Chapter 46

Leaving Naruto and team with their adventure in the immortal world, Team Shino arrived in Star City.

Star City also known as Hoshigakure was formed sometime after a strange meteorite, which the inhabitants called the "star", struck its location two hundred years earlier. Information gathered from the citizens suggested that the city was founded much sooner than Konoha. Its leader was the Star King with unknown powers and strength.

The meteorite itself was not that large, but it emitted a chakra-enhancing radiation. The Star King was able to devise a training method to allow his followers to harness the power of the star, thus allowing them to gain supernatural chakra levels and even go through mutations that gave them unique bloodlines.

The Star fragment was a treasure of the Orion Kingdom and was worshipped by its citizen. It's location was unknown, though the citizens believed it was placed inside the Palace of the Star King and it would be paraded during the annual celebration.

The Kingdom of Orion was different from the Kingdoms inside the Land of Fire as it was more western based. The people were taller and bulkier, and their official language had taken inspiration from the Languages of the Land of Lightning like Latin called English.

Just one look at the capital city, Star City, Team Shino was able to see the difference in the people of the outside world. Shino was able to sense higher density of chakra within the people of Star City and the official forces were unusually strong for a small nation. The police force was strong enough to take down the Hokage, which was too suspicious.

The team had managed to enter as normal people while their powers were hidden by seals, so the officials hadn't targeted them yet. However, it was easy to see that they were being monitored.

Shino took control of the insects in the city and gathered information through them. It was one of the abilities he gained through the Seven Tailed Bijuu.

Through it he was able to find out about the elite forces of Star City and even get a glance of the Star King. Their strength levels are still unknown but he was able to confirm the existence of the powerful bloodlines.

He also found out about the Hero Water and Star fragment. Both items were located in the palace which was heavily guarded.

It was also apparent that Kingdom of Orion was planning to take over the world through the powers granted by the Star fragment that was boosted by the Hero Water. They were also looking for other items to gather even more power.

"Are these people dumb? How can anyone dare to fight Naruto at this point?" Kiba was flabbergasted alongside his partner Akamaru as they felt it was impossible for anyone to defy such an impossible force.

"Maybe they are delusional, but it is not impossible for them to overcome Naruto if the mutations are actually miraculous as they say. Plus, they are still in the preparation phase as can be seen by their usage of methods to hide their powers. Can you sense their power levels?" Storm was quiet as she thought about what they had learnt and disregarded Kiba's blind belief that people wouldn't dare fight against Naruto.

"Agreed, their abilities are truly miraculous."

"What do you mean?"

Shino explained the abilities he had seen through the bugs that could give them a problem. There was the fighter called Iceman who had absolute control of ice and could turn his body into ice. He was unkillable because he could return from a single water molecule.

Iceman was his code name, and during official times he would only use that name.

The other fighter who was also one of the most dangerous was called Vulcan. He could absorb energy passively and use it as he pleased. His limits were unknown and if the power was limitless then he was dangerous obstacle for all energy users.

Vulcan had two younger brothers and one of them was called Havok, who also had the ability to absorb all energy and transform it into plasma.

There was also the speedster called Quicksilver who could move at high level of speeds, and even had the ability to phase through his enemies.

There was another warrior called Captain Marvel that also had the power absorption ability that could enhance their power according to how much she absorbed.

There was a psychic power user called Supergiant that could read and control minds. She could even absorb mental energy, and to make it worse she was immune to physical damage.

There was also the strategist known as Magneto with the power of magnetism, he could manipulate the electro-magnetic spectrum.

These were all very powerful but Scarlet Witch was one of the warriors under the Star King that had rumors around her that said she was the strongest of them all.

She used chaos magic by having contracts to the Dark Dimension that gave her multiple abilities. Her dangerous abilities were reality warping and power manipulation along with clairvoyance.

Finally, it was the leader of the Orion Kingdom. He had existed since the beginning of the Kingdom and was the first and only King.

