42 Unknown Assailants

The air was charged with tension, and a sense of impending danger hung over the forest. The silence was deafening, broken only by the rustling of leaves and the occasional snap of a twig.

Shino's eyes narrowed as he sensed movement in the shadows. It was clear that tonight would not pass without a fight.

In the blink of an eye, a squad of ninjas emerged from behind the trees of the dark forest. Clad in black garments and adorned with bone-white masks, it was difficult not to affiliate their signature outfits with the Anbus.

However, they had no ninja forehead protectors, signature spiral tattoos, nor the recognizable grey flak jacket, so they might not necessarily belong to Konoha.

Others would find it difficult to surmise their origins, but Shino's intuition was already leading him down a path of speculation. It could only be from that place.

These mysterious assailants exuded a menacing aura that could chill even the most seasoned ninja to the bone. Although armed and appearing ready for battle, their eyes darted with caution over the duo they now faced.

Shino could feel the weight of their gaze, and Shino's mind raced with possibilities of their motives and the probability of hidden hunters in the dark.

Regardless, one thing was for sure, this was not going to be a run-of-the-mill encounter.

"Fang over Fang!"

The air was split by a resounding declaration as a duo drilled through the air, leaving a trail of energy in their wake as they burst forth from the depths of the forest. At the end of their powerful drill was a masked ninja, their victim caught at the tip and unable to escape.

Boom! A thunderous boom echoed through the forest as the twirling duo smashed the enemy into the ground, with the tornado-like trail fading in the air behind them.

The force of impact caused the enemy's body to contort in pain as blood spurted from his mouth!

The drilling attack continued relentlessly, showering the area with a gruesome spray of blood. The sound of cracking glass filled the air as the victim's mask shattered into countless pieces, scattering on the forest floor as the ninja's body became limp, losing all signs of life.

The wind unfurled as the remaining power of the drill dissipated. Kiba gracefully leapt back, flipping through the air before landing on all fours. His claws left deep grooves in the earth as he slid back due to his momentum, but he was already prepared for the next attack.

Akamaru landed on his back with perfect balance and growled menacingly at the enemy ninjas, warning them not to make any rash moves.

"I'm not done yet!" Kiba's body leapt into the air, his hands sealing, "Inuzaka Style: Man-Beast Transformation Combo!"

In a seamless synchrony, Kiba and Akamaru initiate their transformation, a breathtaking spectacle that causes their bodies to merge and fuse, creating a fearsome hybrid form. Their muscles bulge with enhanced strength, their fangs gleaming with an insatiable hunger for victory.

The Man-Beast Transformation engulfs them in a swirling vortex of chakra, blending human and beast into a single entity of pure power, an enormous, monstrous two-headed dog!

"Two-Headed Wolf!"

With newfound agility and speed, Kiba bounds across the battlefield like a predator in pursuit of its prey. His razor-sharp claws tear through enemy defenses, rending flesh and bone with lethal precision. The enemy ninjas were cleared out, vanishing in puffs of smoke!

The monstrous wolf screeched to a halt, drool leaking from its menacing teeth as it growled towards the dark forest.

"Do it."

Amidst the eerie calmness of the shadows, a single command shattered the stillness. In an instant, the previously hidden ninjas sprang into action, launching a coordinated attack on the trio.

Shino didn't hesitate. In a swift motion, he signaled his insects to attack.

The buzzing swarm descended upon the incoming enemy ninjas, who dodged and weaved with agility. But Shino was not one to give up easily, and he had a few more tricks up his sleeve.

Shino's eyes glinted with determination as he watched an enemy ninja approach him in mid-air.

Without missing a beat, he whipped out a kunai from his holster and sent it hurtling towards his target with a swift flick of his wrist. The kunai sliced through the air, its trajectory aimed with deadly precision at the masked figure.

