Start From Naruto: Shino the Dominator

Underground Main Base.

In the dimly lit lounge, a holographic screen flickered to life, displaying the heart-wrenching drama unfolding between the ill-fated couple.

The struggles and desires of others... only served as an interesting past time for the couple chilling here.

Karina, ever mischievous, couldn't help but tease, "Oh, little Shino, does this plot arouse you?"

Shino responded with a gentle rap on Karina's forehead, "Naughty. You know that even if it does, now is not the time."

Looking back at his sensei who walked off into the night, Shino didn't let stray thoughts affect him, analyzing the best course of action with a clear mind.

"Kurenai still holds value to us as a chess piece, best left inserted in the village. A special jonin like her should net us a lot of benefit, even if it hadn't been too long since her promotion. Let's give her the space she needs, drain all the value from her past contributions to the village and the influence left by her dead father."

Kurenai's father, Shinku Yuki, sacrificed during the Nine Tails attack, but as an instructor of countless genins and chunin, his influence can't be ignored, especially since it's unknown how many of his students had already became jonin after more than 12 years.

It's not just Kurenai's beauty alone that got Asuma's attention. For the Sarutobi clan, it's all about politics. How can they let their main lineage marry some random woman?

By setting their sights on Kurenai, they clearly want to milk her father's leftover influence, and now, this milking will be a benefit left to Shino.

And Shino already enjoyed some benefits from milking this influence. The Flying Thunder God technique - not just any jonin can just ask and get!

Turning back to Karina, Shino got down to business.

"For now, let's focus our energy on deciphering the newly acquired Flying Thunder God technique. It will play an important role in keeping us safe. That's why I went through so many twists and turn just to acquire it."

"Pff. Lots of twist and turns. My dear is just coming up with another excuse for putting your hands on your sensei, right?"

Wearing a straight face, Shino emphasized his gospel, "Karina, you know the truth. Our acquisition this time seemed so straightforward, but you know how hard it is."

Indeed, securing the coveted technique was far from a walk in the park.

Before having the option of deploying Kurenai, Shino had, in fact, embarked on countless espionage attempts with his own army of bugs.

Alas, each one was thwarted before a single bug could even stealthily approach the room hosting the sacred Scroll of Seals.

Really, this truly left him questioning the tale of Naruto's audacious theft. How did the idiotic bloke achieve the feat under the watchful gaze of the Anbu and the legendary Hiruzen Sarutobi himself?

Seriously. Naruto's success was utterly bogus, clearly defying the expected results based on his infiltration skills.

Undoubtedly, there were other forces at play.

Protagonist's luck? Please. The scroll was probably handed to him on purpose, right?

That Saru's play-style definitely didn't lose out to the universe-next-door's Dumbledore when it comes to raising the so-called chosen one...

Regardless, Shino wasn't the chosen one and had none of these benefits. Still, he at least had a good father.

Alas... With the extra interference from the bad old man, Shino's hopes flickered like dying embers, almost believing it would be a hopeless case unless he arrange a full-blown assault.

Nevertheless, his acquisition of Kurenai was a beacon of hope. The current approachable nature of Tsunade, still in the midst of gaining the trust of the village's jonins, offered another glimmer of opportunity within the darkness born from the bad old man's obstacles.

After putting two and two together, they gave it a try, and wala.

So, it really wasn't wrong to add the new card into his hand.

"All part of the plan."

"Uh huh," Karina rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say, my dear. I'm sure you had everything under control."

The couple exchanged a look, and Shino sighed inside. Usually, this smart woman plays along, but when she eats peanut butter and jealous, she really likes to tease him.

Well, just a part of relationships. Not wanting to dig a deeper hole for himself, Shino opted to change the topic.

"Anyways, after going in so many circles, that's finally another matter off our bucket list. But it also adds a new one. How is the progress on the Flying Raijin?"

Karina gave Shino a "you owe me" glance before she obediently let the topic shift to the progress of the deciphering process.

"We've dedicated most of our available computation power into the deciphering the technique, but it will take some time, Shino."

"How long?"

"Depends on our space-time talent."

Hearing this, Shino voiced his nagging concern. "What if we lack the necessary talent for spatial manipulation?"

Karina giggled, a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. "Oh, Shino, we both have Uzumaki blood, which is already an advantage. On the off chance that we do not possess the talent individually, remember that our gene pool harbors the potential for anything..."

With confidence overflowing on her face, Karina's gaze locked with his and declared, "Never underestimate the power of the zergs."

That's right... recalling all the memories of how zergs became a menace in different stories, Shino's conviction grew.

There really wasn't a need to worry much. What must come will come eventually.

So, the gears in Shino's mind shifted, setting aside this coming matter and inquiring about the progress of their expansion plans. "Karina, tell me how it's going in the capital. Has our new outpost been established?"

"Hah. Karina thought Shino will never ask..." Karina's response held a note of triumph.

"Those waste of space naturally can't escape Karina's five finger mountain. A noble has already silently fallen under our control. The Shin gang has gone incognito, and we are currently constructing an intelligence outpost beneath the noble's mansion. It should be completed within a month, and will be used as the Shin gang's new hideout."

Well. Well. It seems there are many things moving in his favor recently.

Just thinking about the possibilities brought by the outpost's rise sent another jolt of excitement coursing through Shino's veins.

As if this wasn't enough excitement for a day, Karina's subsequent proposal brought even more excitement to Shino.

"Shino, should we allocate a good portion of our biomass into the new outpost? It would allow us to construct our unlocked zerg structure."

That's right! A new zerg structure! With all their zergs milling about, it was only a matter of time that they collected enough genes to unlock a structure!

Whether it be coincidence or fate, this structure was added to their repository recently!

Once this new structure is constructed, it'll be the true beginning of our expansion and the unimpeded rise of our strength!

When he thought about the potential of his new structure, Shino's eyes gleamed with exuberance and gave Karina permission almost without hesitation, "Do it. Let the hive's true potential be realized."

The zerg's rise... oh, it had finally begun.