Star King also known as Apocalypse had the power superior adaptation that allowed him to survive all adversity. He was also immortal with regeneration.

He had energy absorption and power bestowal. He also had psychic powers. With all these abilities in hand, it was clear why he was the strongest.

Listening to Shino share his information, Kiba and Storm were extremely shocked.

"Do you think we can handle this?" Storm asked Shino as he was the strongest amongst them and he was also very logical.

"I am unsure as it should be normally impossible to bridge the gap created by Chomei. However, all these abilities are a cause of concern."

"Don't tell me you are asking us to retreat." Kiba butted in and gazed at him intensely.

"We will retreat when necessary. First, I will send a clone to assess the situation and if possible I will steal the items. If combat is necessary we will decide according to how they deal with the clone, is that acceptable?"

"I have no problem." Storm agreed but it was clear that Kiba didn't like it.

"Are you sure about our new capabilities?"

"Kiba, if I can't fight them then none of you can." Shino replied matter-of-factly, but his words struck Kiba deeply. Even after getting a new boost in power by becoming the vessel of Cerberus and getting Akamaru mutated, his power was still nowhere close to Shino or even Gaara.

Kiba stopped as he didn't want to look like a kid making a tantrum. He understood his responsibilities as a shinobi and endured the inferiority and frustration within his heart that could only be cleared when he felt important.

Seeing his best friend take refuge with his partner, Shino felt the desire to change his decision but ignored it. Making a clone made of insects and transforming it into a single fly, Shino sent it towards the palace.

Shino's clone split into multiple flies that went towards different locations. However, his entry was stopped by a barrier forcing him to utilize his power.

Insect Nightmare

With his power over insects, Shino caused all of them to fly towards the palace and dive into the barrier causing massive explosions.

The power of the explosions was undeniable as Shino broke the barrier and flew towards his target while the insects outside continued being a nightmare for the palace.

However, all these distractions proved to be fruitless as the enemy already knew he was coming as Havok, Vulcan and Captain Marvel were present to stop the clones while Scarlet Witch, Iceman, Magneto, Quicksilver and Supergiant had appeared outside of their hotel.

"Greetings honored guests; it will be an honor if you could willingly follow us." Scarlet Witch spoke with a confident tone as she looked towards them.

Shino was silent as he read the situation. The king was missing, meaning there were definitely others that would stop them from escaping.

But, none of it made sense. If they knew that the shinobi were coming, why did they not create a non-suspicious environment to avoid conflict?

"What is the meaning of this?" Storm asked as she showed her true form.

"Please stop being aggressive, we don't wish to fight and your act of violence is illegal. Please turn yourself in, so we can talk to your superiors about this event."

Shino understood why they weren't worried; they knew Naruto's nature and realized that he wouldn't allow his people to force things.

Storm also got it and she looked towards Shino for confirmation. Should they ignore Naruto's order about dealing with things peacefully?

"Who do you think we are? Your intentions are clearly hostile, so we have no need to play nice." Kiba jumped down the window as he faced the crowd.

"Hostile, I don't know what you mean by that? Isn't it clear that your side is being hypocritical? Where is the peace and unity your leaders spoke off?"

"It is obvious that your leader is aiming for world domination, so we are authorized to take action in such cases." Shino stood beside Kiba as he was worried for his friend.

"Cut the bullshit man, you are just looking for excuses." Quicksilver spoke an annoyed tone as the hostiles were acting out of place and talking back to his sister.

With those words, Iceman tried to freeze them while Magneto tried to paralyze them in place and Supergiant tried to take over their minds.

All of these individuals were somehow as strong as Madara, meaning around large Island level in power. Kiba was easily subdued as his power had only gone up to the Kage level while Storm put up a better resistance as he power had already been Kage level and it was upgraded to twice her power level.

Regardless, even Storm was subdued leaving Shino to fight alone.

