Inside the strange space of the Null Horizon Eye Technique—
Rengoku didn't get hit by the Tailed Beast Bomb. He had malicious intent sensing. The moment he noticed something was wrong, he slipped straight in here and wasn't hurt at all.
It was just that after this second fight ended, Rengoku had a deeper understanding of Killer B's strength.
No doubt about it, the strength gap between Yugito and Killer B as jinchuriki was like heaven and earth.
As the Eight Tails Gyuki, second only to the Nine Tails Kurama, whether it was the speed of those octopus legs or that overwhelming chakra, the average ninja really couldn't fight that.
Rengoku had thought Amaterasu could restrain him a little. He didn't expect that the few times he had used Amaterasu before had long since been fully analyzed by Killer B.
Even after full tailed beast transformation, he could still cloak himself in the tailed beast coat.
Rengoku calculated the drain of his eye power. Whether it was Amaterasu or Susanoo, they cost more than Null Horizon.
'Looks like I have to change tactics.'
From inside the alternate space, Rengoku watched the Hidden Cloud people putting out fires, rescuing, searching.
But it was obvious they still didn't know how Rengoku had disappeared.
Rengoku came out of Null Horizon only after reaching a place with no one around.
This time his eye power had dropped by about one seventh.
But the results weren't ideal.
Only now did he undo Sage Mode.
But he clearly sensed that after undoing Sage Mode, his body became worse at storing senjutsu chakra.
This fight hadn't lasted long, so he still had plenty of senjutsu chakra left.
He quietly thought about tomorrow's tactics while he summoned a new clone from his shadow.
He reached out and put the senjutsu chakra back into the clone.
Rengoku glanced at the clone. A plan formed.
After letting the clone shrink back into his shadow, he used Kagura Mind's Eye to locate Karin, then rushed to meet her.
———
Karin was by a small creek at this moment.
After scattering some leftover potato chip crumbs, she waited for the fish to gather.
When enough fish came, she slapped the surface.
A ring of runes rose from the surrounding water. The fish, startled, tried to escape but couldn't get out of the range.
Karin scooped fish while glancing northeast. She had already sensed that Rengoku was heading her way.
That meant Rengoku's mission went smoothly.
Karin tossed the fish onto the bank, then eagerly waited for Rengoku's arrival.
Before long, Rengoku leapt out from the woods.
"Shishou, you're back!", Karin cheered and grabbed Rengoku, looking him up and down.
"Great, you didn't get hurt today."
Rengoku first washed off the blood on him in the creek, "You caught this many fish, can you even finish them?"
Karin chuckled and pulled out a small pouch.
"I brought grilling spices. Shishou should grill fish for me."
Rengoku patted her head and laughed scoldingly, "You really treat an outside mission like a camping trip."
Karin shook her head, "No I don't, I only caught fish because I sensed Shishou was in good condition."
Rengoku was planning to grind down Hidden Cloud anyway. He could rest whenever he wanted now.
"Alright then, I'll grill fish for you."
"Hurray!"
Karin took out a sharp fruit knife and some salt and other seasonings from her ninja pouch.
Rengoku took the knife and started preparing the fish. Karin went to gather firewood and suitable branches.
When the fish were cleaned, Karin had the fire ready.
With the fish skewered, Rengoku breathed fire to ignite the pile and started slowly grilling.
They were dozens of kilometers away from the Hidden Cloud forces, far beyond their detection range.
But to eat in peace, Rengoku still sent out his clone.
He told it to monitor Hidden Cloud's movements.
———
Hidden Cloud had originally been a very united village, so spies were relatively few.
But the Land of Lightning's commerce was highly developed, so caravans coming through naturally included information peddlers.
With the village wrecked like this by the Mizukage, that information spread on its own.
Rengoku had shown great power on the Fire Country border, using the same trick to throw Hidden Cloud's squads into chaos all by himself.
News that he killed hundreds on the first day also leaked.
The ones most concerned about all this were, of course, the Hidden Stone people.
"Hidden Sand really can't be counted on."
Onoki frowned as he cursed while reading the intel summary.
He saw the reports of Rengoku attacking alone and the Mizukage bombing Hidden Cloud.
It was obvious Konoha wanted to force Hidden Cloud to retreat.
If Hidden Sand were still in the game, Hidden Stone could test Konoha together with them.
But now if Hidden Sand sent people again, the timing would already be off.
"How is the Mizukage flying? Can a tailed beast's tail turn into wings?"
This question was actually serious. Yagura's mirror-image clone already had very high combat ability.
Now he could fly, which was even more outrageous.
Onoki kept thinking about the intel saying Yagura could fly.
Compared to Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone wasn't afraid of airborne enemies.
Because Onoki could use the Super Light and Heavy Boulder Technique to easily give their own people a flight buff.
From the perspective of theoretical high level forces, Hidden Cloud was already being held down.
Hidden Stone had two jinchuriki and Onoki.
Konoha had Orochimaru, plus Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi, two Mangekyou users who specialized in countering jinchuriki.
With jinchuriki suppressed and Onoki not going to the front lines lightly, if Hidden Sand were also here, they could make an attempt.
But now they didn't have enough intel on Akatsuki.
Just then, while Onoki was thinking, an Anbu knocked and entered.
"Lord Tsuchikage, intel on Deidara."
Onoki's eyes lit up. He took the report and read it.
Deidara had other Akatsuki members with him, and negotiations failed.
But using the tracking item planted on him, Hidden Stone found that Deidara was already flying toward Hidden Cloud.
Also, Kakuzu had disappeared.
Looked like Akatsuki had teamed up with Konoha again.
"Tell Kurotsuchi and Han to bring our people back, and also contact Rasa of Hidden Sand."
"And… tell Han to try whether tailed beast transformation can make wings."
Onoki thought for a moment and gave the order.
———
High above the Land of Fire.
A giant clay bird carried four people.
"Your flight ability is pretty good. It really came in handy this time."
Kakuzu was flying this high for the first time. He really liked this convenient and fast travel method.
"Heh! This is art. More than just pretty good."
Deidara wasn't modest at being praised. He hyped himself up even more.
Kakuzu was in a good mood and didn't argue with him.
Even though Deidara was young, Konan said they could take him in, so Kakuzu did.
"Sasori, we have to split up this time. It's a pity I won't get to see your art."
Because he had already seen scenes of interacting with Sasori, Deidara acted familiar.
Sasori: "…"
Sasori didn't respond. He didn't understand why Deidara acted like they were close, but he didn't dislike it either.
Seeing Sasori stay silent, Deidara turned again.
"Master Senku, will I get to see your Holy Seal this time?"
Deidara's first goal in joining Akatsuki was to meet Pain. The second was discussing art with Sasori. The third was witnessing Senku's abilities.
For him, art was above everything.
Pain's Shinra Tensei fascinated him. Senku's Holy Seal fascinated him. Discussing art with Sasori fascinated him just as much.
Joining Akatsuki let him do all that, so of course he joined.
Senku closed his eyes slightly, rolling his prayer beads with a world-weary monk aura.
"If we encounter rampaging magical beasts, you may see it."
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