After Hayashi Ren killed the Lesser Dragon, he immediately noticed Sako getting overconfident and recklessly engaging Neji in a direct fight.
Without a second's hesitation, he dashed straight to midlane. Just as Sako was about to be eliminated by Neji's finishing blow, Ren used Flash, appearing in front of her and saving her life at the last second.
He took Neji's Eight Gates Collapse Strike head-on. It hurt like hell, but at least Sako survived.
"Hayashi Ren!!"
Neji's eyes widened with rage the moment he saw him. He shouted his name through gritted teeth, as if he had just seen the man who murdered his entire clan.
"Right here."Ren responded casually with a soft laugh.
Then, with a swift movement, he launched a Leaf Shadow Dance kick straight at Neji.
"BOOM!"Neji was sent airborne.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu — Leaf Whirlwind!"
With a "whoosh," Ren formed the 'Ram' hand seal, spun on his heel, and delivered a spinning back kick.
His clone mirrored the move, delivering a synchronized spinning kick.
"BAM!"
No explanation needed.
Neji was blasted to near-death in an instant.
Ren followed up with a few basic attacks, then used Smite — and just like that, Neji went down.
[Hayashi Ren has slain Hyuga Neji.][GODLIKE!]
"Too easy."
Ren tossed the words behind him like they were nothing, already walking toward the jungle. Just before disappearing into the forest, he turned and called out:
"Sako, try not to get so worked up next time."
"Hmph."
Sako didn't reply. She just turned her head away with a tsundere pout and walked under the tower's protection, beginning her recall.
"Sigh…"
Hayashi Ren let out a breath and dove into the jungle, heading straight for the Red Buff.
"POW!"
With a solid kick, he finished off the red buff and glanced at the minimap.
Up top, Naruko and Gaara were evenly matched. Midlane was quiet now, with Sako having returned to base for healing. Overall, the lanes were holding.
Only botlane was struggling.
Even though Ren had already destroyed the outer turret, Tenten and Rock Lee were still losing trades against Kankuro.
"Looks like it's time to gank bot."Ren muttered to himself, then typed into the team chat:"Lee, Tenten, can you pull back a bit? I'm coming to gank."
"Sure, sure!""Really? Thank you, Ren-kun!"
Lee and Tenten both replied excitedly.
"Hold on, I'm on my way."
Ren turned and started heading toward the bottom lane.
Lee and Tenten exchanged glances.
"POW!"
Lee suddenly launched a Leaf Whirlwind, landing a clean hit on Kankuro. He followed up with a basic attack, cutting Kankuro's HP down to two-thirds.
"Damn it! Who the hell do you think you are?! Hayashi Ren?!"Kankuro cursed furiously.
As a puppet master, his defense and health were naturally low.
When Ren ganked him earlier, he had zero chance to resist. Ren didn't even have to finish his full combo before Kankuro was dead.
The move that haunted him most was Leaf Shadow Dance — and now Lee had just hit him with the exact same kick. That alone made Kankuro snap.
Enraged, he leapt backward while simultaneously commanding his puppet, Crow, to attack.
"Black Secret Technique: Blade Hand!"
With a slash, a poisoned dagger embedded itself into Lee's body.
The poison drained one-fourth of his health instantly and inflicted a poisoned debuff.
"Wind Style: Sickle Weasel!"
Temari followed up, sweeping her fan and releasing a violent gust of wind.
Lee was blown away, and his HP dropped to two-thirds.
"Pfft—"
The poison kicked in again. Lee's health was now below two-thirds and still falling.
"Hidden Weapon Barrage!"