Continuation of Chapter 4.
Ren: "Come!"
Indra: "With pleasure."
Thunder roared from the sky as lightning flashed across the scene. In the blink of an eye, Indra appeared before Ren, poised to attack with a punch.
Ren blocked his attack, and a massive shockwave emitted upon impact. They engaged in a fast-paced combat exchange.
Parrying a fist from Indra, Ren suddenly faced another threat as Ozai emerged from nowhere, delivering a powerful punch.
Ren swiftly blocked Ozai's punch, then evaded by leaping onto another rooftop. Indra and Ozai were relentless in their pursuit. Both launched simultaneous punches at Ren, who managed to block with both arms but was sent flying backward on impact.
Ozai: "Flame Kai: Phoenix Flower bomb!" A tremendous pillar of flame erupted from Ozai's mouth, hurtling towards Ren, who had just landed.
A white aura enveloped Ren's hand as he pointed his palm at the flame, easily dismantling it.
Emerging from the smokescreen, Indra launched an attack. He swung his fist at Ren, who skillfully caught it.
Lightning Kai crackled around Indra's hand. Ren promptly deflected his arm to the side, swiftly maneuvered to pull Indra in, and delivered a powerful knee to his stomach. Following up, he executed a massive spinning sidekick.
From above, Ozai descended with a downward strike.
Ren blocked with his arm, and the impact generated a powerful shockwave.
Indra executed a mid-air spin and hurled a knife, only to reappear in a flash where the knife was, right in front of Ren.
Ren deftly caught Indra's hand.
Stomping his feet, Ren generated a resounding soundwave, blowing both combatants away. As two massive boulders threatened to close in, Ren evaded just in time, gracefully descending onto one of the boulders with his arms folded.
Ren: "With power like this, I'm pretty sure you're also present, Tengen."
Tengen: "Yep, that's me. Don't worry; I'm just here to see if you're as strong as everyone says you are."
Ren: ("Zora!") Telepathy.
Zora: "Master Ren, I'm sorry. I wasn't a match for Master Tengen. I did my best, but I couldn't stop him."
Ren: ("Your best alone is good enough. I sense an evacuation has already started. Can you assist with that?")
Zora: "Yes, sir."
Ren: "None of my people were harmed. I'll give you this chance to walk away."
Tengen: "Sorry, pal. Just carrying out orders." He clenched his hand.
Another massive boulder loomed above Ren. He swiftly evaded as it collided with the previous boulder.
Tengen slammed his hands on the ground, causing numerous Earth hands to sprout and attempt to seize Ren, who adeptly dodged each one.
Ozai: "Flame Kai: Scattered Phoenix Bomb!" Numerous massive fireballs erupted from Ozai's mouth, swirling around the earth-hands and targeting Ren.
As they closed in, Ren clapped his hands together, generating a shockwave that dispersed the fireball assault.
A lightning-covered knife hurtled toward Ren, who stepped back just in time. Indra materialized with the knife, but Ren was ready, once again seizing his hand.
Indra attempted an upward strike with lightning Kai. Ren thwarted his attack by grabbing his arm.
With lightning reflexes, Indra teleported from Ren's grasp to the knife, wielding it and swinging at Ren, who expertly dodged the strike.
Simultaneously, Indra launched a palm strike toward Ren's stomach. His palm shifted between open and closed, generating a powerful blast that sent Indra hurtling backward.
Massive ball-shaped boulders rained from the sky, but Ren adeptly dodged them, floating backward.
Tengen ran toward a boulder, leaping onto it. Simultaneously, a pillar of rock erupted from the boulder's surface, propelling Tengen toward Ren, who was mid-air.
Tengen: "Earth Kai Armor!" A golden rock armor enveloped Tengen.
Ren: ("Shit!")
Tengen relentlessly launched a series of punches, each accompanied by a powerful shockwave. One punch struck Ren, sending him flying.
