Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 602 Daily Life in Takigakure Village

Startled, the burrowing silkworms huddled together, the bursting aphids' abdomens began to swell, and the electric fireflies flashed their blue light a few times.

Kakuzu gently pressed down on the infant: "Stop fooling around, you'll be living together from now on."

The larva, unwilling to give up, hissed again, but the sound was much softer. It wriggled its body and crawled back into Kakuzu's collar, peeking out a small head and continuing to stare at the insect cage.

He wouldn't care; in a couple of days, these would all become his little cookies. The natural power of the Five Great Immortal Palaces wasn't so easy to withstand.

As Kakuzu walked back to the village, villagers began to set up stalls along both sides of the stone-paved road.

There are vendors selling vegetables, cloth, and antique ninja tools, but the most bustling stall is the insect stall, after all, this is Takigakure, and insects are a part of life.

"Lord Kakuzu!" A young man ran over, covered in sweat. "Lord Muwei is looking for you. He says there's a problem with the drainage system on the second level of the underground palace."

Kakuzu frowned: "Isn't the drainage problem in the underground palace his responsibility as the designer? Why are you coming to me?"

The boy scratched his head sheepishly and said, "But Lord Wuwei said that those mud wasps have been working continuously for three days, and they will die of exhaustion if they don't rest... and most importantly, we've run out of money for repairs."

Five years have passed since the reconstruction of the new underground palace in Takigakure Village was completed, but for some reason, it still has some subtle differences from the original. Since Aburame Shisei built it, there has never been any problem with dampness or water seepage.

However, such problems often arise in Wuwei renovations. Actually, it's not his fault. He is only good at insects and is an outsider when it comes to civil engineering. He may look like an expert on the outside, but there are many intricacies involved.

Kakuzu was silent for a moment, then sighed softly, "Let's go take a look."

He quickened his pace, the insect cage at his waist swaying gently, and the larvae poked their heads out from his collar, humming contentedly in the morning breeze.

The morning was the same as every morning for the past five years.

Peaceful yet busy, the villagers each go about their duties. This is the rebuilt Takigakure Village. Unlike other places with their towering buildings or intricate and strange architecture, the buildings here are exceptionally simple.

Looking at the whole picture, it's like a village forgotten by time. There are not many young people living in the village anymore; they have long since moved away to the big cities they yearn for.

Five years have passed, and they seem to have forgotten that this place was once one of the Celestial Palaces, the core of the power of the Taki Empire.

But now, five years later, only Kakuzu and Muki, who has been repeatedly repairing the palace, remain to live here.

Kakuzu followed his assistant to the back mountain. He looked up and saw the waterfall that had once protected the outside of Takigakure Village.

The mountains are now built from the past, the trees are rebuilt, and the groundwater and waterfalls are artificially diverted. In order to maintain their original operation, they even use a lot of insects.

But no matter how well man-made it is, it still looks a bit fake compared to the grandeur of nature.

As Kakuzu entered the underground palace from the entrance, Muu was repairing the underground waterway with the derivative insects of the hyacinth insect, while holding a book about geography in his other hand.

The pressure between the earth's veins forces groundwater to rise from the cracks to the mountainside, where it then flows downstream.

What looks like a simple thing is that two extremely heavy rocks are used to compress and seal the earth's water veins, creating a fountain through great pressure. The spring then flows into a river, forming a waterfall.

But why is it so difficult to get it into his hands?

"You've come." Wuwei turned his head. Even though five years had passed, his face was still youthful, as if he were forever eighteen years old.

Kakuzu looked him up and down and said, "You've attacked yourself again."

"The Five Elements Immortal Technique is a bit difficult for me, but this time I didn't make any random changes. The human body is made up of countless cells. I just transformed and activated all these cells into insects."

Kakuzu suddenly teased, "Then you should be able to easily cultivate the Narcissus Technique now, since seventy percent of your body has been replaced by those slimy water worms, right?"

Wuwei was speechless at his words, but upon reflection, they did make a lot of sense. After all, his Ghost Lantern Island was still at sea, a palace that belonged only to him, but he hadn't been back for a long time.

"Alphonse has gone out to sea again, this time bringing a lot of methane hydrate. But I heard he recently resigned, and his deputy is taking over his position." Wuwei changed the subject, pointing to a spot where no water was coming out, "It's blocked here."

"This looks a bit troublesome." Kakuzu patted his waist, and the long tentacles of the Earth Grudge reached in, as if helping to unclog a pipe, or as if looking for a leak.

"He's quite old. Tina's accident was a huge blow to him. It's a pity that his unborn child would also die at Ashura's hands. The Lord once said that Ashura had great love, but I haven't seen it."

"Perhaps his great love does not include those of us who betrayed chakra."

"What you said isn't funny. It sounds like you're making a dark joke about him." Kakuzu turned his head. "Stop fiddling with your tattered book. I've already found the problem."

From here, the entire 300 meters down will be demolished and rebuilt. I told you five years ago that you shouldn't worry too much about the outside world, but rather follow the direction of the underground rock slab road and underground waterway.

The previous battle completely altered the underground rock strata and waterways; simply restoring them to their original state won't work, it will only worsen the situation.

Wuwei tossed the book aside. Sure enough, he wasn't suited to studying geography. "It has to be you. I finally understand why you built the subway so easily back then."

"Okay, everyone has their own expertise!" After all, real estate and infrastructure projects were so profitable back then. In order to ensure that the projects could proceed smoothly and that others would not profit from them, he stayed up all night studying a lot of books on geography, architecture, and other subjects.

As we all know, none of the powerful ninjas who could cultivate their ninjutsu to the Kage level during the Warring States period were stupid; they possessed exceptional intelligence, memory, and clear minds.

Of course, this excludes athletes who don't rely on their natural talent; they simply benefit from their physical advantages.

They don't deserve to sit at the same table.

"I will transfer the money to you regularly, and I will notify the people above to prepare for the relocation in a while."

Everyone hates reworking because it means spending a lot of money, especially for the people on the ground, as relocation and resettlement would be another expense.

Just then, Wuwei raised his head and pointed to the top of his head, "I recently felt that the cocoon on the top of our heads seems to be about to crack open."

Kakuzu immediately stopped in his tracks, his voice tinged with excitement, "My lord is coming back."

"It's very likely. Otsutsuki Isshiki is really powerful, managing to hold off the master for so long."

"Maybe, after all, even if all of us were together, we wouldn't be a match for them."

But is he really the only one?