16 Zombies

"Don't hesitate, they are no longer living," Kurenai sensei reminded.

Hearing this, Hinata froze for a bit before she nodded with firm determination.

Shino immediately took action and commanded his pre-released bugs to attack the zombies. The bugs lifted off the ground and ambushed the zombies. The zombies didn't understand that they should keep the bugs out. Naturally, they became dead targets.

In a matter of seconds, the bugs had infiltrated their dead bodies, destroying them from the inside. The zombies were defeated.

Kiba was disappointed. "That was too easy. Who knew Shino alone could handle it," he said. "I was expecting something more challenging. "

Shino adjusted his glasses as he stared into the forest with squinted eyes, "Be careful what you-"

"Arf! Arf! Arf!" Akamaru's warning bark loudly resounded besides Kiba.

Their celebration was short-lived. More noises came from the forest around them, and they realized that they were surrounded by a horde of zombies.

"We have to be careful," Kurenai warned. "Don't judge them based on how Shino managed to slay a few with ample preparation. These zombies are not like normal humans. They are stronger, faster, and more aggressive. Normal attacks from shurikens and kunais may not be effective."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the area. "There are at least twenty of them, and more are coming," she said.

"H-How can there be so much?!" Kiba growled in shock as he crouched onto all fours, ready to pounce.

Kurenai frowned as her red eyes calmly swept around. Suddenly, her eyes locked in one direction.

"Shino. Can you handle it here?"

Shino was a bit shocked by Kurenai sensei's abrupt question. Seeing her serious face, he gauged the incoming zombies and his thoughts spun. Moments later, he nodded.

"Of course we'll be fine, Kurenai sensei! Why only ask Shino, you got to trust us!" Kiba butted in with a grin.

Hinata also confidently nodded.

"Good. Remember to work as a team," Kurenai sensei commanded before sinking into the ground.

"Yo, guess it's just us now. Just how I like it," Kiba exclaimed with a wild grin, "Ready, Akamaru?"

"Arf! Arf!"

Shino raised his hands as swarms of bugs rose into the air. Hinata stood behind him, preparing to defend their backs.

It didn't take long before the zombies began to attack. They were fast and agile, and their movements were erratic.

Kiba attacked first, using his claws to shred the zombies.

Thud- a couple of shallow scratches appeared on the zombie's body.

"What?! So hard!" Kiba exclaimed in surprise and leapt back and delivered another strike, "Wolf Fang Fist!"

He was able to take down a few of them with his strikes, but they kept coming.

Seeing the number of enemies, Hinata could only resort to desperate measures… burning money.

Boom! Explosions decorated the battlefield, sponsored by the Hyuga clan, one of the biggest clans in Konoha.

But, as the crowd of zombies encroached upon their defense line, there was less and less room for setting off explosions.

In the end, she could only resort to close combat to keep the zombies at bay.

Hinata used her Gentle Fist technique to attack the zombies' chakra points, but they were already dead and it wasn't really effective. So, she can only resort to knocking them back like she did with the bandits.

However, her knock backs weren't as effective because of the velocity of the zombie's charge, and some zombies managed to slip through the defense net.

Fortunately, Shino had their backs. Unlike the duo who had to slap the hard defense of these zombies, he did it the easy way and reaped them from the inside. Still, the number of bugs he control was limited.

Seeing the increasing number of zombies, Kiba leapt back into the defensive circle. Crouching down, Akamaru hopped onto his back. Poof!

"Fang Over Fang!"

Rumble! The twin drills crashed into the wave of zombies, sending a large group tumbling and flying. It didn't take long for Kiba to come to a stop, knocking away a group of zombies. Laying around him was damaged zombies with twisted limbs and bodies filled with deep gashes that didn't bleed.

Panting, Kiba caught Akamaru as a wave of insects formed a wall to protect him. With not much injuries, he swiftly retreated back to the circle.

Focusing his attention back on the battlefield where the zombies were already filling up the gap he made, Kiba couldn't help but complain, "Che, just how many of them are there."

Hinata surveyed the forest with her Byakugan, "There seems to be 30 now…"

"What?! How is there more?!" Kiba exclaimed in disbelief, but his hands didn't stop as he smashed another zombie down.

