Aside from the palm in Kung Fu that must drop from above to bloom, there is another move that reaches full power only when cast from height. Its name is Heavenfall Strike.
High ground and strike. Heavenfall Strike.
This was the signature of Ren's first loadout, the Lone Swordsman, and the move Ren has refined and mastered more than any other.
To push its power and style to the limit, Ren bled mind and heart for years, optimizing and improving the move until, with his current strength and mastery, there was nothing more to change.
This finger sword has left the original Heavenfall behind.
Because the Lone Swordsman's art and power do not match Ren's.
The splendor of this blade cannot be worded. Not even Cao Zhi restored or Li Bai reborn could describe it.
Any word, term, or line, before the world shattering blaze of that cut, is pale and thin.
Its point was A's chest.
Many think Ren loves to kill because he is good at it. He does not. He does not see himself as blood hungry.
On the contrary, he loves life.
He loves and respects his own life, and the lives of others.
He kills because he must, because he can, and because the other side ought to and can be killed.
A did not belong in that set. Not now. He was too strong. Ren would not risk the chance by stabbing at brow or throat.
He had schemed, prepared, and played out the mind games for one fleeting window. If he lost it by underestimating A, everything would be wasted.
Chest and torso were the better price to performance. The safer choice.
The brilliant blade of true-qi chakra and extreme cold fell for A's left chest. At the last instant, A twisted in air and shifted the hit toward his right.
Ren's face did not change. He had accounted for that.
If this finger sword had aimed for A's throat, he had a good chance to slip it. Aiming for the left chest was different.
If he did not move, the right half of his heart would be pierced. If he moved right, he might clear it, but he might hand the strike to the left half of his heart.
So he could only slip left and take it in the right chest.
Even with the winner clear and the loser about to fall, they were still playing mind. They still chose the safer line.
The brilliant sword cored A's chest. The alien mix of extreme cold true-qi and chakra raged through him, freezing limb and bone, locking his organs.
System notice: "Congratulations, host! Top-tier master defeated. Reward unlocked: [Skyblade · Divine Armament]."
Ren did not listen to the janky system.
Man, what can I say. Mamba out.
Like a shard of icy meteor, A crashed to the paving. He had gone down.
"Commander."
"Sir."
"Lord A."
The ring that had shown only one opening now gaped again at A's fall. The Cloud panicked.
They could not grasp how Ren, clearly slipping, and A, certain to win, flipped so hard in a blink.
Twenty Four Seasons Godshock Point: Major Snow.
Ren flicked out a flurry. Extreme cold true-qi and chakra split into a storm of frost darts. They lanced into the disordered Cloud ring and tore the opening wider.
Heaven does not cut every road.
From certain death, Ren carved a way to live.
On the thirteenth and last redirect of Moonstep Grace, he gathered Tsunade and sprinted through the hole while the Cloud reeled. In a blink they were hundreds of meters away.
Gone.
"Leave me. I am fine. Chase Tsunade and Ren."
A rolled to his feet. He crushed the pain in his organs and the riotous cold within. He put a calm face over it and lit Lightning Release Chakra Mode again, taking the lead in the chase.
Good. Lord A was not down, or at least not broken.
The Cloud blinked, then brightened and followed. They fanned out while keeping contact, widening the search net as they ran after Ren.
Was A truly fine?
He had taken Ren's prepared Heavenfall squarely, and the extreme cold had burned his organs. Of course he was not fine.
He was holding it down to steady the force and to lead the chase. Nothing more.
Hundreds of meters.
Kilometers.
Dozens of kilometers.
A chased and watched the gap only grow. When he finally could no longer feel Ren's ripple, he stopped, face like stone.
Only then did he understand what Ren was best at. Running.
Short range speed or long range speed, Ren ranks top five in the shinobi world, even top three. With A and the Third Raikage he is neck and neck. He might be a hair short, but the gap is tiny.
In review, A also saw where he lost, and Ren's plan.
With Ren's movement and speed, he had a chance to break the ring from the start, but A might have caught him.
If he ran too early, the Cloud might have abandoned the chase for him and thrown more bodies at Shinku's group.
So he stayed and used himself and Tsunade as bait to buy them time.
He also laid a plan midfight and waited for the shot to maim A. Only when he was sure he could not be caught did he sprint out.
A exhaled to the sky and shut his eyes. "After today, everyone will know why a mere chunin earned my respect."
Is running failure?
No. The Ren who ran is the winner. He won big.
Dropped into a trap the Cloud prepared for a long time, burdened with Tsunade, he still walked out from a ring that held a Kage level master, two or three dozen jonin, and nearly a hundred elites, and he wasted the Cloud's plan.
If that is not a big win, what is.
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