"Die!"
Amidst a brutal low growl, Sanshouyv Shindaa instantly appeared behind three Konoha ninja, slashing his scythe horizontally across their waists.
"Screech!"
The wide, sharp scythe blade swept through the waists of the three Konoha ninja, meeting no resistance. Before they could even scream, their bodies split into six halves.
"Hmph!"
"Is this the level of Konoha ninja?"
"They're so weak, it makes one want to..."
Before Sanshouyv Shindaa's mocking words could finish, the six halves of bodies lying on the ground buzzed and dissolved into a sky full of black dots, surging towards him.
"What is this?"
Sanshouyv Shindaa's pupils contracted. Before he could react to the sudden turn of events, he heard a series of screams from the Amegakure squad behind him.
"Ah!"
"Damn it, I'm being attacked, so many bugs!"
"What's going on? My chakra is disappearing!"
"It's these bugs, they're devouring my chakra!"
Upon hearing this, Sanshouyv Shindaa's heart leaped. He quickly used a Shunshin to escape the bugs pouncing at him.
"Bugs that can devour chakra?"
"Konoha's insect-controlling ninja, from the Aburame clan?"
"To have such an ability, damn it, I was careless!"
"Immediately use ninjutsu to deal with these bugs. We've been discovered, retreat!"
Sanshouyv Shindaa looked at the chaotic Konoha camp in the distance, knowing his surprise attack plan had failed today. He cursed angrily and gave the order to retreat.
Three Aburame clan ninja stood on a tree, looking down at the Amegakure ninja scrambling to clear the parasitic bugs below.
"I'm sorry, your ninjutsu probably can't hurt my bugs!"
The leader, Aburame Shibi, extended his arm, which glowed with a purplish-black luster, controlling countless invisible nanoscopic venomous insects that swarmed out of his body.
"If you have to ask why..."
"Nanoscopic venomous insects only fear high-level fire style ninjutsu!"
"And based on the intelligence transmitted by the parasitic bugs, there are no ninjutsu users skilled in fire style among you."
"The mission assigned by Lord Orochimaru is to eliminate all Amegakure ninja who have infiltrated near the camp, so..."
Aburame Shibi's figure instantly dispersed, turning into a cloud of nanoscopic insects that swooped down towards the Amegakure ninja below, who were wailing under the attack of the parasitic bugs from the other two clan members.
The other two Aburame clan Chunin naturally launched their attacks. Although their parasitic bugs lacked the terrifying lethality of Aburame Shibi's nanoscopic venomous insects, their ability to devour chakra and their near-terrifying reproduction speed were enough to give these Amegakure allied forces, who had seen little of the world, a tough time.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, and with no movement from the subordinates sent to other directions of the Konoha camp, Sanshouyv Shindaa gritted his teeth unwillingly and unleashed a large-scale, indiscriminate water style ninjutsu.
Although nearly two hundred hidden ninja wailed as they were battered by the fierce current, a portion of the Amegakure ninja with decent abilities managed to break free from the entanglement of the parasitic bugs and fled madly in the direction of Amegakure.
Sanshouyv Shindaa himself didn't dare to face the nanoscopic venomous insects directly, and followed the fleeing Amegakure ninja out.
Counterattack?
Every move he made was under the surveillance of the bugs. The surprise attack was clearly useless. Moreover, the previous attack had proven that these Aburame clan ninja were quite skilled at preserving their lives.
They could turn their bodies into insect clones at any time. With Sanshouyv Shindaa's abilities, there was currently no particularly good way to counter them.
If Hanzo were here and sprayed a mouthful of Hanzō's poison, there might be unexpected effects.
But he, he really couldn't do it!
One hundred and forty-six!
Aburame Shibi reappeared amidst the forest filled with Amegakure corpses. The insects had counted the number of Amegakure casualties. Nearly one hundred and twenty Amegakure ninja corpses had a purplish-black glow of deadly poison, emitting a foul, rotting odor.
The power of just three Aburame insect controllers had left more than half of Sanshouyv Shindaa's Amegakure allied forces behind.
The two Aburame clan Chunin recalled their parasitic bugs and observed them carefully. After confirming that no nanoscopic venomous insects from Aburame Shibi were mixed in, they carefully retracted the parasitic bugs back into the insect nests within their bodies.
"Lord Shibi, aren't we going to pursue?"
Aburame Shibi gently shook his head and also recalled his nano-insects. Allowing these insects, which could easily kill a ninja, to burrow into his body, a rare smile appeared on Aburame Shibi's face beneath his sunglasses.
"Lord Orochimaru said that these Amegakure allied forces are complex in composition, like a pile of loose sand."
"Killing some and letting some go can showcase Konoha's strength, and also dampen Amegakure's morale."
"Perhaps, without lifting a finger, we can dismantle the alliance they formed under Hanzo's deterrence."
"In this way, Konoha ninja casualties might be far fewer than anticipated."
"Even Konoha is not a place where all ninja have the ability to protect themselves on the battlefield. It is naturally the best choice to lose fewer people!"
The two Aburame Chunin suddenly understood, and nodded with admiration on their faces.
"Lord Orochimaru truly lives up to being the commander personally appointed by the Third Hokage. Not only is his strategy brilliant, but he even considers the lives and deaths of ordinary ninja."
"Truly remarkable!"
Aburame Shibi nodded calmly.
Another Chunin remained silent for a while, and then hesitantly asked:
"Lord Shibi, our previous cooperation with the Shimura clan..."
Aburame Shibi glanced at this clan member through his sunglasses, gently shook his head, and said indifferently:
"Cooperating with the Shimura clan was merely to better integrate the Aburame clan into Konoha, and to continue the friendship between the two families from the Warring States period."
"With Danzo gone and the Shimura clan having been dealt with by the Third Hokage, there is no longer any need to continue the cooperation between the Aburame and Shimura families."
"Moreover, the Third Hokage's sudden promotion of Orochimaru to commander, allowing his prestige to rival that of Hatake Sakumo, the meaning is already clear."
"The Aburame clan is a member of Konoha!"
"Whomever represents Konoha, the Aburame clan will attach itself to."
"Since Orochimaru can let bygones be bygones, my Aburame clan naturally won't be ungrateful."
"Shibi, as the successor to the next clan head, you must consider all circumstances when the clan faces important decisions."
"Do you understand?"
Aburame Shibi bowed his head respectfully and replied.
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Shibi. Shibi has noted it down!"
"Mm!"
Aburame Shibi nodded.
"The nanoscopic venomous insects within me are too dangerous, and I can never gain the trust of Konoha's high command."
"But you are different. Your abilities and talent have already been recognized by Lord Orochimaru. The future influence the Aburame clan will have in Konoha depends entirely on your performance."
"You should know what to do, right?"
"Yes!"
"Shibi understands!"
"That's good. I'll be going back now!"
"Shibi, go and ask Lord Orochimaru to send some ninjutsu users skilled in fire style to deal with these poisonous corpses. Our mission for today will then be complete!"
Aburame Shibi gave his instructions and vanished from their sight.