The team continued to fight, and they were making progress. But then, they noticed that the zombies were becoming more aggressive. They were no longer just mindlessly attacking. They seemed to be working together, and they were using tactics.

"How long do we need to do this?" Kiba shouted. "They seem to be getting smarter!"

The team intensified their attacks, and they were able to take down several more zombies. But they could feel their energy beginning to drain.

Suddenly, they heard a loud noise, and they turned around to see a giant zombie charging towards them. It was twice the size of the other zombies, and it was covered in spikes that were inserted to seal all open gaps in its body!

Feeling the response from his insects, Shino knew that they couldn't get inside the big guy's body. Shino's eyes squinted.

Although this one seemed to be troublesome, he could feel his heart beat with excitement. Boss battle! Even better loot!

"What is that! How do we fight that!" Kiba growled as he smashed another zombie down onto the ground.

"Don't lose hope," Hinata exclaimed with trembling hands.

Kiba growled, "Get ready to dodge!"

Shino adjusted his glasses as he said calmly, "There's no need-"

Seeing the giant zombie moments away from crashing into them, Kiba commanded, "Dodge!"

He leapt out of the way with Akamaru.

Hinata also shifted out of the way as she knocked away some zombies to make space. Suddenly, she looked back and her eyes widened, "Shino-kun?!"

Kiba also looked back in shock. He saw Shino standing in place and the giant zombie's thick hand smashing down- then, the upper half of Shino's body disappeared.

"SHINOOO!"

The giant zombie roared in triumph.

"How dare you-" Kiba raged and just when he was about to rush forward, a hand was placed on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Eh? Shino-kun?!" Hinata exclaimed in shock.

Kiba looked back to see Shino behind him. His mouth gawked. He looked forward to see the 'Shino' in front of the giant zombie deform into a mass of bugs.

"Che, should have known it was your bugs," Kiba grunted in dissatisfaction.

Shino's adjusted his glasses as he stared at the zombie giant with a sly smile. With a thought, he commanded, "Go."

His insect clone the surged like a wave and wrapped around the giant zombie, applying force to tug it downwards. Just when the zombie began to topple over, the ground below it collapsed, revealing a hole!

A dog-sized insect shot out from the hole and swiped its sharp claws towards the incoming head of the giant zombie! It was Shino's drone that had been laying in ambush!

Puff! The sharp claw of the drone dug through the spikes and cut into the neck of the zombie. Unfortunately, the claw encountered strong resistance and eventually came to a stop after cutting halfway through the neck.

Surprisingly, the giant zombie didn't die! It only roared and waved its thick arms, smashing the drone and crushing it into meat paste.

Shino's eye twitched. Dang, that's 50 biomass down the drain! This better be worth it.

His eyes turned fierce as he raised his hand. Buzz- The gashing wound on the giant zombie's neck welcomed a wave of unfriendly guests.

Shino felt waves of pleasure as he sent his bugs into the hole over and over again. Just when the giant zombie wanted to charge over, it was already too late. With a grin, Shino clenched his raised hands.

"Bug Funer-"

Thud- A normal zombie crashed into Shino from behind and almost knocked him over. Shino hurriedly turned around and kicked the zombie away.

"Yo, sorry, sorry. Wrong direction, I forgot you were standing there," Kiba apologized with a grin as he panted in exhaustion.

Shino calmly stood there and silently mourned for three seconds.

Shino couldn't help but feel a sense of reluctance as he prepared to call out the names of his moves, especially knowing that he has a high chance of being interrupted.

It felt like a childish practice, something that a skilled ninja shouldn't have to resort to because it would only result in the enemy 'predicting' and countering their move.

But Kurenai Sensei had made it clear that this was an essential method for cultivating teamwork within the group during battle.

New Genins often struggled with the concept of working together, and even those who understood it could easily make mistakes if their techniques happened to conflict. It was a delicate balance that required precise coordination and communication.

By calling out the names of their moves, each member of the team could associate names with the techniques, allowing for a deeper understanding to be formed over time.

Once they were familiar enough to know the upcoming move just from the gestures of their teammates, they no longer needed to do this.

Returning his attention to the battlefield and seeing the bugs surging out from the its body, Shino knew the giant zombie was definitely out of commission.

