Naruto: Shadows of the Hive

Soma returned to his cavern long after dawn had bled into a bright, watchful sky. He moved in a measured silence, the lacquer box from Noroi clutched to his side. Its cold weight seemed to echo in the pit of his stomach.

The Primorph rose at his approach, limbs flexing in careful greeting. Its membrane shimmered with cautious curiosity, but Soma only paused long enough to lay a hand briefly on its smooth dome.

> "Not now," he murmured. "There's something I must secure before any more children join you."

He placed the lacquer box on a low shelf and sat cross-legged at his writing table. Ink, scrolls, and old diagrams lay scattered like shed skins. He stared down, fingers hovering above the paper.

The Dominion Elder's words still crawled in his mind — not because they carried a direct threat, but because of the deeper danger they implied. With creatures like Noroi, attention itself was the true peril. One moment, they could guide you as a mentor, fascinated by your growth; the next, they might tear you apart and consume you without hesitation. Simply being noticed by such a mind felt like stepping into the shadow of a storm — impossible to predict, impossible to prepare for.

> "I am vulnerable," Soma whispered to himself.

Without his children by his side, he was exposed. His children were too large to travel at his hip like a blade or kunai; they were living, breathing organisms that needed space and care.

He thought of the summoning contracts stored in Kumo's archives — vast scrolls inscribed with chakra formulas, capable of instantaneously calling creatures across any distance. They weren't just tools of brute force; they were living bonds, extensions of the user's will, allowing even the most distant allies to appear at a moment's notice.

> "A summoning contract," he said aloud, the words steadier now. "For my own blood."

It would be different from the pacts with toads, slugs, or serpents — no borrowed beasts, no inherited loyalties. His creatures were extensions of him; the bond would be absolute.

He pulled a fresh scroll toward him and began sketching rough diagrams — seal arrays for connection, recall, reinforced chakra signatures. His brush moved with restless urgency, the Hive Core pulsing in rhythm, feeding him instinctive glimpses of possible configurations.

But as the lines multiplied and spiraled, he felt the limitations of his knowledge tighten around him like a cold band. By dusk, the scroll was crowded with half-formed hypotheses, not a true contract. He set the brush down, fingers smudged with ink.

This... is beyond me alone, he thought. Summoning contracts demand sealing mastery on par with any legendary jutsu — precision that can anchor creatures across time and space. It is not something I can accomplish at this point in time..

There was only one direction left to turn: the seal masters of Kumogakure.

A thin tremor passed through him. Soma knew the seal masters did not operate in shadows. Every scroll, every array they designed was observed, audited, recorded. Approaching them meant exposure. And exposure meant the watchful eyes of the village elders — perhaps even the Raikage himself.

He stood, the finished draft in hand, and glanced at the Primorph. The creature tilted its head, sensory spines trembling, as though sensing his inner disquiet.

> "I cannot protect you alone," Soma admitted softly. "But if I can call you — all of you then none can corner me again."

The Primorph inched closer, one forelimb resting lightly against Soma's wrist. He felt the warmth through his skin, a quiet echo of his own will reflected back.

> "Wait for me," Soma whispered. "Guard your siblings. I will return."

He gathered the unfinished scroll, securing it under his cloak.I'll take it to a Seal Master, he thought. Perhaps... they can tell me where I went wrong."

The lacquer box from Noroi remained untouched on its shelf, its presence a silent shadow in the room.

Soma stepped from the cavern, the mountain mist swirling at his feet. Each step down the narrow terraces felt heavier than stone. He felt the Hive Core humming, not in defiance, but in careful anticipation — as though bracing for an unseen impact.

At the foot of the path, the first glint of Kumo's towering walls shimmered beyond the ridgelines. The seal masters awaited within — gatekeepers to a new evolution of his art.

> "I won't be cornered again," Soma murmured. "Next time, they will come when I call".

The Hive Core thrummed in quiet resonance, as if listening to his vow.

Soma stepped forward into the thinning mist, each footfall a quiet promise that the next chapter of his legacy — and his defense — had begun.