"This is troublesome…"
Ren looked at the turbulent sea in front of him and the Anbu surrounding him from behind, his expression grim.
No wonder these people only chased and didn't attack; they were waiting for me here.
"Nowhere left to run, right?"
Ao leaped down from a tree branch. Although his face was covered by a mask, his chilling voice still sent shivers down one's spine.
"Attack—"
Before he could finish speaking, the actions of Ren and his companions completely stunned all the Anbu, including him.
The three of them hesitated for a moment, then turned in unison and ran towards the sea, walking on water. In no time, they had put some distance between themselves and the Anbu.
Lunatics!
Everyone thought this simultaneously. Although Ninja could walk on water for a period, crossing the entire sea by doing so was nothing short of a fool's dream. It would require an immense amount of Chakra. Even for Kirigakure who specialized in water combat, they would likely exhaust their Chakra and drown before covering even a third of the distance.
"Captain Ao, should we…?"
The two Anbu who had previously been bypassed by Ren and his group stood on either side. The Kirigakure with the long pole on his back stepped forward, asking hesitantly.
"Chase! The Village cannot lose the Tailed Beast. Even if all of us sacrifice ourselves here, we cannot let the Tailed Beast sink into the sea!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ao chased after them, stepping on the sea surface to pursue Ren and his companions.
"Let's go, he's right."
The Anbu who had previously used his finger to release liquid attacks on Ren and the others took two steps forward, looked around at everyone, then chased after them with the Anbu carrying the long pole.
The remaining Anbu, seeing that both the Captain and Vice Captain had already given chase, could only silently follow.
Another chase began, the only change being the location.
"Now I finally understand why your Hidden Mist Tracking Unit is renowned throughout the Ninja World…"
Ren looked at the Tracking Unit, lined up in a single file behind him, moving at an incredible speed across the sea. He immediately understood why, among so many Tracking Units in the Ninja World, only the Mist Hidden Tracking Unit stood out.
It was nothing else but their suicidal spirit. While sacrifice is a normal Ninja's resolve, who wants to die when they can live? For a group like the Mist Hidden Tracking Unit, who would fight to the death even with rogue Ninja, it would be strange if they weren't famous.
"Attack!"
Seeing Ren and his companions already within attack range, Ao quickly gave the command to attack, intending to end the fight swiftly. After all, they were still near the coast and wouldn't have problems for a while. But if the enemy led them into the open sea, it would truly become a desperate struggle.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Water Release: Teppoudama!"
"Water Release: Water Stream Whip!"
Being on the sea, the power of Water Release Ninjutsu increased dramatically. The sea immediately became turbulent, and several water dragons soared into the sky, circling for a moment before flying forward!
"Dodge first!"
Ren shouted to his two Shadow Clones. After all, they were currently under the Transformation Jutsu. If they were hit by an attack, the Transformation Jutsu would immediately dispel. The Fujiwara Trading Company, even if they had passed the checkpoint, surely hadn't gone far. Now was not the time to expose themselves.
Just as the three dodged the several water dragons attacking from the air, before they could catch their breath, arm-thick water whips and highly destructive water bullets whistled towards them.
Ren wanted to retaliate, but to avoid exposing the Shadow Clones, he could only evade the fight for now.
"This isn't over."
Ao waved his hand, signaling. Several Anbu who had finished their attacks returned to the formation, and another team quickly stepped forward, launching a second wave of attacks.
"Create distance, we'll deal with them later."
"Wave Riding!"
Ren let out a low shout. The speed of the three underfoot suddenly increased. While dodging the enemy's new wave of attacks, they also widened the distance.
This was Ren's improved version of the Second Hokage's Water Release, with a slight infusion of his own Ice Release power, further reducing Chakra consumption. Of course, this technique is currently only applicable to Ice Release Ninja.
"Speed up, catch them, don't let them escape!"
"Yes!"
Seeing Ao already charging ahead, the others could only reluctantly accelerate to keep up, at the cost of increased Chakra and stamina consumption.
After a quarter of an hour, Ao noticed the coastline completely out of sight behind them, and his expression couldn't help but turn grim.
This was already considered the open sea. If they went any deeper, they might not even have enough Chakra to return.
Just as Ao was hesitating, he suddenly noticed Ren and his two companions in front of him, whose speed had drastically decreased until they stopped. His expression immediately brightened.
It seemed their Chakra was almost depleted. They would round them all up here!
"Phew, this distance is about right. Finally, we can counterattack."
Ren looked at the rapidly approaching Anbu, a smile appearing on his face. He then turned his gaze to the Shadow Clones on either side.
"First, disrupt their formation!"
Ren let out a low shout, and then all three simultaneously formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
The surrounding seawater began to rapidly spin upwards, and moments later, a massive water vortex formed, continuously rotating on the sea surface. Then, under Ren's Chakra control, the water vortex transformed into a massive wave, crashing down from tens of meters high onto the pursuing forces!
The Shadow Clones beside him were not to be outdone, launching two consecutive attacks.
"Lightning Release: Gratitude Wave!"
"Lightning Release: Earth Corridor!"
Two bolts of lightning, obscured by the water vortex, quietly merged into the towering giant wave, carrying fine electrical currents within, unnoticed by anyone.
"Defend!"
Ao and the others were caught completely off guard. No one expected the individuals who had been desperately fleeing to suddenly launch an attack on them. It was too late to dodge, so they could only group together in small teams to defend.
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
Several water walls were erected, but they still appeared precarious in the face of the approaching giant wave.
"Boom!"
The giant wave crashed down, and the water walls, under continuous impact, became shaky, but thankfully, they managed to withstand the wave with no real danger.
"Phew, prepare—"
After seeing that everyone was fine, Ao was about to give the order for a counterattack. Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly felt a jolt of numbness throughout his body, which became incredibly stiff. The same happened to everyone else.
"Heh heh, you like to chase, do you?"
Ren sneered, rapidly formed hand seals, and let out a low shout.
"Storm Release: Storm Cloud Wave!"
Ren slammed his hands down. As water splashed up from the sea surface, hundreds of thousands of tiny electrical currents rapidly spread through the water, covering the entire battlefield in the blink of an eye.
"Ugh…"
Everyone, who had just felt their bodies regain a little flexibility, hadn't had time to dodge when they experienced the thrill of an electric shock for a second time. Intense electrical currents continuously penetrated their bodies through the water, paralyzing them once again.