Myrmidon (Naruto/Hunter x Hunter)

[Ser_Serendipity]

A Sort of Vacation​

The portal to another world, Hinata decided, looked somewhat like a dinner plate.

While the monstrous mechanical apparatus that generated it crackled with artificial lightning and hummed with bright visible chakra, the portal itself was placid and softly colored. The machine was elongated like the barrel of a cannon, rife with cabling and gunmetal panels, but the portal was flat, faintly green, and apparently unruffled by the commotion happening all around it as shinobi bustled about preparing for its use. Hinata half expected that if she were to flick it she would generate a series of perfect ripples, like those in a calm lake, but she knew better than to do something so impulsive.

The machine and the portal it generated were hardly dangerous, but they still had to be treated with care.

Kiba Inuzuka sniffed at the air, taking in the suddenly spiking scent of ozone and oil . He frowned, clearly unsettled by the smell. Shino Aburame, as always, gave nothing away, completely unreadable behind the metal visor he wore over his eyes. The only hint of his discomfort was the soft buzzing emanating from his chest, a sound so faint only a shinobi would recognize it.

Hinata couldn't remember the last time Team Eight had assembled for a mission as one. The thought came out of the blue as she shifted on the soles of her feet, looking around at her companions. The metal floor under her was hard and flat. The rest of the room was equally harsh and spartan. It existed solely to house this massive machine.

How long had it been, she wondered. Five, perhaps even six years? It was amazing to think that what had once been routine for her had vanished out of her life almost without her noticing it. This was also the first time she'd been fully kitted out in more than a year, even wearing a flak jacket. But then, so much had changed just in the last decade that it had probably passed unnoticed under the general commotion of life.

Eight years ago ago, Hinata hadn't even been a mother. Compared to that, not going on missions with her old team wasn't much to take notice of. The thought sent her mind spiraling back to her children, and from there to her husband.

"Don't worry," Naruto had said with a rapacious grin; even after more than a decade of marriage it disarmed Hinata without fail. "Nothing is going to fall apart if you take a month or two off. Trust me: you could use the vacation."

He'd winked, a mischievous look. "I've been meaning to find an excuse to spend more time with Himawari anyway: I'm afraid I might have been spoiling Boruto." Warm hands, clasped over hers. Hinata's heart had begun beating faster. "It'll be a little vacation for both of us. You get some time in some exotic other world, and I get the kids to myself!"

When he'd put it like that, Hinata hadn't been able to resist any longer. When Kiba had come to her with the offer of traveling with him and Shino into another dimension on a mission of importance for the Aburame, Hinata had been unsure about leaving behind her parenting duties for more than a month. But with her husband's assurance, the notion of a 'vacation' became more and more tempting. A break was welcome: the notion of visiting another world was intriguing.

Those reasons, among others, had brought her on a lovely Thursday evening to stand together with her team for the first time in perhaps a decade in the depths of one of Konoha's most secure buildings. They were arrayed before a marvel of engineering, an unbelievable fusion of chakra theorycrafting and technology. The room was filled with shinobi besides them, mostly engineers and observers.

Naruto was there, though her children were not. Hinata had said goodbye to them early, Boruto as he headed off to the Academy and Himawari as she lay down for her midday nap. Kiba's wife Tamaki was present, along with Akamaru. Shino's father was in deep conversation with his son, but none of the other Aburame had arrived.

Most notably, Kakashi Hatake was there, looking wrinkled but otherwise the same as ever.

Hinata looked to Naruto at her side, and he caught her gaze with a wide smile. "It's a heck of a thing, isn't it?" he said with genuine appreciation, and his enthusiasm buoyed Hinata up. The portal was somewhat like the one that had carried the both of them to the moon, many years ago; the familiarity sparked a warm memory for Hinata, a vision of drifting through an endless field of liquid gold and green with Naruto beside her.

"It is," she agreed. "I've never seen the Engine before." Her husband shrugged.

"It's safe; well, Kakashi-sensei mostly handles it, and he says so," Naruto said, eyeing the machine. It had begun to make a deep whining noise as condensed chakra within it came to a boil. "It gets used pretty often for trade and stuff, so I don't see any reason to worry."

Hinata knew he was talking to himself just as much as he was her. It made her smile. "I'll be fine, Naruto," she said softly, and was delighted to see her words brought him as much calm as his smile had her.

"Yeah, of course," he said, taking a deep breath. "Yo, Kakashi!" he said, raising his voice. "Is it almost done?"

The former Hokage shrugged. "Looks about." He gestured languidly to Hinata, before turning his attention to Kiba and Shino. "Gather round for a moment, you three. Let's go over the details one more time."

Kiba rolled his eyes, while Shino clapped his hand on his father's shoulder before joining his teammates in ambling over to former Copy Ninja. They set themselves in a rough triangle in front of the older man, with Kiba in the back. Hinata already knew what the mission was roughly about, but she was still glad that Kakashi had decided to give them one last briefing before they were on there way. It was always strange to receive one from her husband; he had only been Hokage for ten months now, and in many ways the position and its responsibilities was still new to the both of them.

"Now, a couple of the most critical things," Kakashi said lazily, his right eye barely open. Every time Hinata met with Kakashi, it amused her that even though he'd had his Sharingan replaced for many years, he usually kept his left eye closed. Old habits died hard, she supposed.

"You'll be entering into foreign territory, and into another dimension besides, so it goes without saying you all should stay on your best behavior," Kakashi chided. Kiba coughed, stifling a chuckle. Hinata could tell Kakashi was grinning under his mask. It always gave the former Hokage some childish pleasure to give his subordinates common sense commands. "The nation you'll be entering is called…" He paused, careful to articulate the pronunciation. "The Republic of West Gorteau. Customs there are rather different than in the Five Nations, but you won't be spending too long there at first, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting familiar with the local culture. Once you're in the Republic, you should be immediately met by our Representative there. Her name is Mari Kansai."

Hinata wondered if it was lonely living in another world for an extended period of time. She was sure she would be, but others would probably have a different reaction. She hoped Mari was able to treat her isolation as an adventure, or at least more than a duty.

Kakashi kept talking as Kiba scratched behind one of his ears. "Mari will guide you to the mission area, which is outside of West Gorteau. She'll be able to give you more precise details about the objective and the local situation than myself." Kakashi wrinkled his nose. "What you don't already know, at least." Hinata nodded. Shino had already informed her of the impetus behind the mission, and it had interested her almost as much as it had clearly impassioned him. At the moment, he was clearly impatient to get through the portal and begin his work.

"Now, remember," Kakashi said, wrapping up the impromptu briefing. "The Engine is a little less forgiving to the passage of those with command of chakra. For someone of your calibre, the portal will likely need to recharge for at least two weeks; that's for each of you. So once you three have stepped through, it won't be ready for use until the end of next month. Hopefully by then the mission will be long completed." He smiled. "Feel free to relax once your objective is completed. West Gorteau is a lovely nation, or so I'm told. Enjoy yourself."

Shino nodded. "Naturally," he said, like a man who'd never enjoyed a day in his life. "Will we be on our way then?"

Kakashi gave the Aburame a thumbs up. "Good luck," he said with faux solemnity. Kiba snorted.

"Cool," he said, giving his wife a peck on the cheek as he wandered back towards the portal. Tamaki giggled, and Kiba grinned as he bent down to give Akamaru an enthusiastic rub. The old dog panted, rolling over on his side and whining.

Kiba laughed. "Oh, don't be such a baby. It's only a month and some. Besides, we're not gonna be fighting anything," he said, growing a little more stern. "You need to relax a little, Akamaru. It's not good to be so stubborn in your old age."

Akamaru let out a short, loud bark, which Hinata's experience with the Inuzuka translated into something like "Fat chance." She didn't blame him. The nin-dog probably felt miffed at not getting a chance to travel with Kiba, but the unfortunate reality was that Akamaru was too slow for field operations nowadays. It pained Hinata to see the arthritic tremors that plagued her friend's canine partner, but there was no way around it.

"Fine, be that way," Kiba grunted. He winced, giving Akamaru another pat. His wife stroked his shoulder, her lip twisting.

As Hinata drew closer to the Engine, Naruto sidled up to her. Unlike Kiba, he didn't settle for a peck on the cheek. Instead, the Seventh Hokage ambushed his wife with a full enthusiastic kiss. Hinata's cheeks lit up red, but she couldn't bring herself to push him anyway: it was the last bit of intimacy they'd have for more than a month, after all. Instead, she just enjoyed it, shoving down her embarrassment.

"Hey, be safe," her husband said as he drew away, his cheeks almost as red as hers. Hinata smiled.

"Of course," she said. "Have fun with the children."

Naruto laughed. "Believe me, I will. I've already set aside some work for Shikamaru; it'll be fine."

It wasn't much of a goodbye, but it was enough for both of them. Hinata moved towards the portal with a full heart.

"So, what?" Kiba asked. "We just step through?"

One of the younger shinobi near the Engine, dressed in the distinctive green of the engineer corp, gave a casual salute, stepping around a protruding cable that was humming with grey light. "Anytime, sir." The deference afforded the generation that had fought in the Fourth War always made Hinata feel strange, but over time she'd learned to ignore it. Kiba scoffed at the title, but nonetheless gave the man a friendly nod.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said, and without another word strode forward into the portal. He passed through it without a sound or a sign: there was no ripple like Hinata had half-expected. Her teammate was swallowed by the light green light, with no sign of his passing.

One of the engineers, monitoring a panel swimming with symbols Hinata didn't understand, gave a thumbs up. "Signal's good," she said. "You two next: it'll shut down for recharge in a couple minutes."

Shino gave his wordless affirmation by walking through the portal without ceremony. He too vanished, and the same engineer nodded in satisfaction.

"You last, Hyuuga-sama," she said, and Hinata looked back to her husband.

He tilted his head. "What're you waiting for?" he said with a grin. "Go! Have fun!"

She smiled back. There were a million things on the tip of her tongue. "Make sure to remember Himawari's bedtime stories," she said. "She's inconsolable without them."

In the end, she'd given voice to the most mundane thing she could.

Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I will. I love you!"

"I love you too." The words followed Hinata as she went to the portal. Out of curiosity, she stuck a hand in before committing her whole body. It was warm and almost damp inside, to her surprise. Without another hint of hesitation, she stepped through.

###

The transition between one world and the next almost hurt. For less than a second it felt like Hinata's entire body was swelling, as though her blood has been replaced with cooling metal. She blinked, and the sensation vanished. Aside from the bizarre feeling, there was no dramatic sense of transition. One moment, she was in the Engine Room, below the Hokage's Tower, and the next she was somewhere she didn't recognize.

Kiba and Shino were already there. Hinata didn't stiffen or ready herself for combat, though she did find herself running just a bit of chakra to the tips of her fingers. An unconscious reaction by her body to sudden travel, and not one she bemoaned; it was good to stay on her guard even in comfortable situations. The new room they'd traveled to was bigger, and much more richly decorated than the Engine Room. For one, it had a lush red carpet, upon which were decorative shapes created by a pattern of yellow, blue, and orange threads. They formed spirals, flowers, and animals that looked like tigers, among others. It was a bit of unexpected luxury, and so it immediately caught Hinata's eye.

Besides the carpet, there was also a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, bright crystals reflecting cheerful yellow lights. There were also some vases set upon wooden stands at either end of the room. In all, it seemed more like a reception area for a fine hotel, or an embassy, than the workmanlike room the Engine was set in. Hinata glanced back over her shoulder, and was surprised to find the portal was already steadily fading. In this room, it wasn't connected to a massive machine, but instead stood alone as a thin ring of metal, with some cables running down into obscurity under the carpet. She wondered how it worked.

Hinata turned her attention back to the rest of the room. She wasn't alone with her team. There were two men standing before them, one on either side of the only door leading into the room. The door itself was a thick mahogany affair; the men beside it were dressed in clean black suits, with wired headsets running up to their ears from under their collars. Hinata could tell from the way they were standing that they had some kind of weapon concealed in their jackets, though she couldn't tell what they were exactly. Hinata thought they looked rather generic, but that was likely the point. These were men who could pass as respectable in a social function and pull guard duty for an important device like the portal with equal skill.

She took a step forward, glancing at her teammates. When neither of them looked to make a move, Hinata decided to introduce herself.

"Hello?" she asked, before realizing that Kakashi had failed to tell them an extremely piece of both basic and critical information. Did the Republic of West Gorteau even speak the same language as the Nations? They were in an entirely different dimension, after all; what were the chances that the language was the same?

"Hello," the man on the left said, and Hinata almost started. He had a thick blond mustache that twitched a little when he spoke, and the word was bizarrely accented: it sounded more like 'halo' coming from him, with undue emphasis placed on the the first syllable, but it was still easily recognizable. "Welcome to the Republic of West Gorteau."

'Bizarre. Did these two learn our language?' That would be sensible. They were at the portal, after all.

Hinata bowed shallowly, along with Kiba. Shino settled for inclining his head. "We are pleased to have arrived safely," she said slowly, sure that she sounded as strange to the man as he did to her. Old etiquette lessons from her father bubbled up. "We were told to expect a Representative of ours; Mari Kansai?"

The man who hadn't addressed her bent his head a little, pressing his cheek into his shoulder. Hinata heard a soft click, probably from a radio hidden under his suit.

"She will be here momentarily," he pronounced a moment later. "Thank you for your patience."

Hinata nodded again, not smiling but being careful to show appreciation nonetheless.

"Nice place," Kiba muttered, looking around. He didn't sound sarcastic. "Why don't we have a carpet?" Hinata giggled.

It was a decent question though. Why didn't they have a carpet in the Engine Room? It would make the place a lot less foreboding. Hinata resolved to ask Naruto about it once they got back.

The mahogany door soundlessly swung open, and a short women dressed in a black suit much like the men guarding it wore bound through, bleeding enthusiasm. She had light brown hair, worn short, and teal eyes. Following behind her was a tall older man with a shining bald head, gleaming under the warm light of the chandelier like an egg. He reminded Hinata of a stoic tortoise, upright and distinguished.

"Welcome!" the woman said, reaching out to take Shino's hand in a vigorous handshake. The Aburame refused to be caught off guard, returning the gesture with calm courtesy. "Ah, such a pleasure to have you three here!" She made eye contact with Hinata. "Oh, Hyuuga-sama!" She inclined her head a little, and repeated her earlier greeting. "Welcome!"

"Mari, I assume?" Kiba asked, crossing his arms, and the woman nodded rapidly. Hinata was worried the representative's head would come off.

"Yup!" she said. "I'm the Shinobi Union's representative here in West Gorteau, but I'm sure the Lord Hokage has already told you that," she beamed. "And this," she continued, gesturing to the man who had followed her in, "is the Chief Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sun Hanya."

"A pleasure to meet you all," Sun said, dropping into a shallow bow with his arm pressed against his chest in an unusual salute. "It it always a joy to meet our shinobi allies face to face."

As Hinata and her companions returned the salutation and sign of respect, the Hyuuga analyzed the situation... and the man's accent. She knew the Union had inter-dimensional relations, of course, but the specifics mostly escaped her; most of what she'd picked up came by proxy through Naruto, and while her husband had thrown himself into the role of Hokage with his usual vigor he wasn't the best at explaining the specifics of what came across his desk every day.

What she did know was that Sasuke Uchiha was usually the one to make first contact (a fact she was reasonably sure was highly classified), and that he passed on what knowledge he deemed appropriate about the Five Nations to gauge interest in other worlds to do business with the Shinobi Union. Most such contacts ended in trade deals, with very few going as far as military assistance: sending soldiers into another world on a mission of war was a complicated subject, not to be approached lightly, and as far as Hinata knew it had only happened two or three times since the Engine had been developed.

West Gorteau was one of those nations with which the Union traded technology and knowledge. They were incidental associates, not nearly close enough to be called 'allies.' Of course, the man was using such friendly language on purpose. He was their chief of Foreign Affairs, after all. It was only natural he would be overly friendly to strange visitors like themselves.

Hinata snapped herself back to reality. Mari had started talking again.

"As I said, I'm happy to see you all. Especially you, Shino Aburame," she said warmly. "I'm sure you've been briefed on the situation?"

"Yes," Shino said curtly. "I am here on behalf of my clan; we decided I was the best to send, to track and hopefully capture samples of these 'Chimera Ants.'"

It was a strange name, Hinata thought, and a little clumsy to say, but at least it was straightforward. As Shino had told her, the Chimera Ants were a rare species native to unexplored lands in this world that sometimes ended up in civilized areas by misfortune or circumstance. They weren't especially dangerous to humans, but they tended to wreak ecological disaster, out-competing and devouring the local ecosystem thanks to their bizarre combination of partho and phagogenesis. Their ability to reproduce rapidly, with each successive generation integrating more traits from local species they had eaten, made them a uniquely thorny problem for the local environmentalists.

Of course, such a species could potentially be a gold mine of potential for the Aburame. If there was even a ghost of a chance something as unique and potentially powerful as that phagogenesis could be bred into Shino's kikaichu, for example, the results would be astounding. Shino had told her all this after Kiba had initially approached her, but Hinata had been quick to see the potential for herself.

"With any luck," Sun agreed. "When my government learned that the Hunter Association had taken interest in this breed of ants, we immediately decided that such information could be of use to our allies."

Ah. Hinata understood the man's behavior now. West Gorteau wanted to grow closer to the Shinobi Union, and had used this information as a gesture of good faith. Perhaps they had regional competitors? The ultimate reason didn't matter. She filed away the analysis for later.

"Hunter Association?" Kiba asked, the same question that Hinata's mind had moved on to. Sun started to open his mouth, looking a little confused, but Mari cut him off.

"Don't worry about that!" she interjected, waving her hands and smiling. "I can brief you all on that sort of thing on the way to the NGL. There's no need to get bogged down with it now."

"Ah, quite right," Sun said. "We've prepared some transport for you, just down in the auto pool-"

"Oh, Hanya, I thought I told you," Mari said kindly, and the man glanced at her. "We won't be needing a truck or anything. We'll make it there just fine on foot."

"Truck?" Shino asked. Mari waved him off.

"A vehicle most of the nations around here use," she said with a grin. "It will be faster for us to run."

"Are… are you certain, Ms. Mari?" Sun asked, clearly taken aback. "The NGL is over four-hundred miles from here: it will be quite the journey."

"We'll be just fine," Mari promised. "I've been wanting to stretch my legs anyway."

The Chief Secretary blinked. "Very well," he said. Kiba chuckled. "If that is your wish. Will you require any provisions? I took the liberty of having them already loaded into the transport, but if you don't wish to use it…"

"Oh." Mari blinked. "That's a good point." She turned to Hinata. "I'm sorry, I should have asked you three before making assumptions. How would you prefer to travel? By foot or truck?"

Hinata looked around at her teammates: Shino shrugged, while Kiba raised an eyebrow. She was curious what exactly a "truck" was, but was also eager to get started. They'd packed light, after all: Kiba had been the only one among them to bring any extra ninja tools beyond those that naturally went with the flak vests, which he kept secure in a series of packs around his waist. Hinata had considered asking him why he'd bothered, but decided it really didn't matter. If Kiba wanted to travel armed, that was his business.

"By foot would be just fine," Hinata decided. She wanted to see what this new world was like, and it was possible that wouldn't be possible from a truck. "We'll carry whatever we need."

"Oh, wonderful!" Mari said. "It can get quite stuffy in here." She stiffened, turning to the Chief Secretary. "Not that I mean any disrespect, of course, sir. I was just raised outdoors, that's all."

Sun Hanya smiled. "Of course, Ms. Mari. I understand what you mean. It can become positively stifling, especially at this time of year. I'm sure some exercise will do you well."

Mari beamed. "Thank you for understanding," she said, before turning back to the newly arrived shinobi. "Alright, let's walk and talk then. We'll go grab what we need and then head out: I have a lot to tell you guys."

The shinobi nodded and as one set off, forward into the strange new world.

'This will be nice,' Hinata thought. It was nostalgic to travel with her team again; like it was the old days. 'NGL.' The name sounded cute to her, like a themed restaurant or a park. She laughed a little as she felt a week of stress slide off her back, an immediate future with far less responsibilities opening up in front of her.

'Thank you, Naruto.' Silently, Hinata appreciated her husband, as she often did. 'I needed a vacation.'

###

This is a bit of an impulse project I've had cooking for a couple months. My apologies for this chapter being so exposition heavy; have to set the board before knocking over all the pieces, as it were. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed it.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

The Face of Terror​

Mari turned out to be a lovely traveling companion. She had a boundless enthusiasm for just about everything, and was extremely knowledgeable about the area. Over the course of the trip west, Hinata learned an amazing amount of information about the new world she'd found herself in.

They'd taken a casual pace for shinobi, covering the four-hundred and some miles between West Gorteau and the NGL (which Hinata now knew stood for 'Neo-Green Life Autonomous Region') in a day and a half of jogging, the thick packs on their backs laden with enough supplies for a week and some of living in the wild. The NGL was a country without any advanced technology or many large settlements, so the supplies were necessary if they needed to spend any extended time there.

According to Mari, the NGL sat on the western edge of the southernmost of the Balsa Islands, a chain of islands to the south of the Yorbian Continent, the largest continent of five that humanity in this world called its home. When Mari had first explained this to Hinata, her head had been swimming with new names and the implications of so many continents. The Five Nations back home all sat together on one continent, and Hinata had never put much thought into what lay beyond them; there'd been little need to. Now, her curiosity was piqued, though somewhat buried under all the other information that Mari had provided.

The island they were on was referred to as the Mitene Union: a series of five nations with almost equal territory. These nations were the NGL and the Republics of Haas, Rokario, West, and East Gorteau. The Republics of Hass and Rokario were older countries that had a longstanding alliance with one another; the NGL and the two Gorteau had more interesting histories. The Autonomous Region had only been established several decades ago, and since then had been fiercely isolationist, eschewing any sort of relationship with its neighbor beyond the occasional trade of food and textiles.

At least, that was the official story. Mari confided in the shinobi that many of West Gorteau's government suspected that the NGL also produced other exports: illegal drugs, cheap 'firearms' (a local weapon), and child labor. The idea of a seemingly idealistic country that wanted to be closer to nature serving as a front for something so unwholesome disgusted Hinata, but it was obvious to her that things weren't always as they appeared. Her disgust was somewhat personal. The NGL reminded her of the traditional Hyuuga, before they had joined Hashirama in his great experiment. Her clan had eschewed technology and lived in isolation during the time of the Warring Clans, and so Hinata was somewhat sympathetic to the idea of living as the NGL purported to.

East and West Gorteau were also more than they appeared. Until about seventy years ago the two countries had been one, before being split apart by a horrible civil war. The war had lasted nearly a decade and killed hundreds of thousands, before an armistice was reached with the help of the Republics of Rokario and Haas. Now, West Gorteau was a constitutional Republic (a notion Hinata found a little odd but understood well enough to be untroubled by), while the East was a Republic in name only. In reality, it was a vicious military dictatorship that treated most of its citizens little better than slaves and built a cult of personality around its 'Dear Leader:' a man selected by nepotism and his relation to the previous leader instead of anything close to merit. A dictatorship was obviously not especially alien to Hinata, but one that degraded and used its citizens so shamelessly infuriated her.

Even today, East and West Gorteau were technically at war, though they hadn't engaged in open hostilities in decades. It reminded Hinata of the relationship between Konoha and Kumo before the Fourth War, though they hadn't been quite as close geographically.

What Mari hadn't said that had been nevertheless simple for Hinata to grasp was that thanks to this troubled armistice, West Gorteau was likely desperate for allies of any kind. In that, the nation had been extremely lucky to make contact with the Shinobi Union when it had.

There was more, of course. The story of the Mitene Union only scratched the surface. The other thing of critical importance Mari had spoken of was the Hunter Association, which Sun Hanya had brought up back in West Gorteau. The Association had been the first to take real notice of the Chimera Ants, and Mari was sure they had dispatched a team to track the invading species as well.

As they had passed through the Republic of Haas, Kiba had latched onto the idea of an elite group with international influence.

"How do you become a Hunter?" he'd asked as they'd jogged down a dirt road. "Where are they based out of? What do they do? How many are there? Have you ever met one?" Those had just been the first few of his questions. In barely a minute, Mari had grown flustered under the barrage.

"Hold on!" she'd squeaked, her face going red. "One at a time!" She'd waved her hands in front of her face, still clutching the papers that had gotten them past Haas's border just moments before.

The questions had slowed but hadn't stopped, and in the end, Mari had had to apologize for not knowing enough to sate Kiba's curiosity. What she had been able to give was still very intriguing.

The Hunter Association was responsible for accrediting and supporting Hunters, skilled men and women from across the world who sold their service as professionals of every stripe; whatever their focus, they were defined by their search for something. They reminded Hinata somewhat of shinobi, though they were less tied to regional governments. Hunters could chase after whatever they desired, but ultimately had less influence than shinobi in world affairs. They covered every specialty from criminal law to archaeology, but were universally tough enough to look out for themselves and they explored the less well-traveled corners of the world. They also carried licenses that granted them access to exclusive resources and passage through just about any country: a priceless possession, for sure. Ultimately, Hinata was glad that Kiba had taken such an interest in the peculiar organization.

Hunters were not nearly as common as shinobi, however. No one except the Association's Chairman knew precisely how many accredited Hunters existed at any time, but Mari knew that there were estimated to be somewhere between seven and eight hundred in the world. That was an impressive number for such an elite organization, but was still an extremely small group when all was said and done.

Hinata had had a question of her own after Kiba had finished squeezing everything he could about the Hunters out of Mari. Hers had been both simpler and more complicated.

"What language do they speak here?" she'd asked, and Mari had smiled.

The same as back home, it turned out. It had been as much a shock to West Gorteau as it had been to the Union when it had first made contact, but Mari confided in the group that it wasn't exactly uncommon. In Sasuke Uchiha's travels, he'd found that many civilizations across disparate worlds spoke a very similar tongue, though they invariably splintered off into various dialects, some of which were different enough that they could masquerade as a separate language entirely. As Hinata had already seen, people here spoke a dialect that was broadly the same but had core differences in pronunciation and occasionally sentence structure; they also had an entirely different system of writing and alphabet, which Mari had tried to get the other shinobi at least a little familiar with.

The reason behind this universal language was a mystery seemingly without an answer, but Hinata could only think of one thing that could possibly share languages across separate worlds.

The Otsutsuki's influence was here, somewhere on this planet. Hinata couldn't know where or in what exact capacity, but she had no doubt of it. The idea frightened her, but worrying about it was pointless. That was Sasuke's purpose, not hers, and Naruto had assured her his friend was well equipped to deal with the problem.

Of course, there was also the issue of no one in this world apparently possessing chakra, a fact that had baffled Hinata on the few occasions she'd used her doujutsu. They had spiritual and physical energy–she could see that dancing beneath their skin and in their bones clearly–but there was no chakra network to channel the energy. It was bizarre.

