Ant Monster Horde

On a night without the moon and stars, the darkness was thick and oppressive, wrapping around the world like a shroud. The air was still, unnaturally so, as if the night itself was holding its breath. An eerie silence blanketed the landscape, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves or distant animal cries. It was a silence that felt alive, pressing in on all sides, heightening every sense to the edge of raw alertness.

I could sense the chakra signatures within a 5 km range in the direction I focused on. The familiar energy patterns of the natural world were there, but something else lurked beneath them, a seething mass of uniform chakra signatures. It was a sensation that sent a shiver down my spine. Every being has its unique chakra signature, a fingerprint of its essence. But here, I read tens of thousands, if not millions, of the same signature coming our way.

From the thousands of chakra signatures, most of them are of a similar type and have three distinct characteristics. The first type makes up over 70 percent of the entirety of signatures. The second type has a stronger and denser chakra signature and covers most of the remaining parts. Lastly, the third type has a very dense chakra almost like me, and there are five in total.

Everyone heard screams and the rumble of the ground under their feet. But what caused the horror in the team was the realization of the impending danger. While everyone was terrified, including me, Toshiro Satoshi shouted a cry that attracted our attention.

He looked around us and, after ensuring everyone had turned their attention towards him, looked towards the mountain and said, "I think someone disturbed the ants, and now they are rampaging. Quickly, pack everything you can get, and let's run away in ten seconds from here. Anymore and even our bones wouldn't be left behind."

Everyone packed everything as Toshiro suggested, and we started moving towards the Fire Nation. The future daimyo of the Land of Valleys was carried on Toshiro's back, and people who came as part of the escorting team ran in formation.

After running for half an hour, I looked back and was shocked. I could still sense the ant horde moving towards us at an increased pace. I looked toward Toshiro, and he was also aware of the dire situation we were in. He looked towards me and signaled me to keep quiet.

Then we diverted towards the forest area and divided into two groups. The first group included Toshiro, Tsunade, and Orochimaru carrying the new uncrowned daimyo and some guards. Group Two comprised me, Jiraya, and Michiko along with the rest of the guards. Group Two's task was to draw the ant horde's attention, and Group One's task was to bring the new daimyo to safety. Our two groups ran in different directions, and I placed an explosive paper seal as a marker which triggers when something crosses it. This was an indication for Group Two to execute a plan to divert the attention of the ant horde toward us.

As we moved a little farther away from the marked location, the paper seal was triggered. That caught my attention, and fear gripped my heart. I was sure it was the same for everyone. The distance at this time was around one kilometer, meaning the distance was shortening as time passed. In less than half an hour, the horde could catch up with us. I repeatedly fired explosives to attract the attention of the ant horde.

After running for nearly twenty minutes, I felt something was wrong and stopped. Everyone was surprised and looked at me as if they didn't understand why I stopped at this critical moment when every second was life-saving. Everyone passed me while thinking, and finally, they stopped running.

Jiraya came to me and asked, "Why did you stop, Hirata?"

I could hear the fear in his words. Facing an ant horde is the same as facing the death god. I looked at everyone, and they had the same expression.

As I looked at them, my lips curved upwards, and I said, "Didn't you notice that the ant horde isn't following us?"

Everyone realized and looked in the direction of the ant horde. There was nothing. No ant horde at all. This was further confirmed by Michiko and his dog Hoshi. Just then, everyone saw a red flare shooting into the sky in the opposite direction to ours. That was an emergency signal.

Now I understood why the ant horde wasn't following us. It was following Group One. I looked at everyone and nodded. We started moving in the direction of Group One.

After moving for another twenty minutes or so, we could hear the noise created by the ant horde. Right then, we saw another red flare shooting into the sky. Based on its size and height before it went off, I quickly estimated the approximate distance between both our groups. The problem was there was no way for us to move any further. Moving further would mean meeting the ant horde, leading to complete annihilation. The other way to reach Group One while avoiding the horde was to take a long detour.

In the present situation, we weren't sure if Group One would still be available by the time we reached them. After thinking for some time, I felt it was the right time for me to use my trump card.

I looked at the remaining group and said, "You guys head towards the meeting point. I will try to intercept the horde to buy more time."

After I told them and turned to leave, Jiraya held my wrist and stopped me.

"What the hell are you doing, Hirata? Intercepting is the same as death."

I wasn't surprised since it wasn't possible to intercept a monster horde, especially of this scale. Everything that stands in its way is obliterated. Not even the grass is left behind.

Using paper bombs is only delaying them for a moment, but that is not a viable solution. The only solution that successfully worked was creating a wall of fire. However, maintaining such a massive scale of fire is not possible for a long time and exhausts chakra reserves quickly.

With the monster horde trailing us, conserving our chakra reserves is the best possible option. But now, if no one intercepts the horde, they will catch up with Group One soon and surround them. Once surrounded, it is impossible to help them.

I looked at the team and asked with a stern voice, "Do you have any better options?"

Listening to my question, Jiraya's grip loosened, and everyone's face became gloomier. Everyone on the team already knew it was impossible to escape the pursuit of an ant horde of this scale.

"Since no one has a better option, then head towards the meeting point. I will intercept them."

Looking in the direction of Group One, I said, "Let's meet again!" and then jumped down from the tip of the mountain.