Shino had reached a level of power above Madara in just base form and with his fusion form he was large country level in power, around Bijuu Naruto during the war.

During the month, he had also mastered Sage mode from the Toads since there wasn't any insect Sage realm. This allowed Shino to get a ten times boost in power, putting him at continental level.

His Senjutsu wasn't high level like Naruto, but it gave them the power boost needed.

Using his powers, Shino gave his partners a boost and out them on a higher scale of power.

"I hope you will refrain from fighting us. We don't wish to cause you any harm." Shino's power spread like a wave to show his dominance. He wanted them to step down and resolve the issue effectively.

Scarlet Witch chuckled at his words, "We are already aware of your abilities, Mister Shino. And, there is no chance of your victory in this battle."

"Since we are already in this position, let us fight them Mister Aburame." Storm took on her fusion form with King Ghidorah that put her directly on Island level in power and with Shino's boost, she was small country level.

Kiba agreed to her sentiments as he wished to bash the heads of these arrogant people. Fusing with Cerberus put him at Kage level and he further fused with Akamaru to reach Island level, this was boosted to Large Island with Shino's help.

"Stop your hubris, child. Both of your partners are a liability for you, surrender unless you wish to see them die." Magneto advised as he looked at them with a tone filled with pride.

To prove his point, Magneto raised his hand and the duo was stuck to the floor again while only Shino was able to cancel the affect of his magnetism power with his large stats.

Samadhi Śānti

A rainbow-colored barrier covered the team; it had the ability to stop all abilities unless the stats were superior then the user.

Wisselen

Shino moved his wings and released large amount of dust like scales that tried to latch on to the foes. This would make the victims his slaves.

He was trying to avoid causing mass destruction since his most powerful could erase cities with utter ease.

The attack didn't seem to work so Shino decided to go with poison, as his scales turned poisonous and covered the enemies in a poison tornado.

Taking flight with his team, Shino sent them away with his clones since it seemed that the enemies could easily take them down.

The clones dug into the ground and protected them with the rainbow barrier while Shino took the battle towards the skies.

This removed Quicksilver from the fight since he couldn't fly, leaving Shino to handle the rest.

Vulcan, Havok and Captain Marvel flew into the sky to join the battle while Magneto, Supergiant, Iceman and Scarlet Witch followed behind.

Looking at the foes, Shino decided to take them down one by one.

Insect Cyclone

Shino's body was filled with huge amounts of insects that he had been enhancing with his new powers. Each insect now had the power of a jounin and he had thousands of insects stored inside his body. Summoning thousands of them, along with hundreds of thousands from the surroundings Shino was able to create a battlefield that suited him.

These insects could absorb chakra, paralyze, weaken, cause nerve damage, death, confuse and even explode when needed. The insects were filled with poison that was stronger than anything in the normal world. It was created through Chomei that could create poison that could bypass all immunity and cause death, even cause cells to break apart.

This forced Magneto to create a barrier to stop the insects from killing him. Havok, Vulcan and Captain Marvel also created a barrier while trying to absorb the energy from the insects.

Iceman tried to freeze the insects as he was able to avoid getting hurt because of his ice form. The same went for Supergiant who could become energy that tried to drain Shino's mental energy.

King Spiral

Insects gathered around Shino while being filled up with the energy of the world, and with his command they moved towards his target like a giant spear.

Keeping the energy dopers busy with the insect cyclone, Shino decided to drain Magneto, Supergiant and Iceman.

Three giant spears spinning with intense speeds covered up the enemies. Supergiant was able to avoid physical attacks but the bugs were also pure energy by now and could cancel out her immunity to drain her dry.

It was the same for Iceman who was unable to freeze the bugs anymore because of their energy bodies.

Magneto managed to actually stop them, but Shino was mixed into the spear and used the chance to take him.

Deadly Sting

Through the insect spear, a stinger pushed through and broke through the force field created by Magneto. He was able to push the bugs back with his magnetism, but it wasn't strong enough to completely counter the force generated by Shino's chakra.