Regardless of alien biology and the mystery of a universal language, the history lesson of the island and Hinata and Kiba's questions had lasted most of their trip, punctuated by bouts of comfortable silence. Shino had been particularly quiet for most of the trip, but when he'd finally spoken up at the dawn of their second day, Hinata realized it had been because he could barely contain his excitement. It was obvious in the way he spoke and held himself that he had been keeping himself from babbling about the potential for his clan of not just the Chimera Ants, but all the other exotic insects he'd doubtlessly noticed for.

Which is why it genuinely surprised Hinata that his question hadn't been about the Ants, but about Mari herself.

"How did you end up here?" Shino had asked. Here: this new world, and here, in this position, he meant. It was the only question that Mari had taken a moment to answer; she'd pondered it, bringing a hand up to twirl a finger in her hair. The silence Shino had broken had reasserted itself for about thirty seconds, punctuated by Mari's humming.

"I'm from Kumogakure," she'd eventually said. Mari didn't wear a hitai-ate, a trend that some younger shinobi had picked up, so this was new information to Hinata. "I got recruited for the Thunder Corp when I was fourteen years old."

The Thunder Corp. Hinata was familiar with it, though she'd never met anyone who was or had been a member. Unlike most of the Villages, Kumogakure had continued to expand and advance its military since the formation of the Union, as opposed to settling into equilibrium like its peers. Their moon-shattering cannon, which had formed the technological foundation for the Engine that had brought her to this new world, had been one such development.

The Thunder Corp had been another. In a new age with different tactical concerns, the Corp was Kumo's answer to the problem of another enemy like the massed Zetsu and Edo Tensei of the Fourth War. Engaging those enemies in organized formations to blunt their advantages had been effective, but costly and dangerous. Thus, the Fifth Raikage's Black Lightning had provided a clear inspiration to Cloud's military; the safest way to destroy an enemy with a numerical advantage was to do it from beyond their reach.

"I specialized in Artillery Jutsu," Mari had explained. She'd sounded both proud and tired. Kiba had laughed.

"Make-People-Explode-From-Far-Away no Jutsu?" he'd asked, almost tripping over a rock in the middle of the road. Mari had giggled and shaken her head.

"Hitting something with a lightning bolt from a couple miles away might sound exciting, but in the end..." She'd shrugged. "I'd joined the Thunder Corp because I wanted to do something no one else had, but in the end I didn't feel like I was making a difference. I was just another weapon in a nation that was overflowing with them. It wasn't what I was looking for."

"Then how did you get your current position?" Shino had asked.

"I walked into the Raikage's office and asked him for a different job," Mari had said, and Shino had laughed.

"Brave." Hinata couldn't have disagreed with him; Darui wasn't quite as intimidating as A had been, but he still wasn't a man whose time wasn't safe to waste.

"Well, it worked. He told me about this. A diplomatic position in another dimension." Mari had smiled. "I didn't think twice."

By the time they finally reached the border to the NGL, Hinata felt she had a confident grasp on the new world, and on Mari. She was happy to have gotten to know her.

The border checkpoint turned out to be dug inside a massive tree, the roots of which spanned an entire river that ran below it. It was quite the sight, and an impressive feat of construction besides. The shinobi had approached it quietly: before they'd entered, Mari had given them one final bit of advice.

"NGL doesn't let anything synthetic or artificial inside its border: that's going to apply to your jackets, a lot of your clothes, and your visor, Shino," she'd said, using her hands as props to emphasize each item. "Now, we shouldn't break the law, obviously…" She'd smiled. "But it's a bit of a hassle. If you guys give me whatever you want to hold onto, I'll just stow it on the other side of the border: you'll be able to easily locate it with your Byakugan, Hinata." Mari had begun calling Hinata by her first name during the trip, which the Hyuuga had appreciated.

They'd agreed with her convenient proposal, and Mari had snuck across the border with their equipment with typical shinobi efficiency.

Getting through the checkpoint afterwards was a thankfully simple affair: the border guards had been impressed they had packed conscientiously for their destination, an observation that Kiba had nearly snickered at. After they'd had some of their clothes swapped for the entirely natural substitutes provided by the checkpoint, Mari had given them her farewell, wishing them the best of luck. She had to return to West Gorteau to continue her duties as Representative there. Funnily enough, Shino had given her the fondest goodbye. He'd been mostly quiet on the journey, of course, but had grown more and more obviously excited the closer they drew to NGL. Hinata had thought he might give Mari a hug as he thanked her for her guidance.

And then, without much ceremony, they'd entered the Autonomous Region.

###

The NGL was without a doubt a gorgeous country. After retrieving their gear, Team 8 had been at somewhat of a loss at where to start their search. Mari had told them the Hunter Association had apparently suspected the Ant Queen they had been tracking had washed up out of the ocean somewhere near the southern coast; with that in mind, they'd decided to simply boud deeper in, heading for the center of the Region. With Kiba's nose, Shino's insects, and Hinata's sight, they knew they would find what they were looking for eventually; Mari had provided a picture of an ordinary Chimera Ant for Hinata. To her, they just seemed like overly large, somewhat gray ants. Hardly anything special. Nonetheless, locating one wouldn't be overly difficult once they got farther in, especially considering the Ants glutinous appetite would probably have depopulated the local fauna anyway.

The Autonomous Region was like country-sized park, with miles and miles of completely undisturbed forest interspersed with mountains and grassland. Whenever Hinata took a peek with her Byakugan, the sheer number of species calling the NGL their home surprised her; she'd never seen such incredible biodiversity in one place back in the Five Nations. Hinata wondered if the animals had been intentionally brought in, or if the Region was just a naturally astounding enclave. She was inclined to think it was the latter. So many different types of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and everything else living under the sun calling one place their home would almost certainly have been too much trouble to organize.

At one point, they passed within nine miles of a settlement, just on the outer edge of Hinata's vision. The people there lived simple lives. So far as Hinata could tell, the majority of them were farmers. They had rough clothes and primitive hand-made tools, but they seemed happy; Hinata didn't want to observe them without their knowledge for too long, as it felt intrusive, so she deactivated her Byakugan until she was sure she and her companions were out of range of the village.

After a little more than an hour of travel, Hinata estimated they'd made their way about eighty miles deep into the NGL: about half the length of the Autonomous Region. They'd found nothing remarkable, aside from a welcome calm and contentment brought about by the pleasant solitude of the unmarked nature all around them.

So naturally, it came a surprise to Hinata when Kiba stopped short with a stricken look on his face. His left hand came up, his index and middle finger stroking his nose as his thumb pressed into his goatee.

"Kiba?" she asked. The Inuzuka stared straight ahead, his eyes narrowing.

"Something wrong?" Shino asked, stopping alongside Hinata. He brushed a sap-encrusted leaf off the shoulder of his flak jacket.

"I…" Kiba said. His hand dropped, stroking his thin beard. Hinata was a little surprised. She'd only ever seen him do that when he was nervous around his wife. "I just caught whiff of something. I got no idea what."

Hinata quickly activated her Byakugan, scanning everything in the surrounding fourteen kilometers in about six seconds. So far as she could tell, there wasn't anything unusual out there, but Kiba's nose was sensitive enough to pick up something from beyond her range. She let the veins around her eyes recede.

"Describe it," Shino asked, and Kiba winced, wrinkling his nose. His other hand curled into a fist.

"Man, it's…" he started, struggling with the word. "It's like death."

Hinata blinked. "Something rotting?" Kiba shook his head.

"Way worse. I don't know how to describe this to you. It's carrion and mold and..." He coughed. "Picture finding some rotten milk inside a dead body or something, and you might be like, a tenth of the way there. It's bad."

"Hmm." Shino crossed his arm. "Perhaps it is the Ants."

"Maybe? It's definitely not like anything I've smelled before." Kiba said with a little laugh. "Whatever it is, I almost don't want to head towards it."

"Which direction is it?" Hinata asked, and her teammate pointed farther west.

"Where we were headed," he said. "Make sure to keep your Byakugan on, alright? I'd prefer we know everything we can if we're headed that way."

Hinata nodded, activating her doujutsu without a second thought. They set off again, at a slightly hurried pace. The forest whipped by in a blur of green, and a moment later they burst onto an open plain, full of tall grass and stunted trees. Hinata could see that it extended for miles around, before breaking into more forest hemmed in by a set of tall, rocky hills.

Whatever Kiba had smelled, it was a definite concern. Hinata had never seen a scent unsettle him like that. It was hard for her to imagine something that could, if she were honest with herself. Her sense of smell had never been-

There was a flash of unusual movement at the edge of her vision, and Hinata almost lost her footing as she skidded over several stalks of damp grass in surprise. She made a small surprised noise, and her teammates looked to her in concern.

"What?" Kiba asked. Hinata shook her head.

"I thought I saw someone," she said.

"So?" Kiba asked. "NGL's got people. That's not very-"

"It was a little boy. I think he was carrying someone." The sentence shut Kiba up immediately. Instead, his mouth pressed itself into a flat line, and he took a deep breath of air in through his nose. It went without saying that if Hinata had seen what she thought she had, they couldn't afford to just ignore it.

"Huh. I think I got him," he said, pointing southwest. "Do you still see him?"

Hinata shook her head, and Kiba grimaced. "Alright, let's get eyes on him again before we decide anything."

They only had to run southwest for a minute or so before Hinata reacquired her target. She'd been partially right. It was indeed a boy, and he was carrying someone slung in an emergency hold over his back. She'd underestimated their age, though. If Hinata had to guess, she'd say they were both young teenagers, maybe thirteen or fourteen, fifteen if she pushed it.

The teen on the move was lithe and pale, with bone-white hair and eyes even bluer than his shirt. The boy he was carrying looked a little younger, with dark, spiky black hair. It only took Hinata a moment to figure out why he wasn't conscious. The back of his neck was marred with an enormous, vicious looking bruise, painting his nape black and blue. Whatever had knocked him out, it had been a nasty blow. Perhaps he'd fallen out of a tree? It was a surprise he wasn't dead.

Or maybe not, because his friend clearly was no ordinary kid; he was running like hell was chasing him through the dense forest, going at least forty meters a second. That was far beyond anything a human without chakra could accomplish… and yet, he didn't seem to be using any. Once again, Hinata was left baffled.

"What's the word?" Kiba asked, and Hinata focused.

"Two boys, maybe fourteen years old, one unconscious and being carried by the other," she said. It was almost refreshing to rattle off a recon report. "Going about forty meters a second. The unconscious one has a nasty bruise, no other injuries that I can see." She narrowed her eyes. "He's running east."

"Hmm, fast." Shino said. "Is anything chasing them?"

Hinata could see for about two hundred meters behind the boys. If they were being chased, it wasn't an immediate threat, but it was fully possible they were being stalked by something beyond her range.

"Not that I can see," she said, and Kiba groaned.

"He smells like…" he said. "I dunno, he's got one bizarre scent on him." He wrinkled his nose. "Like a dead cat." He turned to Shino as they effortlessly sped across the forest floor, slowly gaining some ground on the distant teens. "What do you want to do?"

Hinata could see Shino looking somewhat torn under his visor. He was clearly impatient to begin his work with the Ants, and she couldn't blame him. The compromise, to her, was obvious.

"I'll follow them," she said, and Shino looked up, gratitude clear in his face. "Don't worry: you guys go on without me for now. Kiba, your nose should be more than enough to find the Ants. I'll make sure these two make it safely to wherever they're going."

"You won't have any trouble finding us again, I hope," Shino said, and Hinata smiled.

"No, that will be simple. Just don't cover your tracks." Kiba smirked, tapping his temple, and Hinata winked back; it was nice to be out with her team again. "Hopefully this won't take too long."

"Alright," Kiba said, coming to a stop. Shino did so as well. "Be careful; try not to spook them."

"I'll follow from a distance," Hinata said. "You two be careful as well. I'll see you soon."

The team split. Kiba and Shino headed west, while Hinata doubled back to the east, following the peculiar pair of teens. The boy in blue was clearly exhausted, and yet he pushed himself onward with a singleminded determination. Not just determination: terror.

Hinata wondered what had sent him running so.

###

In the end, the boy ended up all the way at the NGL's border. Well, almost all the way. He had been picked up by two locals on horseback near the border and taken the rest of the way to the checkpoint. The intervention had been a relief for Hinata. Before the locals came along it had been obvious that the teen had finally reached the limits of his impressive endurance, and she'd been considering stepping in herself. His kilometers-eating sprint had been reduced to an exhausted stagger, and every inch of his body had been soaked with sweat. His friend still hadn't woken up.

Hinata settled into the thin forest that rose up on the shore of the river on the other side of the border, watching the boy. The dirt road that led up to the checkpoint offered him no cover, not that it would have mattered with the Byakugan.

The teen was truly remarkable, running like his life was on the line for so long. Once he staggered through the checkpoint to the other side of the border, gently laying his companion down near one of the massive roots of a nearby tree and drawing his shirt over him, Hinata considered leaving. He was clearly safe now. She'd done the responsible thing and escorted him in her own way. It was time to get back to her job, and her team.

And yet, she couldn't quite tear herself away. She wondered why. Something about the boy reminded her of the past, and of shinobi in general. His speed and endurance, of course, was remarkable, but it was more than that. The way he carried himself, how he scanned his environment, it all added up to someone with clear expertise.

What had made a boy like this flee in terror? Hinata wanted to ask him, but she wasn't sure that was the right decision to make.

In the moment of hesitation that she continued watching him, the teen pulled a cell phone from a bag that had been returned to him at the checkpoint. Hinata didn't recognize the design, but the device itself was obvious. Mobile phones like this had been getting more and more popular in both Konoha and the other Villages for the last couple years: Hinata didn't own one herself, content with a house-phone.

She wondered if the technology that had sped up the development of mobile devices had come from West Gorteau. Ten years ago, most phones in the Five Nations had required land lines; five, and even the smallest mobile ones had been more like bricks than phones. Now, like the boy's, they could fit in the palm of her hand.

He dialed a number, and the call was quickly answered. Hinata, overcome by curiosity, read his lips as he curtly spoke into the device, still breathing heavily.

"Spinner."

A pause as he waited for whoever was on the other side of the conversation to greet him. The Byakugan let Hinata read his face like an open book. Worry, doubt, regret. Still some terror, even now.

There was a hard ball of uncertainty growing in her stomach.

"I'm fine. Gon's fine. Kite's in trouble."

Well, she didn't know his name, but it was a safe bet that the other teen he'd been carrying was named Gon. Unless he'd left Gon behind, and Kite was the one he was carrying? The bruise on his neck was certainly nasty, but the way the teen treated him made Hinata think that he wasn't in any true danger. If he thought he had a concussion or something equally threatening he would have woken him up by now, assuming he had any medical knowledge.

"We left him behind."

It took a moment for Hinata to resolve the word 'behind' from the boy's lips thanks to a slight difference in pronunciation, but once she did the implications unsettled her. Considering the boy's ability, if he'd needed to leave 'Kite' behind something must have gone seriously wrong.

"We're just outside the checkpoint."

The boy paused. Hinata assumed Spinner was speaking; the teen listened for about twenty seconds.

"Reinforcements? We'll wait."

He hung up, tossing the phone aside and slumping to the ground in an exhausted position.

'Reinforcements?'

Hinata resolved to wait just a little longer to see if these 'reinforcements' would arrive soon. A burgeoning suspicion had begun pushing itself forward in her mind, and she was curious if it would be vindicated. Mari had told them that the Hunter Association had dispatched a group of their own to investigate the Chimera Ants; was it at all possible these two boys were part of that team?

They were young, but as Hinata had been considering earlier that day, the Hunter Association reminded her of shinobi in many ways. Perhaps they too had children in their ranks.

She also wanted to learn what had sent the boy running with Gon before she left. If there were a potential danger in the NGL, it wouldn't do to be cocky and assume she and her teammates could handle it without any intelligence.

Hinata remained in the tree line on the other side of the border for about ten minutes, content to sit and read the boy as he tried and failed to relax in the shade of the tree. It was an hour or so after noon, and the sun was high and hot. The time passed without incident, except for one curious instance.

About five minutes into her vigil, the boy snapped to attention and leapt to his feet despite his obvious fatigue. He looked about wildly for a second, even turning around, before eventually bringing his search to a close, glaring in Hinata's general direction.

'Huh.'

Hinata was concealed in the tree line over one-hundred and fifty meters away. She hadn't gone out of her way to hide herself, but the distance and foliage cover still made it all but impossible to spot her directly. If the boy really did know something was where she was, it was a very impressive feat of instinct. She found herself legitimately impressed.

Somehow, he'd detected her. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, wondering if it would make a difference.

A silent stalemate asserted itself. Hinata didn't move, and neither did the boy. After forty seconds of quiet inaction, the boy slowly sat back down, casting a worried look towards Gon. He kept an eye on her position, but made no other obvious moves. It seemed that ceasing her active observation had indeed quieted whatever instinct had pricked at him.

He was clearly concerned about his friend, but also wasn't willing to put any distance between them to hunt down a potential threat so long as it wasn't immediate. Hinata's respect for the teen went up another notch.

With her Byakugan deactivated out of respect for the boy's nerves, Hinata became aware of the reinforcements at the same time as the teen when they arrived several minutes later. A truck rumbled up to the checkpoint, kicking up a cloud of heavy dust and grinding to a stop with an unpleasant screech. Hinata had seen plenty of the vehicles as she and her team had traveled across the various Republics; they were rather remarkable, though she doubted she'd ever need to use one.

Three men filed out of the truck, fanning into a triangle and slowly approaching the boy at the base of the tree. Hinata activated her Byakugan once more for clarity. There were six other people in the truck of various size and gender, but since they hadn't exited Hinata ignored them to focus on what she was sure was the 'reinforcements.'

All men, obviously. One enormous and middle-aged, with an equally huge pipe wrapped in cloth, dressed in a fine suit that he wore casually and wearing tiny sunglasses. He had a nose that'd clearly been broken many times, so many it was practically bent into a rough crescent, and a rude smile.

One smaller and younger, the complete opposite of the taller man; he was composed and well groomed in every way. Short black hair, wiry glasses widening a thin face, and an immaculately tailored suit that matched his hair. Out of the new arrivals, he made the least distinct impression, which made Hinata resolve to watch him all the more carefully.

The last arrival was an ancient man with his hair pulled into a topknot and an impressive beard. Ancient, but not withered, as though he'd traded every wrinkle in his life for muscle instead. He was dressed in robes as white as his hair, and wore high wooden geta. Of the reinforcements, the white-haired boy was only surprised to see the old man. Hinata could tell from his reaction–widened eyes, quickened heart–that he recognized him.

Hinata was surprised too, though not for the same reason. All three of the men were bright. They shone with an internal light under her Byakugan's sight, shimmering with something similar to chakra. From a casual glance, Hinata could only call it raw life energy, in greater quantities than she'd ever seen in a human before. The old man was the most luminous of them all: it reminded Hinata a little of Naruto, though if her husband were the sun, this man would be its blinding reflection.

When they began speaking, she made sure to follow the conversation with her Byakugan.

The large man with the pipe spoke first, his rude smile expanding into a full grin. "What's this? They're just kids," he drawled. He spoke loudly enough that Hinata could pick up bits and pieces despite the distance. "If you're here to play, you'll get burned. Go back home."

The white-haired teen frowned, and Hinata with him.

"Stop it, Morel. That isn't nice." The thin man spoke up, adjusting his glasses. "They're only children." Now, Hinata had the large man's name.

The ancient man chuckled. "You look pretty defeated," he said with mirthful eyes. "Was the enemy that strong?"

The teen ground his teeth, his body shaking with frustration.

"One of them could use Nen," he said without prompting. Hinata didn't recognize the term, nor did she know what 'them' could be referring to. "That was the worst aura I've ever encountered. Worse than my brothers. Worse than Hisoka's. Now that I've learned Nen myself, I can tell. You guys are unbelievably strong. But I still can't see you defeating that thing."

Nen. Was he referring to the chakra-like aura that surrounded the men and, now that Hinata knew what to look for, leaked from the teen's very bones? That seemed likely. If that were the case, she must have been mistaken in her earlier appraisal of this world as lacking in chakra. It clearly had something like it, in this Nen, even if it manifested in a different form. It was just less common and less obvious was chakra.

The thin man smirked. "Whenever people encounter the unknown, they tend to lose perspective. You're in a state of panic. We'll take it from here. Go lie down somewhere."

Morel laughed. "You're no better than me, Knov."

Knov and Morel. Two out of three. Hinata wondered what the old man's name was.

Morel turned to the teen. "Kid, the minute you start talking about who's going to win in a Nen fight, you're wrong. In most cases, you won't know your opponents ability. One instant of carelessness is all it takes to turn the tables. You can't make assumptions based on the amount of aura. A battle can turn at any point." He grinned. It was a predator's smile: no, a Hunter's smile. Hinata was positive that's what these men were. "That's what fighting with Nen is. But regardless, you always have to fight certain of victory. The moment you were overwhelmed by your opponent's aura and fled, you were disqualified. You're lower than a loser."

Hinata bristled on the boy's behalf. The lesson is sound; confidence in battle could very well decide the fight, as she knew all too well, but it was easy for her to see that the teen was already beaten down. The timing on this lesson was atrocious, but Morel didn't seem to care.

There was a moment of silence, and the teen closed his eyes. He'd stopped grinding his teeth. The old man asked another question.

"Is Gon asleep?"

So the other teen was Gon. It was nice to have that confirmed.

"He was going to attack the enemy, so I used force to stop him. I didn't have time to control my strength, so I don't know when he'll wake up."

That took Hinata aback. That terrible bruise on Gon's neck was his friend's doing? She hadn't even thought of that possibility. The explanation was also strange. Gon had been about to attack whatever enemy had frightened his comrade so much? The boy must have been either incredibly brave, or unaware of the danger.

Morel chuckled. "That kid shows some promise then."

"Morel!" Knov actually looked annoyed; Morel had finally gone too far for him. The larger man shrugged, while the old man ignored his companions' little spat.

"It's difficult to believe that Chimera Ants are devouring humans, but since it appears to be true, we must keep casualties to a minimum. If we send fighters who aren't strong enough, they'll only strengthen the enemy. Do you understand?"

It took Hinata a couple seconds to absorb what the man had said, and when she did, she almost fell on her butt.

Suddenly, everything about the conversation she'd listened to, no, what Kiba had smelled, no, the whole mission-

Everything was cast into a new, horrifying light.

If what they'd been told about Chimera Ants were accurate, how they imparted traits from their prey onto their offsprings, what would happen if one ate a person? An Ant with the intelligence and strength of a human being?

No, more than just a human being, Hinata realized.

'One of them could use Nen.'

Hinata closed her eyes, contemplating the implications of that. An ant that could use something like chakra? Would it be giant, like the creatures shinobi could form contracts with? Would it take on the physical characteristics of humans as well, able to pass as one? She didn't know. The boy was clearly no pushover, and she imagined neither Gon nor Kite had been either. So it was definitely a threat. But it was more than that.

'I still can't see you defeating that thing.'

Hinata felt cold. She could see for herself that these men were extremely powerful in their own way. Assuming the teen wasn't blinded by his terror…

She needed to get back to her team. They needed to know about this.

"Yeah." The boy said. Even distracted as she was, Hinata still picked up what he said without effort. "I understand." He hesitated. "Before you guys go… can you feel that?"

Hinata stiffened as Morel nodded, clicking his tongue. "Something's been watching us," the tall man said in a serious tone. "How long?"

"I'm not sure," the teen answered. "Whatever it is, it started following me a couple miles from the border." She'd been following him much longer than that, but Hinata was still impressed he'd noticed her that far back regardless.

"Is it an Ant?" Knov asked. The teen shrugged.

"I think it would have attacked me if it were. The ones we met weren't the kind to stalk someone for a couple miles. I don't know what it could be: I thought I might have spotted it a couple minutes before you arrived, but I couldn't pinpoint it."

While the Hunters discussed her, Hinata was paralyzed by a crossroad opening up before her.

On one hand, she wanted to rush back to her team armed with this knowledge immediately. On the other, it was possible that would put all of them in unnecessary danger. From that, arose the other option.

These Hunters were clearly powerful, and knowledgeable about the Ant threat: moreso than her or her team. They'd be indispensable allies. But it was risky to approach them, for a variety of reasons.

She had to make a decision quickly.

The old man, whose name, to Hinata's irritation, was still unknown to her, was the only one to take serious action in looking for her. While his comrades stood around glancing at one another, he brought his hand up to his eye and peered through a tiny space between his index and middle finger. Hinata cocked her head at the strange motion.

'An observation technique?'

He scanned all around him before his gaze eventually fell on the tree line. After a couple seconds of minute movements, he eventually peered directly at her. Hinata blinked. That had been fast; all of these Hunters had impressive senses.

He smiled a devious smile, the kind that only old men with a thousand private jokes were capable of, and waved.

Hinata blinked again. Of all the possible reactions, she hadn't expected him to wave. After a moment, she decided there was really only one thing to do.

She stood up from her crouch, and waved back.

"It's a woman," she watched him say. "Hmm. Strange eyes."

Having been spotted, Hinata came to her decision quickly. Communication was key in a situation like this. If she ran off, she'd likely only raise suspicion. That was something she and her team didn't need right now.

And these men were potentially too useful to ignore.

"My name is Hinata," she mouthed, bending her knees slightly and channeling chakra to her legs. "I am not a threat." The old man cocked an eyebrow, repeating the words out loud for the benefit of his companions. Morel straightened his posture, while Knov took his hands out of his pockets. The teen under the tree stood up, looking to her position with suspicious eyes.

Hinata took a deep breath, and jumped.

###

Another chapter a little heavy in exposition for my liking, but we've pretty much reached the end of that. Now the more interesting stuff can get underway. Hope you enjoyed it.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

The Woman With White Eyes​

When the woman came hurtling out of the sky, there was a brief endless moment during which Killua Zoldyck was sure that he was going to die.

He was taken back to the night before by the sudden, familiar entrance. He was taken back to the night before when his heart had been frozen by fear, too terrified to beat, and though he knew that it was irrational, that today he was in no true danger, the echo of yesterday's silence stole a beat from his heart once more.

The moment mercifully passed, but it left behind sweat on Killua's brow and a tremor in his hand. He stood between the woman and Gon, controlling his breathing, and did his best to read her. Analyze, strategize, compile. The old ritual of observing the unfamiliar calmed him as he looked the new arrival over.

She was female, obviously. Not very tall: only had two or three inches on him. Wearing simple clothes, a pale jacket and beige shorts. Over the jacket she wore a light green vest covered in pockets and zippers; it looked thick enough to stop a knife. She stood straight with her palms out, a clear sign of passivity. No oddities about her body or other modifications that he could see.

With the exception of her eyes. Killua had never seen eyes like that. They were the color of pale moonlight and lacked pupils, like flat circles of empty light in the woman's face. If Killua didn't know better he would have supposed she were blind.

But she clearly was not, and that fact unsettled him.

The woman's leap reminded him of the cat-like Ant, but she carried none of the menace that that thing had. It wasn't a lack of threat, Killua acknowledged. There was still something dangerous about her, but it wasn't reckless, terror inducing peril. Instead, she emanated controlled preparation, the sense that she could burst into violent action if it were necessary. He was used to that.

