Start From Naruto: Shino the Dominator

In the depths of the underground base near the capital...

An unconscious figure, with flowing black hair draping over her face, was suspended in midair by slimy appendages that extended from the hive-like walls.

The surfaces of the slimy tentacles occasionally bulged, infusing an unknown concoction into its ensnared prey, who was held in place with her arms and legs spread wide open, her vulnerable, fair body was fully exposed to the twisted lurkers in the shadows.

Alas, the woman had no room to worry about her exposure. Right now, her body was twitching uncontrollably, exhibiting clear signs of distress, as if she would wake up screaming in pain at any given moment.

Yet, despite the torment, she never woke up, allowing the eerie experiment to unfold with no hindrances.

Standing below the suspended test subject, Shino's gaze never wavered from his teacher's beautiful exposed figure, watching on with grim fascination as two dog-sized bees hovered near her, their stingers piercing her body, injecting her with the neural parasites they brewed within their bodies.

The bees, eventually drained of vitality, sagged and fell away, only to be replaced by another pair, perpetuating the cycle of torment. Shadows danced on the walls, revealing the presence of countless more bees, their forms crawling in the darkness.

Taking in this sinister spectacle, Shino's expression was unreadable, and he asked his research assistant with an air of detachment, "How is the progress?"

Karina, her attention fixed on the holographic screens floating around them, replied with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Not looking too good. The neural parasites are constantly being destroyed and the consumption of biomass is very high."

"The parasitic genjutsu method we employed to torture her mind through the the neural parasites is showing promise. However, the effectiveness of the mind-breaking procedure is not as potent as we initially anticipated. Her will is stronger than imagine. This could be attributed to her role as a genjutsu master herself."

"As expected of a jonin. Their will is not easily shattered," Shino remarked, a touch of admiration in his voice.

But right after, his eyes narrowed, "But, we have plenty of biomass to spare. Continue with the plan. I believe that in due time, it will bear fruit. After all, we have already researched her weaknesses thoroughly over the months of getting along."

"Understood. I will make the necessary adjustments and intensify the genjutsu simulation, including the AI-generated torture and death scenes of Asuma."

Karina pulled up a video of Asuma fighting two man in Akatsuki outfits, "Though some of these scenes aren't completely realistic, they can still play a role. The more she believes she is trapped within an illusion, the greater the backlash when she finally realizes she cannot awaken from it. This can be exploited for our invasion, but..."

Karina's gaze flickered with hesitation as she stole a glance at Shino, "This stimulation has a 60% probability of destroying her mind, rendering our optimal plan a failure. Shino, are you sure you want to risk it? After all, she is your teacher. You could have followed my suggestion to give her physical stimulation, and gradually assimilate her through repeated irrigation, which has a much higher success rate…"

Oh, Karina's mind was really dirty, filled with nefarious intentions... that he really, really liked to hear, but...

With a playful smile, Shino lightly rapped Karina on her head, uttering in a hush tone, "Although I am very tempted to indulge, but we don't have so much time to transport her back to the main base. If we want the follow-up plans to succeed, we'll have to return her before this mission ends. My clone can only delay Hinata for so long before she notices something wrong and requests support. "

Shino turned back to take what he believed might be his final look at his teacher, his gaze lingering on all parts of her as though reminiscing the profound influence she had exerted on their journey together, yet his words carried a strong conviction. "This method is the riskiest but the fastest. If she really is unlucky and turns into an empty shell here, we can only use the Puppet Kurenai plan. It'll be a pity though..."

"Ha... Understood. To not let my dear have any regrets, I will do my best to preserve her will," Karina reassured, directing a smile at Shino that radiated a coquettish charm, "Well, doing so will bring more benefits anyways, don't you agree, my dear?"

"Indeed. Don't disappoint me."

"When have I ever. My dear can trust me, I won't let me emotions get in the way of the hive's progress."

After her reply, Karina redirected her attention back to the holographic screens under her command, adjusting the parameters displayed.

Thus, the hive's web tightened its hold, ensnaring its prey ever deeper, letting the suffering of others become the canvas upon which their sinister experiment unfolded.

The outcome remained uncertain, but they were resolute in their determination to break the woman's spirit, no matter the cost.

Once that happens, she will become a part of them.

