Start From Naruto: Shino the Dominator

[Overmind, please note- you can now evolve your Zergs to become more resistant to certain diseases or become disseminators of plagues themselves. Note that the strength of the plague is limited to the stratum of the infestation pit. It is advised that the Overmind contribute the Kochu Worm Insect to the infestation pit. Due to host's absolute control over it, its poison can upgrade the infestation pit with low risk.]

Shino tilted his with a bit of confusion. What does poison have to do with plague? Anyhow, he nodded in agreement, "Let's do as you say."

Moments later, a good portion of the Kochu Worm Insect in his body melted and integrated into his body. Shino felt a sudden sting of pain surging through his body. Minutes later, the pain vanished and Alina notified Shino once more.

[Overmind, the infestation pit's plague had been upgraded. Plague bacteria can now secrete weak neurotoxins. Antibodies have been optimized to be immune to weak neurotoxins. Neural parasite strength slightly increased.]

Shino's eyebrows raised with surprise as he made a fascinating connection. It was no coincidence that numerous stories link plagues and poison to the same deity, for they seemed to complement each other in some ways.

If there wasn't Alina to remind him, he would have never thought to have tried this, at least not this early on. Perhaps, this was the true power of the hive mind – optimized with an unparalleled ability to utilize every available resource for the sake of evolution.

"Great work, Alina. Remind me again when you discover targets that can be used to enhance my abilities."

[Affirmative. Overmind, Alina shall always be at your service.]

Exiting his mind space, Shino opened his eyes.

"I need to train," he said to himself, his voice resolute. "I must learn how to control my powers so that I can use them to protect my village."

Well, he wasn't sure if anyone or any bug is watching, but it's always best to come up with good excuses that conform to the Will of Fire, no matter how cringe it is.

However, his deep eyes were obscured by his glasses, hiding the real reasons behind his desire for strength gain.

Leaving those words behind, Shino set off to sharpen his skills.

Although it was said to be a break from a mission, but the truth is that it was time allotted for the Genins to train. If a Genin really treated break-time as a real break, then they may end up dying on the battlefield one day.

Only idiots would waste their time having fun in this dangerous ninja world. Even the geniuses with cheat-like bloodlines are working hard, what say an average ninja like Shino…

Oh wait, he also has cheats now- Ahem, it seems his goal is to at least keep up with the power of Naruto and Sasuke.

If he can't even do that much with his golden finger, then he should just smash his head with a tofu during the late game, lest he ended up in a dream where he reveals all the secrets of his Zerg Dominator system.

"It'll be April soon. If I'm correct, Team Kakashi should be heading back from the Land of Waves soon. Naruto and Sasuke had already activated their cheats, and the coming events will continue roll forward like a growing snowball… I don't have much time left. Alina, optimize my training schedule."

[Affirmative, Overmind.]

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months as Shino alternated between missions and training tirelessly, pushing himself to the limit in order to master his new abilities. His progress was slow but steady, and with each passing day, he felt more in control of his powers.

During his practice, he engaged in long conversations with Alina, seeking its advice and guidance on how to improve in the most optimal fashion.

[Overmind, it is determined to be optimal to spawn another X number of drones to be deployed in training ground number Y…]

[Overmind, a new route of collection optimized for efficiency and safety has been recorded. Please review…]

[Overmind, chakra disruption system has been optimized and integrated into system functions. Alina is ready to be of service once the host falls into an illusion…]

[Overmind, autonomous bug defense system has been established and integrated with the system. Alina is ready to guard the Overmind whenever and wherever...]

[Overmind, the enclosing seal, acquired from the host's biological overseer, is being optimized by the hive mind for Zerg integration. Basic Zergs can now hibernate and be enclosed in scrolls. Optimizing further for integration with biological body. The progress is 4%. More fuinjutsu data is required to increase the efficiency…]

[Overmind, strands of new disease detected in passing biological life form. The Overmind is advised to collect a sample of the target's blood for…]

[Overmind, the construction is lacking biomass and natural resources of...]

[Overmind, your reflexes are still too slow. You need to work on your hand dexterity and chakra control if you want to be effective in battle. This can be done by…]

[Overmind, biomass points is insufficient for body recovery and optimization. Please avoid self-harm in training until sufficient biomass is acquired...]

With the assistance of Alina, he trained harder than ever before, pushing his body to the brink of exhaustion as he honed his speed and agility.

He spent countless hours running, jumping, and dodging, constantly pushing himself to be faster and more agile- so much so that he received a training invitation from a passing duo dressed in green jumpsuits…

Fortunately, he escaped. He was definitely not ready to compare with those two training maniacs.

Outside of this, chakra control was honed, and the hand speed was also trained to ease his usage of the body substitution technique- no, not that type of hand speed. He's talking about hand signing.

And so, he trained, growing stronger and stronger. Yet, Shino remained vigilant, always on the lookout for any signs of danger.

Then, one day, Alina alerted Shino to a preset important event notice.

[Overmind, please take notice. Sand Village Gaara and his entourage has been discovered in Konoha Village by surveillance bugs.]

The Chunin exam was about to begin.