"Brother, hold them off for a bit!"
Ren turned around and shouted to Shadow Clone Number One, who was not far away.
"Huh?"
Number One snapped back to attention, looking a bit confused at Mei Terumī and Captain Ao rushing over from not far away, and his expression immediately fell. But his body obediently went to meet them.
"Alright, alright, but I can only delay these two for a short while at most. Main body, hurry up and do whatever you need to do."
"No problem."
Ren grinned, looking at the Kirigakure who had already reorganized their formation not far away, and in the next moment, he disappeared from his original spot, rushing forward quickly across the sea.
As he moved swiftly, he swept his hand to his waist, and the Thunder God Sword once again flashed with electricity. Its blade pointed directly forward!
"Stop him!"
A Kirigakure stepped forward, organizing his surrounding companions to form hand seals together. They were determined not to engage Ren in close combat.
"Water Release: Surging Waves!"
Four or five waves of water surged, gathering under the control of the Kirigakure into a giant wave several zhang high, rolling towards Ren.
"Tsk, so it's a numbers game, huh."
Ren looked at the giant wave in front of him and could only put away the Thunder God Sword again, clasping his hands together.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A large amount of Chakra flowed out, and the surrounding sea began to undulate, then surged skyward in the next moment. A huge current of water formed a waterfall-like cascade, rushing directly towards the approaching giant wave!
"Bang!!"
The two waves collided, and a huge roar echoed throughout the area. The Kirigakure also lost sight of Ren.
After a brief stalemate, the powerful impact directly shattered the wave, and the turbulent water scattered in the air.
When the water calmed, the place where Ren had been was empty. Only ripples from the splashing water spread outwards across the sea.
"Not good!"
The expressions of several people changed simultaneously. Before they could retreat, a figure shot out from under the water, throwing several Shuriken in an instant towards the surroundings, then diving back into the water.
Several people dared not be negligent, only able to dodge the incoming projectiles while constantly keeping an eye on the sea surface.
"Uh..."
A Kirigakure had just knocked down a Shuriken and hadn't even had time to catch his breath. To his astonished gaze, several streams of water suddenly shot out from the sea surface behind him, binding him and then abruptly dragging him into the sea!
"Damn it!"
Captain Ao, who was currently fighting Shadow Clone Number One, saw this scene and his expression grew even darker, feeling a hint of powerlessness against the Shadow Clone that was holding back the two of them.
This guy simply didn't engage them head-on, just used his speed advantage to maintain distance and then launched an incessant barrage of Ninjutsu.
In just a few minutes, he had unleashed nearly ten powerful Ninjutsu, directly blocking them here.
Though he was burning with anxiety, it was no use.
"Captain Ao, let's go. This is just a Shadow Clone; his Chakra, no matter how much he has, must be almost used up."
Mei Terumī's face was as cold as frost, holding a Kunai, and she said in a deep voice.
"Hmm."
Looking at the two approaching figures, Shadow Clone Number One scanned the surrounding situation and said with some helplessness.
"Tsk, I did my best, main body, you do your best."
Number One formed hand seals, mobilizing all his remaining Chakra, and looking at the two rushing towards him, he said calmly.
"Ice Release: Ice Prison."
A wave of cold air emanated from Number One, and the surrounding sea began to freeze, rapidly expanding outwards.
In the blink of an eye, the sea beneath Mei Terumī and Captain Ao's feet was frozen. Both felt their feet slip, and their postures immediately became unstable.
Then, before the two could react, dozens of ice pillars rose from the ice surface, surrounding them in the middle, and finally plunging into the ice below. At the same time, a huge ice cap fell, blocking their thoughts of escaping from the air.
"Hmm, not bad."
Looking at the formed ice prison in front of him, Shadow Clone Number One nodded with satisfaction, and in the next moment, he suddenly exploded, turning into smoke and dissipating.
Only the two trapped in the ice prison remained, looking resentfully at where the smoke had dissipated.
"Damn it!"
Mei Terumī gritted her teeth, then suddenly turned to look at Captain Ao beside her, saying angrily.
"Captain Ao, move aside, I'll use my Bloodline Limit to break this prison!"
After Captain Ao nodded in agreement, he silently stood aside, watching his subordinate operate.
Mei Terumī took two steps forward, formed hand seals, and her cherry lips slightly parted.
"Boil Release..."
Just as Mei Terumī was breaking the prison, the situation on this side was not looking good.
"Ueno!"
The remaining few cried out in alarm. Without hesitation, two Kirigakure immediately jumped down to rescue him, while the remaining two stayed on the surface of the sea, ready to assist them at any moment.
Under the water, the few who had entered the sea were somewhat taken aback to find that while Ren was stomping the dragged-down Ueno towards the seabed, he himself was rapidly swimming upwards. Ueno, meanwhile, was frantically struggling in the water, covering his eyes, not even bothering to swim up in time.
Without time to think, the two swam towards the seabed to rescue him, while Ren had already burst out of the sea, standing opposite the few people not far away.
"Three left, huh. Well, it'll be much easier to fight now."
As Ren murmured, he formed hand seals, then looked at the calm sea surface in front of him and said softly.
"Ice Release: Zero Degrees."
The temperature around Ren instantly dropped significantly, and even the three Kirigakure in the distance felt a chill.
"Kid, stop playing tricks... Achoo!"
A Kirigakure couldn't help but step out and point at Ren, cursing. Before he could finish speaking, a biting cold wind whistled past, making him sneeze directly.
A Kirigakure nearby narrowed his pupils, then suddenly widened his eyes, looking at the scene before him with some disbelief.
"What, what is this...?"
Only to see the sea surface near Ren begin to freeze, then rapidly spread outwards at a visible speed.
In the next moment, the few people felt a solid surface beneath their feet. Looking down, the original sea surface had been covered by ice, and a chill seeped up their necks with the cold wind, making them shiver uncontrollably.
In just a few seconds, an area of a hundred meters in radius was completely frozen. Looking at Ren, who slowly lowered his hand not far away, their eyes showed a hint of terror.
"What is this... power...?"
The Kirigakure who had previously challenged Ren looked at the ice-sealed sea around him, muttering. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he abruptly looked down at his feet and shouted to the two beside him.
"Quick! Break the ice! Ueno and the other two are still underwater!"
"Huh?!"
The two immediately changed their expressions, only realizing it then.
A person's diving time is limited. Except for certain special abilities, ordinary people can only hold their breath underwater for a few minutes at most.
If they delayed any longer, the three underwater might suffocate to death!
But when the few started to act, they were dumbfounded. The ice surface in front of them was two fingers thick, and a Kunai could only scrape off a little ice dust.
This ice surface looked like it wouldn't be easy to break.