The three of them simultaneously turned toward the source of the voice.
Then they saw an utterly horrifying scene.
Aburame Shiken's body slowly walked forward, picked up its own head, and placed it back onto its neck.
"Ugh, put it on backwards. Good thing that's easy to fix."
Crack.
With a sharp snap, Aburame Shiken's head finally twisted back into the correct position.
"Hiss—"
Not one, but three sharp breaths of cold air ran from the tops of their heads straight down to their feet.
Was this really something they were supposed to see in the ninja world?
Aburame Shiken kept adjusting his body as if nothing was wrong.
"The compatibility's surprisingly good. These new bugs aren't bad at all. Pretty useful."
Then he looked toward A and Killer B.
The two of them instinctively stepped back at the same time.
No matter who it was, anyone would feel a moment of fear upon seeing an inhuman monster like that.
But after the initial shock, A immediately reacted.
"B. If killing him once isn't enough, then kill him twice."
"Got it."
At the same time, Killer B communicated with the Eight-Tails inside him.
"Eight, I might need your power in a bit."
"No problem. Use it whenever. I also want to figure out what that guy really is."
The Eight-Tails stared fixedly at Aburame Shiken.
It felt like it had seen a creature like this before… but for some reason, it just couldn't remember where.
"You're still not retreating? That stubborn Cloud ninja mentality is the most annoying thing. Good thing we planned anti-Cloud strategies first during the last two wars."
"Multiple Insect Clones."
Aburame Shiken rapidly formed hand seals.
One crimson kikaichū after another swarmed in from every direction, gathering together into insect clones.
"There's more than one of these monsters? Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
Unlike A, who still hesitated, Killer B acted decisively.
His blade wrapped in violent Lightning Release chakra slashed straight toward one of the freshly formed insect clones.
Electric currents crackled wildly.
The insect clone was slowly split in half—
But then another horrifying thing happened.
The severed clone didn't disperse. Instead, it began regenerating.
It even wrapped itself around Killer B's blade, locking it firmly inside its body.
Killer B immediately let go and jumped back.
"Every single one of them's the same kind of monster, bastard!"
"What? B, retreat!"
A made the decision instantly.
Against immortal monsters like these, charging recklessly was suicide.
The three Cloud ninja rapidly withdrew.
Once the danger had passed, Jiraiya asked curiously:
"Shiken, you really just let them leave that easily?"
That didn't sound like the Aburame Shiken he knew.
The moment Jiraiya finished speaking, all the insect clones suddenly collapsed apart, leaving only the original clone behind.
"I mean, Jiraiya-sensei, aren't you overestimating me a little? This base hasn't even been established for that long. How many tricks do you think I have?"
"Uh… I always thought you were the strongest among your generation."
Jiraiya wasn't just flattering him.
He genuinely believed it.
After all, he had interacted with most of Minato's generation one way or another.
But whenever there was an extremely difficult mission that absolutely had to succeed, the person everyone trusted most was always Aburame Shiken.
Most importantly…
No matter what kind of mission it was, Aburame Shiken's clothes never seemed to get dirty.
At first glance, that sounded insignificant.
But the more you thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
(Aburame Shiken: Has nobody considered that when my insect clones disperse and reform, the clothes regenerate too?)
...
"Secret Technique: Poison Insect Sphere!"
"Konoha's bug user! Everyone, retreat!"
Baki hurriedly shouted orders.
But it was already too late.
More than a dozen Sand ninja had collapsed to their knees, screaming in agony.
Their skin rapidly turned purple and began rotting away.
Seeing this, Baki could only grit his teeth and prepare to retreat with the few remaining Sand ninja beside him.
But within the empty forest, a sharp sound suddenly rang out.
"Lightning Release: Chidori!"
Hatake Kakashi suddenly appeared.
Violent lightning surged from his left hand as he thrust it directly through Baki's chest in an instant.
Baki coughed up a massive mouthful of blood.
Feeling his body grow weaker and weaker, only one thought remained in his mind.
I'm taking one of them with me.
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
Kakashi watched the Wind Blade rushing toward him at terrifying speed, but there was nothing he could do.
Chidori was a high-speed assassination technique.
Its entire purpose was to kill in a single strike.
If the enemy survived after the attack—
Then the one dying would be him.
And at that exact moment—
"Insect Realm Wall."
Aburame Shikuro instantly arrived with the Body Flicker Technique.
To speed up the activation, he directly coated both arms with Phosphorus Devourer Insects and crossed them in front of Kakashi as a shield.
But Baki was an elite Sand jonin.
His desperate final strike was not something so easily blocked.
In the end, Aburame Shikuro paid the price of both arms and a long scar across his face to save Kakashi.
"Shikuro!!"
Seeing Aburame Shikuro's severed arms, Kakashi panicked completely.
If he hadn't been so reckless trying to claim merit, Shikuro would never have lost both arms saving him.
"Kakashi, stop feeling sorry for yourself and help stop the bleeding first. If you don't, I might die before we finish talking."
"R-right!"
Kakashi hurriedly helped stop the bleeding.
But even after that, his mood remained heavy.
"Quit looking so depressed. It's only two arms. Trading them for your life is completely worth it."
"But… those were your arms."
"Doesn't matter. Besides, shouldn't you hurry up and recover them? Tsunade-sama might be able to reattach them."
"Oh! Right, right!"
Only then did Kakashi suddenly remember.
Konoha had the greatest medical ninja in the world.
Kakashi immediately moved to pick up Aburame Shikuro's severed arms.
The moment Aburame Shikuro saw that, his entire body jolted in fright.
"Hey! Kakashi, be careful! There might still be Phosphorus Devourer Insects on them! Don't tell me I save you only for you to get killed by my bugs afterward. How would I even explain that?"
"Ah!"
Kakashi instantly froze and started patting his chest nervously.
Right… right… almost forgot.
Could he really touch Shikuro's bugs that casually?
Aburame Shikuro was speechless.
Why did it feel like Kakashi became dumber the moment he showed up?
Meanwhile, Kakashi was equally confused.
Why did it feel like he became incredibly impulsive after Shikuro arrived?
Could it be—
Could it be!!
Aburame Shikuro and Hatake Kakashi secretly exchanged a glance.
Through this silent connection, they both arrived at the exact same conclusion.
It had to be Kakashi's problem.
It had to be Shikuro's problem.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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