The three of them scraped at the ice for a bit, but found the efficiency too low. One Kirigakure ninja gritted his teeth and said, "No, let's use Ninjutsu to blast it! We don't have time to drag this out!"
"Alright!"
Just as they were about to use Ninjutsu to blast the ice, they saw a Kunai shot from a distance, with a familiar Exploding Tag tied to its back, glowing white.
"Quick, get out of the way!"
The three of them retreated rapidly, and the Exploding Tag landed on the ice where they had previously stood, then suddenly exploded.
"Boom!"
Black smoke carried sparks, and when the smoke dissipated, only a shallow pit was left on the ice. It seemed the Exploding Tag's effect wasn't very significant.
"Hey, I, the instigator, am still here, can you not ignore me?"
Ren flashed from a distance to up close, looking at the scattered trio and smiling.
"I'll stop him, you two hurry and save them!"
The Kirigakure ninja who had previously cursed Ren stepped forward two paces, gripping a standard long sword with both hands, staring at Ren while shouting to the two behind him.
The two didn't hesitate, turning around immediately and starting to break the ice with Ninjutsu, leaving the remaining two facing each other on the ice.
"Just one person, huh…"
Ren murmured to himself, scanned the surroundings, and his gaze instantly sharpened. Without wasting any more time, he drew his Thunder God Sword from his waist and charged towards his opponent!
"Hmph, kid, prepare to die!"
The Kirigakure ninja also charged forward, his long sword slashing towards Ren's shoulder.
"Hmph, who's afraid of who!"
Ren was not to be outdone, his Thunder God Sword also flashed with electricity as he thrust it towards his opponent's chest.
Both of them were fighting with an 'injury for injury' style!
"Hmm?"
Ren's expression suddenly changed. Upon noticing his attack, the opponent not only didn't pull back to block but instead moved even faster. It looked as if he truly intended to trade lives with Ren.
Ren didn't hesitate, immediately retracting his Thunder God Sword to block in front of him, parrying the opponent's 'injury for injury' strike.
"Tch, is this the so-called Konoha's greatest genius? He doesn't even have the courage to fight to the death, truly laughable."
The opponent continuously mocked as he pulled back his sword and retreated.
But Ren didn't respond; instead, he kept scrutinizing the opponent's body up and down, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
"Come again, useless genius!"
Seeing that Ren didn't respond, the Kirigakure ninja became even more arrogant. He even raised his long sword and charged at Ren first.
"Heh."
A look of understanding appeared in Ren's eyes. He looked at the swinging long sword, didn't dodge, but continued to block it with his Thunder God Sword.
"Heh, you…"
Just as the Kirigakure ninja was about to mock Ren again, he saw Ren suddenly open his mouth, and a tiny flying needle shot out, aiming directly for his glabella!
But a moment later, the opponent, who should have died from the needle, still hadn't fallen. The spot where the needle hit became distorted, rippling like a pool of liquid, looking quite strange.
"Hehe, our Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Secret Technique can nullify most damage.
Your little hidden weapons can't kill me, hahahahaha."
The Kirigakure ninja laughed triumphantly, but Ren's emotions remained completely unperturbed. He simply swung away the opponent's long sword, then spit out another Senbon from his mouth, shooting it towards the opponent's abdomen.
"Tsk, I told you these are useless against me, you…"
The Kirigakure ninja said with a mocking expression, disdaining to dodge the tiny Senbon and directly hydrifying his body.
The next moment, however, a sudden pain came from his abdomen, and at the same time, a numbing sensation spread throughout his body, instantly nullifying his Hydrification state.
Before he could react, a light sword flashing with electric arcs pierced through the air, directly penetrating his chest and emerging from his back.
"This…"
He lowered his head in disbelief, seeing not only the Thunder God Sword in his chest but also the Senbon at the wound on his abdomen, which was flickering with faint electric arcs.
"Lightning…Release."
"Too careless."
Ren stepped forward, pulled out the Thunder God Sword, and looking at his opponent's unseeing eyes, said calmly,
"Even a Bloodline Limit isn't invincible. How dare your mere secret technique be so arrogant."
"Get lost, Ren!"
A sharp shout came, and at the same time, two Kunai shot through the air.
Ren's eyes narrowed. As he used Instantaneous Body Technique to dodge backward, he also clearly saw the approaching figures.
"Tsk, it seems you've broken through my ice prison."
Ren looked at the tattered ice prison in the distance and the two figures rushing towards him, chuckling.
"Bastard!"
Looking at the Ghost Lantern lying dead at his feet, Ao's eyes were somewhat bloodshot. Watching his subordinates being killed one by one, his heart was bleeding.
"Calm down, Captain Ao!"
Mei Terumī, though also very angry, remained rational at the critical moment.
She looked at Ren standing casually not far away and said calmly, "Ren, today you will be buried in the sea."
"Hmm?"
Ren crossed his arms, asking with interest, "Why do you think I'll die here today? Just the two of you?"
"And us!"
Several soaked figures darted to Ao and the others' side, looking at Ren with angry expressions. They were the three Ueno, who had been frozen underwater and only rescued after a long time, as well as the two Kirigakure ninjas who came to rescue them.
"Ren, you can't escape!"
Ren turned his head. Not far away, six figures rapidly approached across the ice. Upon reaching them, they surrounded Ren along with Ao and the others.
These were the opponents of Shadow Clone Number Two. After Number Two's inhuman, large-scale Ninjutsu bombardment, they finally managed to deal with Shadow Clone Number Two at the painful cost of three Kirigakure ninjas. Then they immediately rushed here.
"Now where will you run?!"
Ao sneered.
Under the encirclement of their more than ten elite Kirigakure ninjas, breaking out was almost impossible.
As for the ice underfoot, Ren had sealed off his last escape route himself. If he wanted to live now, he'd have to be able to fly!
"Hey, hey, hey, who said I was going to run?"
Under the gaze of over a dozen pairs of eyes, Ren yawned somewhat lazily, then pointed behind him and pouted, "You've been fighting me for so long, have you forgotten that I have teammates too?"
"Hmm?"
Everyone was startled, but the next moment, their expressions all changed. They turned their heads to look at the distant coastline.
Another Kirigakure team was seen fleeing towards the other side. Their appearance was even more horrific.
Their clothes were torn, and they all had more or less some wounds on their bodies. Their numbers had been reduced by more than half. Behind them, Yusuke Uchiha was leading a hundred-man squad, charging towards them.
"Damn it!"
Ao cursed under his breath, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Ren.
Their momentum in this battle was gone, and it was impossible to eliminate Ren in a short time.
After a moment of hesitation, Ao reluctantly turned around, his voice seemingly squeezed through his teeth. "Retreat!"