"Swordplay?"
Compared to the nervous Kunihiko, Kakuzu looked at him calmly, his hardened hand firmly gripping the blade of the sword, which remained unmoving no matter how much the opponent struggled.
"You are too weak."
A cold glint flashed in Kakuzu's eyes, and before the opponent could react, he kicked out.
The next moment, Kunihiko was sent flying backwards, rolling twice on the ground before stopping. When he got up, he clutched his stomach with his left hand, standing up somewhat shakily, his face slightly contorted.
Kakuzu's hardened strike was not easy to take.
"Damn it, my sword!"
Kunihiko gritted his teeth, looking at the long sword still in Kakuzu's hand. He was already no match, and now, due to carelessness, even his weapon had been taken. It seemed the two of them were in grave danger today.
"It seems Taki Ninja Village has declined."
Kakuzu turned and threw the long sword away, then suddenly lunged towards Kunihiko!
"This guy…"
Watching Kakuzu charge closer, Kunihiko could only hurriedly pull out a Kunai and brace himself to meet him.
But compared to Kakuzu, his combat experience was completely lacking. Both holding Kunai, Kunihiko was completely suppressed. It looked like he would fall in no time.
Meanwhile, Ren's side was even smoother than Kakuzu's. Because Arima's left hand was crippled, he could only use guerrilla tactics to restrain Ren. He dared not directly confront Ren's attacks.
After all, according to Ren's previous strike, one more would definitely render him unable to fight.
"He can really run!"
Ren's gaze turned cold. He stopped attacking and stood still, beginning to form hand signs.
"What is he going to do?"
Arima felt a bad premonition welling up in his heart as he watched Ren form hand signs.
Indeed, he was very fast, but the opponent dared to form hand signs in this situation, which meant he was absolutely confident this move could hit him.
"No way!"
Arima did not sit idly by. His right hand reached for his waist, and several Shuriken appeared in his hand.
Immediately after, he swung his arm forcefully, and the Shuriken flew through the air towards Ren.
At this moment, Ren had also finished forming hand signs and let out a low roar as he watched the incoming Shuriken.
"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
Blue light emanated from Ren's clasped hands. The next moment, dozens of blue lasers suddenly shot out, pursuing Arima from all directions. Several Shuriken were struck down before they even got close.
"What kind of Ninjutsu is this?!"
Arima's pupils constricted. While dodging to the right, he continuously threw Shuriken, attempting to block the lasers.
"Overestimating himself."
Ren manipulated the lasers, making them all curve and shoot towards Arima, who had dodged to the side!
"What?!"
A look of terror appeared on Arima's face. He hadn't expected this attack could track him.
At this point, it was too late to dodge.
The next moment, dozens of lasers all struck Arima. After a brief moment of pain, his eyes went black, and he lost consciousness.
"Arima!"
Kunihiko, who had noticed the situation, immediately roared out. As his attention was diverted, he unconsciously revealed a flaw.
And Kakuzu, rich in combat experience, would not miss this opportunity.
As a Kunai plunged in, Kunihiko's eyes widened, a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, and after trembling for a few seconds, he collapsed to the ground, unable to rise again.
"Whew, finally done."
Ren lowered his hands and walked forward, with Kakuzu following beside him.
"It looks like this must be it."
Ren gazed at the seemingly ordinary gray jar in front of him. Like the container that sealed the Three-Tails, it was covered with various sealing talismans.
"Hmm?"
Just then, several memories suddenly flooded into his mind. Ren's previously relaxed expression immediately turned serious. He then turned to look at Kakuzu.
"Mr. Kakuzu, we should go. Those guys have already dealt with my Shadow Clone and are heading this way."
Although the two of them were strong, they couldn't contend with the sheer number of opponents. Not to mention the enemy also possessed something like the Hero Water.
He was just here to rescue an innocent Tailed Beast, not to fight to the death. There was no need to engage in a life-or-death battle with those guys.
"Alright."
Kakuzu nodded, then turned and ran out of the wooden house with Ren. After pinpointing the direction of the secret passage, they hastened their pace.
During this time, Ren released seven or eight more Shadow Clones and sent them to different parts of Taki Ninja Village to cause a disturbance.
This would both distract the enemy and cover their retreat.
"You two, stop!"
Just as the two were about to reach the secret passage, a figure flashed out in front of them, standing there to block their path.
"You're the ones who invaded the Village, right? Hand over the Tailed Beast!"
The person who arrived was the same young man from before. After he and the leader and others had dealt with the rampaging Shadow Clones in various places, he was ordered to spread out and search for traces of the enemy.
While searching in this area, he noticed Ren and Kakuzu. Seeing the jar on Ren's back, he immediately recognized it as the container sealing the Tailed Beast, and then he stopped the two.
"You're asking for death!"
A killing intent flashed in the eyes of both Kakuzu and Ren. They ignored the opponent, simultaneously raising their hands and beginning to form hand signs.
Not good!
The young man's expression changed, and he immediately prepared to dodge to the side.
These two could obtain the Tailed Beast container, which meant they must have defeated Uncle Arima and Uncle Kunihiko. Their strength was definitely superior to his, and he would have no chance in a head-on confrontation.
"Can you escape?"
Kakuzu said in a deep voice. At this point, both of them had finished forming hand signs and simultaneously let out a low roar.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Several small fireballs were spewed out by Kakuzu, rapidly spreading and expanding forward after landing on the ground.
With the addition of Ren's Wind Release, the speed of the fire sea's expansion further accelerated, catching up to the young man in the blink of an eye.
"What is this?!"
In the young man's terrified eyes, the scorching fire sea directly engulfed him. He didn't even have time to scream before he was burned to nothing but ash.
A few seconds later, the fire sea gradually dissipated. The two lowered their hands, looking at the vanished young man and the cracked earth from the scorching heat. Ren touched his hair and looked at Kakuzu beside him, saying,
"Mr. Kakuzu, we have quite the tacit understanding, don't we?"
"Let's go."
Kakuzu did not reply to Ren and continued forward. Ren shook his head and could only follow.
Soon, they arrived beneath the secret passage they had entered earlier.
The two did not stop, directly climbing the rock wall towards an area shrouded in mist.
A moment later, they arrived at the secret passage again.
"Let's go."
Kakuzu entered first, while Ren turned around, waved at the distant Taki Ninja Village, and then turned to follow.
See you next time, Taki Ninja Village!