The Terror of Aburame Shibi

Land of Fire forest.

Seeing Shibi Squad come to a stop, the caravan members froze for a moment before asking, "What's wrong?"

Hyuga Satoru shrugged. "There's an ambush point a hundred meters ahead. If you don't want the trouble, you can just charge through."

An ambush?

At those words, panic gradually spread through the caravan. The entire convoy stopped, blocking the road.

"Um..." The caravan leader swallowed and looked tentatively at Aburame Shibi. "Lord Shibi, should we go around?"

"Doesn't matter." Aburame Shibi replied expressionlessly.

Doesn't matter? The caravan leader was stunned. What did that mean? Were they going forward or not? We gave you so much precious food to curry favor with you—you can't just stand by and do nothing.

Just then, a group of shinobi suddenly rushed out from the woods ahead of the caravan. Kunai in hand, vicious faces covered in scars, they surrounded the convoy with feral grins.

"Looks like we've been discovered. No matter—you still won't escape!"

"Such a large caravan. What a fat sheep."

Most of the caravan members were ordinary people. They had never seen such a scene before, and immediately began trembling all over, nearly collapsing on the spot.

"Rogue shinobi?"

"Why are there so many rogue shinobi? We're finished."

Hyuga Satoru narrowed his eyes. So-called rogue shinobi mostly referred to shinobi who had defected from their villages, or shinobi without any affiliation. Compared to ordinary shinobi, they were far more vicious from years of wandering, surviving through robbery and plunder. They were the people caravans feared most.

In the original story, Zabuza and Haku, whom the prince encountered on his first mission, were a pair of rogue shinobi.

Judging by the size of this group blocking the road, they were likely the largest band in the area.

Before Shibi Squad had made a move, Ryosuke Squad on the other side could no longer hold back. The caravan members' constant fawning over Shibi Squad along the way had nearly filled their rage meters to the brim.

"Damn it, they're just rogue shinobi! Fuck them up!"

"A bunch of rogue shinobi daring to strut around in front of me!"

Captain Tanai Ryosuke took the lead, gripping a kunai as he charged straight at the rogue shinobi blocking the road, seemingly intending to vent all the frustration he had endured along the way.

Seeing their captain charge in, the other members naturally refused to fall behind. With a shout, they rushed forward as well.

"I didn't expect Jonin Ryosuke to be so brave!"

"Yeah, with Ryosuke Squad here, we can relax. These rogue shinobi don't seem like much of a threat..."

The caravan members immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Even as they praised them, they did not forget to glance toward Shibi Squad, since not a single shinobi from Shibi Squad had made a move yet.

Watching the "incomparably brave" Ryosuke Squad, Hyuga Satoru clicked his tongue a few times.

Well, it seemed that Tanai Ryosuke was about to have a bad time.

Through the Byakugan's vision, he could clearly see a Jonin hidden among the rogue shinobi. Judging from the amount of chakra, he was certainly no weakling even among Jonin.

Tanai Ryosuke looked down on rogue shinobi because it was widely accepted in the Shinobi World that rogue shinobi were generally inferior to village shinobi. He had treated them as punching bags, never expecting a true expert to be hiding among them.

After all, his squad had neither his Byakugan nor Aburame Shibi's Kikaichū sensory abilities.

"Wu, should we help them?" Uchiha Rin looked at him and asked.

"Since they want to show off, let them." Hyuga Satoru shrugged.

Just then, the battle suddenly changed. Tanai Ryosuke, who had been overpowering the rogue shinobi, suddenly felt a chill from behind him. Startled, he immediately shifted sideways. A sharp flash sliced past, cutting a bloody gash across his lower abdomen.

"Damn it!"

Gritting his teeth, Tanai Ryosuke hurriedly retreated several steps.

In that brief exchange, he had already realized that the shinobi who attacked him was absolutely no weaker than himself.

"Bastard! Was it fun killing my men?"

The attacking shinobi shook the blood from his ninja sword. A scar, like a centipede, ran viciously from his forehead to his chin across his fleshy face, sending a chill through Tanai Ryosuke as he stared at him.

"Fuck, I thought they were pushovers. How did I run into someone this tough?"

Before he could react, the rogue shinobi attacked again. The huge ninja sword came down with overwhelming force, striking repeatedly against the kunai he used to block. The immense impact numbed his arms, forcing him to retreat again and again.

