**Chapter 49: The Swarm**

Before rushing out of the shelter, Hattori had considered many possibilities. He even imagined the worst-case scenario: the Sand Village under siege, enemies everywhere in sight. But to his surprise, when he emerged from the underground shelter, the enemy-filled scene he expected was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, there wasn't a single enemy ninja in sight.

But that didn't mean the Sand Village was safe.

Because while he didn't see any enemy ninjas, he did see something equally terrifying—a massive swarm of insects darkening the skies!

Hattori looked up, and as far as he could see, the sky above the Sand Village was entirely blacked out.

The scene before him was something he'd only ever seen on TV. In real life, this was a first.

His eyes widened instantly.

"What is this? Locusts? A desert locust plague?"

At first, he was puzzled. But as a swarm flew toward him, he finally got a clear view of them.

They were bees—giant bees, as large as locusts!

"Buzzzzz…"

As the swarm approached, the chilling hum of their wings made his hair stand on end.

"Damn it, why does it have to be these things?"

He'd been stung by bees as a child, and ever since, he couldn't see them without feeling a twinge of fear. Right now, he even felt the urge to retreat back to the shelter.

But realizing that doing so could expose its location, his expression turned grim.

"No, I can't. The shelter is full of medics, wounded people, and children, with hardly any fighters. If it's discovered, the consequences would be unthinkable!"

With that thought, he dismissed the idea and turned to flee.

As he ran, he pondered.

"These bees aren't normal—they don't look like anything natural. If I'm right, this must be the work of the Rock Village's insect handlers—the Kamizuru Clan!"

Hattori remembered that in the original Naruto story, Naruto and his team once sought a rare insect, the bikochu, and ended up encountering the Kamizuru Clan from the Rock Village.

According to Shino Aburame's account, the Kamizuru Clan was once as renowned as the Aburame Clan, even participating in an attack on the Leaf Village.

Back then, the Kamizuru planned to sow chaos in the Leaf with their bees, providing an opening for the Rock Village to launch a full-scale assault.

The plan was good, but unfortunately, they encountered the Aburame Clan.

And so, these two famed insect-handling clans fought an intense battle outside the Leaf Village, with the Aburame emerging victorious.

The Aburame's hard-won victory solidified their standing in the Leaf, while the Kamizuru were cast aside in the Rock Village.

This was what puzzled Hattori.

According to Shino, that battle happened in his grandfather's time, which meant the Kamizuru shouldn't be around…

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Hattori realized something.

"Based on the timeline, Shino hasn't even been born yet, and his grandfather is probably in his prime. That means…the Kamizuru Clan hasn't fallen yet!"

With this realization, his expression darkened further.

"The Leaf has the Aburame, but the Sand Village doesn't. This is trouble!"

As if to confirm his suspicions, a string of explosions went off nearby.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Turning his head, he saw a sight that made his face go pale.

A swarm of bees was swooping down, each carrying explosive tags like aerial missiles, and setting them off throughout the Sand Village.

With each explosion, buildings crumbled.

Flames burst forth, smoke filled the air, screams and cries for help rose from all directions, mixed with the hopeless cries of children—a truly heartbreaking scene.

"So…this is war? Damn it!"

Hattori's face twisted with emotion. He immediately stopped running, using his chakra scalpel to swat away bees that got too close, then dashed toward the sounds of crying.

Near a collapsed house, he spotted a woman covered in blood, lying motionless on the ground.

Beside her, a child of about two or three years old was crouched, crying desperately.

"Mom…Mom…sob, sob…"

Seeing this scene, Hattori felt his heart clench painfully, his chest tightening with emotion.

He bit his lip and quickly knelt down to check the woman's breathing.

But the moment he reached out, his body stiffened, and his face fell.

She wasn't breathing.

"Damn it!"

Hattori cursed under his breath, then picked up the crying child and sprinted toward Karura's house.

"Karura, Temari—please be okay!"

His concern drove him to run even faster, and before long, he reached the village center.

Compared to the shelter exit, this area had suffered a more intense assault.

In addition to the rubble, he passed numerous swollen corpses along the way.

Most of these corpses belonged to Sand villagers, with only a few wearing Sand Village headbands.

Seeing the condition of these bodies, Hattori's expression grew even darker.

"They were all killed by bee stings. I'll never forgive the Rock Village for this—I swear I'll make them pay!"

With that vow, he sped up again, heading for Karura house.

Soon, Karura home appeared within his sight, along with Karura herself.

Bees swarmed all around, and there she was, standing in the doorway, wielding a large three-star fan.

When Hattori saw her, she was swinging the fan vigorously, shouting.

"Ninja Art: Wind Dust!"

At her command, a whirlwind filled with sand swept the area, and the bees fell like raindrops around her.

"Karura!"

Seeing her, Hattori shielded the child in his arms and ran to her with excitement.

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Hattori? What are you doing here…watch out behind you!"

Surprised by Hattori's sudden appearance, Karura's expression quickly shifted as she raised her fan and swung it at the swarm pursuing him.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

With another powerful sweep of her fan, the bees behind Hattori were blown away.

Karura closed her fan and turned to him urgently.

"Hurry, get inside!" 

*(Chapter ends)*