The Strong

"A stray dog by the roadside dared to bare its teeth at me? I hope your bones are as hard as your mouth, or else smashing them will be boring."

Aburame Keiichi rolled his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds. This man, who had been forced to suppress his nature after becoming a teacher—

At this moment, tore away his façade of calm.

"I'm in a very bad mood right now. Can you help me with that?"

Kiriki Seiryuu narrowed his eyes, his expression grave. He sensed that the man before him was anything but ordinary. That suppressed Chakra, on the verge of erupting, was like a ticking time bomb.

He knew things were about to get serious.

The next second, under everyone's shocked gazes, Aburame Keiichi stepped forward with light footsteps, his body actually beginning to rise.

Only upon closer inspection did they realize that countless Kikaichū had gathered beneath his feet, providing upward force and carrying him through the air.

"Do your best. If you perform too poorly, I'll torture you mercilessly." Aburame Keiichi spoke the most arrogant words in the calmest tone.

"Hmph! What arrogant nonsense! You're merely from the Aburame Clan, a bunch of support tools who play with worthless bugs, and you dare to bluster here?" Kiriki Seiryuu said disdainfully, forcing himself to remain composed.

"If you were from the Uchiha Clan or the Hyuga Clan, I might fear you somewhat."

"You shadowy rats who mess around with bugs dare to bark at me!?"

Water Style: Rushing Wave!

Kiriki Seiryuu roared as his hands, hidden behind his back, rapidly formed seals. Then he flung out a terrifyingly condensed stream of water straight at Aburame Keiichi.

Water Style: Water Collision Wave!

Yukino at the side swiftly completed her seals as well, firing a pillar of Chakra-formed water from her mouth.

The two powerful Water Style ninjutsu came rushing in, yet Aburame Keiichi neither dodged nor shifted his gaze in the slightest.

His hands moved so quickly they left afterimages. Within half a second, he formed seals and countered.

Tiger—Snake—Tiger—Snake—Tiger—Snake.

Water Style: Water Formation Wall.

Thick streams of water appeared from thin air, intertwining and twisting together into a wall of water without blind spots, blocking every incoming ninjutsu.

"Damn it! This Aburame isn't simple. How could his hand seals be that fast?!" Kiriki Seiryuu cried out in horror, unable to believe his own eyes.

"Someone at this level definitely isn't an ordinary ninja. Why would he become a squad leader and babysit a bunch of brats?!" Yukino's eyes widened in utter shock.

"Don't rush. We can take our time getting acquainted. I'm a very reasonable person."

Aburame Keiichi spoke softly, a teasing expression on his face. Like an Alpha Wolf hunting its prey, he quietly watched his quarry make fools of themselves and exhaust their strength.

Once they were completely spent, he would strike like thunder and snuff out every last trace of life.

Behind him, Chishima Tsurume's eyes suddenly stung. The despair and unease in her heart vanished like smoke.

She suddenly understood the things her mother had repeated while she was alive—the gentle yet powerful man who, in her mother's words, had been nearly omnipotent.

At this moment, he stood before her, protecting her, just as he had protected her mother years ago.

Kiriki Seiryuu and Yukino, however, were far from relaxed. Under Aburame Keiichi's immense pressure, cold sweat streamed down their foreheads, and chills ran down their backs.

"Must you truly fight us to the death, sir...?" Kiriki Seiryuu tightly gripped the short sword in his hand, his tone grave.

"We were indeed rash just now, but we had no choice due to the mission. This youngster has intelligence that we must retrieve. Otherwise, there would have been no need for us to make such a grand entrance, right?"

Kiriki Seiryuu wore a fawning fake smile, his tone exceedingly sincere, even somewhat humble.

"I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding. As long as you have her return what she shouldn't have taken, we'll leave immediately and never bother you again."

"That way, everyone is happy, isn't it? The ninja world is still in a turbulent period. No one wants to be the sinner who sparks another conflict, right?"

Seeing Aburame Keiichi remain silent, Kiriki Seiryuu thought his words had moved him. Just as he was about to act, he heard—

"Huh? Huh? Hahahahahahaha?!"

Aburame Keiichi suddenly burst into loud laughter, clutching his stomach as he wiped tears from the corners of his eyes, as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world.

"Uh—what is this?" Kiriki Seiryuu frowned deeply.

"A shit-eating dog thinks it deserves to negotiate with me? 'Never bother you again'? 'Something she shouldn't have taken'?"

Aburame Keiichi looked at him as though he were trash.

"What the hell do you think you are? You dare threaten me? You dare threaten Konoha?! Think first about how you're going to keep those stupid dog heads of yours."

With a wave of Aburame Keiichi's hand, a calamity like a black tide surged out from around him. The terrifying insect swarm formed wave upon wave, crashing down upon Kiriki Seiryuu and Yukino.

"Damn it! You've gone too far! Do you really think I'm afraid of you?!"

Facing the terrifying insect swarm sweeping toward him, Kiriki Seiryuu roared and thrust his palm forward.

Gale Palm!

An invisible hurricane shot from his palm, setting off a sonic boom.

Riiip—

The attack plunged into the insect swarm. Sharp Wind Style Chakra tore apart everything in its path, shredding countless Kikaichū and briefly opening a gap in the black tide.

But it was useless. The gaps were quickly filled by even more Kikaichū cocoons. Such minor losses were nothing to the swarm.

"Damn it!" Kiriki Seiryuu's pupils constricted sharply.

"Yukino! Use that technique! Don't hold back your Chakra!"

"Yes, Lord Seiryuu!" Yukino nodded in response.

Yukino's expression twisted as she extracted and mobilized Chakra within her body with all her strength. Her hands formed seals at high speed, gathering eighty percent of her Chakra into a technique and unleashing it at full force.

"Fire Style: Flowing Fire!"

Sheets of blazing fire erupted from the ground, coiling into a ring-shaped wall of flames neither too high nor too low.

The scorching flames blocked the menacing insect swarm, and for the moment, it could do nothing to the two of them.

"Hmph, trapping yourselves in a cocoon." Aburame Keiichi glanced over and said disdainfully.

"Don't get cocky, it's not over yet!" Kiriki Seiryuu snapped back, also beginning to frantically refine the Chakra within his body as his hands formed seals in rapid succession.

"Wind Style: Divine Wind!"

Invisible winds tore and twisted, transforming into a tornado that seemed to wrench the heavens and earth.

Aburame Keiichi's expression changed as he realized what was happening. He began directing the swarm to fly backward in an attempt to avoid it.

But he was ultimately a step too slow. Under the terrifying tornado's gusts, the wall of Flowing Fire that had been holding its ground abruptly surged upward, merging with the flowing winds.

Complementing one another, they became a horrifying fire tornado that crashed into the Kikaichū swarm.

Crackle—

A pungent stench spread through the air as charred insect corpses scattered and fell, turning into a rain of foul-smelling black ash.

Caught off guard, more than half the swarm was burned clean away by the attack. Aburame Keiichi's expression became much graver, though it had not yet turned ugly.

"Hehe, not a bad combination ninjutsu. I can't underestimate you two." Aburame Keiichi spoke softly.

"Hehehe~ It's truly an honor to be praised like that by an expert from Konoha. You're very strong." Kiriki Seiryuu said, panting heavily.

"I just wonder whether your students are as strong as you are?" the man said with a teasing curl of his lips.

At those words, Aburame Keiichi's gaze gradually turned icy. Chakra raged around him, transforming into madness and fury.

"You really know how to piss me off, you bastard."