Killer Bee hoped the night would disguise him well. With just the two of them traveling, it should have been easy.
But he didn't know his chakra had long been marked by Rengoku.
Under Kagura's Mind Eye, the chakra reactions of Killer Bee and Yugito, these two massive clumps, were as obvious as lightbulbs in the dark.
Killer Bee had only run three kilometers when Rengoku shot out of a shadow and lunged straight at him.
This was a clone. It didn't carry much ocular power, but it did have Sage Mode.
Another tail shot out from Killer Bee's body and whipped straight at Rengoku.
Rengoku clashed with it head-on and was blasted back.
He silently calculated his Sage Chakra consumption. The sage chakra in this body wasn't much anymore.
Without Sage Mode, he could last twenty minutes. With Sage Mode, only a few minutes.
His true body was currently being healed, so he had to stall for time.
While in midair, Rengoku formed a hand seal. A large number of fireballs floated around him like fireflies.
It was Fire Style, Ghost Lantern.
The fireballs swirled through the sky and then shot toward Yugito one after another.
Killer Bee was forced to fully transform into the Tailed Beast. Huge octopus legs wrapped around Yugito to protect her.
"Rengoku! Why are you here?"
Killer Bee didn't even know whether this Rengoku was a clone or the real one.
But what he cared about more was how Rengoku found them.
Rengoku sneered, "Did you really think you two could escape the Byakugan's detection?"
Killer Bee's face darkened. Rengoku had come alone three times, but he never expected Rengoku had brought someone from the Hyuga clan.
"You think I'm scared of you? You bastard, you fool!"
Yugito was critically injured now. If she got jostled too much, she'd die instantly. If he could avoid fighting, he didn't want to fight at all.
But clearly Rengoku had already seen this weakness.
"Now that Yugito is unconscious, you think you can still walk out of here alive?"
Rengoku's words were unbelievably arrogant, but he had the strength to back them.
When the AB combo had fought him last time, even the Raikage got his arm broken.
And now Killer Bee was alone.
Killer Bee was furious. His octopus legs shot toward Rengoku like lightning.
But a clone had one advantage over the real body: Shadow Escape.
By the time the leg hit where Rengoku had been, he had already sunk into a shadow and slipped away.
He didn't attack, just stayed outside Killer Bee's attack range.
Rengoku held up a hand and beckoned, "Come on. Where's your Tailed Beast Bomb?"
Killer Bee was stuck. If he wanted to protect Yugito, he couldn't move far.
But Rengoku was using Shadow Escape nonstop, always shifting.
Octopus legs couldn't hit him, let alone a Tailed Beast Bomb that took forever to charge.
While Killer Bee considered how to break through, Rengoku's clone focused on how to stall until the main body arrived.
The two sides reached a temporary deadlock.
———
On the other side, Rengoku was coughing blood as he rushed toward Karin.
Karin had long marked Rengoku's chakra. When she sensed through Kagura's Mind Eye that his chakra was unstable, she knew he was injured.
"Shishou!"
Seeing the three thumb-sized holes in Rengoku's chest and him coughing blood, Karin panicked.
"Hurry! Shishou, hurry and bite me!"
She pulled down the clothing on her shoulder, offering the pale skin for Rengoku to bite.
The closer to her heart, the stronger her healing ability.
Although there were spots on her wrist he could bite, she immediately chose the shoulder where the healing was most effective.
Rengoku coughed once, spraying a mouthful of blood.
His clone couldn't stall Killer Bee for long. He had to get back there himself.
"Drink… the Water… of Life," He said this, then bit down on Karin's shoulder.
A sharp mix of pain and numbness surged through her. Karin let out a suppressed sound and leaned against him.
Rengoku had been stabbed with three holes in the chest, his lung punctured, and his hand wound was deep enough to see bone.
A massive surge of life force poured into him wildly.
Karin felt dizzy, vision darkening, but at least her body was fully developed now.
Her vitality was strong. After the momentary dizziness, she quickly recovered.
Rengoku's wounds healed visibly. In just a few seconds, he was completely recovered.
This was the benefit of having a healer.
Rengoku released her. Karin looked tired. Her ability consumed both her life force and chakra.
He'd been badly injured, so he absorbed quite a lot.
"Drink some Water of Life," Rengoku noticed she still hadn't taken any.
He patted her head, "I have to go right back. Don't make me worry."
If her life force dropped too low, replenishing it immediately was the only way to prevent damage.
Karin said anxiously, "But I'll fall asleep."
She worried Rengoku would get hurt again. Rengoku worried someone might harm Karin.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Rengoku created five shadow clones.
"One stays here. The other four go slaughter the Hidden Cloud."
"Karin, hide well and wait for me to come back!"
There was no time to waste, so Rengoku immediately rushed toward Killer Bee.
Leaving Karin's side, Rengoku said to the four clones, "The Akatsuki are coming. You're clones. Don't fight too hard. Just kill as many Hidden Cloud as you can before you die."
———
To protect Yugito, Killer Bee could only fully transform into the Tailed Beast and guard her with a tail.
This Rengoku clone didn't have the ocular power to use Susanoo. His strongest attack was Sage Mode.
Sage Mode greatly boosted all his stats, but killing a tens-of-meters-tall Gyuki outright was impossible.
Since this Rengoku was in Sage Mode, Killer Bee couldn't judge his exact strength.
Rengoku taunted him, "Come on, where's your Tailed Beast Bomb?"
The Tailed Beast Bomb charged slowly, and it was really hard to hit Rengoku with it.
Killer Bee snorted coldly and didn't take the bait.
Seeing this, Rengoku circled Killer Bee slowly. It looked like he was looking for an angle to attack, but he was really just stalling.
Killer Bee grew more cautious.
But after Rengoku circled him several times without attacking, Killer Bee began to suspect.
Rengoku knew he couldn't stall like this forever, so he began forming seals right in front of Killer Bee.
Fire Style! Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!
Rengoku took a deep breath and ran in circles while spitting cluster after cluster of fireballs.
It looked like he was still trying to find an attack angle.
He only used regular Fire Style, which didn't consume much chakra.
The fireballs were all blown apart by Killer Bee's octopus legs.
"Heh! Let's see how long you can protect Yugito."
When Rengoku finished spitting fireballs, even though he'd accomplished nothing, he acted like he already had victory in his hands.
———
At that moment, several kilometers away in the Hidden Cloud's main force, the sounds of battle erupted along with towering flames.
Killer Bee panicked. In Gyuki form, his throat swelled as energy surged inside him.
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