Seeing the explosive tag on the incoming kunai, the approaching ninja sneered and grabbed it with his hand. His eyes then flickered over to Kiba who was drilling towards him,

The approaching ninja sneered as he noticed the explosive tag on the incoming kunai.

However, instead of evading it, he grabbed it with his hand and decided to teach its sender a lesson. His eyes flickered over to Kiba, who was rushing towards him with intense force.

The ninja's eyes flickered with a mocking glint as he taunted Shino with his words. "Return it to you."

Swish! The kunai streaked through the air towards Kiba, its explosive tag igniting in a blaze. Kiba continued his rapid advance towards the ninja, seemingly unaware of the danger hurtling towards him.

The kunai may seem harmless, but the resulting explosive force threatened to engulf Kiba in its flames, and the ninja sneered as he could imagine the impending chaos.

Just as the ninja redirected his attention back to deal with Shino, his eyes narrowed with surprise and confusion as Kiba continued his unimpeded charge towards him. The kunai was deflected out of the way by the wolf's tough fur, and it didn't explode!

"Nani?!"

Bam! The ninja was caught off guard and had no time to react as Kiba's claws struck him with a powerful impact, sending him crashing to the ground with a loud thud, just like his companion. Without hesitating to admire his success, Kiba had deftly launched forward towards another enemy ninja!

The ninja struggled to get up, blood leaking from his now unmasked face as he glared at the kunai with the burned up tag. "Fake?!" he growled in disbelief, realizing that he had been tricked.

"And for the finishing touch. Hah!"

A sudden gust of wind swept through the area, and the enemy ninja barely had time to react as a powerful blow struck him hard from behind, shattering his chakra network and causing blood to spurt out of his mouth.

Cough-

The ninja toppled over to the ground, revealing the usually kindhearted Hinata. But now, there was no trace of mercy in her gaze. Her white eyes reflected a steely determination as she watched the ninja collapse to the ground.

They were the enemy, and there was no room for hesitation or compassion.

Unlike the original Hinata, the Hinata now seemed to have been subtly influenced by someone, her original hesitant attitude regarding confrontation altered to a determined one. The consequences of this change were unknown, but the benefits were already showing during this combat.

Swoosh! With a swift flicker, a ninja appeared beside Hinata, poised to strike with a deadly kunai!

But Hinata, with her senses granted by her Byakugan and her reflexes honed from rigorous training, anticipated the attack and sidestepped it effortlessly.

Without missing a beat, she thrust her chakra-coated palms behind her, unleashing a powerful counter-attack that seemingly struck air. A low-level mistake could prove fatal in battle, but was it a miss?

Suddenly - Rumbling out of the ground, another ninja made a surprise ambush on Hinata from behind!

However, to his surprise, Hinata's prediction resulted in him delivering straight himself into her waiting palm. With a resounding slap, Hinata's strike connected with precision, leaving the stunned ninja shuddering in defeat.

"Hah!" Hinata's chakra-coated palm precisely slammed against the man's chest, and a burst of crimson erupted from his mouth as he was sent hurtling back through the air. An adept ambush was easily countered by Hinata within mere seconds!

Not only that, as if she had eyes on her back, Hinata moved with the grace of a dancer, evading the incoming swing of a kunai with fluid ease.

With a swift pivot of her foot, she rotated herself beside the female ninja, arms extended like wings. Her Byakugan trembled with ferocity, locking onto the chakra points of her victim.

In a flurry of movements, her palms began to strike with pinpoint accuracy, hitting the enemy's chakra points one after the other. "Eight Triagrams: 16 palms!" she announced with conviction, "Two palms!"

"Four palms!" A drop of sweat rolled down Hinata's forehead.

"Eight palms! Hah!" Hinata gritted her teeth and delivered. "Six. Teen. Palms!"

At that point, the kunoichi had already collapsed!

Bam! Kiba's claws tore into another ambushing ninja before he slid to a stop besides Hinata, both heads staring over towards his companion. "Grrr."

