The swarm retreated in every direction, but they didn't go far. Once they were out of the enemy's sight, they burrowed into the earth to hide. Only a dozen Scouting Dragonflies remained to sweep the area, with three specifically tasked to monitor the retreat of the Iwa squad.
Only after the Iwa-nin had vanished into the distance did the swarm emerge from the ground. This time, every insect converged on a single point.
The living tide gathered at a seemingly unremarkable clearing. Suddenly, the ground gave way, revealing over a dozen massive hives hidden beneath.
As it turned out, the "clearing" was actually a natural depression. Tens of thousands of Camouflage Butterflies had linked their appendages, hoisting stones, soil, fallen leaves, and weeds to create a faux surface that perfectly mirrored the surrounding terrain, shielding the hives from view.
Once the insects were safely tucked away, Tetsumaru released the Summoning Jutsu, sending the hives back to the Aburame clan grounds.
With his preparations finished, Tetsumaru signaled his subordinates. The four of them began the trek back to the Konoha camp.
Along the way, the two recently assigned Genin grumbled incessantly. They complained about their captain not allowing them to fight and how they never had the chance to "showcase their talent."
Tetsumaru traveled in stoic silence, his expression unreadable. Yukimura Saburo, the only veteran member of the squad, simply smiled. He watched his two juniors "courting death" with a touch of schadenfreude.
The Captain was about to be promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin, and Yukimura himself was set for a promotion to Chunin. Once they returned to camp, Squad Aburame would be disbanded. These two newcomers wouldn't have the time to enjoy the benefits of being in the "Chunin Cradle" squad.
In truth, if there had been more time, "Zero-spec Genin" like them would never have qualified for Tetsumaru's team.
The so-called "Zero-spec Genin" were the blank slates of the Academy: no ninja registration number, no assigned Jonin instructor, and no jutsu above D-rank. In common parlance: cannon fodder.
Two years ago, Tetsumaru had been promoted to Chunin. Leaving Squad Ueno behind, he had taken command of a brand-new team. Rumor had it that he'd achieved a string of legendary successes and that his subordinates were being promoted left and right.
(The reality was a bit different: Uchiha Akira had already been a Chunin, and Kurama Yun had retired before she could be promoted. However, neither had died or been maimed on his watch, which was the core truth behind the legend.)
To everyone's surprise, Tetsumaru had showcased a radically different combat style in his solo missions. The scattered arrays of a few thousand bugs had evolved into a "Swarm Tide" of hundreds of thousands. He played a game of attrition, drowning enemies in a sea of chitin while maintaining a strict policy of "no-contact" warfare.
Using this method—one fundamentally different from traditional shinobi tactics but perfectly suited for total war—Tetsumaru hadn't just completed his missions; he had shattered combat records.
Top-tier masters like Hanzo, Roshi, and Qingyan had all tried to hunt him down. At best, they had managed to force him into a ragged retreat; at worst, they hadn't even been able to find his true body.
But then, mysteriously, Tetsumaru had begun to fade from the limelight. His fame eventually shifted from his own lethality to his survival rate: none of his subordinates had ever been killed or disabled, and every member who left his squad eventually made Chunin.
The source of this reputation was the graduation season of Konoha Year 32. Orochimaru had saddled Tetsumaru with three fresh graduates—all Zero-spec Genin—including Yukimura Saburo.
Tetsumaru possessed a surprisingly strong sense of duty as a mentor. Despite being just a squad leader, he took on the responsibilities of a dedicated sensei. He meticulously guided their training and even advised them on which jutsu to purchase with their mission credits.
Two of those Genin had more talent but less sense. Once their strength improved, they let the camp gossip go to their heads. Eager for a quicker path to Chunin, they had proactively applied for a transfer out of Squad Aburame.
Yukimura Saburo, coming from a merchant family, had a broader worldview. He knew he'd struck gold and remained fiercely loyal to Tetsumaru. He even spent his own money to maintain his position, preferring to delay his promotion rather than leave the squad.
He knew that once he left Tetsumaru's protection, he was just another statistic waiting to be erased. His two former teammates had proven him right; though they both made Chunin, they had both "vanished" during Konoha's subsequent defeats.
War in the Land of Rain had never been a smooth affair for Konoha. As the situation shifted, the Leaf had experienced both brilliant highlights and crushing disasters.
After the "Toxic Wasteland" incident ended, Konoha completed its internal power reshuffle. Orochimaru played a masterful game of multi-front containment, keeping Hanzo running in circles, though he still couldn't prevent Amegakure from being directly targeted.