To make things worse, he was impaled by the stinger that shut down his body.

With that three of them were out of the battle, leaving the energy beasts.

Summon Insect soldiers

Shino combined his insects into three humanoid warriors to target them, and equipped them with energy absorption.

He wanted to see if they could drain him or not.

Havok went out of the battle very quickly as his ability wasn't strong enough, but Captain Marvel and Vulcan went into overdrive.

They devoured energy from his soldiers and created a vacuum that continued to expand as all energy was being gathered by them.

They were absorbing heat energy, cosmic energy and all energy in the world to grow in power to beat the enemy in front of them.

Shino dodged all of the attacks and hit Marvel with a deadly sting to take her out of battle while Vulcan tried to stop him by released an energy shockwave.

Energy reflector

Shiny large scales floated around Shino that reflected attacks aimed at him before gathering around his arm to form a canon.

Ballet gun

Energy from the world absorbed into the millions of scales that formed the large reflectors shot out as a single blast that totally outclassed all his previous moves.

It was enough energy to destroy the continent or even destabilize the whole planet, and it was enough to take out Vulcan from the battle.

"You have done wonderfully Mister Shino, how about becoming mine?" Scarlet Witch appeared behind him and her hand was placed on his back.

She had bypassed his precognition and insects, avoiding his senses.

Shino didn't say a word and exploded into thousands of insects before reforming and unleashing a dimensional attack.

Dimensional Slash

With his tyrant claw, Shino slashed at the area in front of him using spatial manipulation. This utilized the concept of cutting all things in creation, so it was able to bypass all barriers to cut the target.

Even the distance was negated and it arrived instantly, but Scarlet cancelled it with her blood red energy and released a barrage of red energy balls towards him.

The energy attacks ripped through his body bypassing his defence, showing her mastery of space. It all seemed unrealistic but Shino noticed the problem.

Scarlet was using powers from the Dark Dimension; the demons were boosting her capabilities to easily match him. Naruto had warned everyone about the dangerous place, so Shino already knew about the extremely powerful beings of the other dimension.

'How do I deal with this problem?' Shino tried to find the solution while continuing his assault as even Scarlet had trouble pinning him down.

"This is pointless, and you know it. Why not work with us? You have seen our Kingdom; does it look like we are evil or selfish? Is your path the only right path?"

"I can't trust any person with that kind of power except for Uzumaki Naruto."

"Why is he so special?"

"Because he doesn't desire to rule over others, he just wishes to help people and would even sacrifice his life for them. I doubt you can say the same."

"That is just sophistry, and there is no reason for me to believe those words. Regardless, the king sacrificing his life for a citizen is the most unwise thing to ever happen."

"Agreed, but it also shows that he doesn't put himself above others." Shino replied casually while trying to test her limits. He assumed that she would have limits to her usage of the power and after talking to her, Shino saw that her personality wasn't hardened either.

She was still lacking in experience with her powers.

Death Sound

Shino's wings vibrated and released a sound to emulate the footsteps of Death. The resulting sound was fatal and killed everything in the region. It utilized concepts of reality warping so even the air around him was killed.

Shino could cover a big area but he focused it around Scarlet and just like he had expected, she was extremely afraid of death that the sound was very effective.

With screams filled with horror, Scarlet fell from the sky leaving Shino gasping for breath as he had exhausted a lot of energy in a short time. Nonetheless, he was in awe of the abilities granted by the Sage to his children. If the Bijuu had gained these abilities before befriending humanity, then human beings might have been second class citizens to these overlords.

Leaving the defeated foes to their unknown fates, Shino hurried to leave the region for help as he assumed that the King was even a bigger than they had believed. However, he was suddenly inside the palace where he found the Star King waiting for him inside a pool of water that was glowing pink.

"You are too late mortal." Apocalypse smiled as he raised his hand towards Shino and caused him to ball up as the pressure broke his body.