Of course, if it doesn't work out, Shino will still have no remorse. Even if by chance it fails, he saw it as a means to an end - an opportunity to test the limits of the human psyche and his new interrogation method.

As for Karina's thoughts...

She was indeed a passionate researcher and dedicated woman. Even with jealousy raging within her heart, she was irresistibly drawn to the challenge presented before her, fueled by her determination to fulfill her her lover's wishes.

Yet, this wasn't her only goal.

Bound by unwavering loyalty yet haunted by the fear of abandonment amidst the long rivers of time, the natural born queen had analyzed the gathered data of human nature through her AI capabilities and finally devised a masterful plan to keep her beloved forever and forever.

She knew, once he starts thinking with his lower body, he will not be able to escape her grasp!

As if a silent understanding passed between them, the couple's eyes met, each with their own thoughts.

Yet, these little divergences in thoughts didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things.

After all, they were bound by a shared goal: pushing the boundaries of their abilities in pursuit of their ambitions. The road to eternity was paved with darkness, and they would tread it together, whether there be love or not.

Turning his gaze away from the beauty, Shino's gaze swept across the rest of the hive-like lab.

It was a grim scene. The harrowing walls were embedded with... living humans, their bodies infested by the insidious neural parasites injected by his bees.

Needless to mention, the horrendous experimental tools were also not lacking, and the bloody dissection table speaks of the hidden horrors which had occurred in this very lab.

And this was all to achieve yet another one of their goals.

Shino threw a glance at the busy Karina, inquiring for the results, "How is the progress with our experiments using normal humans as computation power?"

Karina's expression clouded with a hint of frustration, and she responded with a touch of disappointment. "The progress hasn't been as fruitful as we had hoped. Due to their innate resistance toward external influence, the amount of computation power required to establish a system connection and to synchronize normal, unassimilated human through the neural parasites outweighs the computational capacity their minds can contribute."

"And assimilating them will require the same amount of essence as any other ninja, but even the weakest ninja can grow to have at least twice the computation power of a normal human. So, it's not worth wasting our lacking supply of essence on assimilating normal humans."

"We've also put another branch of this idea to the test, seeking for partial infestation... only to discover that partial and even the first infestation of any normal humans has a probability of causing them to mutate or degenerate into mindless monsters that would not contribute even the slightest computation power."

"Though these mindless monsters are still decent as cannon fodder, but aside from their humanoid shape, our zergs and bugs are much more versatile in the combat aspects."

"Of course, we're still researching ways to overcome these limitations, but our capabilities are currently confined by the boundaries of our computation power. Well, that's why we are aiming to increase it, hopefully soon."

Checking a note in the database, Shino raised a brow. "But at least we have found a way to extend the control time for infested subjects, right?"

"Yes. I have developed the bio-delayer implantation you have suggested. Neural parasites can now hibernate within an implanted egg-sac in the host to extend their survival duration, allowing our parasites to distribute their infestation time over a set schedule, achieving a pseudo queue which allows us to implement longer control duration..."

"However, this duration can only be maintained for a couple days at most before the implanted container requires a refill. Not only that, the infested subject still requires our manual control or a corresponding AI model that requires computation power to host. Otherwise, it will just be a stiff puppet. Naturally, this is another research topic on file."

Absorbing Karina's words, Shino's eyes flickered with understanding, "Not bad."

Indeed, it didn't seem like much, but it was decent progress, considering the difficulty of the endeavor.

If harnessing the computational abilities of humans were a simple task, the Zergs would have already conquered countless multiverses!

Perhaps there is an omniscient supreme will out there that had achieved this, but their own hive mind certainly hasn't.

Thus, this research path of theirs would be a constant cycle of trial and error, requiring patience and perseverance. Any progress was good progress.

Shifting his focus away from the long-term research, Shino allowed his gaze to settle on two empty bio-chambers in the lab, finally asking about the last matter that piqued his interest, "And what of the implantation on the dogs? Was it a success?"

"Of course." Karina nodded, her lips curving into a sneer. "Even if all other experiments fail, I won't fail when it comes to those dogs. Don't worry, Shino. I've made sure the fuinjutsu are in place before releasing the dogs to... where they belong."

"Oh? And where is that?"