She stood like a Zoldyck, Killua realized. The assassin's instinct that softened his footsteps and moderated his stance was present in her as well. It reminded him of his mother… though thankfully, the urge to stab the woman in the face didn't accompany it. The new arrival instantly became far more interesting to Killua. He wondered how she had come across the same kind of training he'd been subject to his whole life.

The Chairman had a similar reaction to him, though Killua was positive it was for different reasons.

"Oho, interesting," the man said, stroking his beard. "You're light on your feet, young lady."

How far had she jumped, Killua wondered. At least from across the river, more than one-hundred meters. Leaping that fast and that precisely was a hell of a feat; he would have to concentrate to pull it off, and landing without a sound was also impressive.

'Nothing I couldn't do, though,' he reassured himself.

"Forgive me," the woman said in a peculiar accent. Killua cocked his head, narrowing his eyes a little. He'd never heard someone with that particular lilt in their tone; she was definitely from a country he'd never visited. "I wasn't sure if I should approach you or not."

It was obvious she was apologizing for spying on them. He'd known someone had been watching him for the past half hour or so; the feeling had eaten into his gut. Nevertheless, Killua felt a measure of relief that the apology was also obviously genuine. If the woman was lying, she was the best he'd ever seen.

"Who are you?" Knov stepped forward, adjusting his glasses. "Why are you here?"

The woman kept her face expressionless. "My name is Hinata Hyuuga," she said calmly, keeping her profile non-threatening. She glanced at Killua, and he made eye contact with her pale eyes for the first time. It was unsettling. "I was following you."

"I know," he said. Killua was aware he sounded a little bitter, but he didn't really care. "I felt it. Why did you bother?"

The woman didn't change her expression, but Killua felt something warm come off her anyway. "To ensure you were safe. I couldn't leave a child unattended, let alone one carrying another, not when he was so clearly afraid."

This woman had seen his terror; the fact that she'd called him a child paled next to that. Killua felt embarrassment building in his chest and shut it out.

"Ah, children of your own," Netero chuckled, and Killua knew right away he was correct from the way the woman's eyes slid over to the Chairman. In addition to being annoying and tough as iron, the old bastard was way too observant.

"That's not what I meant," Knov cut in. Morel watched the conversation with a flat smile. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

Hinata blinked. "My name is Hinata Hyuuga. I come from a Hidden Village very far from here." She paused for a second, clearly choosing her words. "I came here with two comrades in search of the Chimera Ants."

"Then-?" Knov started, but Hinata had yet to finish.

"We had no idea they had begun eating humans," she said with an apologetic look. "That's why I am here talking to you. I wanted to return to them, but I didn't want to leave you unsure if I were friend or foe."

"And which are you?" Morel asked, swinging whatever he had wrapped in cloth off his back. Killua wondered if it was a grotesquely oversized sword or something equally ridiculous. His thoughts of the large man were tainted with resigned bitterness.

"Friend, I believe," Hinata said, and Morel grunted. "Or at least, not your enemy."

"Your 'Hidden Village," Morel said. "What's it called?"

"Konohagakure."

The Village Hidden in the Leaves. Interesting name.

"Never heard of it," Morel responded, echoing Killua's own thoughts. He was remembering the first Hunters Exam he'd participated in, more than a year ago. There had a man from a Hidden Village there, a shinobi named Hanzo, the man who had brutalized Gon and still somehow been made to surrender. Could this woman be one of his peers?

"Well," Hinata smiled. "It is hidden."

Morel laughed. "You've got me there!" He pounded his cloth-wrapped tool into the road, kicking up a cloud of dust. "So, you're not an enemy. I suppose that's good. Shouldn't you be rushing back to your comrades now?"

"Before I do, I'd like to make an offer," Hinata said, and Killua felt himself shifting a foot back. He was too keyed up. The woman was intentionally radiating sincerity, and her earnest words had still sounded like a threat to him. It was Gon's fault, being right there, unconscious under the tree. His friend helplessness was getting to him.

'Your own damn fault.' Killua couldn't tell if he was talking to Gon or himself.

"From what you've told…" Hinata paused, and smiled again. An action so disarming it almost achieved the opposite effect. "I know your names," she said, looking to Morel and Knov, and then to Killua and Netero. "But not yours. Could I trouble you for them?"

He hated her politeness. He wasn't used to it. Gon tended to be obnoxiously sincere instead of the calculated friendliness Hinata was putting off.

"Killua," he gave, and the woman gave him an infuriating sign of gratitude, nodding her head. The Chairman took a moment longer.

"Netero," he eventually said, without much inflection. Hinata gave him her non-verbal thanks as well.

"Well, Netero, from what you've told Killua, I imagine you three are here to suppress–" her lip twisted, "–or perhaps exterminate the Ants."

"Well, hopefully it will not come to that," Netero said. Killua was sure he was lying; something about the way the man's eyes lit up at the word 'exterminate' said so. He didn't understand why the Chairman would tell such a meaningless fib. Perhaps that was how such a powerful man got his incidental pleasures. "But yes, that is precisely why we are here. The surrounding nations cannot afford to let the Ants spread, and so called for our assistance."

"Then you are Hunters," Hinata said, and for the first time she showed an emotion that wasn't bland friendliness: triumph. It breathed a little life into her, and Killua felt himself relax a little. "Good. If Killua is right and the Ant that attacked him truly is stronger than you three–" she said, "And I can tell, you are quite powerful. If that Ant really is a threat, then facing it with my comrades would be dangerous, especially if it were not alone."

"Ah." Knov finally spoke up once more. "An alliance."

"Precisely," Hinata said. "We are here with broadly the same interests; I see no reason we couldn't cooperate. It would give of us a higher chance of success."

She was so mechanical about it, but now that Killua had seen a hint of the woman's human side, he could see the earnest curiosity and confidence that lurked under her facade. He didn't feel like he had to stand between her and Gon anymore, though he didn't move from his position.

What she was saying made sense, of course. It would be better to confront that Ant with allies; the more the better. That was obvious.

"Hmm." Netero played with his beard. "We are not desperate for help. If we would seek it, we would accept only the strong."

Hinata grinned. "You're worried I'm not worthy of accompanying you?" she asked. It wasn't a mocking question, though she was clearly a little amused. Netero laughed in response.

"Of course!" Morel added with a wide grin of his own. "This will be a battle, and a long one; a struggle for life against a powerful foe!" He grew a little more serious, though he was clearly still enjoying himself. Knov scoffed at the large man's dramatic delivery, but Killua couldn't disagree. "How could you help us?" Morel finished.

"Hmmm," Hinata said, crossing her arms. She was silent for a moment; clearly deciding something, Killua thought. After about three seconds, she came to an obvious decision. Her fingers tightened slightly around her arms as she focused on something.

Veins pushed themselves out of Hinata's forehead around her pale eyes, and Killua frowned, mildly disturbed by the sudden and somewhat grotesque transformation. Her unmarred eyes suddenly gained a faint pupil, barely more than a ring of discoloration in the center. The woman didn't seem discomfited, despite the bulging veins. Killua glanced down at his hand.

It reminded him of his families own techniques for hardening muscles, sharpening nails, or improving reaction speed. Yet another similarity to the Zoldycks. He wasn't sure what to think of that.

Hinata turned around, putting her back to the Hunters. Netero raised an eyebrow, and Killua's frown grew. Now he wasn't quite sure what she was planning.

"You've broken each of your limbs many times," she said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder to gesture at Netero. The Chairman blinked. "Your hands, too. The right, hmm, seven, or perhaps eight; your middle knuckle could only have been dislocated in that case." She didn't move, didn't look over her shoulder. Killua was skeptical of the obvious theatre. It had to be a trick, a skill involving memorization, though he wasn't sure why she would bother. "Your left, only four I would guess. You're ambidextrous, but you must still favor your right hand or else it wouldn't have suffered that much damage."

The Chairman chuckled, stroking his beard once more. Hinata was still. Killua finally moved, deciding it was okay to not stand between the woman and Gon. He slowly paced around her, coming to stand a couple feet in front of her. She was staring straight ahead, veins still bulging.

"Morel," she said, still not moving. "You have quite the pipe under that cloth. It's packed with some kind of tobacco."

'A pipe?' That was stupid. Who took a pipe to a fight? But when Killua glanced at Morel, the man looked startled. If the woman had guessed, she'd guessed right. Impossible. Was she really looking right through not only the back of her head, but everything else?

"Knov… you're not carrying much," Hinata said, and the man nodded. "But the phone in your pocket is green."

Knov removed the cell phone, and Killua wasn't surprised to see it was indeed a green flip-phone. The woman had an impressive trick for sure, seeing through things, but Killua didn't see how that would be of much use to the Hunters.

"There are six more people waiting in the truck," Hinata continued. "None of them are professionals, but they're certainly eccentric. As for you, Killua…" She paused, and blinked. Killua blinked back.

Hinata licked her lips. For the first time Killua had seen, she looked uncomfortable.

"You have quite a few scars under your shirt." Oh, had that been all? Killua supposed he did have a lot, certainly more than most kids his age. Some of the burn marks from his electrical training were kinda ugly, too.

Hinata took a step forward, and Killua started. It was the first time she'd moved since 'activating' her eyes.

"And..." she said, extending a hand. Killua backed up, and she paused about three feet from him, her hand pointing at his face.

"You have a needle in your brain," she said, slowly stepping forward. The words rooted Killua in place; the world went grey, narrowing down to the strange woman's hand. She tapped him high on the forehead, gently, probably the most gently anyone had ever touched him. It shocked him, jolting the grey from his vision. "Right here, buried in your prefrontal cortex."

She drew back, her hand falling to her side, and narrowed her eyes. With the veins still bulging out of her temple, she looked almost menacing. "It has rather sinister aura."

Killua couldn't speak. She wasn't lying. She couldn't know to lie about something like that. Unless Hinata Hyuuga had been following him for far, far longer than he'd known, there was no way she could understand the significance of what she'd just said.

His hand curled into a fist as Hinata stepped back, giving him some room. There was a needle in his brain, and it was impossible to doubt who had put it there.

"Perceptive vision," Knov said. Killua listened distantly. "Impressive, but I'm not sure that's what we're looking for."

Hinata shook her head. "My eyes acuity is useful, but that is not what you'll find helpful about them. I wished to demonstrate that aspect of them first so you'd find what I'm about to say more believable."

Killua rubbed at his forehead. Was that feeling just his imagination, a psychosomatic effect of what Hinata had told him, or had it always been there, so long he'd stopped noticing? Like there was a splinter, barely a centimeter long, underneath his skin.

"These eyes are called the Byakugan," Hinata said, pronouncing the foreign word carefully. "When I use them, my vision expands, as you've no doubt realized, to perceive everything around me. But it is not just three-hundred and sixty degrees of vision. It also grants me telescopic sight."

Morel hummed, resting his covered pipe on his shoulder once more. "And how far does that extend?"

"Fourteen kilometers."

The large man's eyes grew wide under his glasses and Knov coughed, choking on air. Netero was the only one among the Hunters who didn't outwardly react to the proclamation. Killua could barely believe what he'd just heard. Seeing through everything around you with enough clarity to pick out old injuries like the Chairman's… for fourteen kilometers? The idea was insane.

Even worse, she had no reason to lie. None that Killua could come up with, at least. And if it were a lie, it would be easily disproven, and Hinata had to know that.

Suddenly, he realized how the woman had tracked him so unerringly and so accurately, from beyond the range of his senses. She could have been following him for most of his life with eyes like those, and he'd never have been able to tell.

What kind of Nen was she using? Some insane application of En? Killua was sure he would have noticed her En extending out if that were the case, and besides, even a true master of En like Kite had only been able to extend his radius to fifty meters. There was no way this woman was so horribly far beyond a Professional Hunter like Kite, able to defeat his range almost three-hundred fold and disguise it with In at the same time. That was impossible.

Killua knew the other Hunters were running the same calculations in their heads.

She'd said her eyes were responsible. Byakugan: the name meant nothing to him. Could she be an Enhancer, improving her vision? An Emitter, placing surrogate eyes close to the target? Killua had never heard of anything like that, but today he was painfully aware that he was young and in many ways naive. Maybe her eyes were fake, and the Byakugan was actually a Conjuration that replaced them and granted her such insane vision. Or she could be a Specialist; maybe even one like Kurapika, with his scarlet eyes.

Or maybe this was something he couldn't understand at all. The idea made Killua shiver. A power so far beyond his frame of reference that he didn't even know where to begin to analyze it.

"That's a very frightening ability, young lady," Netero said. He grinned like the foolish old man Killua knew he wasn't. "And certainly a useful one!" He gave Hinata a thumbs up, before squinting at her with amusement. "You're in! Assuming you're not lying, of course."

"No, sir," she said. "I have no reason to. If you'd like, I could demonstrate them for you; perhaps one of your companions would be willing to run fourteen kilometers in any direction?"

"Ha!" Morel said, baring his teeth. "They'll be no need of that!"

Knov nodded. "I agree," he said quietly. "This is some good fortune. Let's be on our way, and quickly."

"Yes, please," Hinata said, the veins around her eyes receding. "I'm anxious to return to my team." She smiled one last time. "I'll see you all in the NGL."

And then, as quickly as she'd arrived, she was gone.

Netero watched her go with a bland look. The Hunters remained quiet for nearly two minutes; to Killua, the silence was both a blessing and irritating.

"What an odd woman. She volunteered too much information," Knov said. Hinata could still be watching them, of course, but Killua knew that the other Hunters didn't really care.

"She was eager to gain our trust," Morel said, scratching her chin. "And though I begrudge it a little, it worked on me." He chuckled. "That was one earnest woman. Giving away such an incredible Hatsu like that, without reservation… she's either very confident or very stupid, and she certainly didn't seem the stupid type."

"Hmm." Netero was a master of making old man noises. Killua couldn't tell if they meant anything. "She was certainly a warrior." The Chairman was clearly contemplating something, though Killua knew he didn't have a ghost of a chance of figuring out exactly what that was.

"Oh?" Knov said, raising an eyebrow. "She seemed a little… soft, to me." Killua understood what the man meant. The woman was barely taller than him and couldn't have weighed more than fifty, maybe sixty kilograms at the most. Size didn't mean much when Nen entered the stage–Bisky had taught him that too effectively for his taste–but she'd still had an aura of… kindness that most people lacked. The word made him want to gag, but he couldn't think of a better one.

"Surely you're not so naive." There was something different in the Chairman's voice. Killua had only heard it once before, when he and Gon had 'fought' the man during the Hunter Exam. It was something between laughter and respect. "Hinata Hyuuga has killed before; it's likely she'll kill again." He glanced at Killua. "She walks like an assassin."

Netero straightened up, tapping his geta on the dirt road. "We'll work with her for now, and her comrades as well; that Hatsu is too impressive to ignore. But I don't need to tell you not to be comfortable around her. She's a dangerous woman, and she didn't tell us the whole truth about several things."

You shouldn't trust odd women who hurtled out of the sky and asked for an alliance out of the blue, Killua thought. It didn't take a genius to figure that out.

Morel snorted. "Sounds about right," he said. "Then let's go. This assignment just got more interesting, and I'm eager to get started." The large man set off, with Knov casually trailing behind him.

"One moment," Netero said. He turned to address Killua.

"As you can see, we are willing to accept assistance… so long as it's no hindrance."

'Hindrance?'

The Chairman tossed him two chunks of wood, and Killua snatched them out of the air. There were ink symbols painted on each bit, some sort of kanji that he didn't recognize.

"There are two assassins waiting in a nearby town," Netero said, and Killua frowned in confusion. "Defeat them by the end of this month, and we will permit you to join us. Only two of you will be welcome in NGL." The Chairman looked away and followed after his subordinates.

"Best of luck."

Killua watched them go, all the way up until they entered the checkpoint. He felt feverish, the events of the last twenty-four hours breaking over his brow with furious heat. Eventually, once the Hunters were out of sight, he walked back to Gon, looking over his unconscious friend. He wondered how he would explain what he'd just seen to him.

Killua picked up Gon and slung him over his shoulder, carrying him to the truck. As he walked, he touched his forehead again, feeling something there that had been there all the life: impossible to ignore, now that he knew it existed.

The presence filled him with anger; cold and satisfying anger that doused the fever. He resolved to gouge it out the moment he had time to. He didn't care if it was in his brain. He wouldn't suffer his brother's intrusion, especially like this.

'Illumi, you're going to pay.'

###

I'll be honest, I'm less sure about this chapter; of all the ones written so far, it's the one most likely to potentially undergo future revisions. Still, I hope you enjoyed it.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

A Meeting of Monsters​

It only took Hinata half an hour to meet back up with her team. They'd stopped to have lunch on top of a small mountain, a mound of stone dominated by craggy faces dotted with jutting trees that clung to the cliffs with admirable tenacity. Kiba had smelled her coming, and waved at her as soon as she came into view, two miles from the base of the mountain. Hinata had waved back and set about climbing towards her team. The mountain was only about a kilometer tall, so it took Hinata a minute or so to reach the top.

They'd already laid out a sandwich, a small donburi, and a bottle of water by the time she'd reached them. Hinata had thanked them and devoured the meal in short order, surprised by her hunger.

She'd been tense, confronting the Hunters like that, and the food helped her relax. Shino had obviously noticed.

"How'd it go?" he asked. Hinata popped the last bite of rice and raw fish in her mouth, chewing contemplatively.

"Interesting," she said, swallowing with more than a little satisfaction. "His name was Killua, and the boy on his back was Gon. He ran all the way to the border."

"Huh, no wonder you took so long," Kiba said, lying back with his arms behind his head and staring at the sky. It was a beautiful, if somewhat chilly day. "You talked to him?'

"Not at first," Hinata responded. She was sitting crosslegged, and she leaned back to rest on her arms as the food settled. "But I was curious; he reminded me of a shinobi, so I stayed an observed him for a minute or two. He made a call and got news that 'reinforcements' were coming, so I decided to wait for those as well."

Shino hummed. "You certainly were curious, if you were willing to wait for all that."

'He reminded me of Boruto.'

Hinata didn't say it, but she was sure her teammates understood. "It turned out to be a good idea," she said, and both Shino and Kiba perked up in interest. "Killua, Gon, another man they were traveling with named 'Kite,' and the three men who ended up being the reinforcements-"

"Hold on, three guys? And who's this Kite?" Kiba cut in, and Hinata nodded.

"Three men arrived in a truck. They were the reinforcements mentioned. Kite was one of Killua's companions, but he wasn't with them or with Killua. I'll get to that in a second," Hinata said, making a shushing mention. Kiba huffed. "Listen. All of them, they were Hunters."

"Oh!" Kiba sat up straighter. "Then-?"

Hinata nodded. "They noticed I was observing them, so I approached them myself. I didn't want them to suspect I was an enemy. We talked. I managed to confirm that Gon, Killua, and Kite were the initial Hunter team sent to search for the Chimera Ants."

"But then where is 'Kite?'" Shino asked quietly, and Kiba shot him a look.

Hinata frowned. "That is where things get complicated. I didn't get the exact story, but from what Killua told the other Hunters," she paused. "That's Morel, Knov, and Netero: remember their names." Kiba and Shino nodded, now fully paying attention. Wind whistled across the top of the mountain. "From what Killua told the other Hunters, he, Gon, and Kite were attacked by an Ant."

"Attacked by an ant?" Shino asked. "I don't understand."

"This is important," Hinata said. "This second Hunter team, they've been sent in because there have apparently been reports of Ants devouring humans."

Kiba sucked in a breath through his teeth; Shino just froze, his hands resting on his knees. Hinata was pretty sure he wasn't breathing.

"That's…" Kiba said after a second. "Shit. And they… they take in traits from what they eat, right? Physical and, like, mental?"

"Yes," Shino said distantly. "From what I know, if a Chimera Ant ate a human…" He shook his head. "Ants with the intelligence and capabilities of humans? They would become monsters. It's thankful people in this world don't have chakra; I can't imagine the implications."

"That's the thing." Hinata leaned in. "People in this world don't have chakra, but these Hunters had something a lot like it."

"What?" Kiba massaged his forehead, his posture slumping. "I haven't sensed anything. It's not really my forte, but still…"

"Neither have my kikaichu," Shino confirmed. He stood up and started pacing. "Your Byakugan?"

"I didn't know to look for until I saw the Hunters: Netero especially. That man is dangerous," Hinata admitted. "But once I saw it, it was unmistakable. They call it 'Nen.' From what I can tell it's raw life energy. It's almost like Yang chakra, but less… stable, I suppose. I wouldn't be surprised if those Hunters were on the same level as us, at least in some ways."

Hinata wasn't sure how to describe Nen beyond what she'd said. She also wasn't sure how to explain her suspicions about it to her team without going into more detail about what Naruto had told her of the Otsutsuki and the origins of chakra than she was comfortable with. It had been a series of late night conversations, years ago, when Naruto had been more than a little drunk and reminiscing about the war. It was a time in his life that he rarely spoke about.

Chakra had been artificially created by Kaguya and her sons by combining the physical and spiritual energy of the body into something new and in many ways dangerous. It was all too plausible to Hinata that what the Hunters called Nen were those same ingredients, mixed and animated not by the machinations of a goddess but by the human spirit.

That explanation would justify their missing chakra systems, their obvious astonishment at the Byakugan, and the peculiarity of their inner energies. It was a half-baked theory, gradually pulled together as she'd made her way back to her team, but it was the only conclusion Hinata could come to. At least, assuming that humans in this world worked the same way that they did in hers.

"That's not good," Shino said. "If that's the case, if the Chimera get their hands on a human with Nen capabilities, they would become unbelievably dangerous." He twitched. "What happened to Kite?"

"I don't know," Hinata admitted, and this time Shino noticeably flinched. "Like I said: Gon, Killua, and Kite were attacked by an Ant." She rubbed her knees. "Killua didn't say what happened explicitly, but the way he talked about the Ant, it was extraordinary. He said all three of the Hunters that arrived wouldn't stand a chance against it, and like I said, it was obvious they weren't ordinary men. In addition, he was the one who knocked Gon out: apparently to keep him from attacking the Ant."

Kiba and Shino exchanged looks. "Quite ruthless," Shino said.

Hinata couldn't help but agree. "He was terrified," she said. "That much was obvious. I don't know if he made the right decision, but it's not for me to judge. Whatever the case, he left Kite behind with Gon in tow."

Kiba scoffed; Hinata could tell he felt derision at the idea of leaving a comrade behind with an enemy, let alone attacking another to keep them out of the fight. "It was obvious to me that Killua was extremely experienced," she continued, making sure that Shino and Kiba knew what she meant by 'experienced.'" "If he ascertained the enemy was too strong to face, I wouldn't doubt his judgement. If that's the case, than Kite is probably dead."

"And the Ants have likely devoured another human with Nen." Shino grimaced. "This is no longer a vacation," he said. "The situation is now very serious."

It was so matter of fact, coming from him, that Hinata almost giggled, but she couldn't disagree. The notion that their vacation had ended almost before it had begun brought a flare of disappointment to her chest... and yet, for reasons she didn't really understand, there was also a warm thrill in her gut.

She hadn't been on a real mission in over a year. Had she missed that thrill? Hinata thought that was more than a little selfish of her.

And yet, she couldn't deny the feeling of anticipation in her core.

"Alright, so," Kiba said. "Five Hunters-"

"No, only Netero, Knov, and Morel entered into the NGL," Hinata interrupted with a smile. "I kept an eye on them. They sent Gon and Killua off; Netero told them they could return if they defeated some assassins."

Kiba still had his mouth open. "O-okay," he said, processing the sentence. "Alright, three Hunters, at least one that's been eaten, maybe more if we've got incomplete information. At least one Chimera Ant that's scary enough to mess with a Hunter team specifically sent to investigate, and with more information than us: maybe more, if we're unlucky. Who knows how many other Ants, all of which could potentially be dangerous if they're big enough to be eating people. Everyone I just mentioned can kinda use chakra, and none of them like us. Am I missing anything?"

"Yes: I got the new Hunter team to agree to work together with us against the Ants," Hinata said, and Kiba blinked. Shino let out a dry laugh. "We should try to meet up with them sooner rather than later. We might be spending a lot of time together, if the situation really has degraded to the point Ants are devouring humans."

"You were busy, Hinata," Shino said. "Good work."

Hinata smiled at the compliment. "Don't thank me yet," she warned. "Those Hunters are suspicious people. I don't blame them, but it's something to keep in mind. I went out of my way to be open and they still don't trust me."

"Well, they don't need to trust us to work with us," Kiba said, standing up and stretching out. "They just have to…" he stopped. "Uh, trust us not to stab them in the back."

Hinata giggled, and Kiba sighed. "Shut up, alright. That made more sense in my head."

"So what now?" she asked. Shino stopped pacing.

"We track those Hunters, or we find the Ant's nest," he declared. "I imagine the both of them will be hard to miss."

Hinata stood up, dusting a stray piece of rice off her stomach. "What're we waiting for then?" Kiba said, picking something out of his teeth.

"Let's go find these Ants."

###

Forty minutes later, the Ants found them.

Hinata could tell both of her comrades started feeling the sensation of being watched at the same time, as though there were a pair of eyes floating just over her shoulder, judging her. Kiba stopped, sniffing at the air. They'd begun moving through the treetops, something that most shinobi from Konoha found faster and more comfortable, and the Inuzuka kneeled down on his branch, keeping one hand on the tree's trunk to steady himself. He took another deep breath.

"You feel that?" he asked, and both Hinata and Shino nodded. "It's that same smell," he said, grimacing. "Way closer this time." He bared his canines. "Though this time it's almost like… a dog."

"Perhaps you are smelling an Ant that was the product of a dog," Shino suggested, and Kiba growled in the back of his throat.

"It's disgusting," he grumbled. "If I get the chance, I'm killing it." He pointed to the northeast. "It's coming from over there."

Hinata wanted to believe it wouldn't come to that, but if the Chimera Ants were eating humans, they would likely just regard her and her team as prey. If it came to that, they'd have no choice but to defend themselves.

It had been longer than she'd thought since she'd killed something. Almost two years now. Though she'd killed plenty of bugs around the house. Maybe the Ants would be the same.

She activated her Byakugan, focusing her attention on the forest in the direction Kiba had pointed. The shinobi waited in the trees, unwilling to move without more information. The forest very much belonged to the Ants now, most likely; since Kiba had picked one up, walking into an ambush became an unpleasant possibility.

It only took twenty seconds for the first Chimera Ant to come into Hinata's field of vision.

The Hyuuga didn't really know what to think when she saw it. It was a creature entirely outside her frame of reference.

No, not entirely. It just wasn't what she had been expecting.

The thing looked more like a wolf than an ant; Hinata was sure it was responsible for the scent Kiba had reacted to so viscerally. It loped forward on all fours, sniffing at the ground. It was in its limbs and joints that its true heritage became obvious; they articulated like an insect's, covered in a hard chitin, and were capped with claws rather than paws. The Wolf-Ant had a kind of natural body armor across its torso and legs, glossy like a beetle's shell; the rest of its body was covered in red fur. Strangest of all was its head. Human eyes staring out of a wolf's face. It even had a shock of bristly black hair, almost like a wig.

