After burying the three crates deep underground, the Suna Jonin ignored the obvious signs of fresh earth. He turned to his remaining subordinates and barked an order: "Set the supplies ablaze! Burn it all!"
He then stood his ground, hands clasped in a prayer-like seal. A low growl escaped his throat as he pushed his body to its absolute limit, desperately refining chakra. Not enough. It's still not enough. Give me more... just a little more!
The forced extraction caused the veins on his temples to bulge dangerously. Cold sweat poured off him like rain, and his complexion turned a sickly shade of blue, yet he pushed on regardless. Only when a sharp, stabbing pain lanced through his heart did he realize he had hit his ceiling.
Still not enough... what a shame.
By now, the swarm had breached the Suna defenses. The insects used their own bodies to smother the ring of fire, creating several paths through the flames. They poured into the core of the formation. Two puppeteers, having lost all their puppets, were struck repeatedly by Flight-Locusts. They fell with agonizing screams, vanishing beneath a tide of beetles in an instant. After a few brief, frantic struggles, they went silent.
The Jonin's vision began to blur. He bit his tongue hard, using the jolt of pain to sharpen his focus as he rapidly wove a final set of signs.
Wind Style: Windstorm!
A hurricane, half the size of the previous one, plummeted from the sky directly onto the Jonin's position. It swept him up, followed by the surviving Sand ninjas, the burning supply wagons, and an uncountable number of insects.
The Suna squad's tragic resistance reached its end. The Konoha shinobi stood on the ridgeline, silently watching the hurricane. They watched as its color shifted from white to red, then gradually darkened until it was a towering fire-vortex of black insects and crimson flames.
The four of them watched in solemn silence, paying a silent tribute to ninjas who had fought to the bitter end. Only after the hurricane finally dissipated did they descend to begin the cleanup.
Hiro, O, and Yoshito waded through insect corpses that reached their ankles, checking the valley floor for anything of value. However, the hurricane had been so violent it had scraped three inches of topsoil off the earth. The remains of the Sand ninjas had been pulverized, mixed with the charred husks of insects, and scattered across the entire valley.
In truth, there was nothing left to collect.
Tetsumaru stood where the Jonin had made his final stand. He could sense the three crates buried two meters beneath his feet. He hesitated, debating his next move. To kill, or not to kill?
If he chose to kill them, their age wouldn't stop him; he had already ended the lives of many Rain ninjas as young as seven or eight. But this was different. These three weren't actively fighting him; they were currently in a deep, forced slumber, entirely defenseless. He wouldn't even need to dig them up. He could just command a few venomous bugs to burrow into the crates and deliver a lethal dose.
Ultimately, looking down at children who couldn't fight back, Tetsumaru found he couldn't pull the trigger.
Sigh. If only they were three greasy, middle-aged creeps. I wouldn't have hesitated for a second.
If he let them live, and Suna rescued them, they would return to the battlefield. Someone from Konoha might die by their hands. Wouldn't that be his responsibility?
Whatever. I don't recognize their names, so their future potential is probably limited. In the Shinobi world, power usually follows bloodlines and prestige; masters don't just pop out of thin air. Besides, the war is ending soon. I just need to make sure they can't fight before the treaty is signed.
Satisfied with his rationalization, Tetsumaru acted quickly. His insects burrowed into the crates, found the boys' veins, and injected a potent anesthetic. The bugs would remain there, maintaining the sedation for the next thirty days. After that, their survival would be up to fate.
"Alright," he commanded. "We're withdrawing immediately."
"Yes, Sensei!"
On the move, Tetsumaru asked playfully, "The battle's over. Have you three figured out the answer to my question yet?"
Hiro and Yoshito nodded in unison. Inuzuka O simply shook his head.
Tetsumaru flicked an insect—using it like a schoolteacher's piece of chalk—hitting O square in the forehead. "You're getting lazier with your brain by the day. Keep this up and you'll turn into a total blockhead."
"Hiro, you explain."
"Yes, Sensei. By lowering the insects' individual defense, you directly reduced the cost, allowing for a much larger scale. A ninja's jutsu has a minimum chakra requirement; they can't just 'turn down' the power to save energy. Once they run dry, they're at the mercy of the remaining swarm."
"Exactly right."
"Sensei..." Yoshito asked tentatively, "does the shinobi way even have a future?"