Just when Shino was about to command his insects to continue clearing the battlefield, all the zombies suddenly stiffened in place.

Moments later, they all began to wither abnormally, losing their tough, enhanced appearances. Not long later, they toppled over like harvested wheat, resting on the ground like dehydrated corpses.

Shino's eyes rolled and realized that Kurenai sensei may have solved the real trouble behind.

Shino adjusted his glasses and calmly said, ""It seems that Kurenai sensei-"

"Finally! We won! That was too easy!" Kiba let out a cocky smirk as he crossed his arms over his head, yet his sweaty face and mouth that was panting like a dog betrayed him.

Hinata lowered her hands and gently smiled as she also gasped in exhaustion while looking into the distance, "Kurenai sensei is coming back."

Hearing this, Shino fixed his eyes upon Kiba. Is he intentionally only doing it to me?!

However, Shino's attention was soon attracted by the dead body of the giant zombie. Shino decided to begin harvesting before she comes back!

With a thought, another drone burrowed out from the ground and began to dig into the giant zombie's head. There was something in there that it desired!

"Yo, Shino, you kept two bugs in that small box? Must be really tight in there, no wonder they don't get motion sickness!" Kiba joked as he panted.

Shino glanced at Kiba with a stoic face and didn't respond.

It didn't take long for the drone to find its prey. After receiving the signal, Shino's eyes secretly lit up because he knew he had gotten it.

Shino then directed the drone over to the meat paste remnant of his other drone. With a command, his drone collected the biomass before heading over to re-enter his box.

As he came into contact with his drone, he paused for a moment as a refreshing sensation rushed into his body and mind. Shino closed his eyes, trying to focus on the sensation. It was familiar, a sign of growth, of evolution, not of his bugs, but his own body!

His insects began to riot and buzz with fervor. Shino Aburame was used to the whispers of the insects in his mind, but this was different. He felt a buzzing sensation, a strange itch that he couldn't scratch, but it gradually faded away. The rioting bugs in his body gradually calmed and everything returned to normal.

However, he was still lost in that sensation until the notification from the system interface that caught his attention.

His eyes glinted as he saw the notification, but he didn't check any further. Returning to reality, Shino calmly sealed the box and carried it on his back once more.

They still need to stay vigilant. Danger may strike at any given moment on a mission. If he closes his eyes and focuses on reading notifications, it'll be tragic if he is given the bento by a sudden ambush.

Not long after, Kurenai Sensei leapt down from a tree, and the team snapped to attention.

Shino couldn't help but notice the traces of exhaustion on her face, despite her best efforts to conceal it. Her clothes were torn, and some of her bandages were ripped, but she appeared to be fine overall. It was clear that she had just been through a tough battle.

Surveying the battlefield with her red eyes, Kurenai nodded in acknowledgment, "Good job, you three. I didn't expect to bump into something like this on a mission. This mission will be upgraded to a B level task and potentially A level, depending on the results after we bring the bodies back."

"Whoa! We actually did an A level mission! I bet none of the other Genins did the same!" Kiba exclaimed in excitement.

Shino adjusted his glasses and glanced at Kiba. Sorry, but the Kakashi team did.

Kurenai shook her head and said in a calm tone, "Most likely not. The intel extracted must be very valuable for this to be upgraded to A-level. Don't get your hopes up."

"Che, B level is B level," Kiba uttered as he hugged Akamaru, "I bet none of the other Genins can do better."

Poor Kiba, still wrong.

"And Shino, well done this time. Your strategy to lure an enemy beyond your size and using its weakness against it was well thought out. Kiba, Hinata, you two also did well at keeping the enemy at bay," Kurenai sensei complimented.

Shino's eyes shrunk in disbelief. Had Kurenai Sensei been watching them the entire time? So, did she see everything that happened, including what he retrieved from the zombie's brain?

As a Jonin, Kurenai had a wealth of knowledge and experience. Shino couldn't help but wonder if she had noticed something unusual in his behavior.

Perhaps Hinata and Kiba had been oblivious, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Kurenai was different. She was always watching, always analyzing, always making wise judgments.

But how was she watching? How much did she see? Was he exposed?