Just as he was about to continue firing Tailed Beast Bombs toward the Hidden Cloud Village, Rengoku suddenly looked toward the direction of the energy cannon.
He immediately controlled the two pairs of wings on his back to pull both of them higher.
BOOM!
The energy projectile exploded in the spot where they had just been.
The massive surge of energy spread outward, still catching the two of them in its wake.
Although the Tailed Beast Cloaks covering them kept their bodies unharmed, the sudden shockwave damaged their wings.
Rengoku and Yagura both started free-falling.
Fortunately, Yagura's Wind Release was decent, so he wasn't worried about dying from the fall. He even had the leisure to admire the scenery below. After all, not just anyone got to see things from several thousand meters up.
"Didn't think the Hidden Cloud had this kind of weapon. Which direction did that attack come from?"
Rengoku, worried his Paper Release might be discovered, used his Tailed Beast Cloak to wrap himself up and repair it.
It took some time to finish, and then he immediately flew over toward Yagura.
"I can't sense that far. Their attack range should be more than thirty kilometers away," Rengoku reached Yagura's side, recreated a new set of wings on his back, and took control again, bringing both of them back into the air.
"The Hidden Cloud actually has weapons that can attack from that far?"
Yagura was shocked, "Why didn't they use it on the battlefield?"
Rengoku shook his head, "It should be their Chakra Cannon. I didn't expect the Hidden Cloud to have already developed it."
"Maybe it's still not stable. If we hadn't launched a surprise attack from the sky, they probably wouldn't have wanted to use it yet."
Rengoku knew that this was something the Hidden Cloud would only unveil ten years later.
But considering that, a weapon capable of striking the moon a decade from now, having this kind of range now was completely reasonable.
"Still continuing?", Yagura grinned; he'd had a blast today.
Having always been oppressed by the Hidden Cloud, this was his first time turning the tables, it felt amazing.
Rengoku closed his eyes and activated Kagura's Mind Eye, sensing that Hidden Cloud ninja were already tailing them from afar.
He changed their direction midair, dodging the pursuers, and flew off toward the outer perimeter of the Hidden Cloud.
"That's enough for today. We'll hit them once every day."
"Heh! You're the boss."
Yagura's face broke into a wide grin.
The first time he had the initiative in his hands, it felt incredible.
———
At the Border of the Land of Fire—
After a fierce round of fighting, Rengoku used Null Horizon to leave the Hidden Cloud encampment entirely.
For them, a separate dimension like that was unsolvable, no way to track or follow.
The two Jinchūriki naturally couldn't find any trace of him.
Only after putting a great distance behind him did Rengoku emerge from Null Horizon.
He sensed Karin's position and moved toward her quickly.
Karin, who regularly used Kagura's Mind Eye to scan the area, immediately detected Rengoku's return and hurried out of hiding.
When she saw his face half-torn apart and the bloody holes in his arm, her heart twisted painfully.
"Shishou, how are you this badly hurt?"
Rengoku patted her hair, "It's fine. Isn't that why I've got you?"
Karin quickly rolled up her sleeve, "Shishou, hurry."
Rengoku avoided using Susanoo mainly to save pupil power for repeated missions, and also because he could rely on Karin's healing.
He grabbed her arm and bit down.
"Mmm…", Karin gave a muffled whimper as her chakra and cellular energy flowed into Rengoku's body.
The torn wounds on his face began to close at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The injuries on his arm sealed up one after another, and even the hole in his palm quickly regenerated.
Karin, however, was left gasping for breath, collapsing against Rengoku.
Rengoku took off her backpack, rummaged inside, and found a bottle of the Water of Life.
"You've done well. Drink it straight."
The Water of Life could be used by drinking or by infusion, both worked about the same, though drinking it was slower.
Rengoku's injuries weren't too severe, and Karin hadn't lost too much life energy, so drinking was fine.
"As long as Shishou's all better."
Seeing Rengoku recover, Karin smiled and began drinking the Water of Life to replenish her life energy.
The moment it hit her stomach, a powerful vitality spread throughout her body, making her feel warm all over.
"Hiccup!", She let out a small burp, suddenly feeling drowsy.
"Shishou… why do I… feel kind of…"
"Zzz! Zzz!"
She leaned against Rengoku and fell asleep instantly.
"Hm?"
'Why is Karin so sleepy?'
Rengoku knew a bit about medical matters. After checking her condition, he realized she'd simply fallen asleep from overeating.
Since she drank it instead of infusing it, the energy from the Water of Life had overwhelmed her system, it was like she'd eaten an enormous meal.
Her body's metabolism required rest to process it, which naturally made her sleepy.
Rengoku couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't wake her; instead, he closed his eyes and activated Kagura's Mind Eye.
They were very far from the Hidden Cloud, which hadn't begun searching in this direction.
He shifted position slightly to make Karin more comfortable, then let sheets of paper drift from his body, forming a blanket that covered her.
His Sharingan spun, and from the shadow beneath his feet, a clone rose up again.
"Keep synthesizing Sage Chakra. We'll attack again tomorrow."
"I'll go scout the Land of Lightning, you stand guard."
The clone nodded, "Don't worry, I've got it."
———
Compared to Rengoku's peace and comfort, the Hidden Cloud camp was shrouded in misery.
Rengoku's Inferno Descent had burned straight through the entire base, and that was with Sage-enhanced Fire Release.
Such a wide-range Fire Release consumed a massive amount of Sage Chakra; otherwise, Rengoku wouldn't have exited Sage Mode so quickly.
The destructive power of Sage Jutsu needed no explanation, ordinary Water Releases couldn't extinguish it.
Three hundred were burned to death on the spot, and over five hundred were injured.
The air was filled with cries of agony.
Killer B and Yugito, their wounds freshly healed, both looked grim after hearing the casualty report.
"Rengoku's that strong?"
Yugito's face was heavy, one arm in a sling; the injury would heal in a couple of days.
It had been three years since their last battle, and the range of his Fire Release had multiplied several times, its power exponentially greater.
The key issue: they had no idea how he got in, or how he escaped.
Their Hidden Cloud sensory ninja might as well have been useless.
Killer B, who was less injured, was already fully recovered.
"Even though we lost a lot of men, Rengoku took a hard hit too."
"With those wounds, he won't be moving so easily for a while."
Yugito nodded slightly, "He's attacking so recklessly, probably because Konoha's under heavy pressure."
"We have to get this information back immediately, and let the boss decide our next move."
To Killer B, a village's Kage fighting alone was already a sign of desperation.
Now that Rengoku's arm was injured, it was an even better opportunity.
Killer B's face grew serious, "I'll send the intel. You handle the camp."
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