Chapter 134: Naturalistic Savagery! Pt 8

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Naruto's POV (Southern Swamps of Irminsul - Terra)

Naruto sighed as he carefully hopped through the moss and vine-covered trees. The constant overgrowth and moisture made the branches slippery, slowing his progress massively. The heat was also unrelenting, and Naruto had removed his coat and tied it to his waist. His hair drooping slightly due to the sweat, soon Naruto was wishing he had been taken anyway but a moist, hot, nasty swamp.

Since his exciting run-in with the crocodiles, he had only seen a little wildlife. This was odd, as Muri had described it as a land ruled not by man but by various creatures. Yet other than his crocodilian foes and that arrant bird, he hadn't seen much life. Perhaps those damn crocs had run the others off.

Naruto closed his eyes and used his chakra to try to scan the area but felt nothing. With his surplus chakra reserves, Naruto had never been much of a sensor. But feeling nothing entirely was off; it was as if something was blocking it… For now, he was content to keep going until he found a clan, a friend, or Muri found him.

Naruto flinched, however, when he heard a whistle through the air. He paused on his branch, cautiously scanning for anything. What kinda creature made a whistling sound? Or was it simply his imagination? It had almost sounded like something cutting through the air. With a seal, Naruto activated the Personal Atmosphere and pushed air subtly throughout the area. Suddenly, he felt violent ripples through his wind nature chakra. Something was nearby and moving fast!

"Come out whatever you are!" Naruto roared as he drew Riptide. "I'm not in the mood for any games, ya know?!"

There was only silence for a moment before another whistle sounded. Naruto dived off his branch, landing on the water below as the tree he had been standing on was suddenly pierced straight through. Naruto glanced, attempting to catch an eye of what that had been before two more of it hovered before him making the effort for naught. They were mosquitoes but larger than most deer. Their wings were as large as Naruto's and moved so fast they were hard to even see. *12*

In an instant, the insects flew in, thrusting their sword like proboscis toward him. Naruto stood his ground, managing to track the speedy insects with ease. They were much slower than Gaara had been. He deflected the first proboscis with a flick and ducked the other, only for the first mosquito to return flying in while he was open.

"Bug off!" Naruto roared as he willed a massive wave of wind to slam into the insect, sending it careening into a tree in an explosion of body parts. He spun to dodge the second, managing to sever its wing as he did so, and with dept timing and massive strength, caught the thrust of the last. The force of the lunge sent the two sliding back as the insect tried to spear him through. However, Naruto kept his hold on it, and as they slowed, he frowned deeply, bothered with what he had to do. Another species that was aggressive for no reason. With this speed and power Naruto couldn't justify letting them leave. Less they become a threat to his friends later. Perhaps sensing the trouble it was in, the mosquito tried to pull its proboscis back. Naruto held firm, however, and thrusted Riptide into its body mercilessly. The insect shuddered horribly before falling to the ground. Naruto turned and panted as he examined the other dead and the injured mosquito. The blonde was shocked to see the last mosquito, even without its wings, attempting to crawl over to the blonde. While Naruto saw no great intelligence in its eyes, it clearly was full of nothing but bloodlust and hate. Naruto sighed as he slashed with his free hand; this caused a blade of wind to form and slice the head of the last remaining mosquito. 

"Kami, I thought Muri said they would be attempting to bribe or capture us. Those damn bugs had no plans but to spear me through. They should be looking for summoners…" Naruto complained.

"Not quite." A familiar, deep voice sounded. With a silent curse, Naruto turned to see the same four crocodiles from earlier staring him down. In fact, their numbers had more than doubled; there quickly now were a dozen giant crocodiles offering crooked and hungry smiles. "Not all clans see humans as some great creatures. They can certainly be useful, but they taste good enough to be prey just as well as they can be help. I will not offer you mercy again; prepare to die, summoner; perhaps in your next life, you may serve the Krookorook clan as more than a meal." This decree brought a significant bout of laughter from the assembled crocodiles. 

"That's where you're wrong. You were the one given an out, not me!" Naruto countered. "Besides, this isn't a good fight; it would be unfair!"

"Unfair. We know of the power of shinobi, as such I gathered all the members of our clan. While it will be overkill and lower the amount of meat I get, it will be worth it to finally try a chakra enhanced human." The leader of the group roared.

"Wrong again." Naruto sounded with a frown. He would prefer to avoid unneeded conflict, but the crocodiles would likely continue to follow him. Now, they have even expressed interest in eating humans. Naruto needed to ensure they wouldn't follow or potentially threaten his friends in the future. Naruto is required to end this… "I mean, it was unfair for you. Should've brought more, ya know?!" The Blonde roared as the crocodiles began to race towards him.