Just before Shibi Aburame's kikaichū were completely wiped out, the second generation finally hatched.
These newly emerged kikaichū were truly extraordinary—not only larger and longer than their predecessors, but with far sharper mandibles as well.
In moments, they were trading blows evenly with Kamizuru Heici's hornets.
"Sometimes I really gotta hand it to you Aburame. You guys are absolutely ruthless—using your own bodies as living bug farms. No wonder you're all skin and bones, wrapping yourselves up like mummies. What, too ashamed to show your faces?" Heici taunted.
"Hmph! Like you're any fatter!" Shibi shot back.
The Aburame clan's practice of hosting kikaichū colonies within their own bodies was a double-edged sword.
Body and bugs lived in perfect symbiosis—the host provided shelter and chakra nourishment while the insects offered reconnaissance, detoxification, and combat support. But the downsides were equally obvious. Being unsightly was the least of their problems; sustaining massive bug colonies drained enormous amounts of chakra, and their bodies were riddled with holes from constant insect activity. Most Aburame ninja didn't live long lives.
The upgraded kikaichū quickly turned the tide. The aerial swarms looked like two giant hands locked in arm wrestling, with the black kikaichū rapidly gaining the upper hand.
"Heh, not bad at all. But if I don't get serious, you'll never understand the true terror of the hornet clan."
Heici put his finger to his lips and blew a high-frequency whistle. A small squadron of black hornets shot from his hive—smaller in size but lightning-fast. The black hornets tore into the kikaichū swarm like blazing sun melting snow, shattering their formation instantly.
"Time to add some spice! Killer Hornet—release!"
Heici formed hand seals as the hornet tattoo on his chest began glowing, then transformed into a crimson hornet.
He'd actually sealed a hornet inside his own chest!
"Don't say I never did anything nice for you. This killer hornet took me ten years to breed, made specially for you. Enjoy every second!"
The crimson killer hornet shot into the swarm like a spark from a bonfire.
Killer hornet! The name alone screamed danger! One sting could mean death. He absolutely couldn't let it get close.
Shibi locked onto the red killer hornet, commanding his kikaichū to swarm it with everything they had.
His formation collapsed instantly. Countless hornets broke through the "bug wall," diving at Shibi with vicious stings.
In no time, Shibi's head was covered in welts, swollen like a pig's head.
He desperately commanded his internal kikaichū to detoxify the venom while struggling to hold out, refusing to let the killer hornet get within striking distance.
"Aburame Pighead! Hahahaha! Don't worry, this is just collecting interest. We'll settle our century-old debt bit by bit!"
Venom clouded his mind. Shibi felt dizzy, Heici's arrogant laughter echoing in his ears.
—————————————————
Compared to the edge battle between Heici and Shibi, the center battlefield was even more intense.
Leading Konoha's vanguard charge were the Hyuga brothers, Hiashi and Hizashi.
With their nearly omniscient Byakugan, the perfect offense-defense balance of Gentle Fist and Rotation, plus their seamless teamwork, they quickly carved a gap through Sunagakure's forces. Many Suna ninja were sent flying.
But soon they encountered serious opposition.
"Eight Extremes: Sealed Closure!"
Four streams of high-speed rotating air collided and tangled, instantly kicking up a sandstorm that made nearby ninja struggle to stay on their feet.
Both Konoha and Suna forces instinctively cleared a fighting space. When masters clashed, getting caught in the crossfire was often fatal.
After some time, the storm subsided and sand settled.
Standing before the Hyuga brothers was another pair of twins.
"Who are you?!" Hizashi called out.
Before them stood two young men wearing Suna headbands and black combat uniforms. They had powerful, athletic builds—broad shoulders, narrow waists, tall and muscular like fitness instructors carved from stone. Their jaws were set, temples bulging, arms corded with muscle. Clearly masters of external martial arts.
"Xuechi Gao'ao!"
"Xuechi Gao'yi!"
The brothers answered in unison.
These were the real names of Earthly Branches Dahuangluo and Dunzang—members of the Red Eye clan, as their names suggested.
Not only that, they were also cousins of Xuechi Gaojin, intelligence chief of Yuexi Peninsula, talents discovered by Jinghang from Moon Lake District's ninja academy.
As a bloodline even rarer than the Byakugan, the Red Eye received Jinghang's highest attention during Sunagakure's first immigration wave. Are you kidding? Those were Red Eyes! Natural enemies of the Byakugan! Not only could they see through objects, but they could sense power and danger, use chakra to create illusions that interfered with the Byakugan, and their chakra observation abilities were even more overpowered than the Byakugan.
Kirigakure truly sat on a treasure trove without knowing it. Instead of protecting such rare bloodlines, they persecuted and slaughtered them. When the Red Eye clan fled to Sunagakure's Moon Lake District, their numbers were even more depleted than the Kamizuru—barely a dozen people total, with almost no able-bodied adults. Only Xuechi Gaojin, Gao'yi, and Gao'ao were half-grown boys; the rest were elderly, women, and children. This was considered an early rescue—wait another ten or twenty years, and the clan would've been down to just Ranmaru.
For such a precious bloodline family, Jinghang gave explicit instructions to Maki, then the highest official of Moon Lake District: preferential treatment! Maximum preferential treatment!
The Xuechi clan not only received land and housing, free medical care, but even enjoyed Jinghang's special annual dividend of one-thousandth of Yuexi Peninsula's dry shares. Don't underestimate that fraction—it meant nearly ten million ryo in cash annually.
The three Xuechi brothers were deeply grateful, studying hard at the ninja academy, training relentlessly, always ready to serve the Kazekage and village.
The three brothers lived up to expectations, all graduating early through advanced placement exams. Gaojin was already thriving in his career, rising through Intelligence and Secretariat positions to become Maki's right-hand man on Yuexi Peninsula, with unlimited future prospects.
Gao'yi and Gao'ao were no slouches either. With exceptional talent and solid strength, both were selected for the village's Earthly Branches Plan, becoming absolute core fighters. Truly a family of three prodigies!
"Byakugan, activate!"
The Hyuga brothers activated their Byakugan to probe their opponents.
"What?!"
After looking, the brothers exchanged incredulous glances.
What was this? Why was everything in front of them a pixelated mess?
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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