Meanwhile, several hundred meters away from the main battlefield, another fight had already torn open a clearing in the forest.
A dull impact shook the trees.
Pakura crashed hard into a thick tree trunk, and the ancient wood groaned under the force. Splinters burst outward like shrapnel, scattering across the dirt. Her back slammed against the bark, and pain shot through her body, sharp enough to steal her breath for a moment.
Her arms hurt even more.
The bones beneath her skin throbbed violently, and the blood in her chest churned as if it had been shaken by a hammer strike. She clenched her teeth, refusing to let out a sound. Then, before the impact could fully settle, she kicked off the tree trunk and rolled sideways.
The moment she moved—
Ren's fist arrived.
Bang!
His punch smashed directly into the place where Pakura's body had been a split second earlier.
The hard tree trunk caved inward.
Cracks spread from the impact point like a spiderweb, crawling across the bark with terrifying speed. The whole tree trembled, leaves falling like rain.
Ren looked at the dent his fist had left behind.
"Missed."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Without wasting a breath, he twisted his waist and lunged toward Pakura again.
Pakura's eyes flashed with shock and anger. The numbness in her arms had not faded yet, leaving her movements slightly sluggish. She could only twist her body awkwardly to dodge his charge, then swept a sharp kick toward Ren's waist, trying to force him back and create space.
Ren's eyes moved.
His hand shot out.
Slap!
His palm caught her ankle with terrifying accuracy.
Before Pakura could pull back, Ren yanked hard and lifted her entire body into the air.
But Pakura was not an ordinary ninja.
The instant her body lost balance, she planted one hand against the ground, using it as a pivot. Her other leg snapped upward like a scorpion's tail, aiming a brutal kick at Ren's temple.
The strike was fierce and fast.
If it landed, it could split stone.
At the critical moment, Ren leaned backward. His free arm rose to guard, while the hand gripping Pakura's ankle slammed downward with explosive force.
Boom!
Pakura's body struck the ground.
Dust erupted around her.
The impact numbed her bones, but it finally gave her the moment she needed.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
Blazing Chakra surged from her body. The scorching flames twisted into a massive hand-like shape, reaching toward Ren from a distance with enough heat to burn the moisture from the air itself.
Ren immediately stepped back, dodging sideways as the searing hand swept past him.
The ground where he had stood cracked and dried.
Taking advantage of that brief opening, Pakura scrambled to her feet and rapidly widened the distance between them. Her chest rose and fell violently as she gasped for breath, her eyes locked on Ren with disbelief.
"How is this possible?"
Her voice was low, filled with anger and confusion.
"How did your Taijutsu improve so quickly?"
The last time they fought at the border, their exchange had been brief but memorable. Back then, the difference between them had not been overwhelming. Whether it was Taijutsu, Fire Release, or the clash against her Scorch Release, Pakura had never felt truly suppressed. She had not gained a clear advantage, but she had not suffered much either.
That was why she had been confident this time.
After receiving Chiyo's favor and learning several refined combat methods from her, Pakura believed she could defeat Ren in one clean encounter and repay the humiliation from before.
But from the very first exchange, when she blocked his punch with both arms, she realized something was wrong.
She had fallen into his rhythm.
His strength had changed.
His pressure had changed.
Even his timing felt sharper.
Pakura could not accept it.
Had Ren been hiding his true strength last time?
Or had he improved again in less than half a month?
The answer was actually very simple.
It was the Super Strength Technique.
Ren had added the Super Strength Technique.
Pakura was powerful, but she was not a Taijutsu specialist. Her close-combat skill was solid, yet she relied far more on Scorch Release and battle instincts than raw physical suppression. In terms of pure strength, she was not naturally superior to male ninja of the same rank.
During their last confrontation, Ren's Taijutsu had only been slightly weaker than hers, while his swordsmanship had already been stronger.
But now, after his Super Strength Technique reached the Friendly stage, even a small amount of Chakra-enhanced force was enough to make Pakura struggle to block him head-on.
Ren gently flexed his wrists.
His calm gaze settled on her.
"Let's end the warm-up here."
His tone was light, but the killing intent beneath it was real.
"It's time to get serious."
Pakura's expression darkened.
"…That's what I wanted to say."
