rather Chakra consumption.
Such attack methods were too extravagant.
For Miki, however, she could employ all four simultaneously.
Maximizing the destructive power of the Insects.
Clan members expend Chakra to control insects; the larger the scale and the more complex the commands, the more they pay.
This is because clan members need Chakra to understand the Insects, and the Insects likewise; Chakra is the bridge connecting them.
But for Miki, it was a matter of a single thought.
This major portion of Chakra was not spent at all, which is why Miki had such an unusually large swarm of insects.
However, this doesn't mean Miki was already a Jonin.
One common piece of knowledge among the Aburame Clan was universal: you raise as many insects as you have Chakra for, planning your Chakra usage carefully—some for raising insects, and a larger portion for combat. Raising an excessive swarm, depending on your own situation, would only reduce your combat effectiveness and weaken your sustained combat ability.
Therefore, the larger the swarm, the stronger it is. Miki, who didn't need to plan Chakra for combat, could even use all her Chakra to raise insects, which was a huge advantage.
The Aburame Clan would only increase their swarm, if necessary, after their fixed swarm had been depleted.
After all, raising insect eggs doesn't consume Chakra.
Fundamentally, the Aburame Clan's strength relies very little on themselves; it depends on how strong their insects are. And Miki's insects are just as strong as, or even a little stronger than, those of other clan members.
And just now, Miki only used one ability of the Insects; she was far from demonstrating their true terror.
The corpses left behind by creatures attacked by Insects are truly horrifying.
However, Tsunade lost because she lacked large-scale offensive Ninjutsu, such as Fire Release.
Pure Taijutsu was extremely disadvantageous against an insect swarm.
Otherwise, the situation wouldn't have been as bad as it was; she could have at least held her own for a while.
Or, she could have made Miki feel a pang of regret.
Miki couldn't help but look at Tsunade.
Tsunade was sitting alone on the sidelines, hugging her knees.
Her body was covered in the bodily fluids and tissues left by the dead Insects, emitting a subtle odor.
The child was already in self-isolation.
Under her mask, Miki's lips curled into a smile; as an after-show, it was quite enjoyable.
The combat tests were still ongoing. Logically, this type of assessment shouldn't be used at this stage; civilian children without a foundation were at a severe disadvantage in such tests, having nothing to demonstrate.
They should ideally be trained for a period, have some potential unearthed, and then undergo this test to determine each person's talent based on that foundation.
In Miki's opinion, this was a more reliable method; at present, if the Fourth Hokage were here, he would clearly misjudge.
Moreover, temporary results don't mean much, as the Might father and son could prove.
This counter-intuitive operation, coupled with the secretly observing gazes, clearly indicated that someone wanted to see something.
So, why?
Was it simply to gauge everyone's potential?
The Third Hokage.
Miki subtly looked at Tsunade. Was it a silent, earnest expectation from an elder?
However, it was perfect; it was time to establish a genius persona.
At this stage, she would gain many benefits, both overt and covert, with little danger; the scoundrel Danzo wasn't as extreme as he would become later.
A rather uninteresting match ended, and Miki looked over.
Her attention sharpened.
Because Uchiha Naori had entered the arena.
Miki strongly agreed with the saying, 'You can tell what a person will be like at three years old.' True geniuses are different from ordinary people from a young age.