"What?!"
Though they weren't sure how the enemy had detected them, it was already a fact that they had been exposed.
This alone showed that the caravan contained no ordinary ninja—there was likely a sensory type among them.
By now, the caravan had halted. A few figures at its head fixed sharp eyes on Aoi Ren's team.
"Whoosh!"
Several seemingly ordinary men suddenly moved with incredible speed, exposing their true identities.
"What do we do?!"
Kurenai turned anxiously to Aoi Ren as the enemy closed in, their swift movements revealing them as elite chunin.
If the unit was composed of elite chunin, their leader had to be a jonin.
"Since they're coming for us, we'll just wipe them out."
Aoi Ren's eyes were resolute as he sized up the advancing foes.
"That leader is definitely a jonin."
"Can you handle him?"
Kurenai and Yugao's expressions were serious, but they nodded.
"Good. I'll take care of the rest."
In the blink of an eye, Aoi Ren dashed forward, closing the distance to the nearest enemy.
"Laser Beam!"
He raised his hand and fired, then flickered away to appear in front of another ninja, swinging Hyorinmaru down onto their neck.
In a single instant, two elite chunin were down.
"Damn it!" the enemy jonin snarled, rushing to engage Ren, but Kurenai and Yugao intercepted him.
"Illusion Style: Nightmare Mirage!"
Kurenai's hands flew through seals. As she raised them, her deadly genjutsu cast the jonin into a vision of his deepest fear. His expression froze, lost to terror.
Yugao seized the chance and drove her blade toward his heart.
But to her shock, the jonin's form shattered into ice.
"An ice clone?!"
That gave away the enemy's origin at last.
Kirigakure.
The captain was from the Yuki clan, wielding the Ice Release bloodline limit.
Farther off, Aoi Ren stood amid the bodies of two slain foes. The remaining five elite chunin stared at him, wide-eyed.
"Damn it! This guy…"
"He cut them down in a flash. His speed's insane!"
"Watch out, he's coming again!"
Ren burst toward another, Hyorinmaru flashing. One swing, and the man fell, head severed.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"
The survivors lashed out in desperation.
A torrent of water roared forth, winds howling, merging into a raging storm that threatened to engulf Ren.
But he shot skyward in a streak of light, unfazed.
"Yata's Sacred Jewels."
He rained down a storm of dazzling light orbs. Thanks to his growing mastery of the Glint-Glint Fruit, the power of this move was now on par with an S-rank jutsu.
The enemy had no time to dodge. Under the barrage of light, they were riddled like sieves.
"Excellent."
Ren smirked and vanished in a flash.
...
Meanwhile, Kurenai and Yugao were locked in a brutal fight with the Yuki jonin.
Though they were only chunin, their genjutsu and kenjutsu combo kept him cautious.
But the jonin had Ice Release and far greater chakra reserves, so he steadily gained the upper hand.
Kurenai and Yugao were near exhaustion, their chakra almost spent.
"Heh. You're at your limit. Two chunin holding me this long is impressive, but it ends here. After I kill you, that little brat will join you."
Frustrated at how long the battle had dragged, the jonin sneered.
But then his instincts screamed a warning. He quickly cast a substitution jutsu.
"Boom!"
A flash of light struck where he'd just stood.
"Talk big all you like. We'll see who's really going down."
Aoi Ren had arrived.
"Kurenai, Yugao, fall back and recover. Leave him to me."
His casual tone infuriated the Yuki jonin.
"You cocky brat! Do you know who you're insulting? I am a jonin of the Yuki clan!"
"Ice Style: Swallow Snowstorm!"
The jonin unleashed a storm of hundreds of ice crystal shuriken that filled the air.
Ren snorted and burst with light.
"Light Style: Repelling Halo."
The ice shuriken melted to nothing as they struck the searing barrier of light.
Don't underestimate the heat of light. Ren's light burned at thousands of degrees Celsius, rivaling the surface of the sun.
Unshaken, the jonin formed more seals.
"Ice Style: Demonic Ice Mirrors!"
Dozens of ice mirrors surrounded Ren.
He recognized it at once—the Yuki clan's signature move.
A cage of mirrors, with the user striking from within at will.
But Ren knew the counter. Break the mirrors.
"Light Style: Laser Cannon."
He gathered blazing light chakra in his hand and fired, the concentrated beam piercing and vaporizing the mirrors.
The shattered jutsu left the jonin kneeling, blood at his lips.
"Damn it! What is this jutsu? That speed, that heat…"
The Yuki ninja was stunned. His A-rank technique, capable of trapping three jonin at once, had failed in an instant.
"Light Style: Ame-no-Murakumo Sword."
Ren coated Hyorinmaru in brilliant light, raising its power.
With a flicker of motion, he appeared at the jonin's side, blade falling.
The jonin barely had time to summon an ice wall.
But it shattered like glass, Ren's blade cleaving through both defense and throat with ease.
Ice Release might slow foes and strike hard, but against the speed and heat of Ren's light, it was powerless.
[ 250 - 1 Extra Chapter ]