Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

After using a combined jutsu to eliminate most of the insects, Orochimaru stood calmly in place. Since Ye Zi had charged ahead to deal with Shibi and the others, he didn't need to worry about bypassing the swarm, he only had to defend himself.

The current number of insects wasn't enough to threaten him.

At that moment, a few coin-sized black insects silently emerged from the soil at Orochimaru's feet. They crawled up his shoes, bit through the fabric, and burrowed into his leg.

In an instant, Orochimaru's eyes changed slightly. He immediately opened his mouth wide, and his true body emerged through his throat, forcing his mouth open to an exaggerated extent. Covered in sticky bodily fluids, he slithered out swiftly, leaving his old body behind.

As soon as he left, the discarded body began to dry up like a stone statue. Within seconds, it cracked apart, revealing several black insects the size of a washbasin inside.

Coldly staring at the large insects, Orochimaru flicked his hand, throwing several kunai that pierced the bugs and killed them. He then leapt onto a tree, watching as Ye Zi rampaged through the swarm, steadily closing the distance between himself and the three members of the Aburame clan.

The sound of bird-like screeches filled the air as the dazzling lightning ripped through the insect swarm.

The insects, knowing no fear, continued to execute their orders faithfully, even as countless of their comrades fell.

As more and more insects perished, Shibi's expression grew increasingly grim. He could feel the pressure emanating from Ye Zi and realized a harsh truth.

There was no chance... No way to defeat Ye Zi. Their only option was to escape.

"Retreat."

Shibi, calmly assessing the situation, uttered the command in a low voice. Without hesitation, he manipulated his insects to hinder Ye Zi before turning to flee.

Hearing Shibi's words, Shichi and Shihui also controlled their insects to form a solid wall, attempting to slow Ye Zi's advance.

"You want to run?" Ye Zi slashed through the insect swarm with his blade, only for more insects to form into a giant arrow and shoot toward him.

Ye Zi snorted coldly. He extended his palm toward the insects, releasing a beam of lightning as thick as a baby's arm, piercing through the swarm.

At the same time, Shibi and the others were retreating at full speed, intending to escape the area.

However, a sudden change occurred.

A colorful figure shot out from the left side like lightning. At the forefront of the figure was a sharp spike over a meter long.

In the blink of an eye, the figure appeared in front of Shihui. The spike glinting with cold light stabbed viciously into Shihui's side, sending him flying backward until he was pinned against a tree trunk.

Once the figure stopped, its form became clear, it was an enormous insect, the size of a door.

The insect had a pair of green, fleshy wings behind it, covered in dense, sharp barbs. Its body was rounded, mixed with multiple colors, giving it a dazzling yet unsettling appearance. Under its body were six black limbs with sharp hooks barbed along their length.

On its head were six green eyes lined up in rows. Below them was a long, meter-sized proboscis, as thick as an adult's arm, which now pierced through Shihui's side and into the tree trunk.

Shihui's eyes widened as he strained to turn his head toward the monstrous insect at such close range. The searing pain spreading throughout his body caused him to scream in agony. Within a few seconds, however, the screams abruptly stopped.

His body went limp.

Shibi and Shichi stopped in their tracks, glaring at the strange insect and Shihui, fury blazing in their eyes.

That insect was none other than the poisonous Insect King they had been searching for: The Bone-Sucking Insect.

Once its sharp proboscis pierced a target, it could instantly inject a venom that liquefied bones within seconds. The Bone-Sucking Insect would then absorb the liquefied bone matter as nourishment.

Besides its craving for bone fluid, it also fed on toxins. The entire Aoki Forest's venomous snakes and poisonous bugs were its prey, which made its entire body venomous and not just with a single type of poison.

The proboscis contained venom that dissolved bones while also being highly toxic. Additionally, the barbs on its fleshy wings and the hooks on its limbs were also laced with deadly venom. A single scratch would inject poison into the target's body.

After killing Shihui, the Bone-Sucking Insect turned its gaze toward Shibi and Shichi. Moments later, it began sucking Shihui dry.

For an instant, one could see a mocking glint in the Bone-Sucking Insect's six green eyes.

"Damn it!" Shichi gritted his teeth.

"Go!" Shibi, face filled with rage, forcibly suppressed his emotions, grabbed Shichi's arm, and turned to leave.

Given the current situation, escaping as quickly as possible was the right decision. The Bone-Sucking Insect had clearly been lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. It had developed intelligence, qualifying it to become a summoned beast.

Silently commanding their remaining insects to return, Aburame Shibi ran forward without looking back.

At this point, capturing the Bone-Sucking Insect was no longer an option so it would serve as a distraction for Ye Zi instead.

The two fled as fast as they could.

The remaining Destruction Bugs flew away from Ye Zi, following Shibi and Shichi.

Ye Zi stomped the ground, ready to pursue them. He didn't believe they could escape.

However, after leaping across a few trees, he abruptly stopped.

Dozens of meters ahead, a grotesque giant insect was feasting on Shihui's corpse.

The insect showed no intention of pursuing Shibi, instead greedily devouring the food in front of it. It noticed Ye Zi's arrival through its compound eyes but didn't pay much attention, staying focused on its meal.

Ye Zi frowned slightly at the scene and raised his hand, shooting a beam of lightning at the giant insect.

The insect's sickly green compound eyes flashed with a trace of human-like anger. Its fleshy wings trembled as it flew into the air, dodging Ye Zi's lightning strike. It then adjusted its position, turning to face Ye Zi.

At this moment, Orochimaru arrived beside Ye Zi. Upon seeing the insect, his eyes gleamed slightly as he remarked, "It's quite a fine specimen."

Ye Zi glanced at him and said, "I thought you'd be more interested in snakes."

Orochimaru calmly replied, "I'm interested in anything that moves."

"…," Ye Zi was speechless. After a brief pause, he asked, "Do you know what kind of insect this is?"

Orochimaru slightly shook his head. Just as he was about to say something, the giant insect suddenly spoke, "Foolish humans, become my food."

The voice sounded strange, like a broadcast with poor signal quality.

It wasn't particularly surprising that the insect could speak; many summoned beasts possessed developed intelligence and could speak human languages.

"Kill it," Ye Zi said casually.

Orochimaru nodded and added, "Try not to destroy the body. This insect is worth studying."

"Alright."

Ye Zi agreed. As soon as his voice fell, his reflection in the insect's six compound eyes suddenly vanished.

The Bone-Sucking Insect froze for a moment. In the next second, it felt pain radiating through its body.

Ye Zi appeared behind it, lowering his sword-wielding arm as he coldly looked at the insect's back.

Shiiing!

The light in the insect's six compound eyes dimmed, and its grotesque, terrifying body split into two halves, falling toward the ground below.

From the severed body, a palm-sized miniature version of the Bone-Sucking Insect suddenly flew out, attempting to escape in panic.

"Interesting," Orochimaru said with a smile, clearly intrigued by the tiny insect.

If Orochimaru could see it, Ye Zi naturally could as well.

Raising his hand, Ye Zi shot a precise beam of lightning from his fingertips, hitting the miniature Bone-Sucking Insect. The creature let out a sharp screech before plummeting from the air.

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Currently on Chapter 420 - Breaking the Flying Thunder God