"Damn it!"
Mei Terumī stared at the empty water around her, gritting her teeth, her gaze searching everywhere for Ren's whereabouts.
Just as she was desperately searching for Ren, something went wrong on the other side.
"Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"
Shadow Clone Number One dodged several rapid streams of water, glanced at the calm sea not far away, and then began to form hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Whip!"
In the blink of an eye, a water whip formed and, under Shadow Clone Number One's control, lashed out directly at the Kirigakure ninja!
"Quick, get out of the way!"
Everyone dodged, but two Kirigakure ninja were a step too slow and were firmly bound together by the water whip.
"Damn it, you bastard, let us go!"
One Kirigakure ninja shouted at the Shadow Clone while constantly struggling and twisting, trying to break free.
But unfortunately, with their physical quality, no matter how much they struggled, it was useless. If it had been those burly Kumogakure ninja, with a little effort, even the caster would have been dragged over.
"Oh, as you wish."
Shadow Clone Number One responded cheerfully. After throwing them down from the air, it manipulated the water whip to block others from rescuing them.
"Hmm?"
They didn't expect the opponent to let them go so readily. Although the two were somewhat puzzled, they quickly adjusted their posture in the air to avoid landing headfirst, otherwise, the seawater pouring in would be a terrible sensation.
The two landed safely, standing one in front of the other, splashing a large amount of water on the sea surface.
As the two relaxed, a figure silently darted out from behind them, and two sharp weapons plunged straight in.
"Ugh! X2"
The two looked down in surprise, only to see a golden glowing sword piercing through their chests.
By the time the two reacted, blood had already begun to gush from their mouths, and at the same time, the sword was pulled back.
Losing the sword's support, the two no longer had the strength to stand and both fell, splashing water everywhere.
Their bodies trembled in the water for a moment before stopping, losing their last trace of life. This part of the sea quickly turned red with the floating blood.
"How could this be!"
The surrounding Kirigakure ninja immediately widened their eyes, scanning back and forth between the two Ren in disbelief. Finally, their gazes stopped on the Ren holding the Thunder God Sword.
These two without swords must be Shadow Clones. Wasn't this guy's main body being contained by Captain Ao and Mei? How did he get over here!
"Cunning fellow."
Captain Ao and Mei Terumī in the distance also saw this scene, and their eyes instantly ignited with towering rage.
They hadn't expected that, due to their momentary carelessness, the opponent had slipped away to that side and caused the death of two comrades.
Seeing the silent gazes from their other comrades, their expressions grew even more unsightly.
"I say, brother, why are there still so many people after fighting for so long?"
Ren used Instantaneous Body Technique to appear beside Shadow Clone Number One, looking at the Kirigakure ninja around them, whose numbers hadn't decreased much, and asked somewhat puzzled.
"Main body, have you forgotten that the opponents are all Kirigakure elites? Even the weakest are much stronger than ordinary Chunin. If you hadn't come to support, I would have been dragged to death here soon."
Shadow Clone Number One said somewhat irritably. After all, while Chakra was sufficient, it couldn't withstand the attrition of their continuous attacks. He had been worn down for a quarter of an hour before Ren's support arrived.
"Indeed, no wonder these guys were able to break through the border defenses and then retreat safely. Even Yūsuke Uncle couldn't stop them.
Their strength is truly solid, not diluted at all."
This elite unit consisted of forty Kirigakure ninja in total, with two squads of twenty each. Yusuke Uchiha's side was still unknown, but his own side was already having a tough time.
The two Shadow Clones had been fighting guerrilla warfare, and then Number One found an opportunity to kill one, Number Two also killed one, and then Ren ambushed and killed two.
Ren's mouth twitched slightly as he looked at the Kirigakure ninja surrounding them.
After all, while Chakra was one thing, other things like physical stamina and mental energy consumption couldn't be ignored. If this dragged on, he was afraid he really would be worn down to death by these guys.
"Damn it, you two still have time to chat, help out!"
Shadow Clone Number Two had just dodged a Water Dragon Bullet and, inadvertently seeing the two still chatting, immediately got furious and shouted loudly.
"Cough, cough, cough, my apologies, coming, coming. X2"
The two scratched their heads awkwardly. They turned, just about to go, when they realized they were already completely surrounded.
"You… aren't going anywhere!"
Captain Ao approached and said in a deep voice. Mei Terumī next to him also looked at Ren with a frosty expression, while raising her hands, ready to form hand seals at any moment.
"Tsk, never mind, kill as many as we can."
Ren glanced around and said to Number One beside him. As for Number Two… endure as long as you can. We're already in over our heads.
"Let's go!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the two suddenly vanished from their spots, each holding a Kunai, and charged at the Kirigakure ninja.
"Everyone, put distance between yourselves and them!"
Captain Ao shouted anxiously. After all, the current situation was advantageous for them. As long as they dragged it out, they could wear Ren down with a war of attrition, and their chances of victory were incredibly high.
It was well known that Ren's teacher was a close-combat expert and medical master famous for Super Strength. And Ren's taijutsu, specifically that Super Strength Fist earlier, had also been witnessed by everyone.
If Ren were allowed to fully utilize his taijutsu, then neither the wasted time nor the fallen comrades would be acceptable to him.
"Trying to run? Too late."
Watching the Kirigakure ninja begin to retreat frantically, Ren's lips curled into a wicked smile. In a flash, he and the Shadow Clone caught up to a slow-running Kirigakure ninja.
"Bastard!"
The opponent saw the two turn and run towards him, and immediately felt the urge to curse. Anyone with eyes could see it: they were bullying him because he was slow, not fighting his captain but picking on a small fry like him.
Noticing the Kunai and other various projectiles flying from all directions, the two didn't meet them head-on but dodged to the sides.
A moment later, a huge roar came from behind them. Shadow Clone Number One used Water Release to block all incoming attacks.
Although it briefly hindered Ren, it couldn't change the outcome of his fist meeting Ren's.
After dodging, Ren took advantage of the brief visual obstruction from the smoke to dart in front of the opponent. His right fist swung out fiercely!
"Ah!"
The opponent didn't have time to dodge and could only grit his teeth, raising his fist to meet it.
But the next moment, a sharp pain shot through his fist. A crisp "crack" of bone breaking could be heard, and then his arm went limp.
If he wasn't treated in time, he would only be able to wait for death to arrive in agony.