"Time to reset and recover a bit. Then I'll solo the Lesser Dragon."Hayashi Ren murmured to himself.
Once his health and energy were restored, he headed straight for the dragon pit.
Inside the lair, a crimson-scaled Lesser Dragon lay curled on the ground. The moment Hayashi Ren approached, the dragon suddenly rose to its feet, wings spreading wide as it let out a thunderous roar — as if saying:
"Want to kill me? Better call your whole squad."
"Sorry, but I'm soloing you today."Ren chuckled, answering the dragon directly, and immediately launched into a Leaf Shadow Dance, his kick landing squarely against the dragon's thick hide.
"ROAR!"
The Lesser Dragon howled in fury. Though the attack didn't knock it into the air — thanks to its massive size — the blow was clearly an insult to its pride.
"I'm a majestic dragon, and you think you can insult me like that?! Just one puny human?!"
With a furious roar, the dragon swiped at Hayashi Ren with a massive claw.
Ren tanked the blow head-on, only losing about two health bars, and in a flash — "whoosh!" — he cast Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Ren shouted, and together with his clone, he unleashed a synchronized kick straight into the dragon.
The dragon's HP instantly dropped to one-third.
"RAAAGHHH!"
The Lesser Dragon shrieked and retaliated, smacking Ren backward with another claw swipe.
Still, Ren took the hit without flinching. A few well-placed basic attacks followed, and finally—
[Hayashi Ren has slain the Lesser Dragon!]
A system alert sounded.
Back in the battlefield, Neji and the others clenched their fists in frustration, eyes locking on the now-dark dragon pit. Even without vision, they could imagine it clearly: the dragon's lifeless body sprawled across the lair.
"So what if he got the dragon?"Neji muttered bitterly from midlane."Victory will still be ours in the end."
"Hmph. Victory belongs to us."Sako (female Sasuke counterpart) scoffed in response.
With that, she cast a Fireball Jutsu directly at him, then lunged forward. Her Sharingan spun rapidly, and with a precise step, she executed a Leaf Shadow Dance of her own. As the fireball dissipated, her foot was already closing in — ready to strike Neji right under the chin.
At that moment, Sako was overflowing with confidence.
She truly believed she could solo kill Neji — having forgotten just how devastatingly Neji had dominated her in earlier fights.
Not that it was entirely unjustified.
Neji had already been killed three times by Hayashi Ren, dropping two levels below her. And now, with Ren holding the Lesser Dragon buff, it wasn't unreasonable for her to think Neji was at a disadvantage.
So she got cocky.
"Trying to match me in taijutsu? You've got guts, I'll give you that."Neji said, surprised at first, then smiled faintly."But you've stepped into my Eight Trigrams zone."
"I know that," Sako laughed, "but so what? My Leaf Shadow Dance is already about to hit you!"
Just as her foot was about to connect, a loud burst rang out — "BOOM!"
A glowing blue chakra aura erupted around Neji as his body began to spin rapidly.
Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!
Sako's kick was instantly deflected, completely nullified.
At the same time, an Eight Trigrams diagram lit up beneath Neji's feet.
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
He unleashed a blinding flurry of strikes. Like a storm of fists, his attacks locked Sako down completely — preventing her from using any skills.
She had no choice but to Flash (teleport) out.
ZING!
A golden flash erupted, and Sako teleported away — escaping Neji's relentless combo.
But she hadn't yet left the Eight Trigrams zone.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Neji followed up with a palm thrust that sent a compressed wave of chakra slamming into her, knocking her backward.
Then, drawing in a massive surge of chakra, he extended both hands.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Gates Collapse!"
He threw a punch so powerful it seemed capable of tearing the sky apart.
Sako's eyes widened in panic.
She knew—if that blow landed, she'd be instantly killed. No second chances.
"Not your time to die just yet!"
Just as she closed her eyes, bracing for the inevitable—
A voice rang out.
A flash of golden light appeared in front of her.
Hayashi Ren had arrived.
He took the full brunt of the attack on her behalf.
His health bar dropped by half in an instant — like his lifeforce was being burned away.