Tetsumaru paused. Did I go too far? Did I actually traumatize them?
"If the swarm just keeps coming, isn't a ninja's death guaranteed?" Yoshito continued. "Even the Hokage... his chakra reserves couldn't possibly kill ten million insects."
He's definitely spooked. If word gets out that a Nara thinks I'm a threat to the Hokage, I'm a dead man.
Tetsumaru flicked another bug at Yoshito, raising a small bump on his head. While the boy yelped and clutched his scalp, Tetsumaru's mind raced to organize a rebuttal—or rather, a convincing explanation.
"You've got it all wrong, you brat. My method of insect manipulation is a 'crooked path,' not the standard shinobi way."
"Could one person realistically raise ten million insects? Of course not. (Actually, I can.)"
"Every insect needs food, minerals, disinfectant, mutagenic agents... even with lower defenses, the cost isn't zero. (Except for time, the Broodmother produces them for free.)"
"Then you have to factor in management and logistics. That's another cost. (I'll skip explaining that one again.)"
"A single bug is cheap, but multiply that cost by ten million. Think about the numbers involved."
"The village provided the funding, the resources, and the personnel to transport them. That's the only reason I can deploy a swarm of this scale. On my own, I could maybe manage a million at most."
"This swarm is a manifestation of the Village's collective strength. I'm just the one holding the leash."
"The resources required for ten million bugs are roughly equivalent to those needed for four thousand ninjas. Think about it: if an army of four thousand ninjas faced me right now, would the swarm's numbers still be 'unbeatable'?"
The three disciples nodded slowly, finally looking relieved. So ninjas are still strong. We aren't obsolete. Then, they beamed with pride. Sensei is incredible! Being able to command a swarm equivalent to four thousand ninjas... doesn't that make him almost as big a deal as Lord Orochimaru?
That should be enough to fool these kids for now, Tetsumaru thought, exhaling mentally. Exhausting.
The squad traveled in silence for another half hour before Yoshito suddenly spoke up. "Sensei, something's wrong."
Tetsumaru felt a jolt of anxiety. Not again. What did he find this time?
"W-what's wrong?"
"We're heading toward the fourth logistics unit, not the third. Why are we taking the long way around?"
Oh, thank god. Just that.
Tetsumaru wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow and huffed. "Don't underestimate the Sand. We hit the first and second units in order of distance. They've definitely received the intel by now. They'll be rushing reinforcements to the third unit. Naturally, we should hit the fourth unit while it's still unguarded."
Yoshito was quick to find the flaw. "But Sensei, the Sand is elite. Wouldn't they just reinforce both targets simultaneously?"
"No."
"First, the Sand has been at war for years. They know that a divided force is a weak force. They won't split their strength and risk failing at both."
"Second, fifteen minutes ago, I sent a small cluster of bugs to harass the fourth unit. In ten minutes, I'm launching a massive feint against the third unit."
"Tell me, if you were the Sand commander receiving that intel, which one would you reinforce?"
Hiro didn't hesitate. "The third unit. Definitely."
Tetsumaru nodded. "I agree. Which makes the fourth unit our best target."
Inuzuka O clutched his head and groaned, his brain officially short-circuiting. Yoshito and Hiro, however, looked at their teacher with newfound awe. They fell silent, focusing entirely on the march.
The tactical plan was solid, but the real reason for Tetsumaru's confidence was his "map hack." To him, the fog of war was non-existent.
The Domain Field Barrier gave him perfect awareness within three kilometers, but his real trump card was the network of bugs connected via the Broodmothers and signal stations. They provided a fuzzy but effective perception of large-scale military movements across an 800-kilometer radius.
Through this network, Tetsumaru had already confirmed that the Kazekage and his personal guard had changed course mid-way and were currently rushing toward the third logistics unit.
The third unit was indeed under "siege." Tetsumaru had deployed two million insects for the feint. Without his direct command, their reaction time was slow and they lacked adaptability, but two million bugs were more than enough to keep the Kazekage busy.
With the threat of reinforcements neutralized, he could focus on the fourth unit.
An ambush was out; they didn't have enough time to set proper traps. They'd have to fight a head-on engagement.
A frontal assault required concentrated mass. Tetsumaru calculated the best location and commanded his surrounding swarms to converge on a specific canyon. It was a narrow, cramped space—he wasn't even sure if three million bugs would fit.
