- Location
- Southern California
hmmm-alright, just thought of it as somewhat humorous.
Myrmidon (Naruto/Hunter x Hunter)
- Thread starter Ser_Serendipity
- Start date
- Crossover
-
- Tags
- hunter x hunter naruto
zhuull
SB still lying to protect Racists what else is new
@Ser_Serendipity
You may want to actually mention that this is a cross with Hunter x Hunter in the opening post. I can't be the only person that clicked on this wondering what the hell HxH was. Beyond that it's just general good practice to be as up front as possible about what cross overs your using and abreviating the name of a series is always going to be open to some confusion.
That aside I really liked the world building in these two chapters. I know literally nothing about Hunter x Hunter than that it exists and I don't at all feel lost even with the story being set nearly completely in their world.
Really looking forward to Hinata introducing herself to these new people.
You may want to actually mention that this is a cross with Hunter x Hunter in the opening post. I can't be the only person that clicked on this wondering what the hell HxH was. Beyond that it's just general good practice to be as up front as possible about what cross overs your using and abreviating the name of a series is always going to be open to some confusion.
That aside I really liked the world building in these two chapters. I know literally nothing about Hunter x Hunter than that it exists and I don't at all feel lost even with the story being set nearly completely in their world.
Really looking forward to Hinata introducing herself to these new people.
Great Greedy Guts
Ceterum censeo Vigilam esse delendam.
Makes sense, and probably even more sense than my interpretation, looking back. Which makes me honestly more concerned for the other shinobi. I'd been assuming they could detect the presence of Nen loosely, that might not be any more true than for the average person... Well, I suppose we'll see.
Looking forward to the next chapter! Gonna have to pay more attention this time...
In my defence, that was when I thought Netero was being used as a different sort of measuring stick. If my interpretation had been accurate on that front, the statement would have been entirely correct. In retrospect, should've been more obvious that such was not the case.
Chapter 3
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
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.
I'm not certain, but did the brain-needle induce uncontrollable terror in him when facing a certain type of character?
KickInator
Verified Doomsday Device, SuperVella
- Location
- India
It did that when Killua was faced with some who he didn't have a high chance of defeating i.e Killua was able to only fight in battles where he was doing the curbstomping.
Egleris
Vagrant Dragon
- Location
- Italy
Speaking of changed things, if Hinata's range is really that big, then she should outrange Pitou in detection capability by a considerable margin; that would also change a lot of things in the battle against the ants, since overcoming Pitou's extreme En was one of the biggest problems the group had - and having full knowledge of the mansion would allow for much more detailed planning.
Just goes to prove that even knowing what a character can do isn't always enough to realize the implications until a good author points them out in their story. I'm really looking forward to see what's next!
Just goes to prove that even knowing what a character can do isn't always enough to realize the implications until a good author points them out in their story. I'm really looking forward to see what's next!
- Location
- Southern California
They do realize that Hinata most likely knew what they were saying right? I mean even if she went away if she had her byakugan
Hmm actually when I think about it I honestly wonder where Naruto characters normal physical strength ends and the use of chakra assisted strength begins? I mean we know that before learning how to use Nen Killua was able to open a 16 ton gate then after the chimera ant ark where we know that Killua has become many times stronger than before and see this compared to the start where he now is able to open a 64 ton gate.
Mostly the same. At worst, she can't cut off Nen like she could Chakra. Hinata should still be capable of making one's heart go boom.
- Location
- Southern California
Well we know that the bare basics of the those who use the gentle fist can attack an enemies internal organs. But that is just the bare basics that anyone from the Hyuga clan can do, hell even those who do not posses the Byakugan like Boruto. Later on we see that they can actually cut charka (or in this case nen) based substances like how Neji could cut Kidomaru webs or for a more common example a puppet users strings. Then we get into the more popular abilities that we see such as the 8 trigram palm rotation, 64 palms, air palm and of course hinata's lions fist. This compressed charka into lion heads that increase the users damage output and actually absorb chakra (if the user wants to since Naruto used a rasengan with Hinata's lion fist)
Naruto has used his rasengan with anything he wants over the years so I wouldn't attribute Hinata's lion fist to it
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
This is correct enough for most but since I probably won't be going over the affects of the Needle very explicitly in the story, I feel I should clarify just so that anyone who's forgotten, or who is unfamiliar with HxH, won't be in the dark: Illumi's Nen Needle didn't keep Killua from fighting people he didn't have a high chance of defeating, but it did drive his survival instincts into overdrive. He still fought plenty of opponents who were a threat to him before having the Needle removed, it was just an issue of confidence... and pulling his punches.
