The destination was a long way off. As they made their way through the area, the group stayed on high alert.
After walking for a while and passing through several groves, they followed a stream onward.
Then something seemed off. More precisely, there seemed to be a lot more of one particular creature around.
The buzzing was starting to annoy Yang Xing.
"In this season, there are still mosquitoes? There are so many in this forest, flying all over the place. It's really getting on my nerves." Yang Xing waved a hand to shoo away the insects buzzing around him, looking thoroughly annoyed.
Rin Nohara, walking beside him, thought for a moment at his words. "Speaking of mosquitoes, that reminds me—there are ninjas who use insects as weapons, aren't there? What are they called again?"
"The Aburame Clan of Konoha. Well, they aren't very well known, so it's natural that you haven't heard of them. Other villages have people who use insects, too." The female jōnin leading the group smiled as she explained it to Rin, but halfway through, her expression changed. "Wait, insects?"
Seeing their jōnin teacher's grim expression, Yang Xing sensed something was wrong, too. There were far too many insects.
"Step back." Yang Xing reached out and put Rin behind him.
Little did he know that the small gesture made the girl's cheeks turn pink, a sweet smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
At that moment, Yang Xing had no time to look behind him. The bushes rustled, and a dark figure suddenly burst out.
Yang Xing immediately raised both hands and unleashed a jutsu without the slightest hesitation.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
It had happened too suddenly—and was far too strange.
Some people didn't react in time, while others didn't get the chance to stop him.
"Wait, Yang Xing!"
But it was too late. The fireball had already shot forward, and there was no stopping it.
The shadow dodged with startling speed. Its movements were bizarre; it seemed to float into the air, narrowly avoiding the massive fireball.
The fireball slammed into the trees, and the force of the explosion made the female jōnin's expression turn grim. She couldn't help taking another long look at the kid.
"He's no slouch. That's not what the Fourth Hokage told me. Looks like he hid his strength in front of the Fourth. But why? Well, that's not for me to worry about. I'll tell the Fourth when we get back." After a brief thought, the female jōnin hurried forward and held back Yang Xing, who was about to charge in again.
"Don't be rash. He's one of ours."
"One of ours?"
Yang Xing stared at the shadow in bewilderment.
The dark figure descended from the sky, finally revealing himself to be a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses.
His outfit was strange. More than anything, the dark mass covering him was made up of countless tiny insects. They swarmed over his body, holding him aloft, and now they were all crawling into the huge gourd strapped to his back.
"Huh, so he really isn't an enemy." Yang Xing scratched his head and laughed, trying to play it off. "Haha, you're dressed so strangely, Uncle. I thought you were an enemy."
Damn, why hadn't I just killed him with that fireball?
Wouldn't that have completed the mission?
No, no. Why am I thinking such evil thoughts? He's a comrade, after all. We should get along.
All right, all right. Those thoughts just now definitely weren't mine.
"Mm." The older man nodded, unaware of what Yang Xing was thinking.
It was a wonder the jōnin uncle had such a mild temper. Still, that strange chakra proved he was quite strong.
What a strange uncle.
Why did this uncle seem even more of a flirt than Kakashi?
The newcomer was deeply unsettling, especially with insects crawling all over him. Kakashi and the others couldn't help but stay wary.
The two girls both kept their distance. After all, no girl liked insects.
"All right, let me introduce you." Seeing that everyone in the group was on guard, their jōnin teacher smiled and stepped forward, pointing at the man. "This is Shibi Aburame, the head of the Aburame Clan I just mentioned. He's handling the reconnaissance at the front for this mission all by himself."
"By himself?" Kakashi looked the man over with confusion. The fact that he was operating alone clearly meant he was no ordinary ninja.
Just sensing his chakra was enough to tell that he was at least a jōnin. Most likely, he was an elite jōnin.
In response to Kakashi's question, the female jōnin offered a vague explanation. "Yes. The Aburame Clan's insects are quite special."
She turned to Shibi Aburame, her face full of curiosity. "Um, may I ask why the head of the Aburame Clan is here?"
"Those people were pursuing me, so I followed them."
His words were brief, as though even saying one more would be a luxury.
The female jōnin's expression soured at that. "Who are those people?"
"Enemies!"
"I know that. I'm asking who exactly these enemies are."
"Enemies from the Land of Earth."
The female jōnin teacher: "..."
Yang Xing could clearly see how forced their jōnin teacher's smile was. Judging by that strained expression, she probably wanted to beat the man up.
The female jōnin took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to give him a thrashing, and asked through gritted teeth, "So, that's what we already knew. What I wanted to ask was—"
"Mm, they're here. They've already reached this area!"
Unfortunately, Shibi Aburame frowned as though he'd sensed something. Then he sprang into action and leaped away without a second thought.
He was so fast, and he left without so much as a word. The female jōnin was left standing there, stunned.
"Hey! You can't just leave without finishing what you were saying! Who exactly is coming? I need to report back to the Fourth Hokage!" She watched helplessly as he sped away, then sighed softly. "This is why the Aburame Clan has never amounted to much. It's because they're like this."
The Aburame Clan really was a quiet bunch. It made them hard to notice and even harder to earn the approval of Konoha's leadership.
They had always been a rather declining clan.
Not wanting to bother with the man, the female jōnin turned around, intending to tell everyone in the group to be careful. But as soon as she did, she realized something was wrong. "Let's get moving, too. Forget about him for now. By the way, where's that kid? Where's Yang Xing?"
"He went after him just now." Obito pointed into the distance.
His words made the others realize what had happened. The figure was already far away; Yang Xing had clearly followed him the moment he left.
"What's he up to? Never mind. I'll go check on him later. With Shibi Aburame there, nothing should happen. He's a jōnin, after all." The female jōnin frowned, but decided not to chase after them. Instead, she reminded the others, "You all be careful. The enemy could be nearby, so everyone needs to... Wait, let me finish! Kakashi, Rin, and Anko, don't go running off after them, too!"
Three figures raced into the distance, not pausing for even a moment as they charged toward somewhere unknown.
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