Naruto: Building Insect Kingdom Chapter 42 42: Chaos at Toko Shrine

Toko Shrine sat perched atop a hill in the rear mountains of Takigakure. Behind it, a massive waterfall thundered, its spray veiling the jagged rock.

To a casual observer, the hill was solid stone, but its heart was hollow. Deep within a hidden cavern, atop a ritual altar, sat a heavy tal vessel.

Contained within was the beast feared by the world: the Seven-Tails, Choi. It was the sovereign of the skies, the only Tailed Beast capable of flight.

Suddenly, a black-robed shinobi flickered toward the altar. Just as his fingers grazed the bronze surface of the vessel, a kunai whistled through the air, forcing him back.

"I didn't think you traitors would actually have the nerve to target the beast directly!"

Shibuki, the leader of Takigakure, leaped from the shadows. His kunai struck true, piercing the back of an Agakure spy who had been lurking in the periphery.

Shibuki landed, glaring at the lead intruder. "I recognize your movents. Who are you?"

The man didn't hesitate. He reached up and pulled away his mask.

"Since the Leader has already seen through , there is no longer a need for masks."

"Kisuke!" Shibuki gasped. He had suspected a high-level mole, but he hadn't expected his own son-in-law—the man who ate at his table every night. "Why? Why would you betray Natsuhi? Are you willing to abandon your own daughter?"

"Hahaha! Do you think petty sentint could bind ?" Kisuke sneered. "Besides... who says she's actually my daughter?"

"What do you an!"

"Exactly what it sounds like. You raised her—shouldn't you know what kind of person she is?" Kisuke didn't wait for a response.

He whipped three shuriken at the guards closing in, clearing a path. At the sound of his sharp whistle, a dozen shinobi wearing gas masks erged from the dark.

"Leader Shibuki," Kisuke laughed, "the Tailed Beast is wasted in your hands. Give it to Agakure, where it can fulfill its true potential!"

"Never." A Takigakure elder charged forward, his hands blurring through seals.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

The elder was fast—roughly six seals per second—but the technique required forty-four. It took nearly seven seconds of focused concentration. T

o buy him ti, two other elders drew their kunai, parrying a hail of shuriken. Finally, the dragon roared to life, a torrent of water crashing into the spies and slamming several Chunin against the cavern walls.

"Hmph! You think these old bones can stop us? Move!"

At Kisuke's command, the "seeds" hidden within the Takigakure ranks finally sprouted. Several guards turned their blades on the elders they were supposed to protect.

One elder was greviously wounded in the initial betrayal, while the others were pinned down by their own subordinates.

More shadows surged toward the altar. A Jonin wearing a Takigakure headband sneered and slamd his palms against the ground. "Earth Style: Stone Pillar Spears!"

Sharp pillars of rock erupted in a ring around the Seven-Tails, impaling one greedy spy and forcing the others back.

The cavern descended into a three-way slaughter between loyalists, Rain invaders, and opportunistic moles from other nations.

"Protect the altar!" Shibuki roared. He bit his thumb and slamd his hand down. "Summoning Jutsu!"

With a massive poof, a giant water lizard appeared, blasting high-pressure water cannons to scatter the invaders.

In the forest surrounding the shrine, Shisui's Shadow Clone watched the carnage with detached precision. He had a specific directive: Target the Leaf and Root.

Whenever a Konoha operative tried to maneuver toward the shrine, the clone struck with overwhelming force.

A Root agent was stealthily scaling the ridge when he felt a sudden chill on his neck. He looked down to see a carpet of black beetles devouring his clothes and skin.

Before he could scream, he was reduced to a pile of polished white bone.

"He's here!" a comrade shouted, but he was silenced by a swarm before he could even draw a kunai.

Shisui pulled his insects back, retreating into the shadows. He targeted the Leaf specifically because they were the most likely to recognize his Abura techniques—and perhaps, in his own twisted way, this was a form of "tough love" for his forr ho.

anwhile, near the village barrier, the real Shisui had arrived. He wore long black robes, a deep hood, and dark glasses—exactly as he had looked the day he left Konoha.

He wasn't a master of sealing jutsu; the Abura had never been known for it. He couldn't bolster the village's protective barrier, so he created one of his own: a Swarm Barrier.

"Go." He opened his sleeves, releasing thousands of insects to patrol the village periter. Anyone attempting to cross would be sward and consud instantly.

He also deployed a network of reconnaissance bugs a kiloter out. No news was going to leave this village tonight.

Standing atop the waterfall, Shisui looked down. The peaceful village he had seen during the day was gone, replaced by a dark, bloody stage.

A dozen spies and a single Rain squad were enough to turn the "Hidden Waterfall" into a slaughterhouse.

This wasn't in the manga he rembered. But then, the manga was a story of protagonists. This was a real world of grit and consequence, where the "side characters" bled and died in the dark.

Based on his knowledge, Takigakure would survive this night, but at a staggering cost. It explained why, by the start of the original story, the village had fewer than two hundred ninja left.

"A real world," Shisui whispered to the wind, "is never just about the heroes."

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