Chapter 60: God, why?

Author Note: Nothing of importance, just enjoy the chapter, and if you have any questions, make sure to comment!

And like always, remember if you want to read up to 20-22 chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer

I'm currently updating the novel 2-8 chapters a day in patreeeeon. On chapter 80 so far, though by the end of today it will be chapter 81-82

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Enjoy you sexy bastards.

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[Arata Takeshi - POV.]

After we were given our scroll and instructions on how to proceed with the next phase, we quickly entered the Forest through the gate assigned to us, immediately taking off as each one of us went in a different direction. The Forest of Death was a big circle, so, like a pizza, we had divided the entire territory into three slices, with each of us taking a slice.

"Hmm, that analogy… I wonder if I should invent pizzas here," I mused silently as I darted through the dense forest, leaping effortlessly from one tree branch to the next. Pizzas were one of the few things I still remembered about my past, and we had tomatoes, so why not go for it?

Before I could continue to muse about starting a pizza empire, I felt three chakra signatures closing in fast. Calmly, I stopped in my tracks, landing smoothly on a thick branch, and waited, wondering who was coming for me. Based on the feeling of their chakra alone, they were from Konoha. Soon enough, a team of older Konoha shinobi, probably around 14 or 15 years old, appeared, glaring at me like they'd just found one of their younger siblings snooping around their rooms.

Glaring aside, this felt… weird. I couldn't feel any ill intent coming from them. Yet, here they were… I wonder where this is going.

The one I assumed was the leader of the group landed on a nearby branch, his eyes narrowing as he looked me up and down. "Hand over your scroll, brat," he demanded, trying to sound tough, which… failed terribly, seeing as his voice cracked right at the end, reminding us of the beauty that is hormonal changes. "You don't stand a chance against us, so it's better if you just cooperate."

I raised an eyebrow, offering him a faint smile. "That's an interesting proposition, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline," I said, casually letting my hands dangle by my sides. "That being said, you are welcome to try and get my scroll."

I didn't have the scroll. Shisui did. We had agreed before entering the forest that if push came to shove, he was the smartest option to keep our scroll safe and sound. That said, they didn't have to know that.

The leader with the cracking voice faltered as he glanced at his teammates, one of whom stepped forward, making me frown at his appearance. This guy had sunglasses, a long jacket, and an aura that screamed "creepy bug guy." There was no doubt—this guy was an Aburame.

…

...

...…

God damn it… of course is the bug clan, because fuck me, that's why.

"You're lying," the Aburame said in that monotone voice they all seem to have—not that I would personally know, I avoided them like the plague, if the plague was even more disgusting. The idea of someone having colonies of insects living inside them, squirming around, moving through their organs, their veins… was beyond repulsive to me. "Every team was given a scroll. And my kikaichu are telling me you have a scroll, so if you don't give it up willingly, we'll take it from you by force."

Great. Just what I needed—an army of bugs coming my way. I could already feel my skin crawling at the thought. And all because of the fake scroll I was carrying.

Wait… rewind that a bit. Did—did he… say his insects told him?

"I really do hope, for everyone's sake, that… you aren't implying there are insects in my body right now," I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper as my fingers itched near the hilt of my sword.

"Not yet," the Aburame answered, taking a step forward.

"Stay away," I replied, drawing my Claymore. "I don't want to fight you."

"If you give us your scroll, we won't harm you. We'll even make sure you leave this place safely," the leader of the group replied.

"Yeah, as a fellow shinobi of Konoha, it is not our goal to harm you," the third member of the group added, smiling at me.

It seems they were… mistaking my clear disgust for fear of fighting them.

"I'm not giving you anything… You guys seem to be under the misconception that I'm afraid of you," I replied, doing some mental math to determine just how many explosives I would need to kill every bug that Aburame had in him. I had two hundred explosive tags… that ought to be enough. "That being said, I really… would prefer not to fight you."

The Aburame frowned a bit, making an expression that said: My feelings are not yet hurt, but I suspect they soon could be. "Why not?"

"I'm afraid the answer might hurt your feelings," I replied, offering him a faint smile.

The Aburame frowned even more. "Explain."

Well… if he wants the truth, I might as well tell it like it is.

"Very well, if you insist," I replied, taking a deep breath. "Every fiber of my evolutionary being is repulsed by the genetic makeup demonstrated by your kekkei genkai."

"Holy fuck… dude," the leader muttered.

"That's… just cruel," the other teammate added.

"Are you… saying that I'm too disgusting to fight?" the Aburame teen asked, his voice dropping to a low whisper.

"Disgusting is a bit harsh, but yeah, that's accurate," I replied, offering him a faint smile. He wanted the truth, and the truth hurts. "That being said… I will fight if I'm forced to, so don't… test me, and go on your merry way."

The Aburame remained silent for a moment, as if absorbing my words, before lifting one of his hands, letting a cloud of tiny bugs flutter out from under his sleeve. A buzzing, wriggling, disgusting mass of insects spilling out like they were having a party on my soon-to-be-traumatized psyche.

"Forget about helping you! You heartless brat! Now we are going to kick your ass!" the leader growled, pointing at me with a kunai.

"Hell yeah!" the third teammate added.

I am not going to enjoy this. At all…

Oh well, I suppose it's time… to use my strongest technique: The Quicksword.

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I won.

And it took all but one minute to do so.

Normally, I would prolong a fight to increase my entertainment value and learn as I go. But seeing as I had no interest in fighting a swarm of bugs or learning anything from this encounter, I decided to make it clear that I was stronger than them. And how did I do that?

Simple… I used the Quicksword and the Phantom Mirage to tear their clothes apart in the blink of an eye, moving and attacking faster than they could react to, making it perfectly clear that if they kept testing just how far I would go just to avoid… all of this, they would find that my next target would be something that bleeds.

Thankfully, they understood the message very quickly, with the Aburame going as far as to… —shudder— reabsorb all of his insects inside his body, before his naked leader gave me his scroll.

"My, my, so there's actually something that really gets under your nerves," Teresa whispered from within, her voice laced with an unusual level of mirth. I could practically feel her smirking.

"I don't want to hear any of it," I replied, shuddering at the thought.

Today, I learned two things. One… there are fights I won't like, and two… if I ever have to fight another Aburame, I won't strip them naked because… doing so forced me to see how his insects crawled inside his skin, through his eyes, ears… mouth, and places no insect should EVER be.

What happened today will… forever haunt me.