Who is surrounding whom?

Because it was so sudden and the distance was so close, Uchiha Kurohane had no time to dodge.

The Kikaichū instantly swarmed over him.

Yakushi Nonō cried out in surprise.

"Oh no, those are Kikaichū! Quickly, shake those bugs off!"

Aburame Ryoma strolled out from the rooftop, landed on the ground, and said confidently.

"It's useless. The Kikaichū I raise are a mutated, enhanced breed. They have hooks on their mouths; if you try to force them off after they've bitten you, they'll tear your skin right off."

"If you don't struggle, you'll just have your chakra drained dry, so you'd best stay still."

Just as Aburame Ryoma was smugly explaining, Uchiha Kurohane, who was being gnawed on by the Kikaichū, suddenly turned into a puff of white smoke.

Aburame Ryoma's eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, widened in shock.

"That was a Shadow Clone Technique?"

"When did he use it?"

"And he's just a student—why does he know such a high-level ninjutsu?"

Before graduating from the Ninja Academy, ordinary students can generally only learn the Three Basic Jutsu, which only includes the standard Clone Technique.

Techniques beyond that, such as the Insect Clone, Water Clone, Lightning Clone, and Earth Clone, require mastering specific methods of chakra manipulation and are much harder to learn than the basic version.

Furthermore, those clones are weaker than the original body.

The Shadow Clone Technique is different; it possesses the exact same capabilities as the original, making it extremely difficult to master.

The Ninja Academy has an unwritten rule: if a student learns the Shadow Clone Technique, they are allowed to graduate immediately, regardless of their age.

Uchiha Kurohane was far from graduating; he was the dead-last failure of his entire class.

How could a failure know such a high-level ability?

What the hell!

Just as Aburame Ryoma was wondering if he was hallucinating and struggling to believe his eyes, Uchiha Kurohane stood coolly on the rooftop where Ryoma had just appeared, hands on his hips, looking down at him with disdain.

"You have been surrounded."

At the same moment, another Shadow Clone stood on the opposite rooftop.

On both sides of the street, two more Uchiha Kurohanes slowly stepped out.

It was a four-sided encirclement!

Aburame Ryoma looked around, seeing Uchiha Kurohane manifest four Shadow Clones simultaneously, and he gasped in shock.

The Shadow Clone Technique is not only difficult to learn, but it also has the characteristic of forcibly splitting the original's chakra equally.

Ninjas who can learn the Shadow Clone Technique are already a minority, and usually, once they learn it, they can only create one; creating two is already rare, yet this brat had created three.

This kid is no ordinary person!

Although Aburame Ryoma was stunned, he did not panic, for he was filled with confidence in the mutated Kikaichū he had cultivated and the strength of the Aburame clan.

He firmly believed that the Aburame clan was the strongest ninja clan in Konoha.

No!

Not just Konoha, but the strongest clan in the entire ninja world.

Today, he would prove that to the world!

"I don't care how many Shadow Clones you have; in front of tens of thousands of Kikaichū, they are all nothing but clouds!"

"Watch closely, I alone am an army of thousands—it is you who are surrounded by me!"

Aburame Ryoma let out a wild laugh, coolly raised both hands, and struck a pose as if he were carrying a sack of rice.

A massive swarm of black Kikaichū surged frantically from his sleeves.

The Kikaichū gathered densely together, forming a black storm.

The black storm expanded outward, looking incredibly oppressive and terrifying.

Uchiha Kurohane didn't feel fear; he only felt disgust.

He hated bugs more than anything. The thought of keeping such disgusting things inside one's own body gave him goosebumps.

Some members of the Aburame clan kept their bugs in jars, which was still acceptable.

But keeping bugs inside one's body was truly insane.

Even if the members of the Aburame clan could accept it, he wondered how their wives managed to.

Perhaps considering this very reason, there were no female characters from the Aburame clan in the Hokage series.

It was understandable; if there were, they would have turned into Sakura Matou from Fate.

Uchiha Kurohane watched the black Kikaichū expand, but he didn't panic, simply saying calmly.

"Senior Nonō, get further away."

Only then did Yakushi Nonō snap out of it. Seeing Uchiha Kurohane's confident demeanor, she felt less panicked and immediately leaped backward to put some distance between them.

Aburame Ryoma said with disdain.

"Idiot, you still have time to worry about others?"

"As expected, students from the Ninja Academy are just naive. A naive brat like you could never defeat me!"

"Even if you have the Sharingan, it's all the same!"

Aburame Ryoma was extremely confident, for his Kikaichū were gathered together, surging toward his enemies like a rising tide.

It was too dense!

Even if the Sharingan could track every single Kikaichū, the body would absolutely be unable to dodge them.

This was the reason he believed the Aburame clan was stronger than the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.

However, Aburame Ryoma's understanding of the Uchiha clan was far too shallow.

Things like Kikaichū could only bully the weak; in front of a true master, they were nothing more than free offerings.

Don't let Aburame Shino's reputation for never having lost a battle fool you; that was only because the enemies he fought were not up to par.

On the surface, he had fought to a draw with Konan, but he had only been fighting Konan's Paper Clone, and Konan had possessed no killing intent.

Fighting alongside several clansmen to draw against a Paper Clone of Konan was really nothing to brag about.

If Aburame Shino were truly that impressive, he would have gone to take on Pain long ago.

Uchiha Kurohane watched the Kikaichū spread out without a hint of panic; only after Yakushi Nonō had run far away did he begin to weave hand seals.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Uchiha Kurohane inhaled deeply and blew out forcefully, spewing dozens of scorching fireballs, each a meter in diameter.

Three Shadow Clones released the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique at the same moment, each also spewing dozens of large fireballs.

Combined, there were over a hundred!

Over a hundred scorching fireballs flew simultaneously toward Aburame Ryoma in the center of the street; their density even surpassed that of the Kikaichū, effectively creating a meteor shower composed of flames that left him nowhere to dodge.

Aburame Ryoma tilted his head back, watching the barrage of fireballs flying rapidly toward him, and felt as if he were witnessing the end of the world.

"Impossible!"

"Is such a large-scale Fire Release something a student can unleash?"

"Even an elite Jonin of the Uchiha clan couldn't do this, could they?"

"Damn it, now is not the time for lamenting. If I can't block these fireballs, I'll die!"

Aburame Ryoma immediately wove hand seals to release the Secret Technique: Insect Shield.

He waved his hands, manipulating the Kikaichū to fly back to his side and form a sphere, wrapping himself entirely within it just like Gaara.

However, while Gaara used sand, he used insects.

Aburame Ryoma simultaneously channeled a massive amount of chakra into the Kikaichū, reinforcing their physical defense.

These were mutated, reinforced Kikaichū; once strengthened by chakra, they would become as hard as rock.

This was the strongest shield of the Aburame clan, something Aburame Ryoma took great pride in!

No!

He considered it the strongest shield in Konoha!

Aburame Ryoma shouted loudly.

"I am the strongest shield of Konoha!"

"Bring it on!"

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Over a hundred fireballs slammed into Aburame Ryoma's insect shield one after another, triggering violent, massive explosions.

Because the intent was to seal off his room for evasion, many fireballs also struck the surrounding ground.

Although these fireballs did not hit Aburame Ryoma directly, the power of the fireballs was so immense that the heat waves triggered by the explosions still battered the insect shield.

The insect shield endured the explosive impact from every direction.

Aburame Ryoma, who claimed to be an army of thousands, was truly surrounded by Uchiha Kurohane!