"I can still go on, Kiba-kun!" Hinata declared firmly, breathing heavily.

However, her hands didn't stop, tossing out a kunai with an explosive tag before she returned to her Gentle Fist stance.

Naturally, her explosive tag was real.

Boom!

As he battled, Shino watched with satisfaction as his teammates took down their enemies with practiced ease. As he observed their progress, he realized that his once-vital role as a support was becoming obsolete.

The team had come so far, and he could trust them to handle any situation that came their way.

Their teamwork had evolved into a seamless flow, their movements and strategies synchronized with a precision that spoke of months of training and camaraderie. The explosive tag ruse was just one example of their tacit understanding.

Yes, his explosive tags were fake. Shino had crafted them himself, and it was all part of their team's carefully orchestrated plan.

In the shadows of secrecy, Shino made a daring decision. Though his father had entrusted him with a vast supply of explosive tags for his missions and safety, Shino had other plans.

Determined to finance his secret base construction, he had secretly sold off the explosive tags.

To avoid being questioned, Shino fabricated fake ones to keep up appearances.

Naturally, they were merely decorative... at first. But during a mission, Shino decided to take a risk and use one of his fake explosive tag kunai, resulting in great success.

From then on, the fake explosive tag ruse became an integral part of the team's tactics, with his kunai being deceptions, while the others' kunai served as real deadly gifts.

Shino deftly dodged another incoming barrage of shurikens from the surrounding ninjas. With a quick adjustment of his glasses, he surveyed the situation.

Despite the flurry of incoming shurikens and kunais from all sides, his analytical mind was taking in every detail of the chaotic scene.

Although some went to hinder Hinata and Kiba, Shino had noticed that the group of ninjas were converging on him with deadly intent. The goal was unmistakable, they were after him.

As the ninjas closed in on him, Shino calmly reached for more kunais attached with fake explosive tags. With a flick of his wrist, he launched them towards his attackers.

The ninjas moved with agility, some dodging while others deflected the kunai with apparent ease, confident that they won't explode.

Shino was not surprised; he knew they wouldn't be fooled by the same trick twice. However...

Within moments, the eerie sound of agony filled the air as the ninjas' screams pierced through the forest.

The unsuspecting ninjas who failed to avoid the kunai were in for a gruesome surprise. Unbeknownst to them, the camouflaged bugs that had been layered on the kunai and tag had infiltrated their bodies, causing them to scream out in agony as their systems were overwhelmed from within!

The lucky few who avoid the attack broke out in cold sweat.

One of the ninja's heart skipped a beat as his eyes darted around, searching for any signs of danger. "Watch out for his invisible bugs! It is hard to detect with the naked eye, use your detection-"

Suddenly, the voice of the ninja froze as a cold drop of sweat rolled down his face. He discovered that there were chakra signatures drifting in the air everywhere around them, lurking in the air like unseen predators!

Shino's eyes gleamed with a sly glint as he adjusted his glasses, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. "It's already too-"

"Argghhhh!"

However, Shino had no time to pay attention to them because his brief performance had been rudely interrupted by the hands that had ambushed him from below! The ninja's grip was tightening around his ankles, pulling him down towards the ground and locking him in place!

With a heart cold as ice, a ninja leapt into the air from a tree and he drew in a deep breath, his mouth puffing up, "Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

Oom! A sudden explosion of heat engulfed the air as the ninja unleashed a fiery inferno from his mouth with explosive force, the intensity of the flames obliterating every bug in the vicinity.

Ignoring the fate of his fallen comrade, the ninja locked his eyes on Shino and continued to fuel the blazing ball of destruction towards him. The raging fireball roared towards Shino like a deadly dragon!

Boom! A deafening roar shattered the stillness of the battlefield as flames engulfed the area, turning a couple of 'companions' on the ground into puffs of smoke. These were just clones in disguise!

