Tenten stepped forward, positioning herself in front of Rock Lee. She activated her first ability—a barrage of various throwing weapons flew from her hands in every direction.
"Still don't get it? Your skills are completely countered by mine."Temari sneered, spreading open her giant fan and activating her second ability.
"Gale Snare!"
A web-like gust of wind surged forward, blowing away all of Tenten's projectiles in a single sweep.
Meanwhile, Kankuro directed his puppet Crow toward Tenten and Lee. With a sudden flick of his fingers, Crow's mouth opened wide.
—That was the cast animation for one of Crow's abilities.
"Leaf Shadow Dance!"
A sharp voice called out. Kankuro assumed it was Rock Lee's move and opened his mouth, ready to mock.
But before he could say anything, Hayashi Ren's figure suddenly appeared right in front of him—elegant, calm, and lightning-fast.
Startled, Kankuro had no time to react. He was knocked into the air on the spot.
Ren followed up with a Leaf Whirlwind kick, a few basic attacks, and before Kankuro could even blink—
He was sent straight back to base.
[Hayashi Ren has slain Kankuro.][GODLIKE!]
"So, you're the ones bullying Konoha's ninja?"
Ren's voice rang out coldly. With a "boom", a deep blue Smite landed squarely on Temari.
Startled, Temari tried to Flash away, but just then, a red glow descended from above—a slow debuff.
It was Rock Lee's support ability: Exhaust.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu — Rasengan!"
With a loud "whoosh," Ren created a shadow clone. The two of them charged up Rasengans and slammed them into Temari in perfect synchronization.
"BOOM!"
The twin Rasengans obliterated Temari on impact.
[Hayashi Ren has slain Temari.][DOUBLE KILL!][Hayashi Ren is BEYOND GODLIKE!]
The system notification chimed through the battlefield, and both Rock Lee and Tenten were overjoyed.
"Ren-kun, you truly are a powerful ninja! Once this match is over, I hope we can spar one-on-one!"Lee turned to Hayashi Ren, eyes burning with admiration.
"We'll see after the game."Ren responded casually.
"Yes, Ren-kun!"
Lee was so hyped he couldn't contain himself anymore. He let out a shout:
"Alright! Then let's take down this inner bot turret, ASAP!"
Like he had just been injected with pure adrenaline, Lee charged straight toward the botlane inner turret, clearing waves as he went.
"Uh… I hope you can forgive Lee. He's, well… always like this."Tenten looked a bit embarrassed as she explained, glancing at Lee who had just thrown a punch at the turret.
"It's fine. Honestly, I think it's great."Ren chuckled lightly, casually strolling toward the inner turret alongside her.
As she watched his back, something seemed to stir in Tenten. Her cheeks reddened slightly. She caught up to him and asked gently:
"Ren-kun, do you usually use ninja tools?"
"Not really."
By this time, Ren had already reached the enemy's inner turret. He punched it once, calmly answering her question.
Ninja tools weren't exactly cheap.
Even the more basic ones cost a fair bit, and given that he and Naruko didn't have much spending money to begin with—plus the fact that his meridians were previously blocked, and he had hoped to be carried by Naruko and Sako—Ren had never seriously considered using ninja tools.
But now?
He had the basic Sage Body, Rasengan, and Shadow Clone Jutsu. Compared to all that, ninja tools just didn't seem necessary anymore.
"Oh, I see… Well, if you ever do decide to buy ninja tools, you can come to me. My family runs a ninja tools shop—I can get you a really good discount."Tenten offered softly, her voice filled with sincerity.
"Sounds good. Thanks."
Ren nodded.
Right after Lee landed a powerful kick on the turret, Ren followed up, and together they destroyed the inner tower. Without wasting a second, Ren turned and vanished into the jungle once more.
"To come and go like a shadow… That's the kind of youthful spirit I admire!"
Lee clenched his fist, tears welling in his eyes as he watched Ren disappear into the forest.
Back on the enemy side, Kiba and the others noticed that Ren had gone missing—and their hearts immediately jumped into their throats.
Each of them grew nervous, their movements faltering—because none of them knew when or where Hayashi Ren might strike next.