At this moment, the sky grew increasingly dim, and a strong wind stirred up dark clouds. Soon after, a light drizzle began to fall.
Raindrops fell onto the earth, mixing with blood before flowing into the pits, which gradually filled with bloody water. The slaughter continued.
"You're asking for death!"
Hiroki roared, the left side of his cheek and his left hand already stained red with blood. Coupled with his fierce expression, he looked particularly menacing.
"Wasting time."
Ren vanished from his spot, quickly moving forward while forming hand seals with both palms to create two Shadow Clones that attacked Hiroki from both sides.
Strike while the iron is hot!
"Don't get cocky!"
Hiroki channelled the Chakra within his body, similarly creating two Shadow Clones to meet Ren's Shadow Clones, while he himself headed straight for Ren's main body.
"A foolhardy fellow."
Ren sneered. Including his Shadow Clones, the three did not directly confront Hiroki, who had approached them, but chose to temporarily avoid the fight. At the same time, they began forming hand seals, frantically drawing upon the Chakra within their bodies.
After dodging another round of Hiroki's frenzied attacks, Ren finally completed his preparation. His main body, along with his Shadow Clones, leapt out of the combat zone, jumping back to stand on three rocks. Their positions formed a triangle, encircling Hiroki and his Shadow Clones, and then they quickly activated the Ninjutsu they had long prepared.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Ren and his Shadow Clones' chests puffed up, and then a large amount of water poured out from their mouths. Hiroki, who had just tried to escape, was forced back by the intense water current as soon as he jumped. Only now did he realise that he had unwittingly been led by Ren into a small, water-filled basin. The surrounding earthen walls, eroded by the rain, became increasingly muddy. Furthermore, three water pillars pouring down from above blocked all escape routes, making it impossible to dodge; he could only take the hit.
"But..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the surging water directly submerged him and his two Shadow Clones. Simultaneously, the water level rapidly rose, finally stopping only when it overflowed from the basin.
Hiroki, who was washed to the bottom, let out a muffled grunt, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth. The sudden, powerful water current directly caused his two Shadow Clones to burst, turning into white mist and dissipating in the water.
However, Hiroki was not some greenhorn. In the face of crisis, he quickly regained his composure, rapidly moving his arms to swim upwards. He had to quickly escape this unfavourable environment.
A piercing pain emanated from his left eye socket, which was submerged in water, intensifying Hiroki's killing intent towards Ren.
I have about half my Chakra left, which is enough to deal with that kid. Once I get out, I'll definitely punch that kid into oblivion!
Above the water, Ren was panting slightly, his face somewhat pale. His two Shadow Clones had also disappeared due to Chakra depletion.
After all, it was a high-level Water Release, and combined with the two Shadow Clones he had split off, this wave of attack directly consumed nearly thirty per cent of his Chakra. Coupled with the previous battle, Ren now had less than forty per cent of his Chakra remaining.
"Heh, it seems the fish has taken the bait..."
Ren noticed Hiroki rapidly swimming towards the surface, a meaningful smile appearing on his face. He gritted his teeth and split off another Shadow Clone, which jumped into the water and headed straight for Hiroki, while Ren himself went into hiding, poised to strike.
"Hmph."
After some effort, Hiroki finally broke through the water's surface. As he breathed in the fresh air, he also looked around, searching for Ren.
Just then, a gust of wind struck from behind. His battle-hardened instincts made him quickly turn and raise his arm to block. But the next moment, a tremendous force struck, and Hiroki, unable to dodge in time, was directly sent flying. After being thrown back over ten meters, Hiroki crashed onto the water's surface, tumoring four or five times before finally coming to a stop in a dishevelled state.
Before he could react, the water beneath his feet violently churned. The nearby water suddenly condensed into a giant water sphere, trapping him within it, unable to move.
What's going on?!
Hiroki's face drastically changed. Things happened too fast; by the time he reacted, he was already trapped within the water sphere, unable to move. Not to mention forming hand seals, he couldn't even lift his hands. Ren's punch just now carried immense strength; with a full-force punch, it was only because Hiroki had good physical conditioning that he merely suffered fractured arms.
But this also took away his last shred of hope. After all, most of his strength lay in these arms, and now that they were incapacitated, he was at the mercy of others.
"Water Prison Jutsu."
Ren knelt on the water's surface, his right hand placed on the water sphere, maintaining the Water Prison. He looked at Hiroki, whose eyes were wide with rage inside, and chuckled softly.
"Complete!"
The Shadow Clone that had initiated the attack had not dissipated. Instead, it quickly approached Ren, pulled out the Thunder God Sword from the main body's ninja tool pouch, and turned to calmly walk towards Hiroki.
"Lord Hiroki!"
Those who were paying attention to this battle were caught off guard by the sudden turn of events. When they saw Hiroki, who had lost his ability to resist, most of the Iwagakure Ninja anxiously cried out, all wanting to break free from their opponents to rescue their Commander.
"Just stay put."
"You're not going anywhere."
The Konoha Ninja also quickly reacted. They weren't foolish; each one exerted their full effort to hold back their opponents, preventing them from going to the rescue, which infuriated the Iwagakure Ninja, causing them to curse loudly. As for Sunagakure, they naturally welcomed this development, and each one began to slack off. After all, their alliance with Iwagakure was not that strong. If it meant Iwagakure lost a powerful individual, they would be very happy.
"Damn it, Hiroki!"
When Shiroyama noticed the situation here, his heart was burning with anxiety. After all, powerful individuals like Hiroki, who possessed a Bloodline Limit, were few and far between in Iwagakure. If such a valuable talent were to die here, the loss would be no less than a thousand Iwagakure Ninja killed in battle.
"Get lost! Don't block me!"
Shiroyama roared. Facing the woman in front of him, whose strength was even greater than his own, Shiroyama had no chance to go to the rescue; he could only be held back here.
"Hehe, just stay put here."
Tsunade was unmoved. Her sharp Taijutsu, combined with her monstrous strength, momentarily suppressed Shiroyama, giving him no chance to worry about anything else; he could only concentrate on dealing with Tsunade.
It looks like Ren's battle is about to be decided.
Jiraiya wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had been constantly monitoring Ren's battle situation and finally let out a sigh of relief. But compared to Jiraiya, Roshi, his opponent, was not in such a good mood.
Seeing Hiroki in mortal danger, Roshi immediately grew anxious. After all, as a Jinchuriki, he was a feared presence in Iwagakure, someone to be avoided at all costs. He had few friends, and Hiroki was one of the rare people he could talk to.
But Jiraiya, his opponent, was not weak, and in his current state, he couldn't break free.
A crimson gleam flashed in Roshi's eyes, and the Chakra on his body began to surge.
It seems... I can only do that.