Please Call Me Lord Rimuru of the Sea!

Ito Rei fell silent, then nodded. She understood that delivering the intelligence was the most important thing now.

But could they really break through?

Bitterness filled her face. Her scarf had long since been lost somewhere, and blood dripped continuously from her exposed chin.

Not to mention the Anbu captain—there were three or four High Ninja, over a dozen Chunin, an entire combat squad...

And a large number of pursuers behind them.

Suddenly! Waves of thunder erupted from the forest behind them!

Jun Ze and Ito Rei exchanged a glance.

Go!

A cold gleam flashed across Jun Ze's Samehada as it blocked the lightning racing toward him. He then viciously slashed at the opposing captain.

The man sneered disdainfully, drew his ninja blade, and clashed with him.

Ito Rei pressed both hands to the ground and unleashed an Earth Style technique. As a massive swamp swallowed several ninjas, she seized the opportunity and shot toward the chosen direction.

"Trying to run?"

A ninja opened his mouth and spat out flames, forming a blazing wave that blanketed the path ahead.

Ito Rei dodged another ninja's attack, rapidly forming hand seals in the face of the flames. An earthen wall rose from the ground.

It blocked wave after wave of attacks.

Yet the coast still seemed so far away.

Even if they managed to rush there, what then?

Without Chakra, what advantage could they possibly have even out at sea? Could reinforcements be waiting there?

At that thought, Ito Rei's eyes dimmed. Thunder exploded in the woods, and a bolt of lightning shot out.

The pursuers had arrived?

Jun Ze's gaze darkened as well. One moment of carelessness, and the other man knocked aside Samehada with a slash before kicking him flying—straight toward the incoming lightning.

But the lightning suddenly changed direction!

Just as it shot toward Ito Rei, it suddenly transformed into a figure. At the same time, lightning burst outward, striking several ninjas beside her.

A wave of paralysis swept through them!

Though Ito Rei had not reacted in time, her body instinctively counterattacked. She twisted around and slashed with her Kunai!

Two sprays of blood burst forth.

The shadow landed, blue hair drifting softly. Lightning flickered within his golden eyes, while two Water Dragons entwined with lightning rose from the distant shore and shot straight toward the remaining dozen or so ninjas.

"Yo."

Ito Rei stared blankly at the exquisitely beautiful, elf-like boy before her. He casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then raised a small hand and sent out a water whip that wrapped around Jun Ze and pulled him over.

"You are..."

Jun Ze was clearly a little stunned.

"I'm Rimuru. Give me a moment."

Jiang Rui nodded. Facing Kumogakure's counterattack, he rapidly formed hand seals, and layers of water curtains rose in quick succession!

Water Style, Water Prison Wall!

"You all right?" Only then did Jiang Rui catch his breath and ask.

At his words, Ito Rei shook her head. The young ninja looked beyond the water curtain. The enemy formation had been thrown into disarray by the earlier Water Dragon Bullet, and aside from several High Ninja, the rest had suffered severe injuries.

Though the ambush had caught them off guard, the Water Dragon Bullet was undeniably a little too powerful overall.

Rimuru... the Water Shadow's newly accepted disciple?

No wonder Ito Rei mentioned him all the time...

He stood and smiled, though his tone remained filled with unquestionable authority. "Take Ito Rei back to the Land of Water immediately. I'll stay behind and cover the retreat."

Run?

Jiang Rui touched his hair. Why should they run?

He looked toward the Cloud Ninjas. They had already regrouped, and thunderous lightning wrapped around the burly man at their head.

"Where are our men?"

His voice boomed like exploding thunder as he demanded an answer, sizing up the girl before him at the same time.

He could not believe that such a small child had broken through layer after layer of blockade and even wiped out the pursuing squad.

But the facts were right before his eyes.

Hearing that, Jiang Rui tilted his head and awkwardly rubbed his stomach...

Ah, are you asking about the people in the forest...

Great Sage probably ate them, and they even contributed 0.6 Strength and 0.2 Constitution to me.

Yep, a bunch of weaklings!

Seeing the girl remain silent, the burly man laughed in fury. "What, can't talk?"

