As time went on, the team's progress slowed, until they were moving at a snail's pace through the crowd.
Because they had to look after their subordinates, both of them were somewhat constrained, and coupled with the inability to actively attack, it was truly tricky.
Ren dodged a flying Shuriken, and as the Thunder God Sword swung out, an Iwa Ninja's eyes widened. He clutched his chest and slowly fell, but in the blink of an eye, someone filled the void, rushing forward to continue the attack.
"Damn it!"
Ren cursed under his breath. These Iwa Ninja were like madmen, surging forward one after another. Although his Chakra could temporarily hold out, it couldn't go on like this.
With so many people, even if they stood still and let them kill, they would be exhausted to death.
Amidst the fighting, the team had already reached the top of the hill. Looking out, the slopes on both sides were packed with Iwa Ninja, and below the hill was a large plain. Seeing this terrain, Ren's eyes immediately flickered, and a plan began to form in his mind.
"Raikage-sama!"
After Ren forced back the Iwa Ninja with his sword, he seized the brief moment to turn his head and shout loudly.
"Go all out and rush to that plain first!"
"Huh?"
The Raikage, moving back and forth through the crowd in his Lightning Armor, looked around with some confusion. After a moment of thought, his eyes lit up; he seemed to understand Ren's meaning.
"Good!"
A low voice emerged, and the lightning around the Old Man suddenly seemed to go wild, fluctuating violently. The powerful aura made the charging Iwa Ninja around him halt their steps, hesitating for a long time before daring to advance.
As the energy continuously accumulated, the Third Raikage raised his left hand, retracted his thumb, and joined his other four fingers, pointing them forward.
"Let's go!"
With a loud shout, the Old Man once again transformed into a streak of lightning and charged out, but both his speed and power were immeasurably greater than the previous chaotic, unorganized collisions.
"Boom!!"
A roar sounded, and where the lightning passed, a large cloud of dust instantly rose into the air. The Iwa Ninja in its path were swept away by the powerful shockwave before they could even react, and the reddish-brown "tide" was instantly torn apart from the middle.
The people behind also followed without hesitation, and the team's speed instantly picked up.
"Four-Fingered Thrust, huh…"
Looking at the Raikage's stance and the terrifying lethality of his move, Ren recognized the technique at a glance.
This was the Lightning Release Ninjutsu he had developed, possessing extremely high penetration and attack power. Its strength could easily shatter rocks, let alone now that the target of this move was fragile human bodies.
Seeing him go out, Ren also became serious. As Chakra gathered behind his body, three pairs of wings, thin as cicada's wings, appeared and began to flap rapidly.
Under the stunned gaze of the surrounding crowd, Ren ascended high into the sky, began to form hand seals, then puffed out his cheeks. When he opened his mouth again, a large amount of scale powder flew out, falling downwards.
"What is this thing?!"
Although they didn't know what it was, it certainly wasn't good. They wanted to dodge, but they were surrounded by comrades, making it impossible to avoid.
"Ah! I can't see anything!"
"Damn it, I can't move."
The Iwa Ninja who were covered in the scale powder immediately lost all their vision, and a constant numbing sensation came from all over their bodies. The area instantly descended into chaos.
"He, he can fly?!"
The people below also saw Ren overhead. The three youngsters knew their captain could fly, so they didn't pay too much attention, just focused on hurrying.
But the Cloud Ninja, seeing his ability for the first time, looked up in astonishment, and their speed on the ground slowed considerably.
Flying Ninja, they had heard of them but had never seen one before, so for a moment, they were somewhat dazed.
"Interesting kid."
The Raikage, who was leading the way, also noticed the abnormality here. While he was somewhat surprised by Ren's flying ability, he didn't pay too much attention to it.
Flying Ninjutsu, though rare, wasn't unheard of. For example, his old rival, Ōnoki, who was also a Kage, could also fly and fight in the air using Ninjutsu.
Ren did not stop, but began to fly back and forth around the team, scattering large amounts of scale powder. Many Iwa Ninja, after being paralyzed, felt their legs weaken and knelt to the ground. Just as they were about to stand up, they were trampled over by their comrades who had lost their vision. Their screams were immediately drowned out by the surrounding noise. Unable to stand, they could only protect their heads and other vital parts, gritting their teeth and enduring.
Seeing the surrounding Iwa Ninja fall into temporary chaos, Ren's objective was achieved. He turned and flapped his wings, catching up to the team that had already rushed down the hill in a few breaths.
"Captain!"
"Keep going!"
After Ren instructed the three youngsters, he turned his gaze to the number one clone beside him, whispered a few words to him up close, then flapped his wings and flew to the very front. Ignoring the wary gazes of the Cloud Ninja, he directly spoke to the Third Raikage, who had slowed down and was guarding the surroundings.
"Raikage-sama, ahead is the Land of Earth Border Line. Beyond that is the Land of Waterfall. Shall we break through together?"
The Old Man didn't respond, only gave Ren a deep look before charging straight ahead, his voice carrying back from a distance.
"Kid, don't hold us back."
"Tsk, what an arrogant Old Man."
Ren grinned, spread his wings, and flew high into the sky. He didn't immediately follow the Raikage, but instead turned and flew back to the rear of the team.
Although they had successfully run into the plain and temporarily broken out of the encirclement, the Iwa Ninja behind them were still in hot pursuit, with heads surging everywhere across the mountains. If they didn't deal with this first, once they hit the Iwa Ninja's Border Line later, being caught in a pincer attack would be the end of them.
"Move!"
Ren's sharp shout startled everyone. Before they could react, Shadow Clone Three and Four, who were guarding the flanks, rushed out left and right. They stopped after several tens of meters, then quickly began to form hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave! X2"
As Chakra circulated to their throats, both puffed out their cheeks and then suddenly opened their mouths. Two high-pressure water streams shot out, crossing each other in the air to form two horizontal water lines.
"Ah!"
The Iwa Ninja charging at the very front were unable to dodge and successively crashed into the water lines. In an instant, everyone who intersected with the water lines had their bodies directly split in half from the middle. Large amounts of severed limbs and torsos fell to the ground, and blood instantly stained the earth red.
"Quick, stop, stop!"
Seeing this scene, the Iwa Ninja behind were instantly scared out of their wits. They all stopped in their tracks, furiously roaring at their comrades behind them who were unaware of the situation and still charging forward.
Watching the Iwa Ninja fall into chaos, Ren in the air didn't miss the opportunity. After glancing at the team, which had already put some distance between themselves and the Iwa Ninja, he turned around, began to form hand seals, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.
Finally, he could fight back.