My Brother's a Jinchūriki!

Chapter 106: One Snake To Another

Hayate knelt beside Zaku as he lay on the ground, groaning and twitching in pain. He frowned slightly as he examined the boy's arms, where the air had blasted holes through. Hayate stood and coughed, then looked at Shino.

"It seems... the match is over." He coughed again- the episode lasting for several moments- before he cleared his throat. "The winner! Shino Aburame."

Kurenai smiled slightly down at her student, and, across the room, Kin scowled at her teammate. The observers were all silent, and Neji stepped back from the rail.

"What is it, Neji?" Lee turned to him.

Neji closed his eyes without answering, then formed a hand sign and opened them once more. Veins bulged around his eyes and he looked down below.

"Byakugan!" His eyes widened as he stared at Shino, and then he gritted his teeth. "So it's true, what they say about the Aburame. He's really something else...! It would be one thing for him to call insects to him with a Summoning Jutsu, however... those insects actually live inside his body."

"W-What?!" Lee's own eyes widened and he blinked.

"He belongs to the Aburame clan, one of the oldest and most mysterious clans of the Hidden Leaf." Guy furrowed his brows and explained.

"I'd heard about them before, though I've never seen one of them in person." Neji kept his gaze on Shino. "The talk of the clan whose members, as soon as they are born into this world, possess the secret technique of loaning their bodies to various insects as a nest in exchange for the ability to utilize the insects in a fight. They fully control the insects and entrust the majority of each battle to them... I've also heard that the insects consume their own Chakra as sustenance as part of the symbiosis."

Guy nodded slightly. "It's true. I've heard that the initial bonding of the host and their insects also carries great risk."

"What do you mean?" Lee looked up at him, and Guy crossed his arms.

"The symbiosis between the Shinobi and his insects is beneficial in many ways, though there are some among the clan whose bodies reject the insects or are unstable. In those cases... the insects totally devour their host."

"N-No way...!" Lee murmured under his breath and his eyes widened. "So, he is a member of such a clan?"

-

Kin gripped the rail tightly and scowled as a pair of Medics carefully moved Zaku onto a stretcher.

"That was unfortunate, Zaku..." Dosu mused aloud, and Kin turned to him.

"Why did that happen to his arms?"

"Most likely his opponent exploited the opening and had his insects infiltrate the exhaust opening in Zaku's hands. If he were to fire off his attack in that condition, the energy would have no way out and would expand in search of an exit. This led to his arms bursting open to relieve the pressure."

Kin's eyes widened.

"His arms are like water pipes... if there is a blockage at one end, the water will burst out at the weakest points. As of now, his arms are completely useless." Dosu turned his gaze from her to Zaku and narrowed his eyes slightly with a chuckle. "Our relationship was only having been assigned to the same mission, however... I will even the score for this."

-

Kurenai let out a sigh and she put a hand on her hip. "He still gives me chills whenever he gets serious like that."

"What?! What?!" Naruto clenched his fists. "Wait so Shino was that strong this whole time?! Darn it!"

"...I always just thought he was a quiet, creepy guy from our Academy class who I always competed with for top scores, but..." Sakura paused. "He's a lot stronger than I realized..."