"Today, we'll talk about the Will of Fire," Ebara announced passionately.
"Someone might ask, what's the Will of Fire?"
"It's a will like fire itself."
"Got it? Applause!"
The class erupted in clapping.
But their eyes weren't on Ebara—they were fixed outside the window.
A buzzing sound grew louder.
Countless wasps swarmed outside the classroom, searching for something.
Soon, they found their target, trying to force their way in.
Even locked doors and windows couldn't stop them.
These weren't ordinary bees but chakra-fed special wasps.
"Shino, we'll be okay, right?" Haiichi asked, scalp tingling at the dense swarm outside.
"Don't worry," Shino said smugly. "They're after the queen bee. They won't touch anyone else."
Watching Ebara on the podium, Shino was thrilled.
Let you hire a freak to train us.
Let you mess with us.
Now taste some suffering.
"But your clan deals with bugs, right?" Shikaku asked, puzzled. "Why bees?"
"The Upper Waterfall Clan from the Land of Earth are bee experts," Shino explained with a smirk. "Our Aburame clan has beef with them—both want to prove we're the strongest bug users in the ninja world. So we've studied some of their secrets."
"What happens if those wasps sting him?" Choza asked curiously.
"Teacher Ebara will swell up red, itching and hurting," Shino whispered gleefully. "For the next half hour, he'll want to scratch but can't, want to die but can't. Heaven won't hear him, earth won't respond."
Shino was overjoyed.
If not for fear of Ebara noticing, he'd shout it out.
"Isn't that too harsh on Teacher Ebara?" Mikoto asked, wrinkling her nose.
"Harsh? Is it harsher than what he does to us?" Haiichi gritted his teeth. "He deserves worse. Three hundred ryo—half my allowance—gone to that crook because of him."
Mikoto shook her head. "No, you misunderstood."
"I meant it's not harsh enough."
"Like Teacher Ebara always says: be a wolf—be three times meaner than the meanest."
Shino thought he was already ruthless, but Mikoto wanted more.
"How do we make it three times meaner?" he asked.
"How did Teacher Ebara beat Teacher Mahaya yesterday…" Mikoto asked innocently.
"Hiss!"
Shino, Haiichi, Choza, Shikaku, and Minato all sucked in a breath.
The classroom air seemed to drop a few degrees.
No wonder she was from Konoha's strongest clan.
Ebara, eavesdropping quietly, shivered.
He really wanted to quote the Second Hokage: "Evil Uchihas…"
But soon, he relaxed.
Today, no matter what, he wouldn't be the victim.
Then a crucial thought hit him.
"Shino hasn't used the bathroom, right?"
"If he has… no more Shino Aburame!"
Ebara didn't dare imagine the horror.
Crack!
Under the wasps' assault, the window glass shattered.
Thousands of wasps poured in like a dark cloud, oppressive and dense.
Timid kids huddled in the corners.
Then, the weird part.
The swarm's target wasn't Ebara—it was Shino at his desk!
Shino, who'd been gloating and ready for Ebara's humiliation, never expected this. He froze in shock.
This wasn't the script!
"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullet!"
"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullet!"
Two gusts—one strong, one weak—blew from different directions.
They scattered the wasps.
The weaker gust shielded Shino.
The stronger one swept the wasps out the window like autumn leaves.
Soon, the wasps were gone.
A few stragglers were caught by Shikaku's shadow binding.
"Shino, you okay?" Minato asked, concerned.
"Fine," Shino said blankly.
He still couldn't process why the swarm targeted him, not Ebara.
"What happened?" Shino asked, confused.
Ebara released his seals, smiling at Shino. "Your little trick to prank me? That's kid stuff I played with ages ago. Save it."
They were his students, after all.
Scaring them was fine, but letting wasps sting Shino to agony? Ebara couldn't watch that.
"You caught Ichiro Ginkai?" Haiichi asked, scalp tingling.
Hearing that, Shikaku slapped his forehead.
Bro, you're confessing without a fight?
You're a pig, and a real one!
Ebara sneered. "Hiring a third-rate ninja to steal your teacher's wallet? Who do you think I am?"
"If not for my disinterest in fame, all those 'geniuses' the village praises? Two words from me: taken down!"
Tsunade—he'd already "taken her down."
Well… more like she took him down.
Jiraiya—a few books, and he'd be bedridden.
Bloodless victory.
Well… if Jiraiya held back. If not, not so bloodless.
As for Orochimaru.
Heh!
Thirty years east, thirty years west of the river.
In thirty years, when he becomes Snake Auntie…
Kakashi Hatake!
That guy seemed flawless, like a saint.
Fine, can't take him—take his son later.
When Kakashi Jr. enrolls, humph…
Hatake would beg on his knees.
Ebara looked down on his peers—no one caught his eye!
The kids had no idea what Ebara was thinking.
They were just curious about one thing.
Choza: "But Teacher Ebara, how'd you get the queen bee pheromone on Shino?"
"Did you steal Shino's wallet too?"
Before Ebara could speak, Shino dejectedly pulled something from his desk.
Defeated, he said, "This, right?"
It was the parent notice Minato handed out that morning.
The title was written in queen bee pheromone.
Ebara grinned. "Congrats, you guessed it!"
Shino stood, bowing to Ebara. "Sorry, Teacher Ebara, I was wrong… Ahh!"
Shino suddenly screamed, face twisting, curling like a bug on the floor.
"What's wrong?" Minato asked.
"One got away… crawled into my pants…" Shino gritted through the pain.
He suddenly understood yesterday's "Naoya."