"Support from Konoha… has finally arrived?"
Hanzō the Salamander looked at Renya standing before him and let out a relieved breath.
If the poison master hadn't come to help, he would have died here today.
Renya did not turn around, his gaze remaining cold as it locked onto the three Kage ahead.
"From here on, leave it to me."
"Poison master, do you really think you can handle the three of us at once?"
The Third Mizukage's expression darkened as he spoke coldly.
Back then, when they invaded the Land of Whirlpools, they were defeated by Renya one by one.
If they worked together, he definitely wouldn't be their match.
Today, they would wash away their past humiliation!
"Stop wasting time with him. Let's go!"
Blinding lightning surged around the Second Raikage's body, his hair standing on end as he pushed his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to the limit.
"A group of losers."
Renya spoke lightly, as if he hadn't put the three of them in his eyes at all.
"Tch, troublesome weather."
The Second Raikage spat, the lightning armor around him bursting with even brighter light. The rain that approached him immediately evaporated into white steam, producing sizzling sounds.
The Third Mizukage, however, moved like a fish in water in this environment.
"Water Release!"
In an instant, countless falling raindrops transformed.
During their descent they were compressed, elongated, and turned into thousands of sharp rain needles.
The Third Tsuchikage hovered in midair, a cube of white light forming in his hands, ready to be thrown at any moment.
The Second Raikage moved.
Relying on his body's speed pushed to the extreme through Lightning Release, he ignored the damage from the rain needles and turned into a jagged blue bolt of lightning, rushing straight at Renya!
Facing attacks from both sky and ground simultaneously, Renya did not underestimate them. He immediately activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hum—
A dark red skeletal Susanoo appeared in an instant, shielding Renya inside.
Countless rain needles struck the Susanoo bones densely, ringing out with an unending series of crisp metallic clangs.
Like torrential rain hitting iron plates, but unable to break through the defense.
"Lightning Hot Blade!"
The Second Raikage's elbow, wrapped in the strongest Lightning Release, smashed fiercely into the same spot on the Susanoo bones.
Boom!
The violent impact created faint cracks on the hardened Susanoo skeleton, but still failed to break through.
Renya was slightly surprised and praised him.
"Tch, after a few years apart, your coordination has become quite good."
Seeing that, the Second Raikage did not linger. His body turned into blue lightning and retreated again.
The moment he left, the Dust Release that Ōnoki had prepared in midair shot toward Renya.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
As the obliterating white light approached, Renya did not intend to use Susanoo to resist. He directly used Flying Thunder God to escape.
"Not bad teamwork."
Just as Renya reappeared, the Third Mizukage immediately controlled the water needles to shoot toward him.
One melee attacker, two long-range attackers.
Facing the three at once, it was indeed difficult for him to gain the advantage quickly.
The Mizukage and Tsuchikage gave him no chance to get close. Whenever he tried to move in, the Raikage would charge forward with his powerful body to block him.
Renya drew his tachi from his waist and swung rapidly, the sword light forming a dense barrier that shattered all the incoming water needles.
Ōnoki seized the opportunity, firing a second, smaller Dust Release cube.
The white light precisely enveloped the area where Renya stood, covering even the rain needles.
Renya vanished again.
Using Flying Thunder God, he appeared beside a kunai, temporarily escaping the core zone where the rain needles were densest, as well as the direct danger of Dust Release.
He picked up the kunai on the ground and threw it toward Ōnoki in the sky.
"Evil Uchiha, you want to use that technique again!"
Ōnoki immediately turned and unleashed Dust Release toward where the kunai flew. If Renya dared appear there, he would be blasted into ash.
Unfortunately for him, Renya had already anticipated this and did not teleport.
Instead, he took out three kunai wrapped with explosive tags from his pouch and threw them in different directions.
Not toward the Kage, but toward the ground and puddles around them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A chain of explosions sent mud and water flying, disrupting their perception and vision.
In the chaos, Renya locked onto the Third Mizukage, who was fully focused on controlling the water needles.
To maintain a technique of such large scale and precision, the Mizukage's body was relatively still, concentrating on sensing and control.
As long as he took out this long-range attacker, dealing with the remaining two would become easy.
No point worrying about farsightedness now.
Renya poured a massive amount of chakra into his eyes.
The dark red Susanoo appeared again—not a full skeletal body this time, but a half-body form.
Its right hand held an enormous dark red tachi, faint black aura seeping from it.
Susanoo's giant blade swept outward, creating a violent gale that scattered the rain needles shot at Renya.
Mixed among them were several Flying Thunder God kunai.
At the same time, Renya dismissed Susanoo and activated Flying Thunder God again.
The Third Mizukage was sensing the massive chakra reaction from Susanoo ahead, continuing to control the rain needles for suppression.
He did not notice the kunai that had appeared behind him.
A spatial ripple surged.
"Mizukage, behind you!"
From the sky, Ōnoki vaguely saw a silhouette through the rain and smoke.
The Third Mizukage turned in shock, seeing only a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan—and an impossibly fast arc of sword light.
Schlick!
The blade cut cleanly across his neck.
The countless rain needles lost control, collapsing back into ordinary rain.
The Third Mizukage's headless corpse fell lifelessly into the muddy water.
Through the mist and rain, Renya looked coldly at the corpse and spoke calmly.
"This time I won't use you for money."
He admitted that the three's coordinated assault truly had put decent pressure on him.
Since that was the case, he could only send him on his way.
Killing was easier than capturing alive…
Through the curtain of rain, Renya gazed toward the stunned Second Raikage and Third Tsuchikage, both frozen in shock from witnessing the instant kill.
They hadn't expected Renya to kill the Mizukage instantly despite their perfect teamwork.
"Playtime's over. You can die now."
The half-body Susanoo reappeared, radiating terrifying pressure.
The Second Raikage and Third Tsuchikage exchanged a glance, both seeing fear reflected in each other's eyes.
The Susanoo before them made them feel true death approaching.
"Tsuchikage, cover me!"
Lightning chakra erupted violently around the Second Raikage.
Ōnoki immediately formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Mountain Soil Technique!"
Rumble!
On both sides of Renya, the ground surged upward into two enormous dome-shaped rock walls, like a giant clam closing shut, attempting to crush him in the center.
The technique's range was immense, forcefully restricting his movement and vision.
Seizing the chance, the two turned and ran without hesitation.
The Second Raikage turned into a bolt of lightning and fled into the distance.
Ōnoki was not far behind.
They had attacked with three and still lost one.
If they didn't run now, then when?
By the time Renya broke free from the Earth Release, the two had already vanished.
...
I recommend checking out my new Pokémon fanfic, "Pokémon System: Me, the Strongest Champion of the League"! It features a system that isn't overpowered, keeping the story balanced and engaging. The main character isn't Ash, but an original, cool MC, which makes it even more enjoyable to read. I'd love to hear your feedback!