It was both horrifying and remarkable. Hinata's throat was dry. More Ants were coming into her field of vision, following after the Wolf. Hinata counted four… no, five more. They were all like the Wolf, armored horrors with clear combinations of human and insect traits laid over other animals. It was a sunny day, but Hinata felt cold. She'd never imagined the Chimera Ants would be like this.

There was one that looked like a deer walking erect with cloven feet and human hands. Cantering next to it was a creature with the lower body of a horse and the torso of a woman, covered in yellow hair and scales, with an extended neck spotted with black marks and the head of a lizard, bristling with teeth.

Slithering behind them came a bright green snake the size of a small truck. Hinata shivered, feeling her stomach flip. The Ant had dozens of tiny arms drawn up inside itself, like those of a centipede, and porcupine quills with white tips sprouted from under its scales. They looked like thin, cruel feathers.

The last two Ants were less grotesque; one walked upright with an equine chest and face but had the arms and legs of a spider, and the last was separate from its companions. It soared high above them, about two-hundred feet in the sky. To Hinata, it looked the most like an ordinary animal; a hawk the size of a man with crimson and black feathers, though it had clearly defined hands at the ends of its wings. The familiarity was a relief, even if the misplaced hands disturbed her.

"I see the Ants," she said quietly, doing her best to sound calm. Shino glanced at her, while Kiba remained focused on his nose. He'd closed his eyes. "There's no question they've eaten humans. They all look like hybrids." She did her best to describe what she was seeing as the Ants sped through the forest towards their position. The Hawk was fixated on them, its narrow eyes focused like a laser on the tree they sat in. Hinata was sure its keen vision was piercing the canopy.

"Man," Kiba said, his eyes still closed. "That's fucked up." Hinata coughed, forced to agree.

She wasn't so sure she'd have difficulty killing these things now. Her neck was covered in goosebumps; the thought of them existing was far more disturbing than killing them would be.

"They're coming quickly," she said. The Ants were bounding through the forest with unnatural speed; they'd likely reach her position in about two minutes. "That hawk has its eyes on us."

It made sense to her now how the Ants had managed to spot them from so far away. The hawk's elevation and keen eyesight likely put everything within twenty kilometers firmly under its purview. That, combined with the enhanced speed and perception the Ants obviously possessed, made it the perfect creature to place on overwatch.

"Can we avoid them?" Shino asked. Hinata frowned.

"Not with that hawk in the air," she said. "I'm not sure how fast it is, but with its range of vision, outrunning it would be difficult no matter what." She considered, watching the movement of the Ants carefully. "And it's clearly communicating with the others. I'm not sure how."

Shino sighed. "Then we'll have to take them on," he said, standing up from his branch. "How far?"

"Eight kilometers."

"When they reach five-hundred meters, we'll attack," the Aburame decided. "Since we've maintained our position they probably won't suspect it; surprise will make up for the numerical advantage." He mumbled to himself, just two or three words that Hinata didn't pick up. "Let's attempt to take one alive, if at all possible. Perhaps we can communicate with it."

Attacking an unfamiliar enemy was dangerous, but waiting for them wouldn't improve their chances any. Hinata agreed with Shino's judgement.

"Leave that wolf one to me," Kiba said. "It's pissing me off."

Hinata glanced at her teammate and decided that Kiba's canine instincts were none of her business.

"Six kilometers," she announced.

She was a little nervous, if she was honest with herself. Life and death fights weren't as common for her as they'd used to be since her children had been born. She trusted decades of training that had been drilled into her since she was a toddler, but worrying about rusty skills was only natural.

She shook it off. Ultimately, her body would do its job, and if it wasn't in the mood, she'd just force it to. There was no way in hell she could afford to die in another world. That's all there was to it.

The Ants were speeding up a little. They certainly didn't intend to creep up on the shinobi; it seemed they were content to try and blitz them. Against normal humans, that strategy would be incredibly effective. Terrifying, too.

Hinata and her team were not normal humans.

"One kilometer," she intoned, settling into position for a long leap. She already had a target marked; the Deer-Ant that stood like a person, which was sprinting along the left side of the loose diamond formation the Ants had adopted. Its ears swiveled left and right, no doubt picking up traces of her voice even from the distance.

"Go."

Hinata launched herself forward like a shot from a cannon, recklessly expelling chakra from her feet and shattering the branch beneath her. The forest became a blur of green and brown as she hurtled towards her target, her teammates alongside her.

The Deer-Ant had slightly less than one second to realize something had gone horribly wrong before Hinata struck it with all the violence and mercilessness of a lightning bolt.

She hit it square in the face with a fist wreathed in roaring chakra; the Lions Fist has flickered into existence as soon as the Hyuuga had launched herself. A normal person would have had their head removed by the blow; an unlucky shinobi could have had their neck broken.

Neither of those things happened to the Deer-Ant. Instead, it was merely launched backwards with terrific force, its face crumpling inward like a crushed can. It hit the ground and left a trail of thick blue blood on the forest floor, its limbs twitching. Hinata landed at the same moment, anchoring herself with chakra. She still slid a foot or two thanks to loose topsoil, but the majority of her momentum vanished.

Hinata shook her stinging hand, trying to banish the twinge of pain racing down her arm from it. The Ant's face had been surprisingly tough.

She checked her surroundings. Kiba had tackled the Wolf-Ant and was currently ripping at its throat with his one claw-like hand, with the other burying a kunai in the things joints. Shino had kicked the Lizard-Horse hybrid in the face, destroying one of its eyes. Hinata picked her next target.

The monstrous Snake-Ant, which had been slithering through the canopy, twisted itself towards her. It was the largest enemy; her Juken would be more effective against it.

As the snake dropped out of the tree above her, Hinata jumped back, letting it slam to the ground. Nearly one ton of scales, quills, and muscle landed with a dull thud. The fall didn't slow it down whatsoever. Quickly enough to make a whip-like crack of air, it struck out at her with its quill-tipped tail. Hinata flipped horizontally over the blow, tapping the tail as it passed under her. A burst of chakra forced itself past the snake's scales, shredding some of its thick muscle.

The snake howled like a man, and Hinata nearly tripped as she landed, startled by the noise.

"You little bitch," the thing hissed, watching her with narrow orange eyes. Its vertical pupil made helped the look of fury on its face even more obvious.

Hinata gasped. She couldn't help herself. The appearance of the Ants was one thing, but this-

"You can talk?" she asked, taking a step backwards. The snake drew its injured tail in, nestling it under the rest of its body.

"I can do more than talk!" the monster hissed, slowly unfolding and circling around Hinata, keeping about five feet away. She remained still, keeping her hands in a Gentle Fist pose and ready to strike without warning. "Who do you think you are? I'm going to turn you into a smear for that!" The snake was long enough that it could entirely circle her and still have a meter left over. It did just that, stopping and watching her.

Hinata wasn't sure how something with such a snake-like face could look both smug and hateful, but the Ant managed just that.

"Anything to say before you die?" it laughed. It began constricting, ready to impale her on its many quills and crush her in the same motion. Hinata frowned. The Ant wasn't very smart. There was nothing stopping her from just jumping out of range; she was certainly faster than the creature's strikes, so it had no chance of snatching her out of the air if she tried. Not only was the creature arrogant, it clearly didn't have much experience fighting opponents that could provide meaningful resistance.

Most likely, all the humans it had encountered had been civilians like those she'd seen in the settlement, several hours ago.

The thought made her clench her fists. "Stop," she warned. "We can settle this."

"Yeah," the snake chuckled. "With your death!" Hinata sighed, before taking a deep breath.

'What dumb last words.'

The snake constricted, attempting to crush her. Hinata breathed out and pushed off her right foot. A quill brushed her flak jacket.

Hinata spun.

"Kaiten!"

The Heavenly Rotation burst out of Hinata's body in a flash of purple and white as the snake made his final push. The Ant screeched as the burning chakra scraped away its scales, flinging it outwards. Several of its quills were shoved deep into its body, puncturing what Hinata assumed were its intestines and lungs, and the whiplash of being flung away in every direction at once snapped three of the snake's vertebrae.

The Ant flailed and screamed, its body rapidly filling up with blood. Hinata ignored it, focusing on her teammates and the other Ants. Shino had already dispatched his enemy, and Kiba had gutted the Wolf-Ant and decapitated the other horse-like one. He was covered in blue blood and small scratches, but was otherwise unharmed.

Three Ants dead. The snake was writhing and helpless, and the Deer-Ant Hinata had struck was barely breathing through its smashed face, so only the hawk was still combat-effective. Hinata focused on it; it had drawn a little closer, down to around one-hundred and seventy feet, but was still out of her and Kiba's reach.

"Shino!" she shouted. "Can you take the hawk?" His kikaichu were their only ranged option, besides ninja tools, and Hinata didn't like their chances of taking down the airborne Ant with thrown knives.

Shino shook his head. "No." Hinata's heart sank. "Too much open space; it would be far too easy for it to outmaneuver and destroy my insects up there." Hinata huffed. They couldn't let the Hawk-Ant escape; it would doubtlessly warn the other Ants about them, and the idea of being constantly hassled by reinforcements wasn't an appealing one. It had been simple to destroy this small patrol, but the Ants were tough and fast. In larger numbers, they would be a serious threat.

"Hinata!" Kiba's bark drew her attention. Her teammate was standing behind her in a bracing stance: knees bent, hands cupped in front of him. It took Hinata a second to understand what he intended.

"Are you sure?" she asked, and Kiba nodded with a far too enthusiastic grin.

"You're the only one with a ranged jutsu!" he said. "Now, quick! Before it runs!"

Hinata didn't waste time with another question. She took off towards her teammate, leaping onto his outstretched hands. Kiba sunk down, gathering strength, and then flung her into the air with all of his strength.

It was a strong effort; Hinata was thrown nearly one-hundred feet straight up, coming within twenty meters of the Hawk-Ant. There was a frozen second at the apex of the toss where she and the Ant locked eyes. The thing laughed.

"Moron," it rasped. "You'll never-"

As she began to fall back to the earth, Hinata thrust her palm out at the Ant, straight and deadly as an arrow.

"Hakke Kusho!"

The Vacuum Palm roared out, and the Ant's eyes went wide. It swerved, trying to flit out of the way of the blast of air pressure, and for just a moment it seemed it would make it. Then the absence left behind by the wave brutally sucked the Hawk-Ant in, and it screeched in pain. The pressure battered one of its wings to pieces, stripping it of all of its feathers and breaking it in two places. The Ant spiralled out of the sky, desperately flapping its maimed wing and screaming all the while.

Hinata landed softly, and a moment later the Ant crashed into the canopy several meters from her. It smashed through several branches, plummeting to the forest floor with a series of sickening snaps: some branches, and some delicate bones as its shattered wing was further fractured.

That was that, she thought, straightening up as the Ant gurgled in pain. Five out of five-

The snake she'd left behind spasmed, slipping across the ground to wrap around Shino. Hinata watched it in surprise.

Surprise, but not concern, because when the snake let out a triumphant hiss and squeezed, Shino collapsed into a swarm of insects.

The snake didn't have time to express surprise before Hinata rushed over and slammed her palm into its eye. Slowed by pain, it had no chance of dodging; the spike of chakra Hinata delivered pushed deep into the Ant's brain and killed it in moments. It flopped to the ground like a discarded hose.

Hinata looked down at the body, both impressed and startled. The Ants were hardy; she was sure the snake's broken bones and punctured organs had taken it out of action. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

She checked around one last time with the Byakugan, ensuring none of the other Ants would rise. The one she'd struck with the Lion Fist was still down, practically invisible under a swarm of Shino's kikaichu. Hinata was sure it would expire soon. That left the hawk. It was badly maimed, scrabbling about on the ground, but it was obvious it didn't pose much of a threat.

"Shit, shit, shit." The hawk groaned. "Shit."

"Well," Kiba said, walking over. He wiped some of the blood on his hands off on his pants. "A bit messy, but I guess we got one of them alive." He looked around. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, keeping a wary eye on the hawk. "Shino, where you at?" Kiba called.

Shino dropped out of the canopy right behind him. Kiba jumped. "Damn! Don't do that!" he scolded. Shino shrugged.

"I had to jump for the substitution to be convincing," he said.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to drop down right behind me! Without a sound, too!" Kiba huffed, pounding his chest. "Jeez, I'm all worked up. These things freak me out."

"Good." The last Ant was watching the shinobi. It had given up on trying to crawl to its feet, resigned to lie in a pool of its own blue blood. "You may have gotten my squad, but our leader's gonna kill you when he gets wind of this."

"Oh?" Shino said softly, stepping over the body of the snake and approaching the Ant. The hawk refused to flinch back, but Hinata could tell it wasn't as fearless as it was trying to appear. "Your leader, huh?"

"That's right!" The hawk shouted. "The squadron commander's gonna tear you to pieces!"

"Hmm." Shino looked the Ant over. "Is he that much stronger than you?"

The hawk coughed up blood and phlegm. Hinata flinched. "Tons," it said. "There's no way he'll let you get away with this."

"What's his name?" Kiba asked. Shino turned back to him with a frown.

"They shouldn't-" he started to say, before the hawk spoke once more.

"Squadron Leader Colt," it spat. "You humans picked the wrong squad." It groaned, trying to stretch out its broken wing.

Shino was silent. "You squadron leader has a name," he eventually said. He sounded worried. "Do you?"

The hawk looked at him like he was a moron. "Why would I have a name?" it asked, and Shino frowned.

"Why does your squadron leader have a name?" he responded. The hawk's beak clacked together. It was incredibly strange to watch human sounds emerge from it. The sight almost made Hinata queasy.

"I don't know. That's just how it is," the hawk said after clicking its beak three or four times. Hinata wondered if that was a sign it was thinking. "It doesn't matter."

"No, I suppose it doesn't," Shino said. "Where is your nest?"

The hawk's eyes narrowed. "I'm not telling you shit."

"You already told me your leader's name," Shino pointed out, and the Ant froze. "There's no harm in telling us more. Eventually, we'll find it on our own regardless."

The Ant's appearances were disturbing, but now that they were talking to one, their immature demeanor unnerved Hinata far more than their looks. Maybe this 'squad' was just populated by particularly unimpressive examples, but the Ants obviously acted without much consideration for the situation beyond simple instincts like aggression. This hawk, and the snake before it, both spoke and acted like murderous teenagers. They clearly didn't think things through before opening their mouth.

Hinata hadn't hesitated to kill them before, but the lack of wisdom the Ants displayed unsettled her. It was almost childish. She could feel her a bit of sweat forming on the back of her neck at the implications, and took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to fret over the psychology of monsters who devoured humans.

"Well… I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice," the Ant decided. So they could learn; it was a relief, in the way, even though it obviously meant trouble. "You all can go to hell."

Shino waved his hands, and slowly but surely the Ant was covered with kikaichu, the writhing mass of black insects obscuring everything below its head. The hawk sneered.

"Commanding insects, huh?" it coughed. "Weakling."

"They will drain you of your life," Shino said ponderously. "It will be a gradual and painless death. If you wish to avoid it, please, tell me where we can find the nest."

The hawk didn't answer. Shino waited ten seconds, and then shrugged.

"Very well."

It took a little over a minute for the hawk to die, and it maintained a steady death glare at Shino the whole time. It had been a long time since Hinata had seen such obvious fear and hate in something' eyes. She could tell that Shino was hoping throughout the whole process that the Ant would recant, that they would get something more than a corpse for their troubles, but it was just as obvious to her that the Ant was too stubborn to give in. They had killed its comrades, and it was determined to die alongside them.

In a way, it was admirable. Nonetheless, Hinata didn't find herself very affected when the Ant finally passed, its eyes rolling back in its head and its neck going slack as the parasitic insects finally finished their greedy work.

"Well," Kiba said, examining his nails. One of them had broken during his fight with the Wolf-Ant. "That wasn't that bad."

Hinata nodded, looking around the short-lived battlefield. "They're certainly fast," she said. "And their strength is impressive. They're clearly inexperienced, though."

"Used to preying on the helpless," Shino agreed as his insects receded from the hawk's body. "That much was clear to me." He produced a small knife and a flask from his flak jacket and approached one of the dead Ants, sawing off a vestigial antenna and placing it in the flask. "There will be others, more dangerous than these ones. They were adequate soldiers, but little more; I suspect the later generations produced by the Queen will be more capable."

Kiba snorted. "We'll see. For now," he said, breathing deep, "I think I might have those Hunters' scents." He wrinkled his nose. "Like old wood. And smoke."

Hinata glanced at him. She rotated her wrist, working out a minor kink that had refused to vanish since she'd struck the first Ant in the face. "That would probably be Morel. He's carrying a huge pipe, packed with tobacco." She realized she had no idea why. There was probably a better reason than the man being extremely enthusiastic about smoking; the Hunters seemed far too practical to indulge in something like that. It was likely a weapon.

"Huh. How big?" Kiba asked, and Hinata laughed.

"Bigger than me," she said. Her teammate scoffed.

"Not that impressive, then."

Hinata frowned. "That's mean, Kiba." Kiba looked stricken, until he turned and got a better look at the smile she was trying to hide under a furrowed brow and quivering lip. He snorted.

"You're letting Boruto rub off on you too much," he said. "Messing with people isn't a virtue, you know!" He started walking southeast, doubtlessly following his nose, and Hinata and Shino followed.

"It is when you're as cute as he is," Hinata pointed out, and Shino chuckled softly. "Besides, he's not that bad about it. He's just good at recognizing gullible adults."

Kiba glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Implying something there?"

Hinata just giggled, giving up the spar. She enjoyed trying it every once in awhile, but she didn't have the endurance to poke at her teammates for long. She always gave up long before she could have, feeling both amused and vaguely guilty.

Team Eight left the bodies of the Ant patrol behind.

###

Unlike the Ants, the Hunters ended up not needing superior eyesight to detect the shinobi coming. Though Hinata had spotted them ahead of time from a distance of about ten kilometers, by the time the shinobi were within four one of the Hunters (Hinata guessed it was either Netero and Morel; perhaps thanks to his bland appearance, she didn't have much faith in Knov having the instincts or senses to detect a potential enemy that far out) had clearly given word to the others to expect company.

They ended up meeting on a rocky ridge atop the crest of one of the short mountain chains that crisscrossed the NGL; Hinata noted with amusement that it was a very similar location to the place where she'd reunited with her team after making contact with the Hunters. Hinata hadn't wanted to unnecessarily startle them, so she and her team had instead leapt to the edge of the ridge and approached on foot.

There was an awkward moment when both teams saw each other for the first time. The Hunters were clustered in a small circle, discussing something: Morel sitting cross-legged, Knov standing across from him, and Netero standing to the side of them, looking outwards. The shinobi came around a large rock, and suddenly, there was nothing separating them.

Morel destroyed the moment with his booming voice. "Took you long enough," he said, an indifferent statement that he delivered in good humor. "We were beginning to wonder if you'd decided to avoid us."

Hinata smiled, doing her best to defuse any potential tension. "I'm sorry for the delay. We encountered some Chimera Ants on the way here." She gestured to her left. "This is Kiba Inuzuka," she said, and her toothy teammate grinned. "And this," she said, making the same gesture to her right, "is Shino Aburame." Shino nodded respectfully.

"A pleasure," he said softly. Knov watched the shinobi silently; Netero was still looking off in the distance, apparently ignoring the new arrivals.

"Come, then," Morel said, patting the ground next to him. "Sit. We were just discussing potential strategies." He flicked his hand dismissively at Netero. "The old man thinks he's located the nest, though it's a ways off. We're figuring out the safest way to approach it."

Kiba was the only shinobi who didn't hesitate. He marched right over to Morel and plopped himself down next to Knov. He glanced at the man with glasses curiously.

"Yo," he said, extending a hand. "You Netero, or Knov?" The man looked at the extended hand. "All Hinata told us was your names."

Knov glanced back at Netero. The old man refused to move. "I am Knov," he said, giving Kiba a light handshake. "I hope we have a productive alliance."

Kiba quirked an eyebrow at the formality. "Yeah," he said dryly. "That'd be nice."

It wasn't the best start, Hinata thought as she walked over to sit on the other side of Kiba, between Knov and Morel.

But it was a start.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

The Bloodsoaked Nest​

All of the Hunters and shinobi had different reactions when they finally laid eyes on the Chimera Ant's nest. Speaking for herself, Hinata had been astounded by its size. The nest was nearly a mile tall and hundreds of feet in diameter, a massive edifice of earth and stone covered in outcroppings and tendrils that spiraled towards the sky; it looked more like a skyscraper than an insect's dwelling, and yet at the same time it was unmistakably the kind of place the Chimera Ants would call home. Set against the backdrop of the setting sun, it cast a massive shadow across the forest below it.

The rest of her traveling companions all acted similarly surprised and impressed, but it was Kiba who concisely summed up what was on all their minds.

"Holy shit," he muttered, and Morel laughed.

"They've been busy," the big man agreed, idly shifting his pipe from one shoulder to the other. "I'll admit, I hadn't imagined it would be that large."

"Who cares about how big it is," Knov said, crossing his arms. "Don't you feel that? That Nen…"

They were about four kilometers away from the nest, observing it from the end of the mountain chain they'd met upon. Hinata wasn't one-hundred percent sure what Knov was talking about, but she was certain that she did feel what he meant. The nest exerted a kind of cold pressure, something more than intimidation, as though it had a presence that extended far beyond its physical form. It was like the shadow it cast reached all the way to them, leaving them without sunlight.

"Interesting," Netero said, wandering to the front of the group. Throughout the trip he'd remained mostly quiet, only trading several words with Shino of all people; all Hinata had been able to grab from their conversation was that Netero had somehow divined that Shino was the reason they were in the NGL in the first place. "That's a fierce En indeed." He brought his hand up, clearly utilizing the same technique he'd used to locate Hinata earlier in the day.

"Oho," he chuckled softly after a moment. He lifted his other hand, his index finger gesturing in a come-hither motion to those behind him. "Hinata," he said. "That Byakugan of yours."

"Yes?" she asked, walking forward to stand beside him. Even moving forward five or six feet into the invisible shadow made something the small of her back prickle.

"There's an Ant, sitting near the top of the nest," Netero said. "Give me your appraisal of it, will you?"

Hinata glanced at him before activating her Byakugan. She focused in on the nest, ignoring the rest of her field of vision to locate whatever Ant Netero was referring to more quickly.

With her Byakugan activated, the oppressive shadow cast by the nest resolved itself as more than a feeling in Hinata's gut. Now, she could see it, a quivering field of crimson-orange energy. It reminded her of a spider's web, extending out in every direction from the nest for about three kilometers; they were only several hundred meters beyond it. The field was cruel looking, shifting shape and form, but constantly growing barbs and misshapen extensions that receded and extended like the ocean's tide.

Simply looking at it sent a chill up Hinata's spine, and the feeling only got worse the deeper she looked. After two more seconds of observation, she located the Ant.

It was far more of a shock to look upon than the patrol she and her team had attacked earlier. While those Ants had all to a degree been somewhat clumsy looking monsters, this one had an unmistakable clarity in its design they'd lacked. It looked like a combination of a woman, just slightly shorter than her, and a cat, with shaggy white hair and a long, pale tail. The only insect-like feature about it was its joints, which were unmistakably covered in carapace.

It was also, to Hinata's surprise, wearing clothes. Small blue shoes, brown stockings and shorts, and a blue jacket studded with yellow buttons. The mundanity of its outfit only highlighted its inhumanity. The Ant sat perfectly still on a ledge jutting out from the nest, its eyes closed, the only movement around it the minute motion of its hair in the wind.

This was the Ant Killua had been talking about. Hinata was positive of it. It was bleeding life energy, an impossible volume of the potent Nen that the Hunters could use: the energy clung to the air around it. The Ant itself was dense, as though energy beyond its capacity to hold had been shoved inside its body and held there despite all logic and reason.

She realized she was sweating. It reminded her of Obito Uchiha, when he had taken the Juubi into himself; a man turned into something inhuman, overflowing with power. The Ant wasn't as impossibly strong as Obito had been, that much was obvious, but Hinata still felt hesitant even to look at it, let alone approach it.

Slowly, it opened its eyes, staring down at the forest. They were both terrifying and beautiful. A shining iridescent orange, almost the same color as the sunset in the shade of the nest. The Ant looked like a curious toddler; Hinata could swear she'd seen the same look on Himawari's face just days ago. Her hand shook.

The Ant raised its gaze, until it was staring directly at her.

No, not just at her. It was making eye contact with her.

Hinata blinked. Feeling cold, she slowly took two steps to the right.

The Ant followed the motion, shifting its gaze a quarter of a centimeter. It cocked its head, as a curious cat would.

Hinata's body told her to take a step back, and despite her mind pointing out it was entirely irrational, she did. Netero held his ground, but Hinata could see his heart slightly speed up.

"What is it?" Shino asked, and the spell was broken. The Ant refused to look away from her, but the voice of Hinata's teammate pierced the quiet horror that had been building inside her. She took a deep breath, clenching her hand into a fist and slowing her heart.

"Bad news," Netero said, turning around with a smile. "There's an Ant up there that could kill us all."

Knov rolled his eyes. "Surely you're joking, Chairman." He adjusted his glasses. "If that were the case, none of the Association would be able to fight it."

"He's not," Hinata said, refusing to look away from the Ant. She was convinced that if she did it would pounce, though the idea was obviously ridiculous. Hinata was positive it didn't actually know where she was, only that it was being watched.

What Knov had said slowly leaked into her mind as she maintained her detente with the creature. Chairman? Netero was the Chairman of the Hunter's Association? She'd had no idea they were traveling with someone so important. If the Chairman was picked according to strength like Kage were, it was no wonder he outshone his companions so brightly.

She shook her head. "That thing has… a terrible aura. Far, far more Nen than any of us," she said, careful to use the peculiar word. "Morel, you told Killua not to judge a battle by power alone, but fighting this thing head-on, without a plan, would be a waste of time. I can tell."

"Hmph," Morel said, leaning on his pipe. "Interesting. Maybe that boy was more than a coward, then." Hinata suppressed a twinge of irritation. The Cat-Ant wouldn't blink. Just another tick on a long list of unnerving characteristics.

"Netero," Shino asked. "We spoke a little on the way here, but now that we've arrived, I'd like to ask you: how are the Ants organized? All our contact told us was that they had a Queen of some sort. Could this Ant be her?"

The old man scratched his chin, before shrugging. "I don't think so," he said. "As for the Ants structure... "

"I can answer that for you," Knov said. He crossed his arms. "The Chimera Ants have one Queen; she produces each generation successively, with traits passed down from whatever she's eaten. You know this, of course."

Shino nodded, and Knov continued as Hinata made sure to listen carefully. "The Queen produces soldier ants, which gather food for her, and these make of the bulk of the ants born. But the Queen is also producing a King, and for this King a 'Royal Guard' is also created: Ants with more potential than the others, though less than the King."

"So what, the King is the strongest Ant?" Kiba asked, and Knov nodded.

"He's the culmination of the genetic data the Queen has collected," he said cooly. "None of the experts can agree exactly when he will be born to this Queen, but the worst case scenario is two months."

