Naruto of the Seven Swords

Chapter 14

'You can't beat me.' Haku's opponent hollered, bees buzzing around her. 'I'm the granddaughter of the First Tsuchikage, and you stand no chance!'

Haku didn't give any reply, throwing a hail of senbon at the bees surrounding Suzumebachi. The sharp metal needles soared through the air, aimed straight at Suzumebachi's pets, but only a few needles managed to make contact.

'Nice try, weakling.' Suzumebachi boasted, most of her bees surviving the hit. 'Thousand Stingers Jutsu!'

Haku ducked behind one of the empty houses, poisonous needles flying out from the stingers of Suzumebachi's bees. The kunoichi grimaced as a stinger came close to her face, twirling out of the way in the nick of time. 'Water Style: Water Clone.'

'You've got to do better than that.' Suzumebachi sneered at Haku's usage of a simple jutsu, before launching into another attack of her own. Her hands slammed onto the ground, calling out the name of her jutsu. 'Earth Style: Dark Swamp!'

The nearby ground melted into mud, multiple houses submerged by the swamp made of chakra. Haku swiftly created ice out of her fingertips, freezing a slab of ice for her to stand on. Zabuza's former companion quickly weaved hand seals, performing another one of her Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu. 'Ice Style: Frozen Field.'

Houses stopped sinking as the ground turned to ice, Suzumebachi's bees lifting her off the ground. The endless sound of buzzing rang in the ears of Haku, attempting to disturb her focus. Suzumebachi, however, had already grown accustomed to this sound. 'So, you're a Kekkei Genkai user too. This makes it more fun to kill you!'

Suzumebachi's voice shifted into one that made her sound deranged, sadism dripping from the corner of her mouth. Her bees flew towards Haku, stingers facing the Ice Release user. The speed of the bees slightly threw Haku off balance. 

Calming down, Haku reassured herself that this was her turf. The ice floor was one that she could manipulate and shift to fit her needs, which gave her an edge. However, Suzumebachi, protected by her swarm of bees, was keeping her distance, which was a disadvantage. Haku's cold expression shifted into one of anticipation, awaiting her opponent's next move.

'Ninja Art: Honey Bee Jutsu!' Suzumebachi roared, sending another wave of bees towards Haku. The bees moved in to sting Haku, attacking from all sides. What the bee controller did not anticipate was Haku having a technique that could defend on all sides.

'Ice Style: Glacial Dome.' Haku whispered, her hands forming a dome of ice around her. The wind gradually grew cold, the bees kept outside the dome. However, one bee had made it into the near unbreakable defence.

The speedster had made it in while Haku froze the water vapour around her, encased in a block of ice. Injured and about to freeze to death, the bee emitted a huge amount of sticky honey inside the dome, immobilising Haku's feet.

'Ugh!' Haku complained, her feet stuck in place. Luckily, she had a second choice. Haku quickly released the dome before expelling powder snow from the palm of her right hand, barricading the bees on the other side of the snow. The bees were rendered unconscious by the subzero temperatures, releasing honey from their stingers.

Suzumebachi howled in anger, a lot of her bees downed by the ice defense. She knew that she couldn't lose like this, and that Haku probably had more cards up her sleeve. Plus, Haku hadn't even used Nuibari yet.

All of a sudden, Haku began sprinting across the ice field, running past the remnants of houses that had survived the fight. The strange maneuver caught Suzumebachi off guard, Haku moving in a strange pattern. The Kirigakure kunoichi would run past House A towards House C, taking a detour around House D before moving in an S shape to get to House B, before arriving at House C and taking the straight route back to House A.