Nohara Rin stood where she was, panting for a moment as her darkened vision gradually cleared.
What entered her sight was a figure seen from behind.
Kiyohara's back!
"!"
Nohara Rin looked at where Kiyohara had just been, then turned to look at Kiyohara standing before her.
How... had he crossed that distance?
Was she dreaming?
In the brief moment she lost focus, Kiyohara had appeared right in front of her?
But the enemy would not give Nohara Rin time to think.
"He must have used some kind of Body Flicker Technique just now. Don't be afraid—he must have consumed a great deal of chakra."
Kamiyoshi formed hand seals first, steadying his somewhat flustered companions.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A water dragon rose behind him and surged forward.
"Water Release: Water Tornado—!"
"Water Release—!"
The three Kirigakure ninja beside him formed hand seals as well, unleashing their specialty Water Release techniques.
A series of Water Release techniques came crashing down upon Kiyohara and Nohara Rin in an instant.
"Rin, hold on tight."
Kiyohara gripped his ninja sword in reverse and scooped up the unsteady Nohara Rin in a princess carry.
A woman's fragrance mixed with faint sweat and the smell of blood reached him, but Kiyohara had no mind to spare for any of it.
The next moment, Kiyohara's magnetism erupted.
Repulsion beneath his feet launched him like a cannonball, and in an instant, he arrived atop a distant tree.
"It consumes less than the Konoha Body Flicker Technique."
Kiyohara thought to himself.
And he could feel that his acceleration just now had been far faster than the Konoha Body Flicker Technique.
Crash!
The spot where Kiyohara and Nohara Rin had just stood was struck by the Water Release techniques. The earth sank in, instantly forming a water-filled pit.