"Of course."
Ren flew two circles in the air before landing on a tree trunk and nodded to the other party.
"Alright, let's go first. I'll take you across when we reach the border."
"Okay!"
Aoki immediately reacted and quickly continued to move.
They still had pursuers behind them, and now was not the time to rest.
"Hmm... Let's make these guys stay away from us."
Ren's gaze deepened, and he began to form hand seals.
In his perception, the few squads behind them were biting very closely, and the distance between the two sides had always been maintained at a certain distance.
If Ren and Aoki relaxed even a little, they would be caught up.
This was not conducive to Ren taking Aoki to act silently.
"Bang!"
As a puff of white smoke exploded beside him, Ren directly bypassed his Shadow Clone, threw his Ninjutsu bag to him, and his voice came from afar.
"I'm counting on you, good brother."
"..."
After Number One caught the Ninjutsu bag, he looked at his main body, which was already flying so far away that only his back was visible, and the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Sigh!"
After a helpless sigh, Number One turned around and leaped onto a tree trunk, hiding himself in the canopy.
Then, it was time to wait for the target to arrive.
Meanwhile, the Kumogakure pursuit squad had no idea that a "surprise" was waiting for them ahead.
"Hurry up! We must catch them before those two cross the border!"
The Kumogakure Jonin leading the team turned his head to look at the others behind him and shouted in a serious tone.
"Yes!"
Everyone dared not delay, increasing their speed by another notch, passing through the jungle with bursts of wind.
"Hmm? Here they come."
Number One's eyes lit up, and he mobilized ninety percent of his Chakra, slowly forming hand seals.
As the Kumogakure Shinobi passed by, a sudden change occurred!
"Ice Release: Ice Prison!"
Before everyone could react, dozens of ice pillars suddenly appeared on their path, blocking their way.
"Be careful!"
The Cloud Jonin reacted in time, slowing down while loudly reminding the others around him.
However, except for him, the other few Kumogakure Shinobi who were rushing at the front did not stop and directly crashed into the ice pillars.
The people behind, after hearing the reminder, quickly slowed down and finally stopped just before the ice pillars.
Before they could do anything, dozens of ice pillars, identical to those in front, materialized out of thin air to their left, right, and behind, then plunged into the ground, trapping them all.
"An ambush!"
The Cloud Jonin finally reacted, shouting to warn the others while surveying his surroundings.
After glancing around, he keenly noticed the unsealed opening above his head.
Without hesitation, he directly jumped up, then stepped on a comrade's shoulder beside him, leaping upwards.
Just as he was about to succeed, a thick sheet of ice pressed down from above, pushing him back into the prison while covering this only blind spot.
"Damn it!"
The Cloud Jonin cursed under his breath, then immediately turned to look at the somewhat bewildered crowd, shouting sternly.
"Don't just stand there! Quickly attack this prison! We can't let those two escape across the border!"
Although he didn't know which country's intelligence personnel the other party was, if they were willing to expose themselves to escape from the main camp, they must have taken away some important intelligence.
"Yes!"
After speaking, everyone came to the ice pillars and began to continuously bombard the prison with small Ninjutsu and Taijutsu.
Even the ice prison, formed by a large amount of Chakra, began to show tiny cracks under their continuous bombardment.
"Tsk, it would be better if the number of people were halved."
Number One, hidden in the tree canopy, looked at the constantly shaking ice prison below, thinking somewhat helplessly.
This pursuit team consisted of two squads, including the Jonin leading them, a total of eight people, and their strength was all around Chunin level.
If there were only those two Jonin, Number One would have been confident in trapping them for about half an hour.
But now, it probably could only last for about five minutes.
"Forget it, it's enough."
A mischievous smile appeared on Number One's lips, and he secured the few Exploding Tags and Kunai, the only items in his Ninjutsu bag, to his body with steel wire.
Then he lay prostrate on the tree trunk, quietly waiting for a suitable moment.
"Earth Release: Fist of Stone!"
The Cloud Jonin looked at the ice pillars in front of him, which were already covered in cracks.
His left hand was covered by a huge rock, and then he swung it forward violently!
"Boom!!"
With a roar, several ice pillars were shattered into countless ice crystals, which then dissipated into the air with the wind.
"It's broken! Keep going!"
Seeing the man-wide gap that appeared between the ice pillars in front of him, the Cloud Jonin's face showed a hint of joy.
He dispelled the rock fist in his hand, turned his head, and whispered to the crowd.
"Yes!"
Just as everyone was about to exit through the broken gap, a figure suddenly appeared in front of the gap and entered the prison, instantly confusing several people.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave."
Number One said cheerfully.
At the same time, he tore open his clothes, instantly revealing several white papers with black runes drawn on them.
"Exploding Tags!!"
Someone shouted, and everyone's expressions changed in unison, turning to run out in a scramble.
None of them wanted to die; in this situation, so-called comrades were not worth mentioning in the face of their own lives.
"Heh, is there enough time?"
Number One used Instantaneous Body Technique to arrive at the center of the crowd, and under the terrified gazes of the surrounding Kumogakure Shinobi, the Exploding Tags lit up with white light...
"Boom!!"
Ren, who was moving swiftly through the forest, suddenly felt a moment of disorientation but quickly recovered.
He then subconsciously looked back behind him.
Goodness, as expected of my Shadow Clone, I give this self-detonation full marks.
"Wait, Aoki."
After Ren stopped him, he jumped off the tree trunk, closed his eyes, and touched the ground with two fingers.
"Four directions, sixteen people, huh..."
Ren opened his eyes, leaped back onto the tree trunk, came next to Aoki, and said softly.
"It seems those guys at the border have received news.
Four squads are closing in on us from four directions.
Let's get rid of them here."
Aoki nodded, then looked at Ren and asked.
"What do I need to do?"
"Just don't move around."
Ren quickly stepped forward, came behind Aoki, grabbed his collar, and at the same time, the wings behind him began to flap rapidly.
"Uh..."
Aoki looked at the ground gradually moving away and couldn't help but widen his eyes and look around.
For him, this novel flying experience was quite new.
"Hmm? You don't seem very heavy."
Ren looked at Aoki with some surprise while floating.
He had been a little worried before that he might not be able to carry Aoki with his physique, but he didn't expect that when he actually pulled him up, he felt only around a hundred pounds or so, not much heavier than Ren.
"Is that so? That's good."
Aoki chuckled and then continued to enjoy the high-altitude scenery, no longer paying attention to Ren.
"Boring."
Ren rolled his eyes, and feeling that the height was about right, he flew forward.
Meanwhile, in the jungle below, the four squads were still desperately searching for Ren and the other person's tracks.