She pulled a kunai from her ninja pouch and leaned forward, preparing to charge. At the same time, her other hand rose before her chest as she mobilized the Chakra inside her body.
"Scorch Release—Continuous Stars!"
Several scorching white fireballs burst into existence around her, then shot forward like blazing meteors.
Ren formed hand seals at nearly the same moment.
"Water Release: Rampaging Water Waves!"
Although he had not relied heavily on Water Release recently, his mastery of Wild Water Wave had already reached a high level. The moment he released the technique, a surging fan-shaped wave erupted from him and crashed toward Pakura's Scorch Release fireballs.
The two forces collided.
Instead of being extinguished like ordinary flames, the Scorch Release reacted violently.
Hissssss!
A piercing sound filled the clearing.
Blinding white light exploded through the water as scorching heat and moisture clashed together. Steam expanded in all directions, rising like a boiling cloud and swallowing the battlefield.
The fog blocked both their vision.
Pakura's heart tightened.
She stopped instinctively.
Through the thick white steam, she saw Ren's figure blur.
Then it split.
One shadow became many.
Phantom clones and Water Clones appeared around her from different angles, each holding a sword stance. Cold killing intent pressed inward, layering over itself until the clearing felt like a cage of blades.
Ren's voice came from everywhere at once.
"Instant Hell Shadow Kill Formation—Activate!"
The next instant, silver flashed.
Just like Minato's golden storm from earlier, Ren's figure began moving rapidly through the mist-covered clearing. His speed could not compare to the Yellow Flash, but it carried a sharp, relentless rhythm of its own.
Silver arcs tore through the vapor.
The Hatake Sword Style descended upon Pakura from all directions.
Clang!
Pakura blocked the first slash with her kunai.
Pain shot through her arm.
The webbing between her thumb and index finger went numb almost instantly.
But Ren did not stop.
Blade light poured down like rain.
One slash.
Then another.
Then another.
The attacks came so quickly that Pakura had no time to breathe. She pushed her body to its limit, using footwork, kunai blocks, and the scorching fireballs around her to barely avoid being cut down.
Even then, she was being forced back.
No.
Too fast.
Too heavy.
If this continued, she would lose within moments.
Pakura gritted her teeth and squeezed out more Chakra from deep inside her body. More than a dozen scorching white fireballs ignited around her at once, spinning into a tight ring that surrounded her entire body.
The fireballs rotated around her front, back, sides, head, and feet.
A blazing defensive shell formed around Pakura, almost like a deadly orbit of miniature suns. Any attack from any direction would have to pass through that ring of heat first.
Even approaching it made the moisture in the air vanish.
The ground beneath her cracked and dried.
"Scorch Release: Moonflower Protection!"
Ren halted at the edge of the heat zone.
For a moment, even he was speechless.
No way…
Scorch Release could be used like this?
He had to admit, Pakura's response was excellent. If she had not created this defensive ring, his sword storm would likely have defeated her within ten exchanges.
But now she had turned Scorch Release into a moving fire wall.
Getting close would be dangerous.
Ren tested it immediately.
Two Water Clones rushed in from different angles.
The instant they approached the spinning fireballs—
Fsssh!
Both clones evaporated into steam.
Their memories and feedback returned to Ren, giving him two more layers of the Desperate Troops Will Win buff.
Ren's eyes narrowed.
Good.
Then he would try something else.
Using the Substitution Jutsu again, he shifted back to a stable position and formed hand seals at high speed.
"Snake."
"Dragon."
"Rabbit."
"Tiger."
Chakra surged through his throat.
Pakura's expression changed.
Ren inhaled deeply.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A roar erupted.
A fierce orange-red dragon burst from Ren's mouth, twisting through the clearing with majestic violence. The flame dragon was massive, its burning body coiling through the steam, its head raised as if it truly intended to devour the world.
But this was not an ordinary Great Dragon Fire.
The scales of the dragon shimmered with faint scorching white radiance.
The heat it released carried a violent aura that seemed capable of burning everything in its path.
Pakura's eyes widened.
That heat…
That sensation…
It was frighteningly close to Scorch Release.
The blazing dragon tore through the clearing and rushed straight toward Pakura's Moonflower Protection.
The rotating white fireballs met the dragon head-on.
For one brief moment, the forest fell silent.
Then—
The flames collided.
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