Team 121 reached the battlefield just as the fourth Suna unit finished clearing the harassment bugs and resumed their march. At their current pace, they would arrive in twenty minutes.
Tetsumaru frowned at the terrain. The canyon walls were too steep and the floor too narrow. There wasn't enough room for the swarm to spread out, which was dangerous—it could easily turn into a "piecemeal" battle where his bugs were picked off in waves.
He needed powerful "breakthrough" specialists to draw Suna's attention and fire, allowing the swarm to breach their defenses.
He checked his network; all his Scythe-Mantises were resting in the eastern sector and couldn't make it in time. It looked like he and his students would have to be the vanguard.
Tetsumaru grinned at the boys. "Alright, kids. For this logistics unit, you three are taking the lead. Excited?"
Inuzuka O practically leaped ten feet into the air. "Hell yes! Sensei, just watch me tear them apart!"
Hiro gave a cool smirk. "Hmph. Easy. I won't disappoint you."
Yoshito, however, looked reluctant. "I'm a support ninja, Sensei. Support! Do I really have to charge in?"
Tetsumaru ignored him. He knew that beneath that lazy exterior, this "support" ninja had the heart of a damage-dealer. Yoshito was probably thrilled to finally take the offensive; he was just maintaining his habitual persona.
Tetsumaru began the briefing. "The terrain is too steep for the bugs to hide on the ridges. We have to push them from the front."
"I'll mass the swarm behind that bend. In front of it, I'll plant the Landmine Insects."
O interjected, "But Sensei, the mines didn't even go off last time. Are we really doing that again?"
Annoyed, Tetsumaru delivered a swift thud to the back of O's head. "Do you think every Suna ninja is a cautious veteran? This time, they'll work."
"The Landmine explosion will be the signal. I'll bury the trigger-mines closest to the swarm. The moment a Suna ninja trips one, the swarm charges."
"In the other three positions, I'll set Command-Detonated Landmines. Once the swarm forces the Sand to retreat onto those positions, I'll blow them. Seeing the 'safe' road they just walked over explode behind them should shatter their composure."
"Your job is to provide long-range fire support. Help the swarm break their line and keep the pressure on until they're forced to fall back."
"I'll set three mine-zones at 200-meter intervals. Each zone will be divided into two or three groups for staggered detonations. Do you think they can hold against that?"
The three Genin shook their heads in unison.
It was a vicious plan. Once the fighting started and the Sand was forced onto a command-detonated minefield, they'd be blown sky-high. In that chaos, there would be no way to stop the swarm's momentum. They'd be forced to retreat again, only to hit the next minefield. A lethal, repeating cycle.
If they realized the retreat was a trap and tried to hold their ground, they'd just be hit by a second or third blast in the same spot. No matter what they did, they were doomed—especially with the psychological pressure of an endless swarm in their faces.
Poor bastards, they thought.
Tetsumaru waved them off. "Go. Get ready."
One hour and thirteen minutes later, Inuzuka O ended the battle by striking down the exhausted, wounded Suna Jonin with a final Fang Over Fang.
The engagement had played out exactly as Tetsumaru had designed. When the Sand fell back to the second minefield and hit three consecutive blasts, their organization simply collapsed.
Most of the fleeing Sand ninjas were intercepted and killed by Team 121; the rest were swallowed by the swarm. Only a few lucky survivors managed to scale the steep cliffs and escape into the distance.
Perfect. Those survivors will race back to tell the Kazekage about the massacre. Let's give them some more evidence.
Tetsumaru ordered his students to scavenge whatever they needed from the loot. The remaining supplies were piled up, and without hesitation, he incinerated the mountain of gear with a fireball.
As the fire roared, Tetsumaru unleashed Water Style: Water Pillar Cannon, precisely suppressing the flames just enough to create a towering, black column of smoke.
"That smoke... Suna will definitely see it, right?"
"Of course. They're not blind."
"Good. When they see it, they'll come to collect the bodies. Saves us the trouble of digging the holes."
Tetsumaru laughed. "Come on. We're taking the long way back to swap positions with the Suna rescue team. This time, we're going loud. We're going to crush the third logistics unit as fast as humanly possible. Let's show the Kazekage exactly what Team 121 is capable of."
"Osu!"