The zombies lumbered towards them, their humanoid forms echoing of their harrowing ends...

"Don't hesitate, they are no longer living," Kurenai sensei reminded.

Hearing this, Hinata froze for a bit before she nodded with firm determination.

Shino immediately took action and commanded his pre-released bugs to attack.

Bugs lifted off the ground and ambushed the zombies from all sides! The zombies didn't understand that they should keep the bugs out. Naturally, they became dead targets.

In a matter of seconds, the bugs had infiltrated their dead bodies, destroying them from the inside. Soon, the zombies dropped to the ground, dead as a doornail.

Kiba was disappointed. "That was too easy. Who knew Shino alone could handle it. I was expecting something more challenging. "

Shino adjusted his glasses, staring into the forest with squinted eyes, "Be careful what you-"

"Arf! Arf! Arf!" Akamaru's warning bark loudly resounded besides Kiba.

Their celebration was short-lived. More noises came from the forest around them, and they realized that they were surrounded by a horde of zombies!

"Be careful," Kurenai warned. "Don't judge them based on how Shino managed to slay a few with ample preparation. These zombies are not like normal humans. They are stronger, faster, and more aggressive. Normal attacks from shurikens and kunais may not be effective."

Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the area. "There are at least twenty of them, and more are coming!" she said.

"H-How can there be so much?!" Kiba growled in shock as he crouched onto all fours, ready to pounce.

Kurenai frowned as her red eyes calmly swept around. Suddenly, her eyes locked in one direction.

"Shino. Can you handle it here?"

The burden was a bit unexpected, but see Kurenai sensei's serious face, Shino didn't ask. He gauged the incoming zombies and his thoughts spun. Shortly after, he nodded. "No pro-"

"Of course we'll be fine, Kurenai sensei! Why only ask Shino, you got to trust us!" Kiba butted in with a grin.

Hinata also confidently nodded.

"Good. Remember to work as a team," Kurenai sensei commanded before sinking into the ground.

"Yo, guess it's just us now. Just how I like it," Kiba exclaimed with a wild grin, "Ready, Akamaru?"

"Arf! Arf!"

Shino raised his hands as swarms of bugs rose into the air. Hinata stood behind him, preparing to defend their backs.

It didn't take long before the ambling zombies switched to assault mode! Unlike before, they were fast and agile, and their movements were erratic!

Kiba attacked first, using his claws to shred the incoming zombies.

Skid- a couple of shallow scratches appeared on the zombie's body.

"What?! So hard!" Kiba exclaimed in surprise and leapt back and delivered another strike, "Wolf Fang Fist!"

His series of punch took down a few of them, but more kept coming!

Seeing the number of enemies, Hinata could only resort to desperate measures… burning money.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosions decorated the battlefield, setting off a fiery spectacle of charred limbs drawing circles in the air.

And now, a message from our sponsor, the princess of the Hyuga clan - one of the biggest clans in Konoha: "Eeeek!"

"Hinata! Don't close your eyes! Keep bombing them!" Kiba growled, his claws never stopping in his endeavor to keep the enemies at bay.

"Y-Yes." Hinata forced herself to stay strong. Well, with plenty of kunai and a stack of explosive tags in her hands being used like toilet paper, she was indeed strong.

But, as the crowd of zombies encroached upon their defense line, there was less and less room for setting off explosions.

In the end, she could only fall back to close combat to keep the zombies at bay.

Hinata used her Gentle Fist technique to attack the zombies' chakra points, but...

It wasn't really effective. They were already dead and weren't using chakra...

So, she can only resort to knocking them back like she did with the bandits.

However, her knock backs weren't as effective because of the velocity of the zombie's charge, and some zombies managed to slip through the defense net!

Fortunately, Shino had their backs. Unlike the duo who had to slap the hard defense of these zombies until their hands were sore, he did it the easy way and reaped them from the inside. Alas, the number of bugs he control was limited...

Seeing the increasing number of zombies, Kiba leapt back into the defensive circle. Crouching down, Akamaru hopped onto his back. Poof!

"Fang Over Fang!"

Rumble! The twin drills crashed into the wave of zombies, sending a large group tumbling and flying!

It didn't take long for Kiba to come to a stop, but the short charge was enough to clear away a batch of zombies. Job well done, but...

Sprawling around him was damaged zombies with twisted limbs and bodies filled with deep gashes that didn't bleed, yet some still eerily crawled forward on the ground!

Panting, Kiba caught Akamaru as a wave of insects formed a wall to protect him, finishing off these handicapped mobs in the process.

With not much injuries, Kiba swiftly retreated back to the circle.

Focusing his attention back on the battlefield where the zombies were already filling up the gap he made, Kiba couldn't help but complain, "Che, just how many of them are there?!"

Hinata surveyed the forest with her Byakugan, "There seems to be 30 now…"

"What?! How is there more?!" Kiba exclaimed in disbelief, but his hands didn't stop as he smashed another zombie down.

Even with the seemingly endless numbers, the team continued to fight, tightening their defenses, making progress in synchronizing their teamwork.

But as the fight drew on, they noticed that the zombies were becoming more aggressive. They were no longer just mindlessly attacking. They seemed to be working together like them, and they were using group tactics!

"How long do we need to do this?" Kiba shouted, blocking an attack for the small Akamaru. "They seem to be getting smarter!"

"Ha... Ha... there's 33... no 35..." Hinata uttered in between ragged gasps.

"Damn it! Akamaru!" "Arf!"

Kiba and Akarmaru set off on another intensifying sweep, and was able to take down several more zombies, but when he returned, even his punches had become weaker...

Shino's eyes turned, looking for some footholds on the nearby trees. His bugs should be able to take him up, but... he can't leave his team behind.

Plus, the situation wasn't that desperate yet. Otherwise, they would all burn explosive tags regardless of self-injury-

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Suddenly, the trio heard a loud noise, and they turned around to see a giant zombie charging towards them. It was twice the size of the other zombies, and it was covered in spikes that were inserted to seal all open gaps in its body!

Feeling the response from his insects, Shino knew that they couldn't get inside the big guy's body. Shino's eyes squinted.

Although this one seemed to be troublesome, he could feel his heart beat with excitement. Boss battle! Even better loot!

"What is that! How do we fight that!" Kiba growled as he smashed another zombie down onto the ground.

"Ha... Don't lose hope," Hinata exclaimed with trembling hands.

Kiba growled, "Get ready to dodge!"

Shino adjusted his glasses as he said calmly, "There's no need-"

Seeing the giant zombie moments away from crashing into them, Kiba commanded, "Dodge!"

He leapt out of the way with Akamaru.

Hinata also shifted out of the way as she knocked away some zombies to make space. Suddenly, she looked back and her eyes widened, "Shino-kun?!"

Kiba also looked back in shock. He saw Shino standing in place and the giant zombie's thick hand smashing down-

The upper half of Shino's body disappeared.

"SHINOOO!"