In the heart of the battlefield, where chaos reigned, and danger lurked at every turn, a young girl perched herself atop a sturdy tree branch. The cacophony of warfare echoed in her ears—the cries of terror, agonizing throes of death, thunderous explosions, relentless buzzing of insects, and clash of weaponry.
But amidst this terrifying battleground, the lightly armored child sat seemingly unfazed. With a serene expression on her face, she sang a sweet, soft, innocent melody that floated through the air. Her voice carried a sense of purity, a song that wasn’t weighed down by the horrors of war or the death of her brethren. Her delicate voice, intertwined with the chaos, created a surreal moment that defied the harsh reality surrounding her. As she sang, her gaze wandered across the battlefield, observing the relentless clash between her clan, the Aburame, and their bitter rivals, the Kamizuru. As the only two shinobi clans that utilized insects, it only made sense that they were rivals with each other.
‘If there was something wrong with your brain, maybe.’ She thought.
The Aburame's insects swarmed in dense patterns, striking with deadly precision, while the Kamizuru's bees buzzed fiercely, their venomous stings adding to the chaos. Stingers flew, bugs swarmed, and everyone suffered in the middle. The girl, hidden by the branches and leaves, remained a quiet observer, her eyes watching with somehow a mix of boredom and interest. Bored at the nonexistent use of strategy and interested in the diverse types of insects used by her clan that she’s never seen before. Though her small frame complemented her tender age, her presence exuded an air of hidden wisdom. She understood the gravity of the situation, the cycle of violence that had plagued her world. And to put it bluntly, she wasn’t really a fan of it like everyone else seemed to be. It seemed so dumb.
Setsuna’s kikaichū were spread across the battlefield as she continued her song. As they attached themselves to Kamizuru shinobi and drained some of their chakra, Setsuna didn’t need to rely on her eyes to know where the enemies were located. When they returned to her body, the bugs would tell her about their location and if they were nearby. Although, she wasn’t arrogant enough to think that would be enough on the battlefield. Even now, there were bees, wasps, and hornets flying nearby. Setsuna didn’t know if the Kamizuru Clan could receive information back from their insects the same way her clan could, but she chose not to risk it.
A brief blue coating of chakra formed around Setsuna’s hand as she quickly grabbed any nearby bees and crushed them. Carefully avoiding their stingers while doing it. Setsuna used this chaotic battle as an opportunity to better herself. She had her kikaichū kidnap insects from her dead clan members to breed with her own insects. This way, her kikaichū could gain the same traits as the bugs they kidnapped or develop resistances to them. They would grow stronger because of it, and Setsuna wouldn’t need to worry about losing her poor little life fighting in scary shinobi battles as a kid.
“Amidst the cries and sounds of strife,
I find a rhythm in this crazy life.
With each note, I make a little peace,
A moment of joy that will never cease.” As Setsuna softly sang, a Kamizuru ninja passed by the tree she was hiding in.
Their eyes met as the world slowed around them. A smiling child and that of a glaring adult. It only took that look in his eye for Setsuna to understand he wasn’t just going to let her be. As soon as they locked eyes, Setsuna made a hand seal while the bee shinobi jabbed his right thumb into his left palm.
______________________________________________
“Stings of a Thousand Bees!” Takeshi Kamizuru shouted.
Hundreds of bees went soaring toward the cowardly child hiding on the battlefield. That arrogant smile she had beforehand, thinking that no one would find her, was replaced with a look of terror. She screamed and tried to run away when she saw his bee jutsu. Takeshi grinned maliciously at the pure fear shown by the child. What kind of clan would send such a useless shinobi out on the battlefield? Now because of their foolish decision, she would die for the pain they caused onto his clan!
Takeshi laughed as hundreds of bees pierced the child’s body in the back. She fell to the ground as they injected their venom into her body. The Kamizuru shinobi watched in sadistic gratification as the child suffered from the effects of the venom. Screaming, convulsing, thrashing, and crying. This was the fault of the Aburame Clan. The deaths of his clan would be paid back equally onto theirs! Children wouldn’t be spared.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Hmph.” Takeshi turned to leave.
