6.16

    Plant the smoke bombs, put the killer bees to sleep, sneak in, steal the jelly.

    That was not how I imagined my shinobi companion contract would go. This plan was conditional on the smoking working on the killer bees as it did for normal-sized ones. I wasn’t a bee expert. The most I knew was from idle chatter when buying honey for my pastries. And even so, I often didn’t pay much attention to the beekeeper’s chattering.

    The knowledge amounted to vague recollections about pheromones and instinctive feeding responses.

    I placed the last kunai, cast one more look at the hive in the distance. I wasn’t sure how I would get to the jelly without causing too much damage. With the setup done, I sneaked away. Trouble-chan, First and Second, had already placed their kunais in the formation and unpopped themselves. That was easier than trying to move back and alerting the bees. I thought back on the plan one last time: Trigger the smoke, wait a few minutes until the bees are— hopefully— calm and pacified, sneak to the hive, cut a way in, steal the jelly.

    Once I was far enough away, I activated the barrier, then the smoke bombs. The humming cut immediately when the barrier formed, and soon after, the area was covered in white smoke.

    I took a prepared seal from my temporary gear. Out popped a large machete and a clay jar. I counted the minutes. Placed a piece of fabric around my mouth to help filter the smoke out. Once enough time had passed, I dispersed the barrier and sneaked inside again to steal from royalty.

    The smoke-filled area created an eerie atmosphere. I approached the hive, paying close attention to any new buzzing. I walked to the base of the tree and looked up at the massive structure: complex hexagonal chambers and giant bees walking slowly over them. The movements were sluggish and unfocused.

    So far, so good.

    I coated my feet with chakra and climbed the tree until I reached the hive. Now I had to find the thing. I pressed my hand against the waxy surface, tested how strong it was. The material was warm, and yielded under my hand. That was good, the knife would work.

    Through my chakra perception, I could somewhat sense what was happening above. The guard bees split into groups, each pursuing what they thought was their target. Decoy-chan, the Twelfth and Thirtieth, leading the angry insects on a wild chase through the forest.

    I moved through the earth, careful to maintain enough distance that the vibrations from my passage wouldn’t be noticeable from above. The queen’s buzzing was still audible even through several feet of soil. Were they some contract shinobi insects? It wouldn’t be, would it? Imagine now if this created a blood feud with the Aburame clan. I would be pissed.

    Soon after, one of my clones dispersed, sending me a rush of memories. Three guards had cornered her, tried to fight them, scare them off, but the damn insects were frenzied. They kept attacking. Not even our still unnamed mobile barrier was enough to stop their mandibles. It cut through the chakra construct like it was nothing. Twelfth wasn’t willing to kill and got killed instead. Was their mandible able to bypass chakra? That was good to know, but it was not information I wanted to test personally.

    The second clone was still going, long out of my perception range. Through the innate sense I shared with every clone, I knew she was getting further and further away, but not exactly where.

    I kept moving through the earth, jar of stolen royal jelly now a damming weight. I was beginning to think these damn badgers hoodwinked me with this whole thing. The mission was accomplished, even if it hadn''t gone according to plan.

    After what felt like an eternity but was probably only about fifteen minutes, my second clone unpopped herself. Her memories showed she’d managed to lose her pursuers in a dense part of the forest; she created more clones and divided her pursuers. Clever girl. Was it hubris praising her?

    I waited a bit longer, moving through the earth, before surfacing in a small clearing far from the hive. The first thing I noticed was the silence. There was no angry buzzing, no wing beats, just the normal sounds of the forest. Well, as normal as anything was in this strange place.

    My chakra perception found nothing immediate. The queen’s buzzing was a distant vibration now, more felt than heard. I took a moment to catch my breath, checking my reserves. The clones and earth technique had taken a chunk out of my chakra— clones creating clones somehow took even more chakra— but I still had enough to fight if needed.

    I closed my eyes and peered into the spying beacon I left with Karin. She was pacing by the tunnel entrance. That was good. I was afraid the bees would find her even at that distance. Now, I just had to return to the Badger’s tunnels without getting caught by angry giant bees or anything else here. Simple, right?