In front of Lishi Fortress, Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kazekage Jinghang were locked in fierce combat, while Minato Namikaze and Sasori battled to a deadly stalemate. The other sub-battlefields weren't idle either—each one staging its own life-and-death struggle.
Ninja have a way of finding their perfect opponents.
Shibi Aburame stood with hands tucked in his pockets, pitch-black sunglasses concealing his gaze, his stylish hair making him look even more intimidating.
Before him stood a lean young man with a beehive strapped to his back.
The boy had short brown hair and a wiry, athletic build. He wore a brown leather vest over black leather pants, a toothpick dangling from his lips. A fierce hornet tattoo covered his bare chest. Arms crossed, he stood there with cocky swagger—like some nightclub bouncer spoiling for a fight.
"You're from the Kamizuru clan?"
Surprisingly, it was Shibi who broke the silence.
"That's right. Kamizuru Heici."
This was Konton's real name—grandnephew of Kamizuru Yunza, Sunagakure's Minister of Finance.
"Mm."
Shibi didn't say much more, scanning the chaotic battlefield.
"Let's find somewhere else."
"Good idea. No point dragging innocents into this."
Instantly, both men were enveloped by massive swarms of insects, the air filling with a thunderous, cacophonous buzz of beating wings.
Step by step, they walked toward the battlefield's edge. Fighting ninja along their path stopped mid-combat, instinctively clearing a path before resuming their battles once the two had passed.
Everyone knew better than to mess with bug users.
After walking for some time, they reached an empty sand dune.
"How's this spot?" Heici asked.
"Perfect," Shibi nodded.
"A centuries-old grudge should finally be settled. Shall we begin?" Heici said.
"Let's do this."
Both men simultaneously extended their hands toward each other.
"Insect Release: Bug Tornado!"
"Bee Release: Hive Storm!"
In an instant, two swarms—one yellow, one black—shot skyward, clashing without hesitation in a deafening hum. Dead insects began raining down continuously.
As two of the ninja world's rare insect controllers, the Aburame and Kamizuru clans seemed naturally destined to be enemies. Their conflicts began even before the Five Great Shinobi Villages were established. Later, the Aburame joined Konoha while the Kamizuru allied with Iwagakure.
The clans' greatest conflict erupted during the First Great Ninja War. Back then, Iwa-nin launched an assault on Konoha, with the Kamizuru serving as the vanguard. They planned to use bees to create chaos within Konoha before launching their attack, but the Aburame detected the plot in advance. What followed was one of history's rarest insect-control battles—a brutal clash that ended with Aburame victory. This triumph solidified the Aburame's position in Konoha, but left the Kamizuru cast into the cold by Iwagakure.
A clan's decline is terrifying in the ninja world. Scorned by the Tsuchikage and their village, the Kamizuru were constantly relegated to shock trooper and cannon fodder roles. Their talent gradually withered away. By Kamizuru Yunza's generation, the entire clan—young and old combined—numbered fewer than a hundred. At this rate, in a few decades, this bloodline would vanish into history's river.
Fortunately, Sunagakure extended an olive branch. Yunza steeled his heart and led most of his clan to join Third Kazekage Jinghang. Initially, it wasn't about changing allegiances—just clan survival, putting eggs in different baskets.
Who could have predicted that Kazekage Jinghang would value the Kamizuru clan so highly? He not only provided land and housing, but also gave the clan's children proper education. (At the time, the newly developed Moon Lake District made land and houses relatively worthless.) Yunza himself was entrusted with the crucial role of Sunagakure's Finance Minister. Treat me as a man of worth, and I'll repay you as one. From then on, the Kamizuru became devoted supporters of Third Kazekage Jinghang and faithful believers in the Will of Wind. Many clan members served in the standing army, and Heici was even selected as one of the Twelve Earthly Branches.
"Huh? Something's not right!"
Shibi gradually noticed the problem. His kikaichū swarm clearly outnumbered the opposing bee colony, yet they were steadily losing ground in the aerial battle. Most of the insects hitting the ground were his own kikaichū corpses.
"Heh, starting to get a taste of it, are you!"
Heici wore a wicked grin.
"Impossible! Bees can't have this kind of combat power!"
Shibi carefully examined the bee corpses on the ground.
Then he discovered...
"These aren't bees at all! These are hornets!"
Heici burst into laughter, making faces at Shibi.
Hornets—also called wasps—are narrow-waisted suborder insects. Carnivorous, fierce, and aggressive by nature. Large-bodied, long, and highly venomous. If bees are like gentle sheep, hornets are vicious wolves. A few hornets can wipe out an entire beehive. On the insect combat power rankings, they're easily top ten. There's even a poem: "Green snake's mouth, hornet's tail; neither as toxic as a wicked heart"—highlighting just how deadly hornet venom can be.
The problem is, these things are impossible to domesticate!
Yet the young man before him had somehow managed it.
Heici removed the massive beehive from his back and opened it, revealing a huge lotus-shaped nest inside—a hornet's nest!
The beehive was just camouflage!
"Heh, none of Sunagakure's Twelve Earthly Branches are pushovers," Heici boasted, wagging his finger arrogantly.
"Don't get cocky too early! Secret Technique: Insect Cocoon!"
Shibi sat cross-legged on the ground. His kikaichū in the sky stopped battling the hornet swarm and instead began wrapping him layer by layer.
"Oh ho, planning on a second generation already? Well don't blame me for beating a dog when it's down! Bee Release: Hornet Cluster!"
The hornet swarm in the sky formed into arrow-like clusters, striking viciously at the thoroughly wrapped Shibi. Kikaichū began falling in droves, carpeting the ground with their corpses.
"Tough little bastard, just you wait!"
Shibi gritted his teeth, struggling to hold on.
Actually, Heici was right—he really was incubating a second generation of kikaichū.
At this moment, beneath that wide cloak, countless insect cocoons were gestating. Shibi was using his own chakra to nourish them, accelerating their rapid development.
This second generation of kikaichū would carry antibodies against hornet venom. Once they successfully hatched, they might very well turn the tide.
But could he hold out until the insects emerged?
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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