The Land of Wind, weakened by the Great Bear Country War and the retreat from the Rain's wasteland, was unable to maintain its momentum, leaving Konoha to throw its weight around. A reeling Amegakure was forced into a desperate, tighter alliance with Iwagakure.
Konoha held the absolute upper hand.
But then, Shimura Danzo made his move. Completely sidelined from the main command, he became desperate to reclaim authority by racking up "glory." He sent his Root ninjas out on every front, but they only secured petty, insignificant victories.
Worse, Root's "darker" operations drew intense hatred from the other nations, inadvertently pushing Suna, Iwa, and Ame into a unified front.
The most surreal scene of the Second Shinobi World War followed: Iwa and Suna were still tearing each other's throats out in the Land of Vegetables, yet they were fighting side-by-side in the Land of Rain. Iwa even began supplying Suna with resources.
The Tsuchikage, Onoki, knew perfectly well that some of those supplies would leak back to the Bear Country and be used against his own men, yet the shipments continued.
Such was the power of Konoha's dominance. To resist the Leaf, the Wind and Earth nations had to forget their grudges—or rather, they fought with their left hands while their right hands were locked in a tight, desperate embrace to resist "Leaf Imperialism."
The sheer complexity of the interests between Great Nations would have made a veteran of the Warring States period suffer a mental breakdown.
Once the three villages united, their strength in the Land of Rain far surpassed Konoha's. Orochimaru didn't hesitate; he chose to abandon territory to save his people. He organized a massive retreat alongside Jiraiya and Tsunade.
During the withdrawal, the Sannin fought Hanzo yet again, logging their third official "defeat" but successfully pinning the Half-God down for an entire day. This allowed four thousand ninjas to retreat safely back to the Fire Country border.
Post-battle statistics revealed that over 2,600 Konoha ninjas were killed, missing, or captured—entirely because Danzo had refused to retreat. As the official High Commander, he still held sway over many. Those who believed his "Leaf is Invincible" rhetoric followed him into a counter-attack against Iwa, only to be surrounded by the joint Suna-Iwa force and wiped out to the last man.
Danzo himself spent the battle being double-teamed by the Jinchuriki Roshi and Suna's Chiyo. He was unlucky enough to be hit by Roshi's Lava Release, which blinded him in one eye.
But the "Shinobi of Darkness" had one peerless skill: shamelessness. He used his subordinates' sacrifices to escape. As for his oath to "die before retreating"? Who said that? Certainly wasn't me.
But you can't hide 2,000 casualties when you're the only one who comes back. Danzo was sacked for the second time, and Orochimaru was appointed Acting Commander.
The Suna-Iwa-Ame alliance was a product of necessity, and everyone knew it was fragile. However, the speed of Onoki and Hanzo's betrayal still caught Suna off guard.
The very afternoon Konoha withdrew, Iwa and Ame turned their blades on the Sand. Unable to resist the sudden betrayal, Suna was forced out of the Land of Rain.
The retreat was so fast that Iwa not only reclaimed their aid packages but actually received the final shipment of supplies at Suna's former headquarters. That day, the Iwa supply corps and the Iwa cleaning crews just stared at each other, confused.
Iwa-Rain Unit: Does this count as loot?Iwa-Home Unit: If we just ship it back, does that count as mission complete?
Having driven off two Great Nations, a smug Iwa began massive troop reinforcements, intending to launch a pincer attack with their main force in the Bear Country to crush the Land of Wind once and for all.
Then, the "Accidents" happened. Several Ame villages and towns were massacred by Iwa troops. Iwa had been acting like a tyrant in the Land of Rain under the guise of an "ally," but a massacre was a bridge too far. Hanzo would not tolerate it.
Whether the massacres were a misunderstanding or a conspiracy, the Iwa-Ame alliance collapsed. The two forces engaged in a bloody civil war.
Hanzo hit a "Limit Break" on the spot, successfully driving the Iwa out of the Land of Rain single-handedly. Suna and Konoha watched the spectacle from the sidelines, thoroughly enjoying the show and collectively agreeing that Hanzo truly deserved the title of "Half-God."
Since then, the four nations had been locked in a chaotic, four-way tug-of-war in the Land of Rain. No one could maintain an advantage. The stalemate had lasted until today.
In these two years, Yukimura—the sole veteran of the squad—had seen over a dozen new teammates pass through. Most came from prestigious clans like the Gekko, Shiranui, Kurama, and Inuzuka.
