Outplayed

With Hardening Technique active, Yang Xing raised his arms and barely blocked the first attack. But the force knocked him back several steps, and his hands went numb. He knew that if it happened again, those poisonous needles might really pierce his arms.

Grimacing, he saw Queen Bee dive at him again.

Yang Xing gave up on Hardening Technique and trying to win with speed.

Instead, he formed Hand Seals, choosing the safer way to dodge.

"Water Clone Technique!"

Poof!

Queen Bee's strike hit empty air. But she didn't slow down. The animal's instincts and predatory nature made her turn at once and lunge at Yang Xing, who had suddenly appeared ten meters away in midair.

"Damn, this creature can actually sense me that well? Fine, you want to come at me? Then I'll keep going—Substitution Technique, one after another!"

Poof! Poof! Poof!

The sky became a blur as a man and a bee competed in speed, fighting fiercely.

Several people on the ground watched, their foreheads slick with sweat.

"This guy can use the Substitution Technique like that? He's probably the only one who can." Kakashi watched Yang Xing's position shift again and again, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. He sighed. "But this is just ridiculous. I don't want to fight someone who can use more than a dozen Substitution Techniques in a row without even getting out of breath."

"Hey, this kid's not human! How many times has he used the Substitution Technique? Just how much chakra does he have?" Watching Yang Xing continue turning into splashes of water high above, Yama Kaede of the Water Flow Clan gritted his teeth, his expression darkening. "Damn it, my Bee King can't catch him. If only I'd brought another Queen Bee. We could've swarmed him and killed him."

Shunsuke Mizunagare, who had been silent all this time, suddenly changed expression as he realized something was wrong with his Queen Bee. He couldn't help shouting, "No! At this rate, my Queen Bee will be exhausted! Come back! Stop chasing him!"

Not knowing how many times Yang Xing could use the Substitution Technique, Shunsuke didn't want to watch his Queen Bee die of exhaustion.

Unfortunately, his shout—meant to give Queen Bee a little breathing room—also made her forget that Yang Xing was a monster.

"Now!"

After dodging Queen Bee's attack with a Water Clone Technique and shifting position, Yang Xing saw her trying to retreat. His eyes lit up, and he immediately formed Hand Seals. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Shit, shit, shit! Don't turn around! He's behind you! Fly, fly higher!"

Shunsuke jolted. Only then did he remember something important: that kid in front of them didn't just know how to dodge. His offensive ninjutsu also seemed terrifying.

He realized how important that was, but it was already too late.

The enhanced Great Fireball was enormous—far too enormous.

Even if Queen Bee tried to fly upward, in the mere 0.1 seconds she had, she couldn't escape the fireball's coverage, which stretched more than ten meters above her.

The slightest brush against it was enough to engulf her completely. The blazing fireball carried Queen Bee straight into a tree.

Boom!

In an instant, Queen Bee was reduced to a charred husk.

The moment it happened, some of the people there were stunned.

Shunsuke Mizunagare, usually the more composed one among the Water Flow Clan, was especially affected. His eyes turned red in an instant, and the moment Queen Bee was burned to a crisp, a thunderous cry burst from his throat.

"My bee! My Queen Bee! Aaaah! I'll never forgive you! I'll never forgive you, you brat! I'm going to kill you! I'll make you pay for my bee's death!" Shunsuke nearly went mad. In that instant, he wanted to send all his bees swarming at Yang Xing.

He glared at Yang Xing with bloodshot eyes.

Yang Xing met his gaze calmly, then held up a finger and gave a slight, smiling shake of his head. "Sorry, but you're the ones who are going to die. Hey, old man, you can make your move now."

He directed his final words toward the woods not far away.

"There's someone else here? What?" The Water Flow Clan and the other shinobi from the Land of Earth turned pale. They never would have guessed that someone else was nearby.

But when they looked over and saw no one coming out, they were confused.

"Kid, I've had enough of your bluster. You're dying here! Bees, tear that brat apart!" Shunsuke's rage surged, and he stopped holding back his bees. They swarmed toward Yang Xing.

But just as he moved, someone grabbed his arm. Feeling the force of the grip, he snapped, "Yama Kaede, what the hell are you doing? Let go! I'll deal with him!"

"Shunsuke, don't be reckless. Something's wrong."

"What do you mean? That kid killed my summoning beast. I have to kill him... Wait, what's that sound?" Shunsuke finally noticed something was amiss. A mosquito-like buzzing surrounded them, and he immediately grew alert.

At the same time, the two of them noticed something strange about their thousands of bees. They no longer seemed as aggressive as before.

Some of the bees were flying wildly through the sky, as if something were chasing them.

"Why are the bees acting so strange?"

"Yeah. It's like something's got our bees tangled up."

"What's that?" Shunsuke focused his gaze, his pupils widening. "Tiny bugs? Impossible. How could bugs this small be a match for our bees?"

Pfft!

As soon as he finished speaking, a spray of blood burst from the body of a giant bee.

The large bee was sliced into several pieces. The sight was so shocking that Shunsuke Mizunagare swallowed the rest of his words.

It happened so suddenly, so strangely, that the furious Shunsuke Mizunagare froze.

Then the change began. The sudden turn of events unfolded with astonishing speed.

In an instant, thousands of bees fell into chaos. Attacked by countless tiny bugs, they were bitten to death one after another. Bee blood covered the ground as large bees continued dropping from the sky.

The whole scene descended into turmoil.

The people of the Water Flow Clan could only watch helplessly. They could do nothing at all.

They didn't even know who had sent the bugs.

"Impossible! Impossible! My bees are invincible! No creature could kill them like this! Who sent these bugs? Who did this?" Shunsuke clutched his head, his face stricken. When he turned and saw Yang Xing smiling, he suddenly understood where it had all begun. "Brat, you called for help, didn't you? You tricked us! You were buying time and keeping us distracted. That person behind us is the real threat!"

"Correct. But it's too late. And I don't think I've told you yet: none of you are getting away." Yang Xing smiled, a hint of cruelty in his expression.

The instant he finished speaking, Yang Xing formed Hand Seals and used the Clone Technique, creating four solid Water Clones at once.

The Water Clones leaped off in both directions. The Water Flow Clan members had no idea what Yang Xing was doing.

Several of the clones had already begun forming Hand Seals.

Feeling the ground tremble, Kakashi's expression changed. He quickly backed away and called to Anko and Rin Nohara, "Back up! That monster's planning to use several clones to unleash a large-scale Earth Style technique!"