Sakura was absolutely furious.
She stood at the Swamp Toad's lair, staring at the now completely empty clearing. Her face darkened like a thundercloud.
Clenching her fists, she raged silently for a moment, then finally let go with a long sigh. She opened the public chat and typed with a faint, resentful tone:
"Wow, Ren-kun, you're really bullying me, huh? You actually cleared out every single jungle monster on my side."
She was boiling inside. If Hayashi Ren were in front of her right now, she'd probably try to bite him.
"Hmph. Maybe if you had the skills to defend your jungle, this wouldn't happen."
That wasn't Ren replying—but Sako, who coldly dropped the message into the public chat.
"Exactly, exactly. You've only got yourself to blame."
Naruko chimed in right after, tagging on without missing a beat.
"Naruko! Sako! You two getting a bit too involved, don't you think?"
Sakura snapped back, clearly annoyed.
She had been talking to Ren, not them. Why were they butting in? Did they really think it was fun to gang up on her?
"Sakura, focus on the jungle monsters. Don't let Ren steal from you again."
Shikamaru's voice came through the team channel, frowning.
He hadn't fully figured out what Hayashi Ren was planning yet, but his instincts told him—Ren was building toward something big.
"Hmph, I got it."
Sakura replied in team chat, then turned and entered her Red Buff area.
Meanwhile, Hayashi Ren had already finished off the Stone Beetles and Fangbirds in his own Red Buff zone. He crossed through the brush between mid lane's second tower and the Fangbird nest, slipped into his Blue Buff zone, and quickly cleared it out. After that, he moved to the top river and secured the River Crab, before sneaking into Sakura's Red Buff territory.
"I killed her once and made her waste time at Blue Buff, so she's missed out on a lot of XP. She's probably only around level 3 or nearly 4. My own Red Buff is almost respawned. Since she started Red just like me, hers should be about to refresh too. She's likely waiting there right now."
A small smile curled at Ren's lips. He silently crept into the brush near Sakura's Red Buff—and just as he guessed, there she was, auto-attacking the Red Buff monster.
Just like he predicted.
Sakura was now nearly level 4. After using Smite, she hit level 4. Her own HP was at about 50%, and the Red Buff's HP was down to roughly one-third.
As she landed another basic attack on the Red Buff—
BAM.
Ren suddenly Smited the Red Buff right out from under her, leveling up instantly to Level 6.
Without hesitation, he leveled up his Ultimate Ability: Leaf Iron Cyclone, and let out a mighty roar—startling Sakura, who was still frozen in shock from the buff steal.
Then he launched out of the brush.
Leaf Whirlwind!
His kick landed squarely on Sakura's face.
Leaf Gale!
Another kick came, slamming into her midsection.
He followed up with two more brutal kicks to her abdomen, and just as he was about to cast Shadow Leaf Dance, Sakura Flashed away to gain distance.
But Ren didn't even hesitate.
Flash—chase.
Shadow Leaf Dance!
A beautiful Flash + Shadow Leaf combo connected instantly.
With no mercy at all, Ren's kick launched Sakura into the air. As she floated, helpless—
"Leaf Iron Cyclone!"
BOOM.
The impact echoed as Sakura was slammed against the wall behind the Red Buff's lair.
Her body fell limp.
She was dead.
"Your heartbeat just spiked."
Ren said it quietly, not even looking back as he slipped away into the jungle brush.
"I…"
Sakura was dumbfounded.
What had she done to deserve this?
Back-to-back, she had her buffs invaded and stolen, and died twice at Hayashi Ren's hands.
Now he kills her again and drops that line—"Your heartbeat just spiked."
What was she even supposed to say to that?
"Of course my heartbeat spiked, I was terrified of you!"
Sakura typed out in public chat, her frustration boiling over.
"That just means you're not strong enough."
Naruko and Sako both replied at the same time in public chat.
"Naruko!!"
"Sako!!"
Sakura's angry shouts filled the chat.