An Ant even more powerful than this one? The idea made Hinata's neck prickle with goosebumps. This Ant, guarding the nest so effectively, had to be one of the 'Royal Guard.' It was the only thing that could justify the incredible difference in raw power between it and the patrol they'd encountered in the forest.

"How many Royal Guard does the Queen produce?" she asked Knov, and the man shrugged.

"Anywhere from two to five," he said. That was bad. Five of these things? Any chance of openly confronting the Ants would be firmly down the drain.

Then again, open confrontation would likely have been a foolish idea in the first place.

Shino grunted. "Interesting," he said. "Then you three are here to destroy the Queen before the King can be born."

"And you?" Knov asked with a slight smile. Shino crossed his arms, mirroring the other man.

"I was sent here to capture the Queen if possible," he said. "For my clan's purposes. But judging by the severity of the current infestation, that goal is now firmly unrealistic. I'd be more than content to settle for a sample of her body." Knov nodded. Perhaps in respect.

"We won't be getting close to that nest," Morel said. Hinata wondered if he always sounded on the verge of breaking into a chuckle, and if it was a defense mechanism or a genuine lack of care. "That En certainly is terrible. It's obvious we'll be attacked as soon as we step one foot in it."

"How far does it extend?" Kiba asked, and Morel looked at him in surprise.

"You can't see it?" he asked, and Knov gave Kiba a similar look. "That monster's not concealing it. It may not even know how."

The Hunters could see the field, Hinata realized. Now that she knew that, she could see the Nen gathered in their eyes, wreathing them in a white coruna. They were enhancing their perception somehow to perceive the Ant's projected Nen.

"Kinda?" Kiba told Morel, the question implicit in his statement. The bigger man looked confused. "It's not too clear to me. It looks like it's about two, three kilometers?"

"Huh," he said. "Your Gyo needs work. It's slightly more than three kilometers, yeah."

Kiba clearly wasn't sure if he should be offended at the comment, so he just shrugged. "I'm not the best at it," he said. He was telling the truth, after all; Hinata didn't even know what Gyo was, and the same went for Kiba. "Anyway, if it stretches that far, you're definitely right: there's no way we're getting into the nest without getting detected." He looked to Hinata. "We may have to fight that thing after all."

"Not necessarily," Knov said with a grin. It was the first one Hinata had seen out of him. "We have two months, after all. Assuming there are not too many Ants, we can simply bleed them dry. One at a time."

"Hit and run," Shino nodded. "That would be the safest way of engaging them."

"Before we start congratulating ourselves," Morel said, "we have to ascertain the number of enemies. Hinata." He addressed her with a hint of respect, and Hinata found herself smiling. "With your eyes, can you see inside the nest?"

"Of course," she said softly. She'd been subconsciously scanning the interior, though not actively analyzing anything she saw. It was a relief to focus on something other than the dreadful Ant.

Morel grinned. "Could you count the Ants within? There can only be so many out foraging; the majority of them are likely within the nest."

Kiba scoffed. "She could do it in her sleep," he said. "Right Hinata?"

"Give me a moment, Kiba," she answered. "This could take some time."

She sighed, opening up her perception and channeling more chakra, preparing to catalogue everything she saw. Counting hundreds, potentially thousands of opponents was straining work, and making the proper mental preparations was critical.

The nest opened up before her, and Hinata closed her eyes. It did nothing to obscure her vision, but it did help her concentrate.

Counting Ants. It sounded like a game she'd play to help Himawari fall asleep.

A minute later, Hinata had only reached two hundred. It was a small number, considering the speed at which she could normally ascertain enemies from a distance, but the nest was too distracting for her to move at an optimal speed.

Hinata was thirty-four years old, and in three and a half decades, she had seen things that had left her speechless before. She'd watched men and women die crushed in the rubble of their own homes when Pain had attacked Konoha, ten thousand dead in an instant, thousands more injured. She'd seen the casualties inflicted on the Allied Shinobi Force in the Fourth War: had nearly been one herself. She'd watched her cousin bleed to death right in front of her, all of his internal organs turned to paste by the Juubi's rage. In the years since, she'd seen murders, assassinations, and one or two gruesome accidents. She was no stranger to violence, or to death.

But what she saw now was different. The nest wasn't a battlefield, or a Village under siege. The nest was a slaughterhouse, where humans were the livestock. The nest was a monument to horrors Hinata had never seen inflicted on her fellow man.

The nest was a place of death.

The whole structure was honeycombed with chambers and passages large and small, all serving some specific purpose. And yet, despite the variety, the only thing they all shared was human bones. The bones lined the corners of every room and corridor, cracked open and drained of their marrow; no matter where Hinata looked, there were always more. Eventually, she found herself counting them too.

There were rooms that were dedicated to the bones. To bones and corpses. There were Ants there, working dutifully, cheerfully, shaping the flesh, organs and marrow into balls of unidentifiable bloody meat. The things they produced were completely unrecognizable as once being human. Some snuck bites from the meatballs, sneakily looking around to make sure their comrades didn't catch their indiscretions.

Hinata was shaking. She'd given up on counting the bones when she'd reached two thousand distinct skeletons. She knew that had been perhaps a tenth of the total number, maybe less. How many had been thrown out already? How many had been eaten in fits of boredom or pique, gnawed to pieces as though by dogs?

She was muttering numbers under her breath. Shino was approaching her from behind. So slow.

Hinata's heart was hardened by the sight of thousands of discarded skulls; robbed of their life, but not of their unmistakable humanity. Young and old, men and women: the Ants have feasted without regard, and their discarded leftovers fill her with a cold anger she's never felt before. Her hands trembled, burning with cold blue chakra.

One thousand Ants. Was she halfway? Perhaps a little less.

There were two cocoons near the top of the hive, pulsing and yellow. Hinata could see the Nen of both the creatures inside. One was underdeveloped, like a fetus in its fifth month, and the other looked like a full-grown Ant simply waiting to be born. An Ant that looked like a butterfly with a dragonfly's face. Perhaps these two were more Royal Guards. Three wouldn't be that many.

They could kill three.

There was no question in Hinata's mind they would kill them.

One thousand, five-hundred and twenty-seven Ants. They laughed like the humans they were feasting upon.

She found the Queen. It was the most ant-like creature in the whole nest without contest. But it was huge, swollen and straining, twice the size of Hinata herself. The monster was unmistakably pregnant, seemingly about to burst.

And in its stomach-

Hinata heaved, feeling her throat constrict.

The King. She could see it. It sat, unborn, inside the bulbous horror, swelling with the collected misery of every human whose life had been stolen by the Ants.

Hinata saw every dead comrade she'd suffered, all the shattered bones and shed blood of humanity, swirling about in the queen's engorged stomach.

She gave up, dropping to her knees. Clear vomit dribbled out of her mouth, staining the rock under her.

"Hinata!" Shino's hand settled on her shoulder. Comfortable solidity.

She couldn't help it. She was convulsing, more vomit building, stoked by the growing horror she couldn't tear her sight from and by the smell of her own weakness.

"Stop," Shino said, squeezing her shoulder, and Hinata stiffened. The Byakugan deactivated, and she slumped, falling back and breathing heavily.

"Sorry," she gasped. She was cold. The sun was finally setting. "I'm sorry." She spat, trying to rid her mouth of the taste of acid and half-digested fish. "There were so many…"

"It's okay," Kiba said. He was on her other side, down on her level. "It's alright. You're fine."

The Hunters were watching her. Hinata was sure they were judging her. Who wouldn't, after a display of weakness like that. But when she turned her head, Knov was the first one she saw, and the man wasn't sneering like she'd expected. Instead, he just looked disturbed.

"I'm okay," she mumbled, pulling herself back to her feet. "Just…"

She took a deep breath in through her nose, before spitting again. She followed it with five more breaths like the first, in and out. The air was crisp and cool. It centered her, and she bowed her head.

"Sorry," she said again. "I wasn't prepared."

"It's that bad?" Morel unwittingly answered Hinata's question from earlier; he didn't sound like he was about to laugh. The man actually looked concerned.

Hinata took one last deep breath, clearing her throat. "There are about two-thousand, one-hundred Ants in the nest at this moment," she said, and Kiba coughed in surprise. "I apologize, but there's a margin of error of about twenty; I was distracted. I'm also not including three things."

She sighed, continuing. Her mouth still tasted like vomit. "The Queen, who is gestating the King. She's enormous. There are also two more Royal Guards; if I had to guess, one of them will be born soon. Maybe even tonight. The other is less developed…" She closed her eyes. "But larger."

"Hmm." Netero gave her a look that Hinata couldn't read. "Well done."

"Twenty-one hundred…" Knov said, looking at the nest. "And there are likely several hundred more foraging for food." He hesitated. "Did you… see how much they were consuming?"

Hinata looked down, at the small puddle of vomit she'd made. She backed away from it. The walking felt good; she decided to pace. "It's difficult to estimate," she said, remembering the balls of meat. How many the Ants had been eating, how many had been stacked up in the rooms around the Queen, clearly meant for her. "The Queen alone had an enormous amount of…" She frowned. There was something coursing through her gut, a feeling she was mostly unfamiliar with. Not disgust.

Rage.

"Meat," she decided. "An enormous amount of meat consigned to her. I wouldn't be able to accurately estimate how much, but if she alone consumes so much, the other Ants probably have similar appetites." She felt a flare of pain in her palm, and brought it up for a look; she'd accidentally cut herself with her nails. Hinata hadn't realized how tight was squeezing her hand into a fist. "They'd need to hunt daily to sustain that many soldiers."

She was bleeding. The others noticed. Hinata found she didn't really care.

"That's good," Morel said, sounding grim. "We'll be able to pick off their teams one at a time, then. We won't have to engage the majority."

"And plenty of time to do it," Kiba added.

"The Ants we fought," Shino cut in, drawing the attention of everyone except Hinata. "They could speak. They told us they were a member of a squadron, with a leader." He pursed his lips. "An Ant named Colt. I imagine with that many Ants, the nest contains many such squadrons. We should do our best to ascertain which Ants are leaders, and which are just soldiers."

"You think they'll collapse without leadership," Netero said. It wasn't a question.

"They may have devoured humans, but they are still ants," Shino said. "Without authority, they will scatter. It will make our job much easier."

"I concur," Knov said. "Break these 'squadrons,' and reaching the Queen will be that much easier."

"It won't mean anything if we can't get past that Guard," Kiba said. "Or the other, if Hinata's right and another might be born soon."

"We will have to draw that one out." Netero spoke up. If Hinata hadn't known better, she would have said he sounded excited. "There's no way that it will abandon the Queen for anything less than an existential threat. And attacking the nest would be suicide."

"How?" Kiba asked. "I doubt it's stupid. It'll know that it just has to sit next to the Queen and keep her safe, and we won't be able to do much. Not without all attacking at once," he said, narrowing his eyes. "And if we did that, someone's gonna get killed. No one's gonna throw away their life for this. There's safer ways."

"Oh?" Netero said. "That certainly would be nice, if there was a way to solve this without sacrifice." He stared off at the distant Ant. "But, with that thing there, I am not so sure. We will need to be careful."

"If we destroy enough Ants," Knov said, "we can starve it out."

Morel grinned. "How ruthless, Knov."

The thin man shrugged. "Hinata was the one who said. All the Ants need food; their Queen especially. With less, they will become desperate and weak. I have no doubt they will prioritize feeding their Queen and the King within her over themselves." He grinned; it was more menacing than comforting. "And once their desperation has reached its peak, they will decide to go on the offense. It's the natural conclusion."

He paused. "I have to thank you, Hinata," he said. "Without you and your comrades…" He glanced at Morel, who shrugged. "This would have been a challenge. With you three, I am confident we will be able to break the Ants by the end of the month." His smile shifted to something more genuine. "We'll smother the King in his crib."

"Don't get carried away," Netero chided, wagging one finger like a nagging teacher. "We haven't begun yet." When he smiled, it was nothing but bright teeth and stretched lips. "No plan survives contact with an enemy like this."

"Hmph." Knov adjusted his glasses and sighing. "Can never bear to be quiet, can you." He looked to Hinata. "Was there anything else in the nest of interest? Or just corpses?"

She'd almost forgotten, honestly, buried under all the others horrors of the nest.

"Yes," she said. "There was a man. Encased in ice."

"In ice?" Kiba asked. "The hell?"

"What did he look like?" Morel said. He looked grim.

Hinata looked up the night sky. Everything had rapidly grown dark with the setting of the sun, with the only light provided by a low full moon. There were uncountable stars in the NGL's sky. The beauty of them almost took her breath away.

"Tall, thin. Very long white hair. Angular face." She struggled to find something else to describe, but Morel cut her off before she could continue.

"Kite," he said, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "That was Kite. He was the professional Hunter sent to investigate the Ants in the first place. That boy said he'd been injured, but still… that Royal Guard must have taken him out." He sighed. "Was he alive?"

Hinata shook her head. "I can check again, if you'd like, but he had no pulse… I don't think any brain activity." Electrical impulses were extremely difficult to pick up with the Byakugan, but it was possible with intense concentration. "And inside the ice like that. It's obvious they're preserving his body."

"What for?" Kiba asked. Shino shook his head.

"Perhaps to feed to the Queen later," he said. "If Kite was proficient in Nen, there's no question the Ants would find him an interesting meal."

Morel and Knov looked disgusted at the prospect. Netero, as usual, gave nothing away.

"It would nice to recover his corpse," Knov said. "If only to keep his Nen from producing more powerful Ants. But that probably won't be tenable." Morel frowned.

"Leaves a bad taste in my mouth," he admitted. "I suppose the most we can do now is avenge him."

There was more than one man to avenge, Hinata thought. There were thousands. Probably tens of thousands. Every person whose bones lay strewn throughout that nest deserved justice. In comparison to them, Kite hardly mattered. He was just one more casualty.

"We should rest tonight, and begin tomorrow," Shino said. "Best not to approach this hastily."

"Right," Kiba said. "I guess we better take shifts; can't risk a patrol wandering into us in the middle of the night. I'll go-"

"Actually," Knov said. "That won't be necessary." His companions shifted.

"Oh?" Morel asked. "Sharing Hide and Seek so soon, Knov?"

"We'll need it to destroy the Ants regardless," Knov said. "There's no point in hiding it from them." He shot Kiba a look. "And I don't believe they intend to murder us in our sleep. They're painfully honest."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kiba said, and Knov snorted. "'Hide and Seek?'"

Knov bent down, drawing a circle on the ground with his finger. Hinata watched with fascination, activating her Byakugan out of curiosity. Knov's finger left a trail of vibrant energy, resolving itself into a glowing ring. Gradually, the shadows within the ring deepened, growing darker and darker, until there was absolutely no light within the circle of pale blue Nen.

The Hunter tapped the middle of the ring, and the lack of light rippled like water.

It was like the portal produced by the Engine, Hinata realized. Looking at it with the Byakugan, they appeared eerily similar. Not in color or consistency, but a more ethereal quality that Hinata had trouble identifying linked them.

"Hide and Seek," he pronounced. "This will keep us safe during the night, and help us hunt the Ants in the day."

Netero chortled at something, but didn't speak up. Morel grinned.

"I'll go first," he told the shinobi. Then, like a man entering a pool, he hopped into the portal. The small ring expanded around his body, swallowing him whole, and in less than a heartbeat Morel had vanished, along with his pipe.

It was some sort of space-manipulating technique; almost certainly a kind of 'Hatsu' of which the Hunters had spoken about. Morel had completely vanished from Hinata's sight. Wherever he had gone, it was entirely beyond her divinations.

"Amazing," Shino said. "Where does it lead?"

"A safe space, of my creation," Knov said. "I can give you three your own room, if you would prefer."

"A room?" Kiba asked. "What is it, a hotel?"

Knov shrugged. "Not the worst analogy."

The Hunter could create his own building in another space? Hinata's estimation of the man went up; it was obvious that his ability wasn't nearly as uninspiring as his appearance. If Morel and Netero had abilities even half as impressive as his, dealing with the Ants would be much safer.

"Would we be able to exit it on our own?" she asked. Being trapped in… another dimension, somewhere else in the world? She had no idea how Knov's Hatsu manifested. At any rate, the idea being trapped in it would set her on edge. Knov nodded.

"Only out of the portal you entered," he stated, "but you could leave at any time. You would need my permission to re-enter it, of course."

Team Eight shared a glance. They'd been honest with him; by all appearances, he was being honest in return.

"A room would be nice, yeah," Kiba said. They'd been expecting to live in the woods for at least a week. It wouldn't have been a burden for them, but the offer of a sort of hotel was intriguing. Especially one that was so exotic. The only chakra technique Hinata could think of that could replicate this 'Hide and Seek' was Obito Uchiha's Kamui.

Reminded of the man twice in one day. She hadn't thought about him in nearly a year. How peculiar that he would come up two times in such short succession.

"Allow me, then." Knov walked about eight meters to the left of the portal he'd already created and repeated the process, drawing a slightly larger circle. Within two seconds, the portal was yawning and functional.

"Feel free to use anything in the room. I can restock it easily enough," Knov said with a nod. Kiba returned it, sticking his hand out.

"Hey, thanks," he said. "We really appreciate it."

Knov gave him a brief shake. "Of course. It wouldn't do to have our allies eaten in their sleep, after all," he said dryly. Kiba laughed.

Netero yawned dramatically; Hinata was sure he was exaggerating for effect. "Till tomorrow, then." He wandered towards Knov's first portal. "Old men need their sleep." He scratched his chin. "Six. We'll begin then."

Without another word, he hopped into the portal, vanishing. The last thing to go through was his long white top-knot, like the tail of some odd bald creature.

"Tch. He does loves to hear himself talk," Knov muttered. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Six'o'clock."

Hinata didn't have a watch; she didn't even know what time is was now, though she estimated it was around nine in the evening. Her teammates were clearly thinking the same thing.

"Do you have a watch we could borrow?" Shino asked, and Knov waved him off, heading towards the other portal.

"They'll be one in the room," he said. "Sleep well." The man emitted a flash of eager malice. "I look forward to working together."

Then he too was gone, and Team Eight was left alone in the night beside their own softly humming portal.

Kiba glanced down at it. "So what, we just jump in?"

Shino answered him by jumping in. Kiba chuckled. "Fine, be that way," he said, before following after the Aburame.

Hinata took one last look at the nest. She considered checking it once more with her Byakugan, but decided against it. Here, alone in the dark, with nothing but the stars for company…

She'd do it in the morning.

She stepped into the portal, falling through without a sound.

Just like with the Engine, she transitioned to somewhere else without any indication of travel. This time, there was no twinge of pain. With zero warning, Hinata found herself in a somewhat large room.

It was about forty feet wide and thirty feet long, with a ten-foot ceiling. The floor was composed of white tiles, with the occasional cloth mat. One side of the room was lined with large beds of every size and design, covered by equally diverse blankets. It was as though someone had just snatched up whatever they happened to find and shoved it in this room.

Hinata realized that might have been precisely what Knov had done.

The side of the room opposite the beds was stranger still. The walls were studded with sinks, and five portable showers were stuffed in between them. A jumble of desks, chairs, and one couch populated another side of the room: there were nutrient bars, soup, bottles of water, and other non-perishables strewn across the furniture.

The last side of the room was empty. Hinata could scarcely believe the place. Knov hadn't been kidding when he'd said that a hotel was a decent analogy.

"Man," Kiba said. "Do you reckon he just tosses his crap in here?" His eyes wandered to a grandfather clock that was set next to one the beds. "Huh. There is a clock."

Hinata wondered if she would do the same if she had access to another dimension whenever she wanted. It would certainly make cleaning up messes simple.

"If this is indeed his 'crap,'" Shino said, "it's welcome crap. Hard to believe we'll have beds to sleep in."

"Do…" Hinata hesitated, looking up. The whole room was lit by glowing panels on the ceiling. There was a light switch next to the door they'd just entered through, she realized. She flicked it down, and the room was instantly pitch black: not so dark a shinobi couldn't see, but certainly dark enough to defeat the vision of an ordinary person. She flicked the switch back up, and the room was lit again.

"Huh," Kiba said. He walked over to one of the sinks and pulled one of the knobs back. Clear water rushed out, and Kiba put his hand under it. "It's cold," he muttered. "How the hell is there water and electricity in here?"

"Nen really is something," Hinata said. "He constructed this whole place himself; he must have created the utilities as well."

"That's insane," Kiba said flatly. "If he can do this, who knows what someone like that old man can do?" He winced. "Or the Ants?"

"We'll have to see," Shino said. "I have no intention of abandoning this mission without at least attempting to reach the Queen."

"Yeah, yeah, of course man," Kiba said, letting the water run over his hand. "It's just… look at this."

"I know." Shino made his way for the beds. "Let's be sure to take advantage of it."

"What's the plan for tomorrow then?" Kiba asked, following after him.

"We follow the Chairman's lead, for now," Shino answered, experimentally patting one of the beds. "He's from this world, and while it's a little embarrassing, I have no doubt he has more experience than the three of us put together. Not to mention it's obvious that as the leader of the Association, he's clearly one of the best Hunters out there. He's likely already formulating a plan to deal with the Ants with his companions."

"You spoke with him a little," Hinata said. Shino nodded. "What about?"

"He's an interesting man," Shino said. "He didn't say anything of substance, but he managed to figure out that I was the impetus behind our mission." He shrugged. "I have no idea how."

Hinata frowned. "He guessed that I was a mother as soon as he met me. He's clearly incredibly observant."

"He's old," Kiba yawned. "It's what old people do. He's gotta have some sort of trick for it." He paused. "Hey, you don't reckon he can read minds or something?"

Hinata and Shino blinked. The idea sounded ridiculous on the face of it, but reading minds was hardly impossible with chakra, and they were surrounded by proof that Nen could accomplish things just as impressive as its equivalent in their world. They had no idea what sort of Hatsu the Chairman possessed. It was entirely possible he could read minds. It would explain why he was so difficult to surprise, as well.

"Well…" Hinata said. "We should all share our abilities tomorrow. Not all of them, but enough to make forming a strategy easier. If the Chairman really can do something like that, hopefully he'll tell us."

"It's most likely he's just perceptive," Shino said. "Regardless, I agree."

"Yeah. For now, let's just get some rest." Kiba said. He glanced back at the sink. "Jeez, there's even toothpaste…"

As the shinobi prepared for the following morning, Hinata wondered if they might not be in over their head. This really wasn't their fight, in many ways. They weren't like the Hunters. They hadn't been hired to deal with the Ants on behalf of the local nations. This was just a mission of personal interest to them.

And yet, now that she had seen what lay inside the nest, Hinata couldn't even begin to entertain leaving the Hunters to fend for themselves.

Or letting the Ants get away with what they had done.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

Myrmidon Chapter 6

Paranoia​

It had been eight days since Morel had entered the NGL, and he'd spent every minute of them doing two things. The first had been the coldly satisfying and merciless business of killing Chimera Ants whenever he could. The second had been slightly more stimulating, though in a different way from combat, and that had been attempting to figure out the Extermination Team's unexpected and earnest companions.

The shinobi. The name alone was interesting, and carried peculiar implications. Morel had squirreled it out of Kiba Inuzuka several nights before, as they sat in a tree and ate cold soup together. The bearded man was an Enhancer through and through: strong, brash, and honest, almost painfully so. He'd paused after letting the title slip, an obvious sign to Morel that he had been internally reprimanding himself, before continuing as if nothing had happened. Whatever secrets Kiba and his comrades were hiding, they didn't count their profession as an especially dear one.

Shinobi were rare, but not impossible to find. The irony made Morel chuckle a little as he shifted his pipe beside him, smoke leaking out of his mouth at the slight tug of his lips. They mostly kept to themselves in their hidden compounds and villages, tucked away across the world, but if you knew the right person hiring their services wasn't especially complicated. It wasn't uncommon for the more skilled among them to become Hunters either, thanks to the obvious benefits of working with the Association.

Why this team of shinobi hadn't done just that was a mild curiosity to Morel, but one that was buried under everything else that was so peculiar about them.

Morel considered himself a clever man. He was sure that if that were not the case, he wouldn't be alive to believe it. Nevertheless, without enough information drawing together everything he knew about the shinobi to produce anything more than more questions was proving a challenge.

They were obviously used to working together: the way they coordinated in battle, knew the limits of each other's abilities, and acted in moments of quiet made that obvious. Morel pegged them all at somewhere in their mid thirties, around the same age as himself. He wouldn't have been at all surprised to learn that they'd been operating as a team from a very young age. Shinobi weren't known for that sort of cooperation. As far as Morel knew, they were rather solitary creatures.

Of course, shinobi also operated under as much secrecy as they could manage, so perhaps teams like this were simply a well-kept secret. The shinobi acted earnest, but Morel was no fool. It would be trivial for them to hide whatever they wished while still appearing honest. He and his fellow Hunters had been doing the same thing, after all.

The peculiarity of their well-rehearsed teamwork paled next to their Nen, however.

Morel had done his best to pin down each member of the group's natural ability based on what he had observed in combat; he'd been physically present for two skirmishes, and seen many more from a distance while using Deep Purple to ambush Ant patrols.

Kiba was an Enhancer, that much was plainly obvious. His sense of smell was stupendous, almost unbelievable, but after considering it for some time Morel had dismissed the notion it was some form of augmentation, or a Hatsu of its own. The dog-like man simply had an incredible sense of smell. Morel was sure his own ability to hold his breath for upwards of an hour would be similarly incredible to Kiba; when Nen entered the equation, the limits of ordinary humanity fell beneath consideration.

It was Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga whose Nen was particularly pernicious.

Shino was an aberration. A cool man with hidden eyes, Morel consistently found him the most difficult to read of the shinobi. His abilities were equally difficult to understand. The man produced insects from within his clothes, vast swarms of small black bugs of various shapes and sizes, and assaulted the enemy with them.

Any Ants unfortunate enough to be overwhelmed by the attack quickly died without a mark. It was obvious the insects either injected some sort of poison, or drained aura from their targets directly. The latter possibility was frightening, but it explained how quickly Ants expired, and how their rudimentary Ren provided very little protection against the insect swarms.

Morel couldn't ascertain if the insects were a creepy manifestation of Shino's Nen or independent creatures. The first would probably mark the man with an Emission or Transmutation specialty. The latter would be impressive but simple manipulation. If it was Manipulation, Shin no doubt had been breeding the insects for many years; he would have had to be incredibly familiar and connected with them to control them as he did.

"Morel?"

His pondering was interrupted by Knov's head emerging from the side of the tree next to him. Morel glanced over, shifting his pipe around his mouth to make room for his tongue. He cracked a grin at the other Hunter's head sticking out of the tree's trunk. "Yo."

"Hello." Knov hopped out of his portal, settling in the tree next to Morel. "Doing well?"

It was obvious the man was asking about Morel's stamina. Keeping Deep Purple running throughout the forest as he had been for the last week could be tiring. He shrugged. "Just fine. A little thirsty."

"Hmm." Knov looked out at the forest. Somewhere out there, Ants were dying. Knov was probably more aware of exactly how than Morel, thanks to the utility of his Nen.

