Escape!

Evening...

Lightning Style! Fake Dark!

A thick bolt of lightning crashed down with the force of an army sweep. Jiang Rui neither dodged nor evaded, charging straight into it. With a casual flip of his Kunai, he slit the opponent's throat!

The opponent's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as a spray of blood burst from his neck and he fell backward.

Jiang Rui came to a stop and glanced at the man's forehead protector. Three overlapping clouds...

Kumogakure... Why were they here?

Jiang Rui had traveled a thousand miles at breakneck speed. Near evening, as he approached the border of the Land of Iron, he discovered this small encampment.

He had kept Swift Feather active the entire way, along with his perception. As a result, the vast amount of magic power consumed by All Things had barely recovered.

He had not wanted to stir up trouble, but one of them was a High Ninja... and had sensed his presence.

The moment they saw the mask on his head, they had led the squad in an attack without a word...

Tsk. No sense of aesthetics at all.

Looking at the corpses strewn all around, Jiang Rui washed his face with Water Style in distaste, then used Mimicry to change into a trench coat.

There was no helping it. Without magic power, he could only bulldoze through them with physical resistance and lightning resistance.

And slit their throats at close range with a Kunai.

Come to think of it, he had nearly capsized too, because there had actually been a Wind Style ninja among them.

One giant windmill move had nearly sent Jiang Rui singing a swan song.

He was on the verge of breaking down. Weren't Wind Blades technically physical attacks?!! They relied on sharpness, so why did they make his entire body hurt and drain his health so rapidly?!!

Not scientific at all. Not rigorous at all!!

Of course, the root cause was that Jiang Rui had not activated Great Sage during this battle.

When faced with Jiang Rui, who had nearly overturned, Great Sage had this to say.

"Please establish a correct understanding of yourself."

Translated: Please have some fucking awareness of how bad your combat skills are!

Jiang Rui chose to ignore it.

At least the result was still pretty good.

Jiang Rui nodded. My combat skills are pretty decent! I improved again today!

Leaving aside Jiang Rui and Great Sage's daily bickering, the appearance of a Kumogakure squad at the Land of Iron's border gave Jiang Rui a sense of urgency.

After quickly cleaning up the scene, he hesitated briefly between drawing for cards and swallowing them for cultivation techniques. In the end, black mist spread out and devoured them all.

Well, he had learned how to numb himself. What did black mist devouring corpses have to do with Jiang Rui?

To Jiang Rui's surprise, he had actually analyzed an Extraordinary Characteristic.

"Lightning Style Chakra": After analysis, there is a certain chance of obtaining the "Ninja" Sequence (maximum potential: Sequence 5). After analysis, some attributes may be increased, and some other unknown effects may be obtained.

That made Jiang Rui feel rather aggrieved. What he really wanted for his fourth Sequence was something that could devour mental attacks!

Heaven and earth bore witness—he already had Thunder Priest. What use was another Lightning Style ninja?!

If he had known, he would not have swallowed it. Wouldn't a loot draw have been better?

Thus, amid Jiang Rui's frustration...

Reality proved that he had overthought it.

After Great Sage finished analyzing it, aside from gaining 0.2 Strength and reaching 1.8, he got nothing at all...

Fine... At least he suddenly felt that perhaps he would not need to return to the real world to advance. On the battlefield, Shadow-level ninjas might be scarce, but High Ninjas were not!

Just swallow them all!

After cleaning up the scene, Jiang Rui hid in a tree nearby, staying alert while quietly recovering his magic power.

Midnight was when he would act.

Night had fallen, and stars dotted the sky outside.

Yet no one had the heart to appreciate them.

Following the middle-aged ninja's experience, fleeing into the Land of Iron had been a wise choice.

Since Kumogakure's ninja forces did not dare invade the Land of Iron on a large scale, they could only station themselves at the border and send small elite squads inside to hunt them down.

