"Gen…"
The Kumo Ninja Captain's gaze became dull as he looked at his companion, who had already lowered his head and closed his eyes. His entire body began to tremble, and his eyes started to redden.
"Sigh."
Observing the scene before him, Ren sighed, then took two steps forward. He looked at the man who had his back to him, completely defenseless, and said in a deep voice,
"Stand up, Jonin."
As soon as he finished speaking, the other party slowly turned his head, his eyes filled with intense hatred and killing intent as he looked at Ren.
"I will make you… pay the price!"
As he spoke, he endured the severe pain in his leg and stood up again. He tore off his damaged upper clothing, revealing a body of well-defined muscles, and clenched his fists. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Ren.
Ren did not respond; instead, dark red Chakra once again emerged from his body, enveloping him, and three tails sprouted from his back, swirling in the air.
"I will definitely kill you!"
The Kumo Ninja Captain looked at Ren, who had transformed into a monster again, raised both arms, and then began to form hand signs.
The fury brought by the death of his companion suppressed the fear in his heart. At this moment, he had only one thought: to kill this monster and avenge Gen!
"Hmm?"
Ren, who was about to make a move, suddenly paused, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes as he looked at his opponent. He murmured,
"Lightning Release?"
Fine electrical arcs could be seen coursing over the surface of the opponent's skin, and a powerful Chakra fluctuation spread outwards.
"So familiar…"
Ren looked at the lightning emanating from the opponent's body, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. It seemed as if he had seen this somewhere before.
"Die!"
Just as Ren was contemplating, the Kumo Ninja Captain had already lowered his hands, having completed his hand signs. He pushed off the ground with his right foot and charged forward, raising his lightning-shrouded fist and striking down at Ren.
"Strength, huh…"
Ren's expression was a bit strange, but he still raised his Tailed Beast-transformed left hand, clenched it into a fist, and met the blow head-on.
"Bang!"
The two fists collided with a dull thud, but in the next moment, the Kumo Ninja Captain was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a tree trunk before sliding down, a look of disbelief on his face.
He had clearly activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, even if it was a 'Castrated version' (incomplete/weakened version) and couldn't compare to the authentic version used by the Raikage, it was still a substantial boost to his strength.
Both his speed and strength had increased significantly, so how could he still be so utterly crushed in terms of strength?
"If we're talking about strength, even if your Raikage came, he wouldn't be able to contend with my teacher in that regard."
Ren seemed to have read his thoughts and said calmly as he advanced.
If it was purely about strength, his teacher Tsunade could undoubtedly be called the strongest in the Ninja World.
And the Lightning Release Chakra Mode primarily increased the user's speed and damage reduction capabilities; while it did boost strength, it wasn't that significant.
Not to mention, Ren was in a half-Tailed Beast state at the time. The Tailed Beast Cloak provided an all-around boost, and combined with his immense monstrous strength, it was no surprise that he utterly overwhelmed his opponent.
"Damn it!"
The Kumo Ninja Captain looked at Ren, who was gradually approaching. He was about to use his hands to prop himself up and stand, but found that he couldn't exert any strength in his right arm; it just hung limply. No matter how he tried to control it, it was useless.
"It's over, Jonin."
Ren wasted no more time, leaping forward and pouncing on his opponent, his dark red right palm striking directly at him!
"You bastard!"
The Kumo Ninja Captain's pupils constricted as he saw Ren charging at him. He was about to dodge to the side, but his left leg injury flared up again, causing him to directly collapse to his knees.
In the next moment, Ren had already rushed close, and the enormous beast palm descended with a whooshing sound. Having no other option, he pulled a Kunai from the Ninja tool pouch at his waist and stabbed it towards Ren's chest, attempting to make the latter abandon his attack and defend.
To his surprise, Ren showed no intention of defending. As the Kunai pierced his chest, the giant palm also made "intimate contact" with the opponent's chest.
"Crack!"
With a soft sound, the Kumo Ninja Captain's eyes widened, and his gaze slowly drifted downwards. He saw his own chest visibly collapse. The intense pain that followed almost made him faint.
Ren retracted his giant palm and then retreated, while the dark red Chakra on his body also began to recede, finally restoring him to human form.
"I told you it was over."
Ren looked at the Kunai that had fallen from the opponent's hand and couldn't help but shake his head.
How could the defense of the Tailed Beast Cloak be broken by a mere Kunai? Even Ninjutsu, if its power was ordinary, could mostly be ignored, of course, except for those with immense destructive power.
"Cough, cough cough!"
The Kumo Ninja Captain leaned against the tree trunk behind him, beginning to cough violently, spitting out large amounts of blood foam from his mouth. His eyes were fixed on Ren in front of him, the anger and hatred within them undiminished.
"Don't blame me; it's just a matter of serving our respective masters."
Ren said in a deep voice, walking over to the sensory Ninja Gen, who was not far away. He picked up the Ninja tool pouch from the ground and took out a Kunai from it.
Under the opponent's hateful gaze, he shot it directly at his throat.
"Ugh!"
The Kumo Ninja Captain's body immediately stiffened, and the pain from his throat made him feel the life force within him constantly draining away.
A moment later, his neck slumped to the side, following in his companion's footsteps. But even in death, his eyes remained wide open, staring fixedly at Ren.
"Tsk."
Ren felt a shiver run down his spine from the opponent's gaze, but he still quickly stepped forward and closed their eyes.
Fortunately, no strange occurrences like them suddenly opening their eyes again happened, which made Ren breathe a sigh of relief.
"War, huh…"
Ren looked at the two corpses before him, murmuring as he lifted the bodies and carried them on his shoulders. Immediately, three pairs of wings reappeared behind him, carrying him and the two corpses towards the border.
While moving at high altitude, Ren suddenly felt something poking his shoulder. He turned his head and saw a hard protrusion in a pocket on the corpse's waist; he didn't know what it was.
"What is this?"
Ren was a bit curious, so he reached into the pocket with his left hand and pulled out the item: a small booklet.
"Hmm? What is this?"
Ren opened the cover, and what greeted his eyes was an unfamiliar face, covered in stubble, looking about forty or fifty years old, wearing an Iwagakure forehead protector, and staring fiercely ahead.
Below it was a small line of text: "IwagakureJonin, Ishiiwa. Bounty: 15 million Ryo. Reward doubles if captured alive!"
"Uh…"
Ren's eyes immediately lit up. He began flipping through the pages continuously until he reached the last few pages and stopped.
Looking at the familiar face before him, Ren's mouth twitched slightly.