"Yourself?" Morel didn't know Knov that well: they moved in different circles. The man's incredible Hatsu made him of versatile use to the Association, which had him shuffled from assignment to assignment, while Morel was more used to working on his own. But regardless of their familiarity with one another, the other Hunter was polite and efficient, two traits that Morel respected.

"Fine," the man said, crossing his arms. "I haven't been on an assignment like this in a long time."

"Oh?" Morel rolled his neck, working out a kink, and chewed on his pipe. "You've done something like this before?"

Knov nodded. In their week and some of working together, they hadn't grown much closer, but Morel trusted the man more than ever. He was a welcome cool contrast to the Chairman's unreadable self, or his own students' peculiar mix of hot-bloodedness and timidity. "Not on this scale. I hope not to again." He frowned. "It's unsightly."

Morel grunted. He couldn't disagree. They weren't exactly engaged in clean work here. The Ants tended to bleed an impressive amount. Knov continued.

"But we're making good progress, especially thanks to the Chairman."

Morel leaned back with a chuckle. "He's certainly an efficient old man."

'Efficient' didn't cover the half of it. Knov was correct to say they'd been making good progress on the Chimera Ants. Morel estimated that over the last week the Extermination Team and their peculiar shinobi companions had been responsible for over seven-hundred slain Ants. He was positive that Isaac Netero could claim credit for more than half of them.

Morel, Knov, the shinobi: they rested, careful to only attack from an advantageous position, knowing it would only take one injury to greatly slow their deadly work. They set up cautious ambushes. Morel had only personally killed about two dozen Ants, when Deep Purple had failed to draw them into Knov's Hatsu.

The Chairman did none of that. Knov dropped enemies into the dimensional apartment Netero had been calling his home for the last week, and eventually body parts came back out. The old man had only slept once or twice by Morel's reckoning, and grudgingly at that. He was like a wheat thresher that used the Ant's blue blood as fuel. Morel was glad he was working with the man, but the Chairman's enthusiasm and ability was still outright frightening.

"And Hinata, of course," Knov amended, and Morel nodded in agreement. The woman's eyes were indispensable. Without the real-time updates she could provide, tracking the Ants around the nest would have been much more challenging; the certainty she'd provided had let the Hunters grow bolder in their ambushes.

"I was just thinking about her," he said quietly. He breathed out another puff of smoke, which resolved itself into two hawks that winged off into the forest. "Wondering about those eyes of hers."

"They're quite impressive," Knov acknowledged, and Morel's grip tightened on his pipe.

"They're more than that," he said. "Her companions make sense to me. Kiba is an Enhancer; Shino is either a Manipulator or an Emitter, I'm sure."

"I'm certain the insects are real," Knov said. "My guess would be a Manipulator as well. But that Byakugan…"

"Right," Morel said. "It's insane. She has to be some kind of Specialist. Not to mention the way she fights, with those spikes of Nen…"

"It's unusual, but nothing compared to her sight," Knov agreed. He glanced down at Morel. "What? It has you worried?"

Morel propped his other hand on his chin. "For a Hatsu that powerful, there must be an equally fierce Covenant to accompany it," he said. "That's all. I wonder what Hinata Hyuuga sacrificed to gain eyes like those."

"She may not have, if she is indeed a Specialist," Knov said, frowning. "It's uncommon, but not impossible that something like that arose out of necessity. Or engineering."

Morel snorted. "I was already wasting time speculating," he said. "There's no need to join in."

"It's amusing," Knov said, quirking an eyebrow. "They're curious people, and their abilities all the more so. I saw one of them turn into a bush yesterday."

That got a cough out of Morel. Smoke leaked from his nose. "A bush?"

"Shino," Knov said. "He disguised himself as a bush in an instant to get the drop on an Ant."

"Huh. That's a neat trick." Morel considered. "Perhaps his insects? If they are being manipulated, he could change their color to help with camouflage." Some of the smoke slowly issuing from his mouth gradually turned green, and Knov nodded.

"Possibly. At any rate, I'm inclined to think they are gifted amateurs; that would explain some of the roughness in their technique. I haven't seen any use of Ko or Gyo out of them."

Morel frowned. "But their In and Zetsu is incredible. Appropriate for shinobi, I guess. Maybe they just had an uneven education."

Knov shrugged. "Or their village doesn't pass on more advanced techniques till later?"

"They're in their thirties," Morel grinned. "You'd think by then they'd be trusted."

"Hm." Knov fell silent, and Morel along with him.

A little more than two minutes passed, and both Hunters occupied it listening to the sounds of the forest. Their senses strained. The most surreal thing about working with the shinobi was the complete lack of sound they produced on the move. If Morel put effort into listening to them ambush groups of Ants, there was rarely any sort of scuffle of combat: just the gradual cessation of sound. It was a little chilling, like the work of some deep-ocean predator that relied on stillness to catch its prey.

His phone rang, abruptly disturbing the calm. Morel huffed and picked up the call, shifting his pipe. He didn't bother to say hello. There was only one person who would be calling.

"This room is full again," Netero said, his aged voice warped by the slightly foggy connection that was inevitable from a call being received from another dimension. The Chairman sounded satisfied. "Knov will have to clean it out again." He chuckled. "I apologize for the mess."

Morel shook his head. The old man really was terrifying. He glanced at Knov, shaking the phone a little, and the smaller man's eyes widened in surprise, before he nodded and vanished into the same portal he'd emerged from. A moment later Netero slipped out of it, coming to rest on the tree next to Morel. He was sitting with his legs folded under him, his eyes closed.

The Chairman was slick with blood, some of it fresh but most of it old and crusted. It was in his beard and hair, even his eyebrows, clumped in small beads of dry blue, like dull sapphires. His clothes were rigid with it. The man clearly didn't care. If anything, he looked happier than Morel had ever seen him. There was a quiet contentment radiating off the man, matching the background noise of the forest. Despite the clear signs of violence drenching him, Netero was at peace.

The contrast made Morel grin in amusement, and the Chairman cracked one eye open, regarding him suspiciously.

"Something funny?" he asked, and Morel shrugged.

"Nothing," he said. "Finally loosened up, I hope?"

"Hmm." Netero rotated his right arm nearly three-hundred and sixty degrees, eliciting a series of pops. "There's a lot of rust on these bones. I had slacked off." He did the same to his hand. "And even now, I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed in these Ants. They don't put up much of a fight."

The man may have been terrifying, but he was also ridiculous, Morel mused. The Ants not putting up a struggle was a hell of a thing to complain about.

"What were you and Knov discussing?" Netero asked. "I interrupted something."

'How could he have known that?'

The Chairman definitely wouldn't give away his secret, Morel knew. The man delighted in intentional obfuscation. Maybe it had been something in Morel's voice, the cadence of his breath. Whatever it was, Netero had picked out that he'd called in the middle of another conversation.

"Our new friends, of course." Netero scratched his chin. "There's not much else to talk about out here."

"True," the Chairman considered, wrinkling his nose. "I don't suppose you've found out anything else."

"No," Morel admitted. He didn't like having to. The Hunters weren't going out of their way to find out everything about their erstwhile comrades, but their ignorance rankled all the same. "I was just considering what kind of Contract Hinata must have made for those eyes of hers."

The Chairman. "I doubt it's anything so crass as you're imagining," he croaked, and Morel snorted. "But…"

For the first time ever, at least so far as Morel knew, the Chairman hesitated.

"You are right to be concerned," he eventually said, the words obviously carefully selected.

Morel set his pipe down. "You know something we don't." It wasn't a question.

"I know nothing," Netero said, and the frank admission startled Morel. "I suspect many things. Some of them I could try to prove. The truth behind those shinobi is one of them."

"Knov is happy to work with them so long as they focus on the Ants," Morel said. It almost felt like tattling, childish as the notion was, but the Chairman was in many ways an enigma and hiding anything from him would be foolish. "I am as well; they're useful." He paused, considering what was really driving him to speak. "And good company besides."

Netero stroked his beard, giving no clue to his thoughts. He watched the forest without concern, like a bird watcher patiently waiting for his quarry to emerge from its nest.

"A place without victory." The Chairman spoke so softly, practically to himself, that Morel had to bend in to hear. He gave the older man an inquisitive look, for the phrase wasn't familiar to him. Netero suddenly looked up to him, locking gazes, and Morel had to fight the urge to draw his head back. Netero's beady brown eyes were horribly sharp, lacerating rocks hidden beneath calm water.

"It bleeds off of them," he said, each word quiet but articulated. "You two may not be able to tell, but I can. They're from somewhere else." He stood up, brushing blood off his palms and knees. The effort was futile: it just spread the thick blue liquid further. "Ultimately, they may spell more trouble than the Ants, no matter how innocent they appear."

'Be on your guard,' went unspoken, but it was still clearly heard. Morel found himself even more unsettled by the caginess of the Chairman.

"Chairman…" Morel said. "You can't expect to say something like that and not expect me to be curious."

"Oh, are you?" Netero asked, sounding deeply concerned. He stuck his tongue out, revealing that even it was marked by several minute splatters of blue blood. "Too bad! I can hardly go airing my suspicions before I'm sure of them. That would just be irresponsible!"

Morel found himself grinding his teeth. The man was terrifying, ridiculous, and above all, infuriating. And it couldn't be more obvious it was all intentional.

"Don't look so concerned," Netero laughed. "They're not going to stab us in the back. Well, unless I've completely misread them." He grinned. Morel felt his stomach twist a little. There was even blood on the man's teeth. "I'm just warning you. They're more than they appear."

"And what does that mean for us?" Morel asked, and Netero shrugged.

"They will help us until this business is ended. We can worry about them then."

The thought was pragmatic, and it matched Morel's, to the man's satisfaction. He grunted his assent, and the Chairman fell back into silence. With no one to talk to, Morel did the same.

With nothing to do but think, his mind turned over what Netero had said. It was all contentless content; without meaning without a particular context that Morel obviously wasn't privy to. Whatever the "place without victory" Netero had mentioned was key to it. It was an odd phrase.

Morel's considerations wandered back towards the oddity that was the Byakugan.

If the Chairman knew something he didn't, something that put him on guard, it was fully possible the eyes operated off some principle of Nen that Morel wasn't familiar with. The idea was even more frightening than the notion of a Covenant meaningful enough to grant the eyes' powers.

It was possible, Morel realized, that instead of Hinata making an unthinkable sacrifice for her eyes, she was fundamentally different from people in a way that rendered such a sacrifice unneeded in the first place. That her teammates were the same way.

If they came from somewhere else where everyone was like that, it could certainly be a "place without victory."

It was all wild guessing. Mostly baseless, too. While it amused Morel to go over suppositions like that, he was also aware it was mostly pointless. He wouldn't find his way to the root of the mystery without more to go on.

He wasn't that clever.

###

For the first week of Pitou's existence, Pitou had found peculiar things difficult.

Important things came easily to Pitou. Walking, learning, fighting. They were so simple for Pitou, and difficult for the Ants bumbling about the nest, that occasionally Pitou had to be reminded that the other creatures were in fact real. That Pitou wasn't the only real thing among them, a consciousness afloat in a world of stumbling, inefficient automata. The principles of Nen had bubbled up into Pitou's mind and Pitou had seized them with all the difficulty of a newborn taking their first breath. The human Pitou had killed soon after Pitou's birth, the man with long white hair…

That man had been Pitou's first clue that there was more to the world than Pitou and the King Pitou was sworn, down to the substratum of Pitou's DNA, to defend. That there were other creatures out there like Pitou, other beings that could think and comprehend the world and were more than boring, helpless children.

The revelation had set Pitou free. The revelation had given Pitou the first sense of explicable, comprehendible joy. Pitou had been so thankful to the man, so caught up in the sensation that had given Pitou a purpose beyond the one bound in Pitou's genes, that the man had been given the gift of new life with the same Nen that had so enthralled Pitou in the first place.

It was only now, a week after Pitou's birth, that Pitou had begun to consider the other troublesome implications of the revelation that had blinded Pitou with its joy.

Shaiapouf had been the first intrusion upon the comfortable world Pitou had constructed, the world that Pitou understood and stood atop, quietly content. Pitou's fellow Royal Guard had been born two days after Pitou, and while the other Guard's presence was a welcome one, for it made the security of the King that much less fragile, Pouf had unnerved Pitou in a way Pitou hadn't expected. Here was a creature nearly as intelligent as Pitou, nearly as strong as Pitou, able to breach the sanctity of Pitou's mind without effort, to read Pitou's thoughts, which until now had been inviolable within Pitou's own heart. Shaiapouf was an ally, perhaps even a sibling by some metric, but Pitou did not feel any affection towards the Guard; certainly not the way Pitou did towards the King.

That was proper, of course. Pitou could not feel the same emotions towards anyone as Pitou did about the King. If Pitou did Pitou would be a failure, an aberration of a Guard. If Pitou ever felt that were the case, Pitou would be recycled without hesitation.

But that was beside the point. Pouf's existence expanded Pitou's mind, and made Pitou consider the role of the Guard, the existence of the King, and the implications of other creatures like Pouf. There was another Royal Guard yet to be born, Menthuthuyoupi. With Pouf's precedence, that was fine. It made sense. It was others that were potentially problematic.

Others like the humans prowling through the lands around the nest, slaughtering Ants that wandered into their traps. At first, Pitou had put the casualties down to the characteristic ineptitude of the Ants. They were bumbling creatures at best. But as reports had filtered back to the nest and the scale of the problem had become apparent, Pitou had been forced to acknowledge the problem. Human resistance had been omnipresent throughout the Ants hunting of them. It was obvious the frail things didn't want to die, which was almost amusing considering how incapable they were of defending themselves. Less than fifty Ants had died since the Queen had birthed Colt, the first Squadron Leader, and before Pitou's birth. But in the week and three days since Pitou had begun existing, seven hundred and sixty-eight Chimera Ants had died.

"They're nearly worthless anyway." Pitou twitched, one ear tweaking at the sound. Pitou had known Pouf had been approaching from behind. The other Guard hadn't tried to mask their approach. But the sudden interruption was still irritating. Pitou wished that Pitou's thoughts were as impenetrable as they had been for the first two days of existence. "The Queen has more than enough food at the moment. It is of no concern to us if her other children suffer."

"Mmm." Pitou tried to explain the feeling, the one in Pitou's legs and arm joints, the feeling of unease. "You are right, and you are wrong." Pitou turned to look back at Pouf, who stood imperiously, butterfly wings folded. The taller guard's face was unconcerned. Pouf could not be arrogant because nothing was beyond it, and yet Pitou felt the expression inched close to the edge of the failure that was overestimation.

"Individually, the other Ants are not much, but they are as far above normal humans as we are above them." The words made sense. Pitou had just never bothered to say them out loud. "Whoever is killing so many of them is no doubt a threat to the Queen."

"If they come here we will just crush them."

Pitou's tail wagged back and forth, feeling the cool night air. It was a pleasant sensation. "You are right once more, but they will not." Pitou's nose scrunched up. "They are clever. They have stayed beyond the reach of my En. I am sure they can see it, and they are careful not to breach it. They must know what happened to their friend." The notion was becoming more and more entrenched in Pitou's mind, taking place alongside all the other certainties. "Whoever is out there killing soldiers is clever, and a threat. Not just to the Queen, but the King as well."

"We can't go hunting them." Pouf frowned. "We can't leave the King undefended. That would be foolish." The Guard sneered. "He is all seeing. He would know we had slacked in our defense of him. I couldn't stand that."

"All seeing?" Something about the term pricked at Pitou. She glanced back out at the forest. "What do you mean?"

"Pardon?" Pouf followed Pitou's line of sight. "The King. He has been watching, always. Since we were born. You've felt it, of course.

Pitou enjoyed the deeply unpleasant feeling running down from the tip of Pitou's ears to the end of Pitou's tail. Something between a shiver and an internal, boiling heat. It was like unease, but deeper and less kind. Maybe this was fear, or at least dismay? Pitou memorized the sensation.

"That is not the King." Pitou tried to speak kindly, but the words were inherently cruel. Shaiapouf took a step back in clumsy shock, wings unfurling.

"That's impossible. Then…"

"Someone else has been watching us." Pitou's eyes narrowed. Saying it out loud made the notion more onerous. "They began early on the day you were born, and they have only ceased their observation for several hours at a time since."

Shaiapouf was an elegant looking creature. Pitou did not have much experience in judging 'elegance,' but Pitou felt sure that Pouf had been designed to inspire awe and loyalty, a surety born from the same place her fealty to the King grew from. They were a symmetrical creature that appeared fragile but was as unyielding as stone and outsped the wind. That was it, that was the 'elegance' Pitou saw. The juxtaposition of fragility and undeniable power. But in the moment where Pouf underwent a revelation that Pitou knew was just as transformative as Pitou's understanding of existence and consciousness after the battle with the white-haired man, that elegance vanished.

Pouf was transformed into an unsightly thing, bristling and enraged. The Guard panted, overwhelmed by what Pitou had revealed.

Pitou understood, but could not sympathize. Pitou's revelation had been joy. Pouf's was terror; Pitou's world had been expanded, while Pouf's had been grotesquely upended.

"I will kill it." It was a snarl, a promise, and a declaration of despair all in one. Pitou was impressed by the eloquence of the proclamation. "I will track down whatever is watching us, watching the King, and I will kill it."

"You may." Pitou liked the idea. It was satisfying. "But we have to be careful about it. There's no question."

"How?" Pouf was nearly plaintive. The weakness was unattractive. "How do we hunt something that is always watching us?"

Pitou shrugged, answering honestly. "I do not know yet. But we must. That's all there is to it."

"We'll have to hide from it." Pouf considered. Calmed. The elegance returned. The Guard shifted, arms crossing. "The… Watcher." The word was peculiar and had too much significance assigned to it and yet, Pitou acknowledged, somehow ideal. In Pitou's mind, the King and the Watcher began to take on diametric positions. It was not an entirely conscious decision, but Pitou did not fight it."That's obvious."

"We cannot hide. You know that." Pitou watched the night-laden forest.

"No…" Pouf mused. "They avoid your En. They understand their frailty. We can use that."

"A trap?" Pitou giggled, and the innocent sound was born from gratitude. Gratitude and a sensation that Pitou was slowly beginning to recognize. It was something beyond anger, mixed with disgust. Rage, maybe? Pitou was resigned to perhaps never fully understanding the feeling. "That would be dangerous. It would be the first time I acted as prey."

"It would be unsightly." Pouf smiled.

"I do not mind." Pitou returned the look. Shaiapouf was a worthy Guard after all. "In the service of the King, there is no indignity we would not suffer."

###

AN: Too much tell, not enough show, but I figured I might as well upload even if I'm not 100% happy with the result. Apologies for the delay, especially given my previous update speed. Hopefully I'll get it back sooner or later. Hope you enjoyed it.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

Myrmidon Chapter 7

Exhaustion​

Hinata hadn't realized she'd begun taking the shadow of Nen that surrounded the nest for granted until it vanished. When it did, it was like a breath of fresh air, or the sun coming out from behind choking clouds for the first time in weeks. Stuck in its jagged chill, the Hyuuga had adapted to the omnipresent malice that guarded the nest with the tireless determination of a seaside cliff.

The relief couldn't be honestly enjoyed, though. The absence of the Nen shadow, the barbed Enof the cat-like Royal Guard that brimmed with inhuman power, was almost as unsettling as its presence had been in the first place.

"I don't understand," Knov said. It had been eighteen days since the shinobi and Hunters had entered the NGL, and three since they'd all met as a single group. Since they'd arrived, the En had been on constant overwatch, the Ant's unknowing equal to the Byakugan. Today, in response to its disappearance, they had all come together again once more, on a cliff edge covered in wet grass and speckled with small stones: perfect seats. "There's no reason for them to stop using it."

"It's a trap," Morel said, and Netero pursed his lips, nodding. The man had some blue blood in his hair, a virulent streak that made him look a little wild for his age. "There's no doubt. That thing's dropped its En to draw us in."

"We thought so as well," Shino said. He was perched on a nearby rock, his legs crossed under him, his eyes, as ever, obscured by his visor. Hinata was glad to see the way Morel glanced at him; it wasn't a dismissive or doubting look, but rather one of pure inquiry. Her solemn teammate had built a quiet rapport with the large man. Two and a half weeks of cooperation and knocked down many of the wary barriers both teams had erected.

Hinata didn't feel the same connection, though. Perhaps it was because she spent so much time watching them all. Perhaps because she was the only woman. Whatever the reason, it didn't overly bother her; she was happy to work with the Hunters, regardless of how close she was to them.

"What changed your mind?" Morel asked, and Hinata took her cue.

"The Guard is gone," she said. Morel huffed and leaned in his pipe, but next to him, Knov blinked in shock. The slender man was leaning against a nearby tree, its bark dry with spots of rot.

"Gone?" he asked, and Hinata nodded.

"Gone. Since the En vanished last night, I've been scanning the whole nest," she said. She tried not to let her face twist in disgust and failed. "There's no sign of it. I've checked the forest as well."

"And no luck?" Netero asked.

"Nothing," Hinata said. "I have no idea what happened to that Ant. Its Nen is gone, and it's completely vanished as well."

A couple of seconds of silence followed Hinata's words as the assembled group thought them over. All Hinata had to fill the void were her own thoughts. As they often did recently, they turned to her family.

It had been just about three weeks, almost the longest Hinata had been separated from her children. She felt homesickness underneath her aching ribs; she'd been punched in the chest by a lucky Ant the other day, and though the only damage she'd suffered was a bruise to both her solar plexus and her pride, the occasional pulse of hollow pain seemed like just as much a reminder of the absence in her heart as the actual injury.

She missed her husband's touch, the warm and guileless hugs he gave her without warning. The sounds of Boruto's voice, even though he'd gotten into the habit of whining, and his father's eyes, beaming out of a face that stubbornly refused to shed its baby fat. Himawari's delighted squeaks as she experimented with chakra, sticking toys to her fingers for moments at a time and quietly padding across the wooden floor in the front entrance, entranced by the silence.

Hinata missed her home. If her teammates felt the same way, they hadn't betrayed it. She was sure she'd always been more sensitive than them, but now, on an unexpected mission like this, it felt uncomfortably like weakness.

"If it's truly gone," Netero said, "this is an unprecedented opportunity. We would be fools to pass it up."

"But the Guard would know that," Morel said. He wasn't willing to let go of the issue; Hinata respected his caution. "And there's no way it would abandon the Queen."

"And yet, it's gone," Kiba said, picking at one of his nails. "Hinata doesn't make mistakes." He snickered. "Maybe some of the other Ants ate it? They're running pretty low on food."

He was right; their marauding efforts had seriously reduced both the numbers of Ants in the hive and the creatures stockpile of meat. With less Ants came less consumption, but Hinata was sure the monsters were still hurting. Some of the smaller ones were becoming skinnier than usual. Slowly but surely, the shinobi and Hunters were transforming the depravity within the nest into desperation.

"There's no way their chain of command would break down that badly," Shino said. "Soldiers attacking Guards? I'd say it's almost physically impossible."

Kiba waved his hand dismissively. "Just joking, joking. No need to be too serious about it, Shino."

"One of our opponents, perhaps the most powerful of them, has vanished without a trace," Shino said. His stoic voice cut down Kiba's merry tone without mercy. "We have no idea where they are right now. Nothing within the nest could have destroyed them, in a reasonable world." He shifted. Hinata could hear a faint buzzing beneath his coat; his Kikaichu were agitated, which meant Shino was as well. "This is a very serious situation."

The man smiled at Kiba's downtrodden expression. "Nonetheless, Netero is correct. We would be fools to pass this opportunity up, because Hinata does not make mistakes. If she cannot locate the Royal Guard, it has most definitely disappeared."

"Your trust is touching," Netero said. "But we must make other considerations." He pointed a thumb at Knov, and the man started. "The Ants may have come into possession of a Hatsu much like one of our own."

"An Ant with something like Hide and Seek?" Knov sounded almost offended. "I don't find that very likely."

"Unlikely, but when it comes to these opponents, nothing is entirely impossible." The Chairman spoke with the patient clarity of an excellent teacher, but is words were laced with kindly condescension. "If that Ant is concealed within some other dimension, simply waiting to respond to any response we may make to their lapse in security..." He shrugged and smiled. "Well, that would be a messy situation, wouldn't it?"

It made sense to Hinata. Nothing had ever escaped the auger of her eyes so suddenly, and the novelty worried her. The other Hunters sometimes concealed themselves from the Ants, much the same as her teammates did, drawing their energy deep inside themselves and away from their oppositions prying senses. When they did, they flickered in Hinata's sight: she always had to put extra effort into keeping track of them. Whatever technique they used was something beyond ordinary shinobi stealth. It left them vulnerable.

But they didn't vanish, and the Ant had. It having escaped to some other place, beyond the NGL, seemed the most likely answer.

"Hinata?" Shino had been trying to get her attention, and Hinata started. She hadn't been getting enough sleep, staying up to watch the movement of the Ants. She could feel the weight below her eyes, and in the tingling in her chakra system.

"What?" she asked, shaking her head. Netero clicked his tongue.

"Have you ever encountered something like this?" he asked innocently. Every sentence the man spoke was like that: wheedling and curious, but earnestly delivered.

Tobi; Obito Uchiha. The Fourth Hokage, during the war. Her husband, once or twice, when he decided to abuse his speed. That was the only time someone had vanished from her sight like that. Hinata winced at the idea of the Ant sharing any ability with any of those options

"Several times," she said. "Due to speed, or esoteric transportation." She glanced at Knov. "Unless the Guard is more capable than we assumed, this is probably a case of the latter."

"So, let's assume the Ants have a Knov of their own," Morel said. "Ant-Knov." He frowned. "Antov?"

"Stop." Knov seemed like he was in physical pain. Kiba laughed.

"Some way of hiding beyond our senses, and in particular, Hinata's sight," Morel said with a chuckle. "What changes?"

"Nothing," Kiba declared, and Morel gave him a cockeyed look. "We just keep up what we're doing, and stay away from the nest. We've still got plenty of time before the King is born, and the Ants are hurting. We keep playing it safe, we'll starve them out."

"Hmm." Morel stroked his chin. "I assumed you would have been in favor of something more direct, Kiba."

Hinata sat back, gradually falling into a fugue. She could still see and hear everything, but her mind drifted as her eyes closed to rest.

"I've got no intention of goofing around here," Kiba said. "These things are dangerous, and my wife would kill me if I got messed up in another-" He paused, lip twitching. Shino crossed his arms, and Kiba scratched his forearm. "Country. She wouldn't stand for that. We stay back, we bleed them out. Simple as that."

"And if the Guard comes for us?" Morel asked. Shino stepped forward.

"You have a point. This could be a bluff," he said. He smiled. "Or a double bluff. The Guard drops the En, intending to lure us in. When we don't take the bait, they attack us directly. The Ants will be growing desperate; something that bold isn't out of the question anymore."

"Then maybe we bluff them ourselves," Knov offered from his crosslegged position. "Make to attack the Nest, but only to draw out the Guard. If they are waiting, they would have to take the bait." He smiled, a calculated and merciless grin. "And if they don't emerge, we simply attack the Nest without reservation."