Hirata appeared in the sky, plummeting toward the ground. Using his body to control his descent, he skillfully reduced his drop rate. As he neared the ground, he saw Toshiro carrying the new Daimyo, with Tsunade, Orochimaru, and several guards running beside them. Behind them, a horde of gigantic ants surged forward, snapping their mandibles.

The group hurled paper bombs over their shoulders, the explosions briefly halting the ants but not stopping them entirely.

Hirata landed with a controlled thud and then formed a series of hand seals.

Ram → Dragon → Tiger

"Fire Release: Firewall Jutsu"

Hirata spouted fire from his mouth. When it hit the ground, it spread out in a ten-meter-long blaze, rising like a column of fire. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked back at the bright column.

Toshiro, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were shocked to see Hirata and ran back to him. Tsunade jumped and hugged him. Hirata felt his bones being crushed, but still, seeing her shivering, he patted her back lightly to ease her fear.

Toshiro, still catching his breath, asked, "Hirata, what are you doing here? How did you get here? Where are the others?"

With a serious expression, Hirata replied, "Everyone is alright, sir. The ant horde isn't following us; it's only after you. I sent the others ahead to safety."

Hirata pushed Tsunade away and looked at Toshiro. "Sir, I will intercept this horde. Meanwhile, you escape from here."

Tsunade pulled back slightly, her eyes wide with concern. "Why are they only after us? What's going on?"

Orochimaru, always analytical, narrowed his eyes. "There must be something specific they are tracking. The new Daimyo, perhaps?"

As Orochimaru spoke, Hirata caught a faint, sweet smell coming from the Daimyo. His eyes narrowed slightly as he considered its origin. Toshiro noticed Hirata's change in expression and followed his gaze to the Daimyo.

"Sir," Toshiro said, addressing the Daimyo, "I believe there might be something on you that are attracting the ants. With your permission, I need to search your belongings."

Before the Daimyo could respond, one of his guards stepped forward, blocking Toshiro's path with a stern expression. "I'm sorry, Lord Toshiro, but I cannot allow you to search the Daimyo's belongings without his explicit consent."

The Daimyo hesitated, glancing between Toshiro and his guard nervously. "It's alright," he finally said, his voice shaky. "You have my permission, Toshiro. Please, find out what's causing this."

Reluctantly, the guard stepped aside, allowing Toshiro to begin searching the Daimyo's belongings.

Tsunade and Orochimaru watched closely, their expressions tense with anticipation.

Toshiro began searching the Daimyo's belongings. His hands found a small, oval-shaped object with three gold rings encircling it.

He held it up for everyone to see. Looking at the object in Toshiro's hand Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock. "This is an ant egg."

Tsunade expression turned grave. "An ant egg? That's why they're after us."

Hirata nodded grimly. "It seems so. We need to get rid of this egg, but we can't just discard it here. It will only lead the ants to another location."

Toshiro furrowed his brow, deep in thought. "If they're after the egg, perhaps we can use it to our advantage somehow."

Orochimaru interjected, "They're likely reacting to its pheromones. This ant species is famous for holding grudges and will hunt relentlessly until it kills everyone who holds the scent. It isn't easy to mask or remove that smell. If we can find a way to neutralize it, we might confuse them long enough to escape."

Hirata made a swift decision, taking the ant egg into his hands. "I'll take this. I'll intercept the horde and lead them away. You all must escape while you can."

Toshiro's eyes hardened with resolve. "No, Hirata. I'll do it. I'm the best person to handle this. You all need to take the Daimyo back to Konoha."

Hirata shook his head, disapproving of Toshiro's idea.

"Sir, if the ant egg has been with us this whole time and we didn't even know, it means one thing. Someone set up a trap to kill the Daimyo before he reaches home. Even if we escape from here, they will ambush us somewhere. We can't protect the Daimyo without strength. But that isn't the case with you."

As they debated, the firewall began to fade, and the ants started to swarm through the weakening barrier and from the sides. The urgency of their situation heightened as the ants closed in.

Hirata took the egg into his hand and said, "Sir Toshiro, I have a plan to handle this. Trust me."

Toshiro hesitated, torn between his duty to protect and his desire to sacrifice himself as an elder of the team. He didn't want two young, promising kids to sacrifice themselves right before his eyes. But as Hirata said, this was a trap set for them, and this wasn't the scale of a trap that just anyone could set. This level of trap could kill Kage-level shinobi too. If what Hirata said was true, then the ones who set up this trap couldn't be ordinary people.

Finally, he nodded. "Take care of them, Hirata." With that, Toshiro turned and started to run. Everyone except Tsunade followed Toshiro. Tsunade eyes were filled with tears. She gave Hirata a strong hug, took the necklace from her neck, and put it on Hirata's.

"You have to come back alive and return this necklace to me. Okay?"

Then she also ran in Toshiro's direction while her tears fell, sparkling like stars in the moonlight.

By now, the fire started to die out, and the ants began to crawl through the weakened fire column, making holes. The ants at the front of the fire sacrificed themselves to extinguish the fire and made holes in the column.

Hirata sighed and turned to face the ants crawling through the weakened fire. He took a deep breath and formed a tiger seal with his hands.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu"

Soon, thousands of clones formed from the poof of smoke. The clones took out Kunai and started to attack the swarm of ants in the horde.