Who Had Whom Surrounded?

Because it happened so suddenly and at such close range, Uchiha Kurohane had no time to dodge.

Kikaichū instantly swarmed over him.

Yakushi Nonō cried out in alarm.

"Damn, those are Kikaichū! Hurry, get them off you!"

Aburame Ryoma strolled unhurriedly out from the rooftop and landed on the ground, speaking with confidence.

"It's no use. The Kikaichū I raise are a mutated, enhanced strain. They have hooks on their mouths, and if you try to force them off after they bite you, they'll tear off your skin."

"If you don't, they'll just drain your chakra, so you'd better not try to shake them off."

Just as Aburame Ryoma was explaining smugly, Uchiha Kurohane, who had been bitten by the Kikaichū, suddenly turned into a puff of white smoke.

Aburame Ryoma's eyes widened behind his sunglasses.

"That was a Shadow Clone?"

"When did he use it?"

"And he's just a student. How does he know such an advanced Ninjutsu?"

Before graduating from the Ninja Academy, ordinary students generally only learned the Three Basic Jutsu, which were the most fundamental clone techniques.

Techniques such as the Insect Clone Technique, Water Clone Technique, Lightning Clone, and Earth Clone Technique required mastery of the corresponding chakra manipulation methods, making them harder to learn than an ordinary clone technique.

And these clones were weaker than the original.

Shadow Clones were different. They had exactly the same abilities as the original, so they were extremely difficult to learn.

The Ninja Academy had an unwritten rule: if a student learned the Shadow Clone Technique, they would be allowed to graduate immediately, regardless of their age.

Uchiha Kurohane hadn't even graduated. He was the class dead last, a complete failure.

How could a dead last know such an advanced technique?

This was unbelievable!

While Aburame Ryoma wondered if he was hallucinating and struggled to believe what he was seeing, Uchiha Kurohane stood coolly on the rooftop where Ryoma had appeared, one hand on his hip, looking down at him with disdain.

"You're surrounded."

At the same time, another Shadow Clone stood on the rooftop across from him.

And two more Uchiha Kurohanes slowly emerged from either side of the street.

They had him surrounded on all four sides!

Aburame Ryoma looked around and saw Uchiha Kurohane produce four Shadow Clones at once. He sucked in a sharp breath in shock.

The Shadow Clone Technique was not only difficult to learn; it also forcibly divided the user's chakra equally among the clones.

Few ninja could learn the Shadow Clone Technique at all. Once they did, they usually made just one clone. Making two was already rare. Yet he had made three.

This kid was no ordinary person!

Although Aburame Ryoma was stunned, he didn't panic. He had complete confidence in the mutated Kikaichū he'd raised and in the strength of the Aburame Clan.

He firmly believed that the Aburame Clan was Konoha's strongest ninja clan.

No!

Not just Konoha's—the strongest clan in the entire Shinobi World.

Today, he would prove it to the Shinobi World!

"I don't care how many Shadow Clones you have. In front of tens of thousands of Kikaichū, they're all worthless!"

"Just watch. I'm an army all by myself. You're the one who's surrounded!"

Aburame Ryoma laughed maniacally, raised both hands with a swagger, and struck a pose like he was hefting sacks of rice.

A huge swarm of black Kikaichū poured wildly from both his sleeves.

The Kikaichū gathered together in a dense mass, forming a black storm.

The black storm continued to spread outward, looking oppressive and terrifying.

Uchiha Kurohane wasn't afraid. He was just disgusted.

He hated bugs more than anything. Just thinking about raising such disgusting creatures inside his body made his skin crawl.

Some members of the Aburame Clan kept their bugs in jars. That was still acceptable.

Keeping bugs inside your body was truly insane.

Even if members of the Aburame Clan could accept it, he couldn't imagine how their wives did.

Perhaps that was why there were no female members of the Aburame Clan in Naruto.

It made sense. If there were, they'd turn into Sakura from Fate.

Uchiha Kurohane watched the black Kikaichū spread outward. He remained calm and simply said,

"Senpai Nonō, get farther away."

Only then did Yakushi Nonō react. Seeing how confident Uchiha Kurohane looked, she calmed down a little and immediately jumped back to put some distance between them.

Aburame Ryoma sneered.

"Idiot, and you still have time to worry about someone else?"

"Just as I thought, students from the Ninja Academy are so naive. A naive kid like you could never defeat me!"

"Even if you have the Sharingan!"

Aburame Ryoma was extremely confident. His Kikaichū swarmed together, surging toward their enemy like a tidal wave.

There were too many!

Even if the Sharingan could see every single Kikaichū, the body couldn't possibly dodge them all.

That was why he believed the Aburame Clan was stronger than the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans.

But Aburame Ryoma's understanding of the Uchiha Clan was shallow.

Kikaichū were only good for bullying the weak. Against a true expert, they were just an easy target.

People said Aburame Shino had never lost, but that was only because his opponents weren't any good.

On the surface, he had fought Konan to a draw, but he had only fought her Paper Clones, and Konan hadn't intended to kill him.

There was nothing worth bragging about in fighting alongside several clan members and drawing against Konan's Paper Clones.

If Aburame Shino were really that strong, he would have gone after Pain long ago.

Uchiha Kurohane watched the Kikaichū spread without the slightest panic. Only after Yakushi Nonō had run far away did he begin to form Hand Seals.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Uchiha Kurohane drew in a deep breath, then blew with all his might, spitting out dozens of scorching fireballs, each one a meter in diameter.

At the same time, his three Shadow Clones also performed the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, each spitting out dozens of enormous fireballs.

That made more than a hundred in total!

More than a hundred scorching fireballs flew at Aburame Ryoma in the middle of the street. Their density even surpassed that of the Kikaichū. It was like a meteor shower made of flames, leaving him nowhere to dodge.

Aburame Ryoma tilted his head back and saw a chain of fireballs racing toward him. It was as if he were watching the end of the world.

"Impossible!"

"Could a student really release Fire Release on this scale?"

"Even an Elite Jonin from the Uchiha Clan couldn't do this, could they?"

"Damn it, this isn't the time to be amazed. If I can't stop these fireballs, I'll die!"

Aburame Ryoma immediately formed Hand Seals and released the Secret Technique: Insect Shield.

He waved both hands, directing the Kikaichū back to him. They formed a sphere and enveloped his entire body, just like Gaara.

But Gaara used sand. He used bugs.

At the same time, Aburame Ryoma poured a large amount of chakra into the Kikaichū, strengthening their defensive bodies.

These were mutated, enhanced Kikaichū. Once reinforced with chakra, they became as hard as rock.

This was the Aburame Clan's strongest shield, the one Aburame Ryoma was most proud of!

No!

He believed it was Konoha's Strongest Shield!

Aburame Ryoma shouted,

"I am Konoha's Strongest Shield!"

"Bring it on!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

More than a hundred fireballs slammed into Aburame Ryoma's Insect Shield in rapid succession, setting off a series of violent explosions.

Since the fireballs were meant to block every avenue of escape, many also struck the nearby ground.

Although those fireballs didn't hit Aburame Ryoma directly, they were so powerful that the heat waves from the explosions still battered the Insect Shield.

The Insect Shield endured the explosions from all sides.

Aburame Ryoma, who claimed to be an army all by himself, really had been surrounded by Uchiha Kurohane!