"Putting ourselves at risk for a feint?" Netero asked. "That's unlike you, Knov."

Knov shrugged. "There's an opportunity here to deliver a decisive blow. You've said it yourself, chairman. This is an unprecedented opportunity. Even if it's a feint by the opponent, that can be turned to our advantage."

Hinata slowly blinked, feeling heavy lids drag over her eyes.

"Wouldn't have to-" she started to say, before trailing off. The Hunters looked to her.

"Something wrong?" Morel asked. Hinata shook her head, closing her eyes. She'd almost said something she probably shouldn't have.

So far, the shinobi hadn't shown the Hunters their full capabilities. Both so as to not incite suspicion, and to keep them from making any rash assumptions. Hinata had almost thoughtlessly broken that unspoken agreement with her team.

She really was tired.

She looked to Shino and Kiba; they were obviously thinking the same thing she was. Kiba shrugged. Maybe he thought the time for overt secrecy was past. Shino was clearly deep in thought. The Hunters were aware of the deliberation. Knov curiously glanced at Morel, while Netero's eyes remained locked on Hinata.

"Hmm." Shino said, standing up. "Hinata's right," he told Kiba, and the Inuzuka yawned, pulling himself to his feet alongside his teammate. "A feint would be very safe," Shino told Knov, and the man gave him a curious look.

"Attacking the nest? Safe?" It was almost a jeer, but delivered with good faith.

Morel shifted, leaning on his pipe. "You've got something up your sleeves, don't you." It wasn't a question.

"We've all been hiding things, the both of us" Shino said, and Morel chuckled. "It's only reasonable, when you meet dangerous people in a foreign land. But now, it would be irresponsible to maintain that secrecy."

Netero's eyes were flint, ready to spark. The intensity of his gaze unnerved Hinata.

"Kiba, if you would," Shino asked. Kiba obliged, languidly running through a series of handsigns.

Hinata had seen the Kage Bunshin thousands of times, but it was still remarkable to watch someone indistinguishable from a real person pop into existence with all the fanfare of a pierced balloon. With a puff of smoke, another Morel appeared beside Kiba. The clone appeared exactly the same as the original, down to the bruise on the man's left cheek. All it lacked was the enormous pipe.

Morel took a step back. "What?" There was some genuine concern in his voice.

"Don't freak," Kiba said, hands up in a placating gesture. "It's just a shadow clone." He knocked on the clone's shoulder, and the fake Morel swatted away his hand with annoyance. "Plus a little henge."

"You can make… 'clones?'" Knov asked. He stepped forward, inspecting the copy, looking back and forth between it and the real Morel.

"Indeed," the clone said, almost perfectly mimicking Morel's booming voice, and Knov flinched. The shadow clone laughed, and switched back to its natural voice: Kiba's. "Just as a good as the real thing. Just a little more fragile is all."

"Like your smoke constructs, Morel," Hinata said, words dragging over one another. "It's the same principle, a case of autonomous energy. This is just a more advanced technique."

Knov knocked on the clone's chest. "But Morel's smoke is… smoke. This is solid," he said, disturbed. "It feels like a shirt…" He poked the clone's face, and it frowned. "Like skin. How on earth…"

"They must be fragile," Morel said. "Everything has some kind of tradeoff. Can they even fight?"

Kiba and his clone shared a glance. The clone shrugged and wandered over towards a nearby tree. Kiba's gait was unsettling coming from a larger man. The tree was a heavy and healthy one, bursting with green and about as thick around as Hinata herself.

Without ceremony, the clone kicked it. Bark shattered, and the tree shuddered. The kick left a sizeable dent, and the clone walked back to Kiba, looking self-satisfied.

"I…" Knov blinked. "That's incredible."

Netero was still silent, watching. Hinata couldn't read him whatsoever.

"It's dangerous," Kiba said. "Both Hinata and I know this technique, but there's a reason we haven't used it against the Ants. Any time we make one of these clones it takes half of our… Nen, to maintain. And any more than that, the division gets more and more serious."

Knov looked slightly less awestruck, but it was Morel who spoke up. "Half, a fourth… so what, if you made four you'd be left with an eighth of your strength? That is dangerous."

"It's not that direct," Shino said. "The energy can be retrieved when the clone is destroyed." On cue, Kiba's clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Depending on how much was spent, most of it can be retrieved."

"With these, we could definitely fake an attack on the nest." Kiba picked up Shino's line with practiced ease. "Hinata and I make a couple each, we pretend to approach as a group, and then the Ant's jump nothing but shadows. We counterattack while they're extended…" He shrugged. "It's rough, but it could decide this thing."

"How…"

Netero finally broke his silence, and everyone turned to him. Hinata opened her eyes. The old man had his hands clasped behind his back, and his whole frame was bent slightly forward.

"Did you come into possession of a technique like that?"

Hinata couldn't read the man's body language, and his voice was calm, but she felt it in her heart that his suspicion was boiling over. Something about the shinobi had pricked at his instincts, better honed than any of theirs, and she wasn't sure how to soothe it. How much of the truth could they afford to give away? Was it even worth hiding anything at this point? She wished she had time to discuss it with her team.

"Hinata?" Shino asked, and she sighed. She was exhausted, but in a situation like this, she wasn't just a member of Team 8. She was the Hokage's wife, and that gave her some agency in a situation like this, insubstantial as it was.

"My husband taught me it," she said. Netero didn't move. It was almost like he was stiffening for a fight. "Kiba, I think learned it from his father." Her teammate nodded. "They both learned it from our village's Scroll of Seals: a list of techniques that are forbidden to learn without the approval of the Hokage."

"Hokage?" Netero tilted his head.

"Konohagakure's leader. The Fire Shadow." Hinata gathered her thoughts, her composure. She'd been sloppy these last few minutes: sloppy thinking, sloppy words, sloppy posture. She dragged herself back together into the woman she was supposed to be. "I think I understand your concern, Chairman, but please, trust me when I say this technique, and others, are not small things. We didn't conceal it out of malice. Just pragmatism."

She pursed her lips. "And the Kage Bunshin is just as dangerous as it is useful. There's no doubt of that."

"Hmm." Netero's arms slipped out from behind his back, and he paced forward.

He took a breath, and so did Hinata. The stiffness has slipped away from Netero. She no longer felt as though she had to keep her hands ready to block a potential strike. The tension was gone, replaced by… frustration. He was letting her read him.

The Association Chairman came to a stop next to Morel. Slowly, he seated himself.

"Very well then." He was resigned, but beneath that and the frustration, there was undeniable excitement. Hinata could see very well that whatever the source of his reservations, Netero had the heart of a killer; the prospect of attacking the nest sat well with him, no matter how he needled his subordinates.

He looked to both Knov and Morel. "Come on then. Let's put our heads together." Grinned. "And crush these insects."

###

"You sure we should have done that?"

"At this point, in that situation, it was the best option," Shino said. Kiba looked skeptical.

"They just suspect us more now, not less," he pointed out. "Hiding stuff like the shadow clones in the first place… I dunno."

"It doesn't make sense, from the perspective of Nen," Shino said.

"You don't know that," Kiba said. "You're just assuming it, because we haven't seen something along those lines. But maybe we were wrong. We're not the experts on this place. They are."

Hinata sat up. The meeting had been hours ago, and her teammates were still quietly bickering.

"What do you think?" Kiba asked her. The Hyuuga shrugged, feeling wet grass in her hair.

"There was no good option here," she said. "No matter what we concealed or how truthful we could be, our presence incites suspicion." Shino nodded, but Kiba looked dissatisfied. "For now, it doesn't matter. We'll finish these Ants, and worry about it the Hunters afterwards. Neither of us will stop working with the other over something like this; at this point, the situation is too dangerous."

"You sound a little cold about it," Kiba said. Hinata took a deep breath in through her nose.

"I am," she admitted after a moment. "Netero doesn't trust us, and me in particular. I'm sure you can tell. Morel and Knov are happy enough to work with us, but that man… he's worrying me."

'And I miss home.' She didn't say it loud, but her team heard her anyway.

"Well, yeah, but you said it yourself. No one here is dumb enough to stop giving their all over a little suspicion," Kiba said.

"Stop, no. But Hinata is right," Shino said. "It's troublesome. He'll be watching our back in the assault."

Kiba snorted. "Well, our 'backs.'"

"You know what I mean." Shino sighed. "Maybe we should just sort it out. Be as honest as we can."

"And what then? 'Oh, we are simply from another dimension. Worry not, we're not even using Nen, it's simply a completely different source of energy beyond your understanding,'" Kiba said, adopting a mocking tone, trying to imitate Shino's speech patterns.

"I don't sound like that."

"You get my point." Kiba shrugged. "It's not perfect. Nothing is. But for now, it works. That's what matters, right? It's how we're doing things back home." He fell back; the shinobi had retreated to talk privately several kilometers away high in the trees, and Kiba splayed himself out on the branch he'd chosen. He looked like a lazy teenager. "We take care of the Chimera, worry about the other shit after." He frowned. "After all, there's no way we can risk them reaching Gorteau."

Hinata nodded. There was nothing to say: the one nation that had contact with the Shinobi Union being overrun by Ants was an unacceptable possibility.

"Alright," Shino said. He pursed his lips. "I've been thinking."

"Oh?" Kiba popped up a little.

"We should get in contact with Mari," Shino said, and Kiba tilted his head.

"You think we need the help?" he asked. Shino frowned.

"Are you implying we don't? This is a dangerous situation," he said, ever logical. Hinata smiled. "She was a member of Kumo's Thunder Corp. If we're going to be assaulting the nest directly, bringing someone who can use…" He paused, turning to Hinata. "What did she call it?"

"Artillery Jutsu." For some reason, the thing that popped into Hinata's mind when she said that wasn't Mari's beaming face, but the Juubi's Bijuudama, huge and angry red. That would certainly have ended the situation with the Ants quickly.

"Of course. Someone who can directly support us from a distance will be invaluable." Shino grinned a little. "And she'll also be ideal for agitating the Ants."

"Hmm." Kiba scratched his nose. "I guess you're right. So which one of us runs back for her? Me or you? Hinata's eyes are too important."

"The Hunter's have cell phones," Hinata said, closing her eyes. "They might be able to get in contact with East Gorteau's government. Neither of you should leave unless it's necessary: that Royal Guard could still be setting some kind of trap, remember."

"Yeah, that's true. But then we're just back to the beginning of this," Kiba groused. "Bringing in more shinobi…"

"You know what," Hinata sighed. "If they ask, we'll be honest. But if they want to play this game of subterfuge, we'll go along, and damn their suspicions." She clenched her fist. Her hand was trembling a little. Her headache, which had plagued her since early morning, was only getting worse.

Kiba laughed. "Jeez, you need a nap. You're acting like when Boruto was just born."

Hinata almost snapped at him; all that stopped her was the sudden, embarrassing realization of her conduct. She was running on little sleep, dragging along the edge of chakra fatigue from the constant use of her eyes. It was making her unreasonable, irritable.

It really was like being a new mother. She smiled contritely, and Kiba grinned back.

"It's not a bad idea," he said. "Take a day off. For all of us, really. We draw back a little, let the Ants get comfortable. You're the worst off, but I'm sure everyone could use the rest."

"I concur," Shino said. "Get some sleep." He rose from his crouched position on his branch. "I'll speak to the Hunters and see if they can't get in contact with East Gorteau. And I'll inform them you're taking a rest period, and that we should as well."

Hinata felt an infuriating mix of gratitude and irrational irritation. Shino was being kind, not patronizing, but in her sleep deprived state, with her mind full of the Nest's atrocities, she still felt as though he was taking what should have been her responsibility.

But the irritation was irrational, and so Hinata did her best to discard it and meet her old friend's kindness with grace.

"Thank you, Shino." She took a deep breath, feeling her chest expand. Contract. Her bruise ached. "I think I'll do that."

She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. The nest was too prevalent in her mind. But it couldn't hurt to close her eyes and lie down. Just for a little while. Close her eyes, and think of someplace better.

###

Normally, I don't bother to explain a break in updates: shit happens, and sometimes authors don't update for a while. In this case though, the break was so personally irritating that I feel compelled to talk at least briefly about why Myrmidon's stalled for nearly two months. In many ways, this chapter is still incomplete (much like the last one, lol), but I felt a serious need to move on from it: it was half complete when chapter six was published, but since then it's gone through three and a half serious revisions as my general outline of the fic changed.

And it has changed, quite a bit, hopefully for the better. Combine that with ongoing real-life commitments, and you get Myrmidon's schizophrenic update speed. I can't promise it will be steadier in the future, only that I have a better idea of where it's going.

At any rate, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Till next time.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

Chapter 8

Faith and Fear​

Colt didn't have a minute tremble in his hands, a rolling in his gut, and that absence of fear was far more unnerving than its presence ever had been. The En of the Royal Guard, Neferpitou, had suffused every inch of the Nest for the last two weeks. The energy had been inescapable and momentous: to live in it was stifling. Every breath felt like a struggle, the desperate gasp of the nearly drowned.

But, as frightening as it had been, it had provided Colt and his squad a sense of security around the Nest. No foe would be able to even get near the Queen without Pitou's notice, and no foe would survive the full might of the Nest along with the Royal Guard's terrifying attention.

Now it was gone. Neferpitou had departed on a mission to hunt down the enemies that been attacking them. Colt felt a strange mixture of relief, sympathy, and fear at that. Relief, with the cessation of the En and the birth of the final Royal Guard, whose name he did not know. Sympathy for the enemies that had so cruelly hounded his fellow Chimaera, for even creatures as duplicitous and dangerous as they did not deserve whatever Neferpitou would inflict upon them.

Fear, though. Fear was omnipresent in the Nest. Though it shamed Colt to admit it, he was not the only one beset by it. The casualties inflicted by the humans outside had been worrying, far beyond what the Ants could have imagined given the pathetic resistance offered by the NGL's natives. Fear brought anger, anger brought pride, and that cocktail of damnable weakness and pathetic arrogance led to the lack of unity that now ate away at the Nest as surely as the murderous humans.

Before, the worst that happened was petty disobedience: the insubordination of selfish Ants like Rammot, or the indifference of his fellow squad leader Meloreon. Colt was no fool. He understood that sometimes the Ants under his command reported less food than they'd actually claimed, that only the unborn King could have prevented them from occasionally stealing bites of the Queen's meals but now, they were becoming more rebellious. The shortage of food for them was taking its toll, and many subordinate Ants had begun openly questioning the commands of their leaders. The only relief had ironically been the mounting casualties: less mouths to feed.

It was unthinkable, and yet, the obvious path. Colt was well aware of his own failure in the matter. If he and the other squad leaders could not direct an effective defense of the Nest, what good were they? The one time he'd laid eyes on the attackers from high in the sky he'd been chased away by a swarm of vicious insects, so thick they'd turned the sky around him black. The humiliation had been nearly as painful as the strips of carapace they'd torn from his legs and back.

Even worse, he heard rumors and whispers of leaving the Nest to hunt for themselves. Colt was disgusted at their selfishness. The Queen needed the unity of the Nest now more than ever with the King's birth being so close. They couldn't afford infighting, especially with numbers so low and enemies so close.

Problems upon problems. If Colt was a lesser being, he would have long since given up. But his Queen needed him and for her, he would do anything.

"You look troubled."

Colt opened his eyes: he'd been seated cross-legged atop a small jut of stone and bone, away from the main corridors of the Nest. A familiar face was before him. Peggy, a fellow commander, the short Ant's face level with Colt's seated form.

"Of course I am," Colt said, his tone level. "This is a troubling situation."

"No doubt of that," Peggy said. Colt wondered where the creature that had produced Peggy had come from. A penguin, he was sure. He had no idea where the word came from, but it seemed right to him. At any rate, he'd seen nothing like Peggy on any of his hunts. "Do you have a solution?"

"No." Peggy sat down. There was a book in one of his hands, clutched in the tiny articulate fingers at the end of his wings. "I retreated into the books we'd collected from the humans to try and find one, but so far, I've found nothing."

"Books?" Colt asked. "What good are books here? Our comrades are starving; leadership is crumbling." He reached out, taking the book Peggy held. The smaller commander didn't resist. "Paper won't save us here."

It was the first time Colt had used the word 'save,' and it disgusted him.

"They're more than paper," Peggy said patiently. He was thinner than usual, the puff in his chest diminished. "Humans pour all their knowledge, all their thoughts, into books. It's where they put them when they can't say them out loud, or are afraid to forget them." He shrugged, clicking his beak idly. "When beset by humans, perhaps it will be human wisdom that does us the most good."

"And? You just said you haven't found anything."

"That's true." Peggy smiled. "But it's still been helpful. I haven't found a solution, but I have found assistance." He tapped the book, which hung limply in Colt's hand. "Humans are obsessed with knowledge, and I wouldn't call this a flaw: 'Know thy enemy, know thyself.' If we're to survive, if the King is to prosper, we need to find out more about our opponents. So far, no one has been able to return complete reports on them."

"They're too dangerous to approach, and tricky even to observe," Colt pointed out. "We don't even have a positive idea of their exact numbers. The decimated squads put them somewhere between five and eight."

"Indeed. As I said, no solutions," Peggy admitted. "For now, we'll have to put all our hope in Neferpitou. I have faith she'll break this siege, and give us the opportunity we need."

Colt's eyes narrowed. "She must," he said, rising to his feet. "At this rate, those humans will kill Reina before we can mount a successful counter-offense."

"Reina?" Peggy cocked his head.

Colt looked back in confusion. "Reina?" he asked back. The word was alien to him.

"What?" Peggy blinked.

"What?" Colt asked, striding past the commander. "Forget it. I'm going to organize my squad, what's left of it. It's almost our turn to hunt." He blew out a frustrated breath. "Good luck with your books."

He left behind a confused Peggy, but carried his weakness with him.

####

Mari bit her lip, her fingers tightening around the phone. "Has the situation gotten that bad?"

"Worse," Shino said, his voice crackling over the line. The connection was terrible, and it added to Mari's anxiety. "The last of the Royal Guard has been born and we still haven't located the first one. However, the chance we have before us could very well be our only one. Tomorrow, or the day after, we can assault the nest and destroy the Queen. For that, we may need your skills."

Shino's reasoning was obvious. The jutsu the Thunder Corp had taught her would be undeniably helpful in attacking the 'nest,' laying siege at a safe distance and forcing the Ants into chaos.

However, the Kumo Shinobi couldn't help but think of the risks. Dying was a simple one, a natural and ignorable fear. The one that truly chilled her was failing her village. Her position in West Gorteau was highly important and one that she took with the utmost seriousness; as the Shinobi Union's representative, entering any local conflicts was a complicated and heretofore untested question.

"Shino, you understand that if I helped you, I'll be in a difficult position. Engaging the Ants would go against the trust of West Gorteau, and the mandate of my village," Mari replied with a careful tone. "I'm a diplomat now, not a soldier. I cannot go off into other countries and be bringing down lightning upon them. Helping you all into NGL was all I was allowed to do." She glanced to her right, where Sun Hanya stood with a dour look. He had brought the phone to her personally. The Chief Secretary looked even more like a grumpy tortoise than usual.

The voice on the other line was silence for a few seconds.

"I understand that," Shino eventually said. "That is why I'm asking you if you can help. We can figure out another plan if you choose not to, but your skills would make our attack safer. It would be much more likely to succeed with your support." He paused. "You are shinobi. I don't mean to show my age, but you cannot escape that reality. Regardless of your position, you are a soldier."

The Kumo Shinobi rolled that thought within her head. Shino was right; sitting behind a desk for most of the day didn't change the fact she was a walking artillery piece. It was more than that, too: in her short time with Team 8, she'd grown to like each member. Kiba was rough and brash but he never made her uncomfortable with his questions, Hinata was kinder than she imagined and Shino was quiet in a respectful way.

For a second, she imagined them going with a different plan, a riskier one, and the vision of its failure was as clear in her mind as the pain in her lip. The image of Team 8 falling thanks to her not being to help was terrifying; them joining the countless corpses already created by the Ants, enraging. The political repercussions were also overwhelming. Not only the death of shinobi on foreign soil in another world, but one of them being the wife of Naruto Uzumaki.

The thought made her shiver. Her time in the Thunder Corps kept her away from the battlefield and thus she rarely saw bodies, even less so with her new position. And though she was from Kumogakure, failing the Hokage who had played such a pivotal role in the Fourth War by letting his wife come to harm was a disturbing thought.

Mari found that she couldn't bear the phantom guilt.

"Alright," Mari said with a sigh. "I'll come and assist you. But!" She stamped her feet, leaning forward. "In return, I need you to promise the Hunters with you won't have big mouths."

She was sure Shino was smiling on the other end of the line. "You have my word that they won't speak."

"I'll meet you at the border tonight. Consider me a part of tomorrow's assault."

"Thank you." The call dropped, and Mari was left with a phone that suddenly seemed heavier.

"Sun," she said. "Will this be a problem?"

The man gave her a dour smile. "Not so long as you promptly return, Ms. Kansai. I understand these are extremely unusual circumstances. However…" His smile faded. "See that you do return. We've grown rather fond of you around here, after all."

Mari sighed. "I'll do my best."

###

A world of grey and blue, punctuated only by the heartbeat, the stifle of crushed grass below, the tickle of unaware insects. Slowly. Infinitely slowly. Two heartbeats a minute. Blood slow, painfully slow, a body of agony, every limb trembling with anticipation and pain. It was a lowly, crushing existence, devoted entirely to stealth and faith.

The Watcher could not see Pitou. If Pitou could smile, Pitou would have. Pitou was sure of it; the sensation of unwelcome sight had vanished, hadn't returned while Pitou was in this degrading state. The human Pitou had dissected had held knowledge of this state. Zetsu.

Another six inches. Pitou covered less than one a minute. As with everything but the King, Pitou was beyond Zetsu. This was something else, entirely too ridiculous for a human to contemplate. The cessation of self, folded into nature. The supreme engineering of the Queen, the instincts of the devoured animals she had subsumed, the unbreakable will of Pitou: they had all been folded into this desperate effort to avoid the sight of the Watcher.

Three heartbeats a minute. Pitou was getting too excited. Calm. Calm. Pitou's presence remained concealed. Pitou was nothing more than dirt, grass, trees. As unremarkable as the sky, as opaque as the sea. Ignored. Looked over. Familiar sight. Another six inches.

Pitou was nearly there. Nearly at Pitou's goal. There, all this indignity and pain would be worth it.

###

In the night, frozen in preparation and immune to the wind, cold, and darkness, Netero found sanctuary within himself.

It was usually like this before battle. Ever since he had come down off that mountain, Netero had always been most content alone. Battle engaged him, thrilled him, but it had been decades since one had challenged him. In that time, he'd come to appreciate simple things. In a time like this, burying anticipation in exchange for appreciation was always most appealing.

'What crap.'

The bitterness inside him, shaming the wind with its vitriol, pushed back against his rituals of gratitude. It pushed and pulled at his Nen as he gathered it in his core, shoving it out of his pores in flares of angry golden light. For the first time in three hours, Netero moved. It was just an errant twitch of his right index finger, but it still infuriated him.

The shinobi infuriated him. The uncertainty they carried infuriated him. Netero craved a direct confrontation, something to settle his suspicion and give him closure, but as ever the world did not obey his unconscious commands. He was not so foolish as to confront the shinobi in this situation, and they shared the same pragmatism, for whatever reason. He was sure they could have forced the issue by now, but had chosen not to.

It wasn't worth thinking about, not now. Netero reentered himself, returning to stillness. The golden emanations lessened in intensity, light glowing under his skin instead of spilling out. Preparing his Hatsu was far more important than worrying about what the future carried.

For now, he would have to find his catharsis in battle, as he always did. Perhaps one of the Royal Guard would try to kill him. That at least would be thrilling, instead of the constant doldrum inflicted upon him by the lesser Ants. And, even better, he would finally see what the shinobi were truly capable of. Tomorrow's assault would have no room for subtlety. Perhaps his suspicions would be vindicated.

He grinned, another failure, but one he didn't mind.

After all, it was fully possible that if he were wrong, they'd all end up dead.

I'm very glad to see another update from you here, and will be no matter how long the next takes.

In particular, I want to thank you for the way you're handling Netero. He's probably my favourite character in the series, certainly the one I'm most fascinated by, and I feel like you do him a great deal of justice. The mixture of serious, playful, and curious... but with terrifying always lurking just under the surface. It's a rough balance to make work, and you do it well.

Click to shrink...

Glad I'm still up to your standards, Guts. To you, and to everyone else who's reading this, a sincere thanks for the feedback and encouragement.

Now let's see if I can hit three-in-one.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

Chapter 9

Royal Fury: Part 1​

Hinata wrinkled her nose: partly in amusement, partly in consternation. There was a light drizzle filling the air with thin, cold water. Nothing heavy, but it was the first rain she had seen since arriving in the NGL. Like most of the country, it was beautiful and deceptive. The clouds above spoke of thunder and a downpour, but what actually came down was closer to mist than rain. She ran her fingers through her hair. Damp, but only barely. Her thumb came to rest on the headset secured behind her ear.

A gift from Mari, brought by Shino's request. The girl from the Thunder Corp had carried eight radio headsets over the border, in defiance of the country's laws. One for everyone who had been hunting Ants, and one spare, just in case. For the assault on the nest, fast and reliable communication would be indispensable, and the radios were the perfect tool for that.

The Hunters had been quiet about Mari's arrival: to Hinata's surprise, they hadn't asked much about her or where she'd come from. Perhaps they just weren't in the mood to question more help. At any rate, it had been a welcome sign of trust.

She ran her finger over the frequency knob, ensuring she was on the right channel, took a deep breath, and then pressed down on the receiver. It was time.

"Everyone," she said. She could see them all perk up. Knov put a hand over his ear, isolating the sound of her voice. "You're all in position. Still no sign of the missing Guard."

"Is that a go?" Kiba asked playfully. Hinata rolled her eyes. Her teammate was smirking at her from more than four kilometers away.

"I'm not in charge here," she said. Coughed. "But yes, that's a 'go.'"

The Hunters and shinobi were widely arrayed in preparation for the assault. Hinata was the farthest from the action, a safe six thousand meters from the nest, atop a short hill festooned with thin trees and thorn-studded shrubs. Shino and Kiba were holding position four kilometers in front of her, in relative spitting position of the nest. They were accompanied by nine Kage Bunshin, four of which were Hinata's, and ten of Morel's smoke constructs. On their own, they represented a formidable assault force, but their true strength was speed and shock. The clones were insubstantial muscle.

However, with support from Morel and Knov, they were more of a threat. The two Hunters had taken up opposing positions around the nest, forming a rough triangle with the main assault team. Knov had placed an alarming amount of Hide and Seek portals around the forest, doubling as both traps for attacking Ants and a mobility option for the assault team and Morel. His and Morel's job was simple: distract and waylay any counterattack the Ants mounted. There were still far too many of them to fight directly, with over five-hundred inside the nest and at least another three hundred out foraging, but between Hide and Seek and Deep Purple, keeping even that number tied up wasn't impossible.