Jiang Rui tilted his head. His clear voice carried through the water curtain.

His magic power was dropping rapidly, and at some point, his eyes had turned completely crimson.

"Hey, do you know where this is?"

"Hm?"

"This is the border of the Land of Water!"

The two heavily injured ninjas beside Jiang Rui stared in shock. Ito Rei opened her little mouth, yet no sound came out.

But Jun Ze had already tossed Samehada onto the ground and sucked in several sharp breaths.

"How... is that possible?"

The burly Kumogakure man took in every bit of it.

A sense of danger flashed through his heart, and he quickly turned to look toward the shore behind him.

At some point, the coastline had been swallowed by towering waves. Waves hundreds of meters high had been waiting there all along.

They blotted out the sky and the sun!!

Seven or eight massive Water Dragons bared their fangs and claws, roaring as though they would dive down at any moment and tear them apart!

"...Gulp..."

The burly Kumogakure man swallowed. Lightning surged around his body, and without another word, he shot toward the forest.

What kind of joke was this!

Was that an attack launched by the combined forces of Kirigakure?!!

Jiang Rui did not feel much about it. In a place with an abundant water source, he only needed to spend a tiny bit of magic power to control it. Though manipulating such an enormous volume of water did indeed consume quite a lot.

At that moment, he held his little head high, his golden eyes flashing!

His crisp voice was still full of amusement.

"Did I say you could leave!"

The next instant, he transformed into lightning and flashed to the burly man's side.

Playing with lightning?

Nintaijutsu?

Stimulating your cells?

Could you possibly be faster than lightning?

Killing intent flooded his heart. Lightning flickered at the corners of his eyes as Jiang Rui curled his lips. Die!

The monstrous waves crashed down, and the Water Dragons howled as they charged toward the confused mass of ninjas.

As Jiang Rui's Kunai slashed out, the burly man blocked it with a ninja blade!

Amid Jiang Rui's smile, water surged past, and countless Water Blade Storms rose up, swallowing both of them in a brutal grinding massacre!

A moment later, the waterspout, already dyed red with blood, gradually settled as the giant waves receded.

Only then did Jiang Rui slowly reform from the water.

Tch, weakling...

Jiang Rui turned to look at the two people protected inside the Water Prison Wall. Black mist spread around him...

He looked over the devastated battlefield, then toward the distant sea.

The ninjas struck by the monstrous waves in the distance were scattered everywhere. Some struggled in the water, some fled at top speed, while even more had simply died.

But without exception, their eyes were filled with deep terror.

This was a little too powerful!

Jiang Rui held his chin with one hand and crossed the other over his chest as he pondered.

He seemed to know how he should have fun from now on!

Drink water! Keep drinking water!

Swallow half the ocean into the Extra-Dimensional Stomach.

Then whenever someone annoyed him...

Hmph, weaklings, before the ocean! Tremble!

Elsewhere.

Kirigakure, Mizukage Building—

The Third Mizukage's gaze shifted toward the boy who had jumped in through the window.

"Rimuru?"

No, a clone?

"Konoha and Kumogakure have formed an alliance. I found Ito Rei and Tengcheng Jun Ze. The others... were all wiped out."

The Water Shadow froze, then asked, "Can your Water Clone receive information from the main body in real time?"

"This isn't a clone." Jiang Rui blinked. "I used the Water Transformation Technique to split myself apart. It's more like a divided body."

Oh? Similar to the Second Tsuchikage's splitting technique?

The Third Mizukage nodded. He quickly stopped dwelling on it and asked, "Where are you now?"

After all, this was likely a technique developed from the Water Transformation Technique and could not be used on a large scale.

"On the coast of the Land of Iron. Send people to meet us as soon as possible." The divided Jiang Rui nodded. "They have part of Kumogakure's and Konoha's deployment maps."

After saying that, Jiang Rui's divided body did not linger and immediately took his leave.

The Third Mizukage lightly tapped the desk twice, and two Anbu ninjas instantly appeared.

"Notify all the major clans..."

"The Water Shadow summons them."

Awesome!