These teammates were brilliant and well-trained. Under Tetsumaru's protection, they matured rapidly and were usually promoted to Chunin and transferred out to lead their own squads within three months.
Tetsumaru's fame grew to the point that rumors claimed the Shimura, Aburame, and Ino-Shika-Cho—even the Hyuga, Uchiha, and Sarutobi clans—were fighting over spots in his squad.
It wasn't a joke. Every ninja starts weak. The first few months on a battlefield are the most lethal. A clan heir might have talent and resources, but they don't have experience. They need to taste blood and face death to grow.
A captain like Tetsumaru, who had led a team for three years with a 0% casualty rate, was a unicorn.
Especially in a mess like the Land of Rain, where even someone as strong as Orochimaru had lost his prize disciple.
Who could have predicted that Nawaki Senju, the First Hokage's grandson, would be taken out by a paper bomb trap? Or that his internal organs would "mysteriously" vanish afterward?
It proved that for a clan heir, the danger wasn't just from the enemy. The knives in the dark back in Konoha were far more lethal.
Thus, a Chunin captain who could guarantee 100% safety was incredibly popular. Many wanted him promoted to Jonin immediately so he could officially lead new recruits as a sensei.
However, certain parties blocked his promotion. Still, keeping a ninja with seven confirmed Jonin kills at the rank of Chunin was absurd. To compromise, the Hokage created a new rank: Tokubetsu Jonin.
It carried most of the privileges of a Jonin, including the right to lead A-rank missions. The only catch: no voting rights in the Jonin council. He was stripped of his political voice.
Tetsumaru returned to the camp, turned in his mission loot, collected his rewards, and updated his records.
With the paperwork finished, he disbanded the squad. He told the two strangers to find new teams and took Yukimura Saburo to the Administrative Zone. Both had received promotion notices and needed to finalize the process and collect their new headbands and gear.
"Jonin Aburame, congratulations."
"I appreciate the sentiment, my Lord, but I am not a Jonin. Only a Special Jonin."
Tetsumaru ignored Orochimaru's predatory, cold gaze, responding with flat indifference. He took his new headband and flak jacket, swapping them out on the spot and handing his old gear to a nearby assistant.
Nawaki had been dead for over two years, and any trace of humanity had vanished from Orochimaru. Now, even Tetsumaru—who knew him best—felt his skin crawl whenever they spoke for too long.
"Lord Orochimaru, has my application been approved?"
"Hmph hmph. The Hokage approved half of it, Tetsumaru-kun."
Orochimaru pulled a document from the desk and scanned it. "Your record as a leader is... perfect. Over two hundred missions, 100% completion rate, and zero casualties."
"With talent like that, you should know that the Great Clans will never allow you to execute solo missions."
Tetsumaru understood. His success at protecting his men had become his golden cage. Too many clans wanted him as a nanny for their heirs. He had to lead a team; he wasn't allowed to be a lone wolf.
Orochimaru took a scroll from another ninja and handed it to Tetsumaru. "This is the other half of your request. A transfer to the Land of Rivers."
Tetsumaru took the scroll and opened it. It was indeed a transfer order signed by the Hokage.
"Congratulations. You're finally out of the 'shelved' status. You can unleash your full potential now," Orochimaru said with a thin smile. "I've been looking forward to seeing what your swarm looks like these days."
Orochimaru wasn't talking about the swarm that had driven off the Iwa squad. He was referring to the new species Tetsumaru had been breeding in secret—the ones he refused to show anyone.
With the Iwa and Ame turning on each other, the Rain theater had become a free-for-all. Anyone who showed strength was immediately ganged up on by the other three. No one could win.
Furthermore, Hanzo had become increasingly erratic and independent as his village weakened. He was a wild card—a Kage-level master who answered to no one. He was a danger to everyone.
The three Great Nations had actually begun "throwing" fights against the Rain, ensuring Hanzo stayed relevant enough to keep the status quo but not so strong that he could end the war.
As the new Commander-in-Chief replacing Danzo, Orochimaru had favored highly mobile, guerilla-style warfare. He'd done well.
In truth, he had another strategy in mind: a "steamroller" tactic using massive troop density to crush a front line with sheer numbers. It lacked elegance, but with the right subordinate to implement it, the probability of victory was nearly 100%.
It was a shame he couldn't use it.
"I'm a bit disappointed," Orochimaru added. "I won't be able to discuss science and immortality with you for a while."
"I am honored by your words, my Lord. I look forward to the day we work together again in the Land of Rivers."
"Hahaha! You truly are my cleverest subordinate, Tetsumaru-kun. I look forward to it indeed."