His clan already gave the orders to retreat. They may have lost this battle, but Takeshi didn’t feel too down about it. One lost battle didn’t mean it was all over. He just had to make sure to kill more Aburame Clan members next time.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard a strange sound behind him. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw the child’s corpse moving. “What the…” Takeshi didn’t understand what was going on. Were the bugs in the child’s body taking control of it like a puppet?! He knew the Aburame shared their bodies with bugs, but he’s never seen anything like this before!
“Boo!” The child’s voice shouted right next to his ear.
Takeshi immediately turned and struck toward the voice, only to hit nothing at all. What was going on!? Wait! “Kai!” He shouted.
“Up here.” The child casually directed him.
Takeshi immediately turned to look up at the tree. She was sitting in the same spot as before. There were no signs of damage on her body or signs of poisoning. He jabbed his thumb into his left palm before shouting, “Bee Swarm Jutsu!” Takeshi expected to hear the sounds of hundreds of bees, but he only heard the buzzing of something else entirely… He was out of chakra!
“Genjutsu is pretty fun.” She stated with a smile on her face.
A swarm of insects swallowed up Takeshi. Without his chakra, he was nothing more than an average man. His bees didn’t respond to his will without any chakra to feed or control them. He swiped with his arms, stomped with his shoes, and slashed with his kunai as the bugs devoured his flesh. Piece by piece, he screamed in agony and furious rage. Moments later, there was nothing left of him. Not even his bones remained, just a splatter of blood on the battlefield.
______________________________________________
“Gross,” Setsuna said as she received his chakra from her kikaichū. She was glad her bugs weren’t messy eaters.
He would’ve kept his life if he didn’t try to kill her. Setsuna would have let him go if he had kept going about his way. She was just trying to survive, after all. Killing people didn’t bring any joy to her personally. But since he wanted to harm her, placing him under a genjutsu and letting him see exactly what he wanted to see until her kikaichū had drained him of all his chakra wasn’t too much, in her opinion. Setsuna would describe herself as a pacifist if she was being honest.
But what use was a pacifist in an era of war? As of now, nothing. But Setsuna had a dream. A dream that was impossible anytime soon but eventually one she would accomplish. She would turn this era of war into an era of peace, even if she had to drag everyone kicking and screaming along the way. After all, the world is such a beautiful place. Why waste time fighting and killing when there was so much of it to enjoy?
But that dream would remain a dream if she didn’t work efficiently. She needed strength. Unbeatable strength! Strength that no one could resist or deny to get all the other clans in line. Only when she could stand on top of the world among shinobi would she be able to start uniting the world in peace.
Setsuna buried herself underground, and she turned herself into a cocoon of insects as she started her path to accomplishing her dream. “Hidden Jutsu: Insect Cocoon.” The chakra she had absorbed over the course of the battle from her hive began funneling into her insects. This jutsu accelerates the growth of her insects but leaves her very vulnerable. With all of the insects, she’s taken from the fallen bodies of her clan members, along with the insects from the Kamikzuru. Setsuna’s kikaichū were undergoing an incredible evolution.
This was a rare opportunity for Setsuna. Cross-breeding the clan’s insects was not allowed for some reason. Setsuna was nearly punished for even asking about it. It made no sense to her that they weren’t breeding all of their insects together to make the ultimate insects for everyone. So, she decided to do it herself. This was only the first step of many to accomplish her goal of turning this era of warring into an era of peace.
Days passed as Setsuna actively intervened in choosing the best traits for her kikaichū. The incredible sense of smell from the Bikōchū, the growth trait from the kidaichū without their irritable behavior, the lethal venom of both kochū and Rinkaichū and lastly, the chakra sensing ability of the shōkaichū. It wasn’t difficult choosing the traits of the new generation of kikaichū. Setsuna accomplished that several hours after undergoing the jutsu. The truly difficult part that took her several days was properly hosting them in her body without having them devour her from the inside. Delicate and properly controlled chakra was the key to preventing this.
When Setsuna unearthed herself like a cicada, she sent her bugs throughout the forest in search of food. Several days of not eating anything was a lot more distressing than one would think. Her bugs didn’t take long to return and report on their findings. Setsuna had the kikaichū drain the animals of their chakra to feed themselves as well before heading toward the unconscious beasts. It was possible for her kikaichū to eat her from the inside if she didn’t feed them the right amount of chakra. Setsuna thought it would be best if she carefully managed her chakra in the future going forward.