As for the rest, they were just expendable companions who were merely bonus cannon fodder, and they were wiped out in a matter of seconds, reduced to nothing more than charred husks. There would be no chance of reincarnation for them, as they were mere side characters who played no significant role in the grand scheme of things.

The ninja landed on the ground, his face bare of any mask to conceal his emotions. He frowned deeply as he surveyed the aftermath of the explosion. "Did we get him?" he asked, his tone laced with doubt and uncertainty.

Suddenly, he felt a wind brushing towards him from behind, sending a shiver down his spine! In a swift movement, a translucent figure emerged from the shadows behind him. It was Shino, who had snuck up behind the enemy, poised to strike with a deadly kunai!

With a thud, Shino's kunai made contact, but something felt off. He quickly realized that it was a hard surface, not the feeling of cutting into flesh!

Puff! A puff of smoke appeared in front of him, and the ninja he had been aiming for had disappeared, replaced by a wooden log! It was the infamous Body Substitution Jutsu!

Whoosh! With deadly precision, a kunai pierced through Shino's heart from behind. "It's over."

In the midst of the tense atmosphere, a sudden moment of stillness enveloped the scene as Shino's eyes flickered towards the ninja behind him.

Just as the enemy thought he had won, a sly smile curved on Shino's lips.

With an ominous hum his body collapsed into a swarm of camouflaged bugs, leaving the assailant to stare in shock and confusion!

"Nani?! Insect clone?! When! No-"

As the swarm of bugs enveloped the ninja's hand, Shino's eyes glinted with satisfaction. The bugs had effectively neutralized the enemy's ability to use jutsu!

And they weren't done yet - The relentless insects continued their ascent up the ninja's arm...

Thud. A lifeless husk of a corpse toppled to the ground as Shino emerged from his hiding place behind a tree.

As Shino's hand began to reach for his glasses, a chilling voice pierced the silence from behind him. "So the little bug was hiding here," it taunted, its speaker lurking in the shadows like a predator stalking its prey.

Shino's eyes narrowed as his senses warned of the danger lurking behind him. Without a moment's hesitation, he spun around, but it was too late!

A massive foot loomed in his vision, and he could barely raise his hands to defend himself. The impact was brutal, sending him hurtling through the forest like a rag doll!

As Shino struggled to stabilize his body, he saw a sudden blur of movement from the corner of his eye.

Without warning, a seasoned middle-aged ninja appeared in front of him, his face carved with a hardened expression! In a swift motion, he hooked Shino's body with his arm and flung him across the forest with alarming force!

Shino hit the ground with a sickening thud, his body sliding across the forest floor before coming to a stop in a battered heap!

Fwoom! With a sudden burst of flames, a wall of fire materialized before Shino and his companions, drawing a line through the trees of the forest and creating a barrier that separated the battlefields of Shino and his team.

The intense heat emanating from the wall made it clear that whoever conjured it was not to be trifled with.

"Shino!" (x2)

The faint worried cries of Hinata and Kiba could be heard in the far-off distance.

Tap. Silence befell the forest as the middle-aged ninja landed before Shino, who was on his knees with his bugs cascading out of his body. The man's face was stoic, yet his tongue snaked out to lick his lips, betraying a sense of twisted excitement.

This action of his also allowed Shino to get a glimpse of the pattern engraved on his tongue, a hexagram with three solid lines and two broken lines. The Cursed Tongue Eradication seal. Root!

"Taking two complete strikes from a jonin and still surviving. As expected of the seed that Danzo-sama is interested in."

Swoosh! A gust of wind swept through the forest as Shino's head hit the ground with a thud, the force of the impact sending shockwaves through his body.

A foot pressed down on the back of his head, rubbing his face against the dirt and leaves.

Looking up, he saw the cold, menacing face of the unknown jonin staring down at him with a contemptuous expression.

"Danzo-sama hopes that you would reconsider his invitation. So, what will it be? Will you join us… or die?"