So long as Killua was confident he could win the fight, he'd be fine, but the moment he was exposed to anything he didn't understand, his Flight instinct would flare up with unbelievable strength. When he first encountered Nen in combat in his fight with Zushi, way back in the Tower of Heaven, even though he was fighting a kid who was younger, smaller, and physically weaker than him, he still freaked out a little and almost ended up throwing the match because he didn't understand the principles of Nen yet, and thus couldn't fathom how a weaker opponent wasn't being harmed by his strikes to their critical areas. It's likely Illumi implanted the Needle precisely for dealing with Nen users, since no matter how strong Killua became without it, they'd be out of his league.
Glad to hear it! And yes, the Byakugan fundamentally changes the game in this arc; I didn't pick Hinata out of whimsy, that's for sure.Just goes to prove that even knowing what a character can do isn't always enough to realize the implications until a good author points them out in their story. I'm really looking forward to see what's next!
Well, this is an interesting question that of course will be explored throughout the story, but in general chakra seems to function in Naruto very similiar to Enhancement Nen; shinobi use it to up their durability, increase their strength and speed, etc. Just like characters in HxH, their "base stats" as it were are still rather superhuman, but nothing compared to what they can do with chakra.
(for example, take Sasuke's first fight with Haku: even without too much chakra enhancement he was able to zip around and match Haku blow for blow, but when he needed to avoid a particular attack coming in from all sides (the ice needles) he channeled chakra to his legs, which allowed him to leap up so quickly that Haku completely lost track of him for a moment. This trend continues throughout the whole manga, capping with a ridiculous endpoint in the Eight Gates, where Gai started moving so fast that... physics started affecting and harming him, which is pretty unthinkable in a shonen manga)
Chakra and physicals are a bit weirder than this iirc. On a basic level, chakra is formed from one's physical and spiritual energies. The physical aspect is endurance or stamina and not speed or strength.
Furthermore, just increasing your chakra levels increases your physicals. This is why Rock Lee is capable of high level Taijutsu despite being incapable of molding chakra.
Then you get focusing chakra to specific spots of one's body like your Sasuke example.
I've always seen this as shinobi having superhuman (to irl humans) physicals tl even have chakra, chakra levels exponentially boosting their physicals, and chakra molding providing significant boosts beyond that.
Chapter 4
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
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.
Pixel the Square
Spoop town
- Location
- Somewhere not from here
What a fun and interesting chapter Ser Serendipity. I like how you named the chapter "A Meeting of the Monsters" to imply both the shinobi and the ant's are monsters because you're a hack of a writer.
9/10 nothing (fastball) special.
9/10 nothing (fastball) special.
Can't tell if you are complimenting him or insulting him.
Also, shinobi are monsters. Just because they are human doesn't make it that they aren't.
IRL, there are plenty of humans who are complete monsters, doesnt matter that they don't have sharp claws, teeth or ugly.
Maybe I have read too much fiction, but in my view everything and anything can be a monster.
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- Location
- Canada
The monstrosity of the humans and the budding humanity of the Ants is, like, the whole point of the Chimera Ant arc in the first place. The ants lose because humans invented a more terrible power than anything the Queen could birth. Pitou could have killed Gon a bunch of times, but she was just slightly reluctant to murder him until it was too late.
Naruto is just the guy you'd want to resolve this situation peacefully, but oh wait he's not there. Maybe he's rubbed off enough on Hinata?
Naruto is just the guy you'd want to resolve this situation peacefully, but oh wait he's not there. Maybe he's rubbed off enough on Hinata?
- Location
- Southern California
Hinata is naturally a nice and understanding girl. She can keep her shit together better than anyone else in the series (I.E. Neji dies right in front of Naruto and her but only Naruto freezes up with Hinata having to make him get his shit together) I mean literally everyone else either faints (Kakashi), goes on a murderous bloodrage (Obito and any other Uchiha who see's someone they care about die) or goes on a request for revenge that would result in them most likely dying(Ino-shika-cho).
Pixel the Square
Spoop town
- Location
- Somewhere not from here
It was a joke brought on by Ser's complaint of a lack of commentary on this thread.
And this:
Was the whole basis of jokingly calling Ser a hack. The implication that both shinobi and the ants are monsters is not an inaccurate one, it's just another one of Ser's cheesy writing moments. Like in the Girl Who Spun Through Time when Konan bitch slaps Hinata with words to free her from her self loathing while simultaneously freeing her from the paper restricting her movements, thus freeing her mentally and physically in the same moment.
I just refer to these kinds of "cliché" and "expected" moments as "hack writing" because it's funnier to me to call a talented writer a hack than to call certain things in his writing "cheesy" at worst.
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
Hey, I didn't complain: I just told you I was surprised the fight scene hadn't gotten much feedback beyond likes.
One can only hope.
I am following on SB and here, and I post on whichever site I first see the story. That is usually SB.