Payback

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!" Biting the wires, flames flew our of Ren's mouth, traveling towards the trapped Kushimaru.

Engulfed by the fire, Kushimaru's shrill screams filled the arena, quieting down the crowd.

Landing on the ground, his body couldn't be seen because of the burning flames.

'Should I step in...?' In doubt, Shigeo got on one knee and performed the 'rat' hand-seal, ready to stop their movements if need be.

As the flames died down, Kushimaru's body slowly became visible. His skin had been burned off in several parts of his body, turning him into something out of a nightmare. His red flesh was visible, making for a gruesome scene.

His hair was charred, and on top of that, Ren's wires could be seen covering his body, merged into his flesh because of the fire. It looked like he had been sewn into.

"He's finally tasted the hell he deserves. Kekeke..." Smiling Viciously, Fuguki stared at his teammate.

Kushimaru enjoyed making others suffer a little too much, so he felt like this was going to happen eventually.[1]

"You... I'll make you wish you were dead!" Furious, Kaushimaru ignored the pain as he sped towards Ren once again, clenching his swords so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh. "Piece of sh*t!"

"...!" Raising his guard once again, Ren analyzed Kushimaru's attacks and dodged.

"As if that would work twice!" With a crazed yell, Kushimaru stabbed his pointy sword and formed a 'dog' hand-seal. Flowing chakra into it, it extended with a blue glow, reaching for Ren's shoulder.

"Crap!" Unable to react in time, Ren watched as the blue sword stabbed through his healing wound, causing him grave pain.

"Gah!" Resisting the urge to scream, Ren held the sword with his hands, stopping it from going any deeper. Although his palms were bleeding, he held on.

"They're tenacious, those mist ninja." Worried, Fugaku narrowed his eyes. He wondered how Ren would get out of this position.

'Not his shoulder...! Ren, please be safe!' Mikoto knew better than anybody just how much pain Ren was going through right now. That wound had only recently healed, meaning this attack would leave a permanent scar.

"Kukuku... I'm going to pay you back tenfold. Kirigakure no Jutsu!" Raising his spare hand in the air and forming a confrontation seal, Kushimaru's maniacal laughter sounded across the arena as it became filled with mist.

"Shit...!" Ren could only watch as Kushimaru disappeared in the mist, not leaving a trace. Covering his wound with one hand to stop the bleeding, he went on full alert, holding a kunai in his hand.

"You're in my domain..." Kushimaru's voice resounded in Ren's ears, but he was unable to pinpoint his location. Even with his Sharingan, he was unable to see through the thick mist.

"I'm going to turn you into a beehive!" [2] Hearing this, Ren was unable to react as the sword pierced through his left leg, making him drop to one knee.

Struggling to get back up, his right arm was pierced this time. Losing strength, his grip on the kunai weakened as he dropped it on the floor.

"What's happening?" Like everyone else, Minato was unable to see what was going on inside. Activating her Byakugan, Nozomi easily witnessed the fight, smiling wryly. "Ren is getting beaten up."

"Ugh..." Falling to the ground, Ren once again felt the cold ground against his skin. As he lost blood, his energy slowly ran out and he felt like giving up.

'Im just not on his level...'

'I'm weak, unlike... Jun...'

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[1] It's ironic. He's burning as if he was in 'hell'. Fuguki just finds it funny since, in his mind, Kushimaru should be the first one to enter the depths of hell as soon as he dies.

[2] He means that he's going to poke a bunch of holes into him, turning him into a beehive. Beehives have a lot of holes, and for Kushimaru, every hole is a goal.

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Special thanks to Frozoka Swaggins, God Erebos, and Daniil!

Don't forget to drop some stones!

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