The Terrifying Aburame Shibi

Land of Fire forest.

Seeing Shibi's team stop, the caravan members froze for a moment and asked, "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 it."

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 cautiously at Aburame Shibi. "Lord Shibi, should we go around?"

"Either way is fine," Aburame Shibi said expressionlessly.

Either way was fine? The caravan leader was dumbfounded. What did that even mean? Were they moving forward or not? They had offered so much precious food to curry favor with him—he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

Just then, a group of ninjas suddenly rushed out from the woods ahead of the caravan. Kunai in hand, their faces vicious, their exposed skin covered in scars, they grinned savagely as they surrounded the convoy.

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

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

Most of the caravan members were ordinary people. They had never seen anything like this before, and they immediately began trembling, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"Are they rogue ninjas?"

"Why are there so many rogue ninjas? We're done for."

Hyuga Satoru narrowed his eyes. So-called rogue ninjas generally referred to ninjas who had defected from their villages, or those with no affiliation. Compared with ordinary ninjas, they were far more vicious from years of wandering. They survived by robbery and plunder, making them the people caravan merchants feared most.

In the original story, Zabuza and Haku, whom the protagonist encountered on his first mission, had been a pair of rogue ninjas.

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

Before Shibi's team could act, Ryosuke's team had already lost its patience. The caravan members' constant fawning over Shibi's team along the way had nearly filled their rage meters to the limit.

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

"A bunch of rogue ninjas dare strut around in front of me?"

Captain Tanai Ryosuke took the lead, gripping a kunai as he charged straight at the rogue ninjas blocking the road, seemingly determined 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 loud shouts, they rushed forward as well.

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

"Yeah, with Ryosuke's team here, we can relax. These rogue ninjas don't seem like much after all..."

The caravan members immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Even as they praised him, they did not forget to glance toward Shibi's team, since not a single ninja from Shibi's team had made a move yet.

Watching Ryosuke's "incomparably heroic" team, Hyuga Satoru clicked his tongue a few times.

Well, it looked like that Tanai Ryosuke was about to have some bad luck.

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

Tanai Ryosuke had underestimated the rogue ninjas because it was widely accepted in the Shinobi World that rogue ninjas were generally weaker than village ninjas. He had treated them as punching bags, never expecting a formidable expert to be hiding among them.

After all, his team had neither Satoru's Byakugan nor Aburame Shibi's Destruction Bug sensory abilities.

"Satoru, should we step in?" Uchiha Rin looked at him and asked.

"If they want to show off, then let them," Hyuga Satoru said with a shrug.

Just then, the battle suddenly shifted. Tanai Ryosuke, who had been suppressing the rogue ninjas, suddenly felt a chill from behind. He hastily shifted aside, but a sharp flash of steel cut across him, tearing a bloody gash through his lower abdomen.

"Damn it!"

Gritting his teeth, Tanai Ryosuke hurriedly retreated several steps.

In that brief instant of exchange, he realized that the ninja who had attacked him was no weaker than he was.

"Bastard! Was it fun killing my men?"

The attacking ninja flicked the blood from his ninja blade. A scar ran like a centipede 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 soft targets. How did I run into a tough one?"

Before he could react, the rogue ninja attacked again. The massive ninja blade struck with tremendous force, pounding against the kunai he used to defend himself. The impact numbed his arms and forced him to retreat again and again.

Dodging a slash from the ninja blade, Tanai Ryosuke struggled to look toward his teammates. Without him holding the enemy back, his teammates—who possessed only Chunin and Genin-level strength—were being utterly suppressed by the rogue ninjas, unable to fight back at all.

Why did I have to show off...

At that moment, he wanted to cry but had no tears. He practically wanted to die...

"Um, Satoru... we should help them."

On Shibi's side, Might Duy spoke hesitantly. Although Tanai Ryosuke had humiliated him earlier, Duy was too kind-hearted to watch fellow village ninjas die.

The caravan members had already been stunned by the sudden turn of events. None of them retained their earlier confidence, and quite a few were secretly packing their belongings, considering whether to flee ahead of time.

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

Since even Aburame Shibi had spoken, Hyuga Satoru gave a shout and charged toward the battlefield.

Might Duy and the others rushed in at the same time. Under their powerful assault, the rogue ninjas, who had originally held the upper hand, began retreating step by step.

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

It was Fang, the ninja blade he had forged when his Electromagnetic Force upgraded!

With a single downward slash, accompanied by a crisp clang of metal, the kunai in the hands of a rogue ninja who had raised it defensively snapped cleanly in half. A vicious bloody gash spread from his forehead to his chest.

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

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

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

From behind, Guy watched Duy, wrapped in gusting air, with worship in his eyes.

"Guy, this is only the Fourth Gate!" Might Duy gave Guy a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming at the corner of his smile.

Watching this, Tanai Ryosuke went completely numb. He had never expected that without Aburame Shibi even lifting a finger, merely a group of Genin would completely suppress those rogue ninjas.

That moment of distraction gave his opponent an opening. Seeing his subordinates retreat, bloodshot veins filled the rogue ninja's eyes as he swung viciously at Tanai Ryosuke.

Caught defending in haste, Tanai Ryosuke was blasted backward by the immense force, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

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

"Th-they're incredible. I never thought the members of Lord Shibi's team would be this strong."

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

"With them stepping in, we should be safe now, right?"

Among the caravan, Aburame Shibi watched Hyuga Satoru halfheartedly wielding his ninja blade and could not help frowning slightly. He shook his head.

"This Satoru... I told him to end it quickly, yet he's using the chance to practice swordsmanship. Too slow."

Taking a breath, he slowly raised his palm. A dense swarm of insects poured crazily from his sleeves, like a cloud of black mist.

"What's that sound?"

The caravan members turned around in confusion, only for their scalps to go numb. Countless black insects buzzed through the air, sweeping past them in an instant as they pounced upon the rogue ninjas still fighting.

In an instant!

Screams rang out without end.

Nearly all the rogue ninjas were wrapped in swarming black insects. They rolled about on the ground in agony, releasing shrill wails.

"Sensei made his move. Now I can't slack off and practice swordsmanship anymore."

Seeing the enemy before him swallowed by Destruction Bugs, Hyuga Satoru clicked his tongue helplessly and sheathed his ninja blade.

Tanai Ryosuke struggled to block the descending ninja blade, his body continuously forced back by the immense impacts. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

At the critical moment, a buzzing filled the air. Dense Destruction Bugs instantly wrapped around the Jonin, forming a huge black sphere as unceasing screams came from within.

"Secret Technique! Insect Sphere!"

Aburame Shibi formed a hand seal. The black sphere suddenly contracted, and the screams abruptly stopped.

The battlefield suddenly fell silent, leaving only the buzzing of insect swarms flying overhead. The caravan members' Adam's apples trembled as they stared blankly at the rogue ninjas on the ground, who had been eaten down to nothing but skeletons.

That was... over?