As the strongest neutral nation, the Land of Iron did not stop them in the face of such restraint, tacitly allowing it.

Ito Rei gritted her teeth, threw down the Kubikiribōchō, then turned and supported the middle-aged ninja, carrying him on her back.

Of the four of them, aside from Jun Ze, whose Samehada could restore Chakra, the other two had already lost their ninja swords.

Even she now had no choice but to abandon her weapon.

"Put him down. We still have a chance to escape." Jun Ze, the young ninja leaping beside her, said coldly.

Cruel as it was, this was the ninja code: the mission came first!

Ito Rei said nothing. She silently carried the middle-aged man and followed Jun Ze step by step.

Behind them was a scar-faced woman, who suddenly said, "They've caught up. I'll hold them off."

The two in front halted for a moment. In silence, they suddenly accelerated.

The scar-faced woman watched them leave, turned around, and formed hand seals!

Water Style, Great Waterfall Technique!

Jiang Rui leaped through the night, occasionally glancing toward his right.

The map showed a squad there within the range of his perception.

He glanced at his slightly over 400 magic power, thought it over, then changed direction and continued toward the other side of the Land of Iron's border.

If Ito Rei and the others wanted to break through, their only option was the area of the Land of Iron near the sea.

Only there would it be convenient for Land of Water ninjas to receive them, and there would not be large numbers of Cloud Ninja lying in ambush.

Yet as Jiang Rui leaped onward, he thought that Kumogakure had probably considered everything he had.

Looks like he needed to pick up the pace.

Almost there!

Once they passed through this forest, they would reach the coast!

Ito Rei supported the middle-aged ninja on her back with one hand while gripping a Kunai tightly in the other.

"Someone's ahead. Prepare to break through."

The young ninja took Samehada into his hand behind his back. He glanced at Ito Rei and said coldly, "Put him down."

Then he looked at the middle-aged man again, gritted his teeth, and said coldly, "Old man, you hold them off."

"Cough, cough." Blood continued to seep through the bandages around the middle-aged man's legs, but he nodded. With one hand braced against the ground, he slipped off Ito Rei's back. Ignoring the girl's attempts to stop him, he spoke in a low voice filled with commanding authority. "Live."

Then he looked at Jun Ze. "Protect her."

Jun Ze nodded, tightened his grip on Samehada, and rushed ahead.

"No matter what happens later, charge forward. Don't stop!" The young ninja's voice remained as cold as ever.

As blinding sunlight suddenly shone across his face, the young ninja narrowed his eyes. While leaping into the air, he formed hand seals with both hands.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

A violent current of wind surged forth, and a massive tornado swept ahead, blowing away the incoming Kunai, Explosive Tags, and other tools.

At that moment, lightning shot toward him. Unable to change direction in midair, he held Samehada horizontally before him and shouted, "Ito Rei!"

In perfect coordination, she leaped up and kicked Samehada, knocking him aside while using the recoil for a second burst of momentum as she charged at the ambushing Cloud Ninja.

The Kunai in her hand flashed with a sharp glint...

After landing, Jun Ze said coldly, "Don't attack. Charge forward!"

As though she had not heard him, she drove her Kunai straight toward the opponent's throat.

Lightning flickered around the opponent, and with its enhancement, he moved at astonishing speed to evade before punching Ito Rei in the abdomen.

Puh!

Amid flashing lightning, Ito Rei spat out blood and was sent flying back beside Jun Ze.

She raised her eyes hatefully and stared at the ninja before her.

The head of Kumogakure's Anbu...

The bastard who had pursued them for Seven Heavens Seven Earths.

"Don't get angry." Jun Ze calmly analyzed from beside her. "Only that captain can stop you. In a moment, I'll hold him back. Ambush the three on the left. Don't get bogged down."

Seeing Ito Rei shake her head, he added, "Go back, then avenge us."

The Kumogakure deployment routes and defense maps in their minds had to be delivered to the Water Shadow!

They had to!!

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