The real strength of the initial attack waited on the opposite end of the nest from Hinata, almost exactly the same distance as she was from it, for that matter. Mari Kansai and Isaac Netero sat next to each other, both cross-legged, both with their eyes closed. Hinata had been extremely surprised that Netero hadn't joined the assault team, but after he'd explained the reason for his positioning, she'd come to understand the man a little better.

His 'Hatsu' would let him strike at the nest from a distance, and it was inevitable that the Ant's anger would be primarily directed towards Mari due to her artillery assault. Thus, staying in a position where he could meet the majority of enemies head on, in defense of their long range attacker, was the ideal position for the Chairman.

At least, that was how he'd explained it. Hinata had a suspicion he just wanted an excuse to kill as many Ants as possible, both in the initial strike and the inevitable counterattack. She had no idea what his 'Hatsu' actually was, and she got the impression her ignorance was shared by his fellow Hunters. She was almost looking forward to finding out.

"Mari, you're up," Kiba said, and the woman nodded, bringing her hands together in something resembling prayer and closing her eyes. Hinata watched the flow of chakra beneath her skin with interest. She'd never seen Artillery Jutsu before. It was gathering in her core, rushing up from there into her chest and arms. The concentration of energy was impressive and volatile.

Beside her, Netero did the same thing, his aura suddenly pulsing. His hands flowed together, and Hinata blinked. While Mari's movement had been utilitarian and practiced, Netero's had been completely inhuman. It took her a moment to understand why: she hadn't even seen his hands come together. They'd been at his sides, and then suddenly clasped in front of him. The motion had been so fluid and so fast that even with the Byakugan, her mind had needed to provide an illusion of movement to fill in the gap in her perception.

Hinata felt a chill run down her spine, but at the same time, she couldn't hold back a small smile. It was a good thing the Chairman was on their side.

Her attention shifted back to Mari as the girl separated her hands, slowly lifting them above her head. Where Mari's hands came apart, electricity danced, slowly spreading like a bubble of lightning. As her hands came farther apart, the bubble grew, until Mari's arms were fully outstretched and a marble of solid-looking electricity hovered over her head, suspended above her hands. Rain evaporated instantly for several feet around the younger shinobi as she pushed out a deep breath, a bead of sweat rolling down her nose before it too became so much steam. Hinata was entranced by the play of chakra across the orb, the vibration deep in Mari's chest, until the girl pushed: her chakra flared, stabilized, becoming placid and tight, pulled taut without stretching. The ball of lightning soared up into the sky like a runaway balloon at high speed, suddenly coming to a stop about eight hundred meters above its creator. With the Byakugan, Hinata could see the thick thread of chakra connecting Mari to her jutsu.

Mari spoke into her headset, static crackling thickly across the connection. "Raiton: Tengoku Hogeki, ready."

"Impressive," Morel noted. Hinata saw him grin as he admired the floating lightning. "Let's get this started."

Mari carefully dropped one of her hands, keeping the other facing straight up at her jutsu. She formed it into a fist, extending it towards the nest. Beside her, Netero began glowing, a golden light emanating from beneath his skin.

Mari pointed.

The ball of energy high above her pulsed, one tiny point in the shell of chakra containing it collapsing, and a torrent of blinding energy ripped through the air with a hellish shriek accompanied by a sonic boom. The bolt of plasma slammed into the side of the nest and exploded, producing a fireball the size of a truck. The whole structure seemed to shudder, and when the smoke, mist, and fire cleared, a huge divot was revealed in its side: Mari's attack hadn't pierced its walls, but the damage was still obvious.

As Hinata watched, the Ants in the nest reacted as any insect did when someone kicked their home. There was a moment of panic and confusion, and then they began swarming, sprinting towards the exits. Hundreds of them: there were orders shouted, hateful looks cast. Out of the five-hundred and sixty-four Ants in the nest…

Hinata brought her hand up to her ear.

"That did it. There are… four hundred and seventy Ants preparing to counterattack. Both of the Royal Guard are staying where they are; as we thought, they won't leave the Queen." She paused. "Four-hundred and seventy, give or take. Some of them may be reinforcing the entrances."

The birth of the third Royal Guard had complicated their plans, but not curtailed them. With the catlike one still missing, their chances remained better than ever, even with increased numbers.

"That's all?" Knov asked dryly. "Well, no reason to worry then." He paced in his chunk of the forest, moving from tree to tree with practiced stealth. "How many are headed towards the Chairman?"

"Surely not enough," Netero said, his eyes closed. His wrinkled his lips, contorting his mustache. "Let's fix that."

The old man's aura expanded, the golden light pushing out of his body and into the world. It flexed, shimmered, and grew, exploding into being around Netero. Gradually, it took vague form; shining golden hands, dozens of them set on the end of sprawling arms with six or seven joints, a clean-shaven head with doll-like features, and ribs, forming a thin body below the head. Netero floated up, set in the middle of the golden Nen construct.

Hinata's mouth dropped a little. This must have been the Chairman's Hatsu: it reminded her eerily of the Uchiha Susano'o, only much brighter and thinner. She could see the man's essence pouring up out of him, forming a continuous loop of ethereal energy with the construct. He fed it, and it fed him.

It was more than just Nen, she realized. It was something closer to the man's life. Even his soul, perhaps. It was the ultimate expression of the old man's power, rearing up out of him to gaze upon the battlefield.

The physical manifestation of Netero's life of violence soundlessly reached out one of its many hands, both gently and fast as lightning, and plucked a nearby tree out of the ground with all the difficulty of someone pulling a hair off their clothes. With the same careful speed, it drew back, and then hurled the sizeable tree at the nest with impossible force.

Hinata couldn't help but grin at what she saw. It was entirely ridiculous, and yet undeniably incredible. The tree caught fire from the speed of the Chairman's throw, transforming it into a glowing destructive bolt. In the hands of the crystallization of Netero's martial spirit, simple tree trunks became spears from the heavens.

"Goodness," Shino unintentionally muttered over the radio as the tree slammed into the divot Mari's bombardment had created. The flaming log, much reduced from its original form but still sizeable, punched a hole through the weakened section of the nest, lodging itself in one of the structures many halls. The smoke from its flames began filling the corridor.

It had been about fourteen seconds since Mari had struck the nest: almost every one of the counter-attacking Ants were exiting it when Netero followed up. Of them, Hinata saw all but a few turn their attention towards the direction of the attack. They broke into desperate sprints in groups, some taking to the air, one or two even diving underground. As one, they converged in a great swarm on the Chairman's position.

"They're coming for you," she said, sure that everyone listening knew who she meant. "Almost all of them."

"Good." Hinata had never heard Netero sound so satisfied. "Begin the assault."

There was a flicker in the corner of Hinata's vision, and she instinctively turned her head slightly, frowning. She found herself looking at nothing, just more shrubs and grass. The Hyuuga shook her head, refocusing on the attack.

"Morel, a group of ten coming towards you, sixty feet to the south in three seconds," she directed, watching the big man amble off to ambush the unfortunate Ants. Smoke began filling the forest, obscuring everything. Hundreds of meters away, an Ant tripped and fell into another dimension, its comrade looking around in a panic. The assault team, including the clones of Hinata herself, began moving in, rapidly approaching the nearest entrance to the nest, a man-sized hole about four stories off the ground.

The forest as a whole erupted into pandemonium, suddenly filled with hundreds of Ants and dozens of humans, though the majority of the latter were illusions. Hinata muttered under her breath, a constant stream of directions and location updates. Mari and Netero continued to bombard the nest, driving more divots and logs into it until it somewhat resembled a pincushion. The Chairman steadily deforested the area around him, slowly but consistently moving forward, creating a buffer of clear space between the oncoming Ants, himself, and Mari. The first Ant to reach him, pushing far ahead of its comrades, died before it even realized what had happened: the Chairman's Hatsu squashed it with a single punch, utterly destroying its organs and sending a rogue limb or two skittering across the ground from the force of the strike.

Twenty-five seconds since Mari had bombarded the nest. The assault team had nearly reached the entrance. With Hinata's guidance and Kiba's nose, she was certain they'd be able to avoid the majority of the Ants inside and make their way to the Queen. They were committed now, but the situation seemed rather favorable. Hinata felt optimistic: this was their best chance, and they had chosen the right approach.

The assault team had its opening; the majority of the Ants had left the nest. Their feint was transforming into a fearsome attack, and with the third Royal Guard-

Right next to her.

Hinata's heart stopped. The world froze, the peculiar dilation of time accompanying chakra enhanced perception, adrenaline, and terror.

The third Royal Guard, firstborn, cat and human, tiny black shoes, glowing orange and red eyes-

Was right next to her.

Staring at her. Starting to move, even in the frozen time. It leapt at her side, ready to scythe her in half.

Hinata couldn't understand. She started to move too, no thought, just fear and confusion.

The Guard's sudden appearance was as impossible as its disappearance.

There hadn't been some sort of dimensional transfer, a flicker of speed. One moment there had been nothing, and then the Guard had been there. Even the Flying Thunder God had been more predictable. It was midway through its attack. Hinata's body went through the motions as her mind raced, but it was already obvious to her she couldn't evade it entirely. Too close, too fast.

Hinata's heart beat, once. The Guard's hand was three inches from her thigh. Its attack would take her leg off, she was sure.

It had always been there, she realized. Not always right next to her, but always in her Byakugan's sight. The Ant hadn't left the nest at all: it had merely disguised itself, impossibly concealing itself from her eye's perception. How? Hinata had no idea, could only conceive the Ant had pulled its energy so far inward that it had become a void, an eye-watering spot in a childish perception puzzle that her eyes had refused to acknowledge. It fit with what she was seeing. Had seen.

Two inches. Hinata grit her teeth. Spun.

The thing's claws sliced into her leg, instantly cutting a deep laceration in her left thigh. Chakra sprung from Hinata's pores, exploding out in a tsunami of purple energy. The Hyuuga reached down deep inside herself, feeling for the ancient, cold energy that she was so loathe to touch, no matter how useful it was.

She grasped it, feeling her hands turn to ice in a psychosomatic response, and pulled. The Kaiten was amplified, tripling in size, and the explosion of chakra threw the Ant back before it could continue its attack. Hinata was left gasping, a chunk of her leg torn away, hot blood soaking her suddenly cold skin.

She didn't have time. She was in danger. The Ant's eyes opened wide, its remorseless killing pressure boring her down. She might never see her husband or children again. The thought enraged her, replacing the cold in her bones with boiling fury.

The Ant spoke, a single word filled with as much hate as Hinata felt.

"Watcher."

"Guard!" Hinata barked back. Not at the Ant, but into her radio.

Then, with as much warning as the encounter had started, she was in a fight for her life.

###

When Kiba and Shino heard Hinata's voice over the radio, decades of familiarity let them immediately understand what she had said. The Hunters were slower, Knov most of all thanks to his focus on his Hatsu, but they all came to the same understanding as the shinobi in less than five seconds.

'Bad news.'

The missing Royal Guard had appeared, and it was attacking Hinata. The creature that both Netero and Hinata had agreed had the potential to kill the entire force opposing the Ants was facing the Hyuuga, alone. The realization stopped both Kiba and Shino cold as they entered the threshold of the nest, halting them at an invisible crossroad. They'd been drawn into a trap, despite their best attempts to avoid it.

'There's an Ant up there that could kill us all.'

The attack was suddenly incredibly delicate, even more so than before. The operation hinged on Hinata's sight. Netero was required to tie up the main assaulting Ants, Morel the stragglers. Knov, a safety net for the both of them. Falling back to help Hinata isn't even a question. The only uncertainty was who would go.

Fortunately, it only took a shared glance to purge that uncertainty. Kiba charged ahead, the coterie of clones following him. Shino turned.

Focused.

Ran.

The four seconds it took him to reach Hinata were some of the longest of both of their lives.

What followed took only two minutes.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

Chapter 10

Royal Fury: Part 2​

It was the purpose of the Thunder Corp to contribute to the fight from far behind the front lines. The organization, and the jutsu associated with it, had been created with nothing but that in mind. When Mari had been receiving her training, mastering the complicated and deadly jutsu that would vaporize Cloud's enemies from a distance, her sensei, a squat dark-skinned woman with a messy scar across the length of her chin, had told her something she'd found ridiculous.

"When you're in a battle," she'd said, "you're worried about yourself, and the comrades next to you, but not much else. In the heat of the moment, all you can focus on is the situation you're presented with. You survive from fight to fight in service of a greater strategic goal." She'd frowned. "In the Thunder Corp, you won't have that luxury."

The idea had seemed silly to Mari. She'd giggled, shared an incredulous glance with one her friends. The 'luxury' of fighting for your life? It was ridiculous: just one of the things that older shinobi said that reminded Mari they came from a very different world. Hurling lightning from the backline was just as exciting as any spar, and incredibly novel. To Mari, it had been a dream assignment, at least until she'd grown discontent with the lack of action.

It was only now, besieging the nest and frying groups of closing Ants, that Mari understood what her teacher had meant.

This far back, she was completely detached from the consequences of both her actions and the enemies. She threw lightning, Ants died: there was no feedback, and ultimately, little sense of accomplishment. There were always more of the creatures, and they were threatening those she'd come to help protect. She'd heard Hinata's muffled warning over the radio, and now, trapped in her support role, she could nothing but imagine what was happening to the Hyuuga.

Despite the power of the lightning hovering above her and the clear affect it was having on the enemy, Mari Kansai felt helpless. But before her, Isaac Netero seemed unconcerned.

To Mari, the man seemed much like the old shinobi around Kumogakure, particularly the ones willing to talk about the Fourth War. Archaic and yet larger than life, old and deceptively strong. In this battle, he'd practically become the embodiment of that strength. The huge Nen construct surging up out of him that crushed the Ants that attacked him with abandon was absolutely terrifying, like something out of a legend, meant to match the Bijuu. And the Chairman of the Hunter's Association himself…

He was laughing. She could hear it despite the two hundred or so meters the man had created between them. A low, booming laugh, shaking his thin frame inside the golden construct. She couldn't dream as to why.

The Chairman had destroyed nearly one hundred Ants in the minute and a half since Mari had fired the first bombardment that had started the assault. Their numbers seemed endless despite Hinata's early assurances, and they had clearly learned from their fellow's mistakes. While the first couple dozen of the Chairman's kills had resulted from the Ants charging him in a blind bloodlust, the ones following them had been cleverer, trying to attack him from all sides and eventually learning to skirt around him, targeting Mari instead.

Her Tengoku Hogeki had destroyed the first several groups, tearing up great gashes gashes in the forest and halting their advance, but as more and more Ants had managed to slip by Netero, Mari had begun to realize that she may have no choice but to retreat. She couldn't hope to stand up to multiple Ants in close combat, and the Chairman was either unable or unwilling to fall back to cover her more comprehensively.

No, it wasn't that. The moment he fell back, more Ants would surge into the gap; if he drew closer to her now, it would only push more enemies into her. Mari realized that without speaking, the Chairman was creating an opening for her, expecting her to take it. Perhaps he hadn't realized she was less experienced than the other shinobi, or just didn't care. At any rate, the assault team was already inside the nest; it was definitely time to pack up.

The swarm of Ants were drawing closer: there were five or six in particular that would probably reach her before she could safely withdraw, including one towering creature that looked like the unfortunate melding of a man, a rabbit, and some sort of multicolored bird. It leapt across the barren earth, covered in its comrade's blood, saliva running freely from its wide, buck-toothed mouth.

Mari stood up from her cross-legged position, blood rushing back to her legs. She pulled her other arm back up over her head, focusing on the orb of chakra and lightning, and curled both hands into fists. The jutsu convulsed, widened. Static crackled in her ear: it sounded like a name. Her headset was useless while her technique was running. She hadn't expected that.

The Ant was screaming something about eating her, how delicious her bones would taste. Mari did her best to ignore the words, along with the shiver they sent up her spine. The monster was only thirty meters away when she slammed her hands down, her whole body following the motion into a crouch. Her fists blew a small crater in the dirt, the chakra surrounding them faintly glowing with blue energy.

Above her, the ball of lightning suddenly rocketed down, far faster than it had ascended. Jets of lightning skipped off of it. The Ant, just twenty feet from her, looked up, its eyes going wide, just in time to be struck by one thick beam. The electricity stopped it cold, its muscles spasming.

"Not again!" it had just enough time to scream, its body shaking uncontrollably, before the jutsu slammed directly into it with a thunderous BOOM. The explosion of energy sent out a huge wave of heat, blew a eerily spherical hole of crystallized dirt and rock in the ground, and sent Mari tumbling backwards, tossed away by the blast. She rode the shockwave and came to her feet, sprinting for the distant hills and the nearest of Knov's bizarre portals. The Ant had been completely destroyed, and its comrades following close behind it had either been partially fried or had paused in clear shock at the rabbit-like Ant's sudden and explosive death. A cloud of vaporized blood drifted across the crater before it was wiped away by the misty rain.

It gave her enough time to buy some distance, but in the end, one dead Ant wasn't going to make a huge difference. Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame would decide whether the mission was a success or not; at this point, all she could do was keep herself safe.

###

The first Ant to get in Kiba's way had its head unceremoniously wrenched off. He moved on, the surviving clones falling in behind him. One of his stepped on the head in passing: it was still gnashing its teeth. They'd only been in the nest for twenty seconds, but already two of his clones and one of Hinata's had fallen. Only six left.

Kiba was in that peculiar state of mind that he figured for something like battlelust. A combination of panic, expressed through his pounding blood and jittering limbs, and razor focus, which drove him forward without uncertainty or mercy. He'd only felt it a few times before in his life, but he was glad this was one of them. He'd wanted to go back with Shino to help Hinata, but the both of them had known that would be foolishness. Abandoning the mission out of fear was silly, and between himself and Shino, he had the best chance of finding the Queen without the guidance of Hinata's eyes.

Eight Ants dead so far. It wasn't very many, but every slain monsters gave him a sense of deep satisfaction. This wasn't like fighting people. Each dead beast removed a direct threat to humanity; there was no ambiguity. And the Queen, the foul thing he could smell so clearly at the top of the nest, was the source of them all.

While Shino helped Hinata, Kiba would ensure that no other Ants would be created. It was the perfect compromise.

Well, Hinata was in danger, so not perfect, but she would be fine. He was sure of it. Hinata still had a trump card. Even if she hated it, she would have to use that terrifying lunar chakra if she were in real trouble. Kiba knew she would rather suffer it a thousand times than risk not seeing her family again.

Another ten seconds of frantic running, scrambling through the nest like the Ants occupying it. To Kiba's enhanced perception it was torturously long. Another Ant died, one of Hinata's clones driving a hand wreathed in chakra through one of its bulbous mantis eyes and splattering its skull and brains against the opposite wall. Kiba's nose led him true through the twisting passages, which relentlessly transitioned from horizontal to vertical without warning. The scents of maggot-chewed meat, old bones, pungent crossbreed Ants, thick smoke… they were all irrelevant. Kiba's senses cut through it all, focusing on the one thing that mattered.

But then, when a new smell entered the equation, Kiba was careful to take notice. This was unlike the other: sharper, more distinct, almost like that of the Queens. It smelled like lacquered leather and rotten sweets.

One of the Royal Guards, he was sure. His nose wasn't lying. There was no way to avoid it. There were only two paths up to the queen that wouldn't require backtracking through an unacceptable amount of Ants, and the Guard was standing watch over both of them.

Kiba had to acknowledge the things lived up to their titles. He made contact about three seconds later, bursting into the corridor junction, and the thing's sight.

It was certainly the most human looking of the Ants Kiba had seen. Were it not for the dark wings laying on its back like some sort of cape, its unnaturally pale and unblemished skin, or the antenna sticking out of its forehead, it would have been practically indistinguishable from a normal person. Even its clothes were ordinary enough, if frilly.

"Human," it said, its voice inexplicably cultured, the pronunciation precise. "You've made a terrible-"

"Gatsuga!"

Kiba launched into the technique without slowing down, transforming into a human bullet that roared down the corridor straight into the Ant. The Guard was fast though, maybe faster than Kiba himself. It reached out fearlessly and fastened one hand on Kiba's shoulder in the middle of the jutsu. Skin was scraped away and the Ant's wrist bent in an unsightly way, but Kiba was ground to a painful, jarring halt. The Ant punched out with its other hand, lightning fast, and struck Kiba in the face.

He howled, his nose shattering under the blow, and struck back on instinct: with his teeth. His mouth snapped shut, shearing off all of the Ant's fingers except its thumb. They tasted bizarre, and felt too light, and Kiba spat them out like bullets, trying to hurt the Ant with its own digits. But the detached fingers simply disappeared in a bizarre shimmer of golden light, melting away in microscopic particles that dusted the Ant's face.

The Guard looked enraged, but Kiba didn't give it time to attack again. He planted his feet and threw himself forward, body-slamming the thing back, and then scrambled past it, snorting blood through his shattered nose. It grabbed at his ankle, momentarily halting him, before his and Hinata's clones descended on it en-masse, slamming it to the ground with a muffled protest and tearing into it with Gentle Fist and bare claws. Kiba stumbled forward on all fours, picking up speed.

One of his clones died, suddenly transmitting information. The Guard was mostly undamaged and desperate to pursue him, but the clones were just as desperate to buy him seconds with their lives. The once normal looking Ant was steadily transforming into a deranged looking insect, lashing out without a hint of grace. Kiba didn't look back. He kept running, faster and faster. His nose had been shattered, and so his strongest sense had vanished, but the memory of the Queen's scent drove him forward with unerring accuracy. The pain did too, along with a boiling sense of indignation and rage.

His nose hurt terribly, like someone hammering a spike deep into his face.

'Fuck these things.'

The corridor stretched on forever, an infinite stretch of damp brown darkness.

'We'll kill them all.'

Was it a sunk cost thing at this point? He couldn't be sure. They'd already wasted blood and time dealing with these things. At this point, not finishing the job would be a joke.

And that all started with the Queen.

Two, three turns left? Kiba wasn't one-hundred percent sure. Just a little pain like a shattered nose fogging his memory? All this hunting, and he was still feeling a little rusty. It was more than embarrassing, it was pathetic. Right, left, up, left…

No, right. He spun on his heels, sprinting back, and made another turn, running halfway up the wall, unwilling to bleed speed.

There.

The Queen lay, fat, pulsating, defenseless. Disgusting. It, more than anything else in the nest, looked like a proper Ant, just impossibly huge and swollen. It had nothing resembling a human's expression, but Kiba could swear it almost looked afraid of him. Now he just needed to-

His radio spat static and choked words. "Knov! We need help!"

Hinata. She sounded terrified. A red fog descended on Kiba: he broke into a direct run for the Queen, unsheathing a kunai from his thigh. He'd put a single knife through the thing's face, and this whole thing would be as good as done. The Ants would destroy each other in their confusion, regardless of their intelligence. Shino had assured him of that.

His nose was useless, but there was something else keeping him safe. Kiba had no idea what it really was. Killer instinct? Canine intuition? Fate? Simple, reasonless luck? Later on, he would be sure it was the last.

Whatever it was, as he charged the Queen, he glanced left, away from the terrified creature so jealously guarding its enormous swollen stomach.

His vision was rapidly obscured by an enormous red fist.

Of course, he thought, his murderous intent grinding to a halt. His head was abruptly clear.

Of course the final guard is here, in this room. Where else would it be? What am I, retarded? I didn't see that coming?

He'd been blinded by his pain, eagerness, rage, fear, lingering rust, even after nearly a month of hunting Ants, Hinata's plight, his shattered nose, the inhumanity of the Ants, they'd all distracted him from thinking ahead, coming to the obvious conclusion that his nose had warned him about nearly a minute ago.

The third Royal Guard was standing guard over the Queen. It was a hulking red creature, a monstrous man-thing with cloven feet. Hinata had described it to him. What she hadn't told him was that it had a fist larger than him.

A fist that was about to make contact with his entire body at once.

Kiba almost laughed.

'Man,'' he thought, the black knife in his hand contrasted against the red fist. 'That's fucking dumb.'

The problem was obvious to him. Another crossroad, like the one he and Shino had faced. This time, the answer wasn't as obvious to him. He could kill the Queen now, he was sure of it. A flick of his wrist, and the kunai in his hand would be hurled through the monster's brain, killing it and the King it was gestating. Clean kill. Mission complete. Total success.

Well, mostly total, since Kiba was absolutely sure that if he took that opportunity, the fist that was so quickly and yet so slowly approaching would surely kill him in a single blow.

If he defended himself, there was a chance he'd live. If he didn't, he'd be deader than the First Hokage.

With some bemusement, Kiba found himself considering both options equally, and to his shame, he found himself reluctantly deciding on the second.

In truth, there was no time to think, only to react. Everything transpired in Kiba's head in less than a hundredth of a second.

Kiba screamed in both frustration and pain, bringing the kunai up in a half-guard position, and braced himself. The Royal Guard hit him with more force than a train: the singular blow picked Kiba up off the ground and hurled him into the walls of the nest. His body cut a faint path through the smoke that had infested every inch of the structure, and when he hit the wall, it provided little obstacle to him. The force of the Guard's punch that had broken Kiba's left arm and seven of his ribs–

pop pop pop pop POP

–shattered the wall of the Queen's chamber just as easily. Kiba found himself in the open air, hundreds of feet above the ground, hurtling earthward at an alarming speed and trailing blood and stone in his wake.

The forest spun by, a medley of green and blue and brown, and the world flashed black. Had he blinked, or was he about to pass out? Kiba wasn't sure. The agony in his arm and chest made his nose seem like a careless massage.

'Fuck,' he thought.

'FUCK.'

He needed to prepare himself for a landing. Even a shinobi could be harmed by a careless landing, and he was already in bad shape. He couldn't tell up from down. For some reason, he heard someone say "Now." Where was Akamaru? Why wasn't he here? Everything was spinning, spinning, falling-

Then, just as abruptly as it had started, the confusion stopped.

Kiba found himself suspended in the air, gently held between two enormous golden hands. He looked down, blood dribbling from his mouth and sliding off the glowing hands, and found himself looking into the grinning face of Netero. The old man had caught him with some kind of discount Susano'o. As Kiba watched in astonishment, Netero made a gesture of prayer and then a swipe with his right fist, and another of the construct's many, many hands lashed out, uppercutting an Ant that wandered too close to the Chairman. The monster's upper half was catapulted off into the horizon, while its legs collapsed, ownerless.

Kiba laughed, more blood spilling past his teeth and into the construct's hands. He looked back up, where he'd come from. Rain stung at his eyes. The Guard was there, a massive red figure, looking out of the hole in the nest.

It wouldn't pursue him. It couldn't leave the Queen's side. Kiba was forced to acknowledge, once more, that the Ants were smart.

For bugs.

His eyes slipped closed, black chasing across his sight. He lay in the land between consciousness for several seconds, struggling to stay awake, before giving in. His headset had been cracked when he'd slammed into the wall of the nest, but somehow, it was still partially transmitting. The last thing Kiba heard before he passed out was one of the Hunter's voices voice, barely discernible over the radio.

The only understandable word was 'medical.'

The fear it raised up carried him down into the darkness kicking and screaming.

###

Hmm, font seems to be fucked. Sorry about that.