Dodging a slash from the ninja sword, Tanai Ryosuke struggled to look toward his squad members. Without him holding the enemy back, his teammates, who possessed only Chunin and Genin strength, were being suppressed by the rogue shinobi without any chance to fight back.

"Why did I have to show off..."

At that moment, he was on the verge of tears and almost wanted to die...

"Um, Wu... We should help them."

On Shibi Squad's side, Might Duy spoke hesitantly. Although Tanai Ryosuke had humiliated him before, his kind nature would not allow him to watch shinobi from the same village die.

The caravan members had already been stunned by the sudden turn of events. None of their earlier confidence remained, and quite a few were secretly packing their belongings, considering whether to run away early.

Hyuga Satoru looked toward Aburame Shibi. The other man merely watched him expressionlessly. "Don't drag it out too long."

Since Aburame Shibi had spoken, Hyuga Satoru shouted and charged toward the battlefield.

Might Duy and the others rushed over at the same time. Under their powerful suppression, the rogue shinobi, who had previously held the advantage, were steadily forced back.

Hyuga Satoru took out a scroll. As white smoke dissipated, a long ninja sword appeared in his hand.

It was the ninja sword Fang that had been forged when Electromagnetic Force was upgraded!

With one downward slash, accompanied by a crisp metallic clash, the kunai held by a rogue shinobi in a defensive stance snapped cleanly in half. A savage bloody gash spread from his forehead to his chest.

Hyuga Satoru drew a breath. Aside from the Jonin being held back by Tanai Ryosuke, these rogue shinobi were not very strong. They were perfect for practicing his swordsmanship!

A powerful current of air swirled around Might Duy's body, and cross-shaped veins bulged on his forehead. With just one kick, he sent the charging Chunin flying.

"So strong! Is this Dad's strength?"

From the rear, Guy gazed worshipfully at Duy, who was surrounded by gusts of air.

"Guy, this is only the Fourth Gate!" Might Duy gave Guy a thumbs-up, the teeth showing in his grin gleaming brightly.

Watching this scene, Tanai Ryosuke went numb. He had not expected that without Aburame Shibi even making a move, a mere group of Genin could completely suppress those rogue shinobi.

In his distraction, the rogue shinobi fighting him seized the opportunity. With his subordinates being driven back, bloodshot veins filled his eyes as he slashed viciously at Tanai Ryosuke.

Caught defending in haste, Tanai Ryosuke was blasted away by the tremendous force, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

The reversal of the battle once again sent the caravan members' emotions soaring and plunging like a roller coaster.

"S-so strong... I never expected Lord Shibi's squad members to be this powerful."

"I underestimated that watermelon-head before. He's actually this strong?"

"With them taking action, we should be safe now, right?"

Among the caravan, Aburame Shibi watched Hyuga Satoru lazily swing his ninja sword and frowned slightly before shaking his head.

"That Wu. I told him to finish quickly, but he's using this chance to practice swordsmanship. Too slow."

Drawing a breath, he slowly raised his palm. A dense swarm of insects erupted wildly from his sleeves, like a cloud of black mist.

"What's that sound?"

The caravan members turned back in confusion, only for their scalps to go numb. A sky-filling mass of black insects buzzed loudly as it swept past them and pounced on the rogue shinobi in battle.

In an instant!

Screams rang out without end.

Nearly every rogue shinobi was enveloped by the pitch-black insects, rolling painfully on the ground and letting out shrill wails.

"Teacher made a move. Now I can't slack off while practicing swordsmanship."

Seeing the enemy before him swallowed by Kikaichū, Hyuga Satoru clicked his tongue helplessly and put away his ninja sword.

Tanai Ryosuke struggled to block the descending ninja sword, his body forced back again and again by the immense impact. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

At the critical moment, a buzzing filled the air. A mass of Kikaichū instantly enveloped the Jonin, forming a massive black sphere as screams continuously echoed from within.

"Secret Technique! Insect Sphere!"

Aburame Shibi formed a hand seal. The black sphere abruptly contracted, and the screams came to a sudden stop.

The battlefield suddenly fell silent. Only the buzzing of the insect swarm flying through the air remained. The caravan members' Adam's apples trembled as they stared blankly at the rogue shinobi on the ground, reduced to nothing but skeletons by the insects.

That was... it?