After hearing Aburame Shibi's words, Uchiha En and Hyuga Asana exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of unease in the other's eyes.
Ninja who could become part of a Reconnaissance Squad generally possessed the ability to detect enemies from long distances.
Although this type of squad constantly had to patrol the front lines of the battlefield, their ability to detect enemies early meant the squad had strong capabilities for evading combat.
Yet, even so, the Reconnaissance Squads on the front lines suffered heavy losses, indicating that the battlefield situation was far more brutal than they had imagined.
"It seems you already understand the situation on the front lines. To ensure you can survive on the battlefield for as long as possible, I will teach you everything I can. But before that, I need to assess your strength," Aburame Shibi said.
"Sensei Shibi, are you going to spar with us?" Yamanaka Kagetsu asked.
"If you spar with me, you'll be instantly killed. My insects are not good at holding back. Therefore, the test I'm giving you is to survive for 20 minutes under the siege of these 1,000 insects. Of course, if you manage to kill all the insects, you will also pass the test."
"As an extra warning, these 1,000 insects consume human Chakra. Ten insects can drain the average Genin's Chakra supply in one minute. Now, the test begins!" After speaking, Aburame Shibi patted the jar behind him, and 1,000 insects flew out, heading straight for Uchiha En and the others.
The moment the insects were released, Yamanaka Kagetsu used Mind Transfer Jutsu to link the minds of the three teammates.
"En, what should we do?" Yamanaka Kagetsu asked in the Mental Space.
"You two step back first. I'll try using Fire Release. Logically, insects should be afraid of fire."
Hearing this, Hyuga Asana and Yamanaka Kagetsu immediately retreated.
Uchiha En activated his Sharingan and locked onto the Insect Swarm's flight trajectory.
Once the insects flew a little closer, Uchiha En quickly formed hand signs.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball erupted from Uchiha En's mouth, immediately enveloping the incoming Insect Swarm.
Through the Sharingan's perspective, Uchiha En could clearly see that the outermost insects were instantly scorched after the Great Fireball Technique hit the Insect Swarm.
However, the scorched insects did not fall. Instead, they were held by other insects, quickly forming a large circle. Using the corpses of these scorched insects, the remaining insects passed through the Great Fireball Technique and continued charging toward Uchiha En.
Uchiha En frowned. To be honest, the troublesome nature of these insects exceeded his expectations.
Logically, insects are afraid of fire. After the Great Fireball Technique hits them, the insects should be instantly incinerated, and their bodies should turn to ash.
The insects at the very front of this swarm were indeed burned to death, but their corpses were not incinerated by the high temperature of the Great Fireball. Instead, the other insects used these corpses to shield themselves from the heat and break out of the Great Fireball's range.
The fact that the insect corpses weren't burned up suggests the insects themselves possess a certain degree of fire resistance. As for the act of using their comrades' bodies to break out of the flames, Uchiha En felt this must be Aburame Shibi manipulating them; otherwise, the insects absolutely couldn't achieve this.
Since Aburame Shibi could control the insects remotely, trying to wipe out all of them was clearly unrealistic.
Furthermore, the Insect Swarm was getting closer, and Uchiha En didn't have time to use a second Fire Release. To avoid being swarmed by the insects, Uchiha En decisively used the Body Flicker Technique to jump next to Hyuga Asana.
Aburame Shibi's eyes behind his sunglasses showed a hint of surprise when he saw Uchiha En's Body Flicker Technique. Uchiha En's Body Flicker Technique was truly fast; Aburame Shibi felt that even he couldn't execute a Body Flicker that quickly.
The last time he saw such a fast Body Flicker Technique seemed to be Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God.
"Interesting kid," Aburame Shibi muttered to himself.
When Uchiha En used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Hyuga Asana, he returned to the range of Yamanaka Kagetsu's Mind Transfer Jutsu. Yamanaka Kagetsu immediately asked in the Mental Space, "En, how did it go?"
"The Fire Release effect was mediocre. My Great Fireball Technique just now probably burned seventy or eighty insects, but the remaining insects used the corpses of those seventy or eighty to break out of the Great Fireball Technique's range."
"Then what should we do?" Yamanaka Kagetsu continued to ask.
"Two options. One is to continue the offense. As both Asana and I know Fire Release, we can use the Byakugan and Sharingan to find flaws in the Insect Swarm's flight path, adjust our angles using the Body Flicker Technique, and attack the swarm with Fire Release.
"However, if we do that, both mine and Asana's Chakra will deplete quickly, and there's a high probability we won't wipe out all 1,000 insects, especially since Sensei Shibi can remotely control them."
"The other option is to stall for time. Sensei Shibi's challenge is to last 20 minutes. If we just need to avoid being touched by the insects for 20 minutes, we can achieve it by combining our three Bloodline Limits and Clan Secret Techniques. What do you two think we should do?" Uchiha En asked.
"Let's pass the test first!" Hyuga Asana replied.
"I think so too."
"Alright! Let's do that!"
Communication in the Mental Space is extremely fast; only a few seconds passed in reality while the three formulated their battle plan.
After confirming their next course of action, Uchiha En, Hyuga Asana, and Yamanaka Kagetsu began working together as a group.
Uchiha En and Hyuga Asana both activated their Sharingan and Byakugan, respectively, and Uchiha En also activated his Mind's Eye.
The Mind's Eye sensing range was 5 meters larger than Yamanaka Kagetsu's current sensing range, providing some assistance.
Under Uchiha En's command, Hyuga Asana and Yamanaka Kagetsu began dodging based on the Insect Swarm's flight trajectory.
Whenever the insects got close, Uchiha En and Hyuga Asana would alternately use Fire Release to forcibly halt the Insect Swarm.
Yamanaka Kagetsu was responsible for checking for any insects that slipped through and were quietly approaching.
With the three working together, 20 minutes quickly passed. Uchiha En and Hyuga Asana had jointly used Fire Release to kill half of the 1,000 insects, but both of their Chakra reserves were now nearly exhausted.
As soon as the time was up, Aburame Shibi called his insects back, then walked up to the three of them and said, "Well done. Honestly, your ability to last 20 minutes exceeded my expectations."
"Sensei Shibi, if you hadn't manipulated the Insect Swarm, we might have had a chance to completely wipe out all 1,000 insects," Yamanaka Kagetsu said, looking unconvinced.
"I did not manipulate the Insect Swarm," Aburame Shibi replied.
"You didn't manipulate the swarm? Then how did the insects manage to use their comrades' corpses to evade the Fire Release?" Hyuga Asana asked, slightly astonished.