Land of Water.
In the jungle, a giant spiked wheel rolled forward, felling trees and kicking up dust as it went.
"Screech!"
As an open clearing appeared ahead, the spiked wheel began to slow, emitting a harsh grinding sound on the ground.
Upon reaching the clearing, the spiked ball came to a complete stop, then unfolded, transforming from a wheel into a massive Three-Tails turtle in the blink of an eye.
"That was close."
In the mental space, Ren let out a long breath, his expression relaxing.
Although this operation seemed smooth, any misstep in any part of it would have put the three of them in a difficult situation, but fortunately, the plan went smoothly.
"Ren."
"Hmm?"
Just then, Isobu, beneath him, suddenly spoke. Ren instinctively lowered his head, and before he could ask what was wrong, he heard Isobu continue.
"Those two people inside my stomach…"
"…Oh my god!"
Ren's expression immediately changed. He had been too caught up in running and almost forgot about Pakura and Ryufeng, whom he had swallowed.
Realizing this, Ren quickly opened his mouth and had the Isobu clones inside him carry the two out.
Not long after, two human-sized small Isobu emerged from his mouth, using their tails to gently place the still dazed duo on the ground, before turning around and returning inside Isobu.
"Alright, I'm going out first, Isobu, Brother chōmei!"
Ren greeted the two in the mental space and then released his Tailed Beast transformation. Seeing Ren walk over, Ryufeng forced himself up, his eyes filled with stars, and mumbled, ", Ren, what are you doing with the Clone Justu, what are you doing?"
"???"
Ren's mouth twitched twice. Just as he was about to say something, Pakura, beside him, also looked up, her face pale, and pointed at him with a trembling finger.
"You… Ugh!"
Before she could finish, Pakura turned her head to the side and started dry heaving. Ryufeng, meanwhile, lay sprawled on the ground, face up, his eyes unfocused, looking utterly devoid of life.
Although Ninja have physiques far superior to civilians and are not significantly affected by spinning, anyone subjected to Ren's high-speed spinning for nearly a quarter of an hour would be in for a rough time.
"My apologies…"
Seeing the two who had been severely tormented, Ren could only stand by, holding a kettle and smiling apologetically. Once their complexions had improved considerably, he quickly offered it to them.
"No need, thank you."
Pakura shook her head, then took a kettle from her waist and drank from it. Ryufeng, on the other hand, showed no politeness whatsoever, directly taking Ren's kettle and drinking it all in one gulp.
"Hey, leave some for me!"
Ren immediately became anxious. That water had Soldier Ration Pill and other powdered ingredients mixed into it. Its effect was similar to that of a regular Soldier Ration Pill, but it tasted much better. However, compared to a solid Soldier Ration Pill, the latter was still more convenient.
"Tastes good."
After drinking, Ryufeng directly threw the empty kettle back, then stood up, his gaze lingering on Pakura for a moment before turning back to Ren and saying, "Let's go, the pursuers should be arriving soon."
Kirigakure would certainly not just watch them escape. By now, a large number of pursuit teams must have already arrived. They would only have successfully retreated once they had left the Land of Water as quickly as possible.
Ren understood and nodded, then looked at Pakura, who had stood up beside him, and nodded, "let's go. We're not far from the Land of Water's border."
Just as the three of them adjusted their condition and were about to depart, Ryufeng suddenly stopped and called out to them.
"Wait."
"Huh?"
The two turned around in confusion, only to see Ryufeng pull out several Exploding Tags tied to Kunai and several rolls of steel wire from his Ninja tool pouch, then begin setting them up on the grassy ground.
Seeing this, Ren's eyes immediately lit up. He quickly took out a thick stack of Exploding Tags from his Ninja tool pouch, handed half of them to Pakura, and smiled, "Let's add all of these."
"…Why do you carry so many Exploding Tags?"
Pakura took the Exploding Tags and weighed them. She conservatively estimated there were fifty or more. Carrying so many Exploding Tags with him, was he planning to commit mutual destruction with the enemy?
"Ahahaha, just for self-defense."
Ren chuckled, then walked to a nearby forest and began setting up. Dozens of Exploding Tags were evenly spread out and combined with some simple trigger mechanisms, and the task was complete.
On the other side, the two had already finished setting up and were standing on a tree branch, waiting for Ren.
"Alright, let's go."
Ren leaped onto the tree branch, and the three of them sped away into the distance, disappearing into the forest in no time.
Not long after they left, a series of roars came from behind them. Seeing this, they exchanged smiles and quickened their pace even further.
Over the next day, large numbers of pursuers arrived from all directions, but most were avoided in advance due to Ren's sensory abilities. Even when they encountered them, given the strength of Ren and his two companions, the pursuers couldn't last two rounds before being completely subdued.
When the Third Mizukage on the front lines received this news, he was filled with both shock and anger. Already gravely ill, the repeated major battles and the blow of this news instantly caused him to collapse on the front lines. The Kirigakure morale immediately plummeted to rock bottom, and Konoha, led by White Fang, seized the opportunity and began to gain the upper hand on the battlefield.
Led by Kosuke, the Kirigakure Ninja were routed wherever they went, completely unable to resist.
And the only three remaining members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, including Biwa Jūzō, were utterly mortified.
They had been happy to have narrowly survived the day before, only to receive news less than a day later that the Scroll of Summoning Ninja Blades had been stolen from the Village, instantly giving them a bad premonition.
Sure enough, on the afternoon of the day the news arrived, the Ninja Swords they carried suddenly turned into white smoke and disappeared while the three were in a war meeting. Noticing the gloating and hostile gazes from those around them, they instantly panicked.
Normally, relying on their Ninja Swords and the Mizukage as their backing, they had been arrogant and overbearing, and others dared not speak out.
Now, with the Mizukage ill and both the Ninja Swords and the Scroll of Summoning Ninja Blades lost, their two major backings had fallen. With their strength only slightly superior to that of a regular Jonin, they feared their prospects were grim.
Meanwhile, Ren and his two companions had already reached the border of the Land of Water, preparing to rest there briefly before crossing the sea, as it was a physically demanding task.
"Pakura, what are your plans next?"
Ren, chewing on a Soldier Ration Pill, looked at Pakura, who was raising a kettle beside him, and spoke indistinctly.
"Plans, you say…"
Pakura leaned against the tree, put down her kettle, and gazed at the rippling sea in the distance, falling into contemplation.