Tengen: "Don't think I'm done yet, Ren!" He clenched his hands. "Earth Kai: Summoning—Come forth, Tengen Ri-Kyo!"
A massive incantation circle materialized on the ground, summoning a gigantic Earth spirit.
Ozai: "He summoned it here!?"
The earth spirit charged at Ren, delivering a colossal smash that sent him soaring. Tengen leaped onto the spirit's shoulders, aiming a punch at Ren.
Tengen: "Millennium Smash!"
Ren blocked the attack with crossed arms, his body propelled out of the terrain and toward the sky.
A fiery streak narrowed in on him. Ozai emerged.
Ozai: "Flame Kai: Coiling Phoenix Grenade Barrage." He conjured powerful fireball kai in both hands, repeatedly spinning mid-air and launching them at Ren.
Ozai: "HAA!" He slammed the final fireball onto Ren, sending him crashing to the ground, creating a deep impact.
The scene shifted to Indra, who raised both hands.
Indra: "Strike down! Raijin: Lightning Blaze!" Concentrated Lightning Kai slammed into Ren.
Zora rushed towards the smoke, concern etched on his face.
Zora: "Master!"
Tengen: "Think we overdid it a bit?"
Indra: "Tch."
Tengen: "We're not supposed to kill him."
Zora: "Master!"
The smoke cleared, revealing Ren looking up at the three figures in the sky.
Indra: "What the—!"
Ozai: "He's still standing after all of that?"
Ren: "Zora? Oh, hey there."
Zora: "Master, are you hurt?"
Ren: "I should be asking you that, Zora. What happened? You look injured."
Zora: "I went into combat with Tengen, trying to stop him, but I failed."
Ren: "Well, of course you would. Your best alone is good enough," he muttered with a hand covering his mouth.
Zora: "I heard that! Master, the village is fully evacuated. Let me fight alongside you."
Ren: "Why? So you can get your ass kicked again?"
Zora: "No, I mean it. By the looks of it, you can't handle them alone. I want to fight by your side."
Ren: "Can't handle them alone? I never knew I got so weak. Let me borrow your sword."
Zora: "Uh, sure."
Ren: "Thanks." He walked off slowly. "Hey, Ozai, is it just the three of you, or is Vishna waiting for the perfect time to strike?"
Ozai: "Vishna is a fool. He wants to conduct his own investigation. He hesitates on the King's request because he believes there's more to it."
Ren: "Ah, so I have to thank him then. Not bad. I'm glad that at least one Clan leader has a brain."
Indra: "Tch, you talk a lot, Ren. But now you can clearly see that the power the three of us have together is superior to yours."
Ren: "I can see that it's unfair. The odds aren't even remotely equal."
Tengen: "You said it yourself, there are three of us and only one of you."
Ren: "Yeah, I wasn't talking about me. You should send for help." He closed his eyes and smiled while walking.
Tengen: "What?"
Ren drew his katana and unsheathed it. "First circuit, open." With a fluid motion, he stepped forward, vanishing from sight, and reappeared before Indra in a split second. Their surprise left them unable to react.
Ren slammed the katana at Indra, sending him crashing to the ground. The impact cracked the surface.
Ozai: "Ugh!"
Tengen: "What?!"
They regrouped and lunged at Ren, attacking simultaneously.
Ren pivoted and used the sheath to parry Ozai's hand before striking him with the katana, propelling him from the sky. He repeated the move against Tengen.
Ren: "You see that? What if I hadn't used the back of the katana?"
Indra: ("Dammit!") Indra rose from the rubble, wiping blood from his lips.
Ren: "I'd be in more trouble, wouldn't I? Accused of killing the king, conspiring with the princess's abduction, and slaying all three of you. My, my, that would've looked bad."
The three clan leaders powered up.
Indra: "Lightning Kai: Equip Power of Raijin!"
Ozai: "Hinokami!" (Power of the Fire God.)
Tengen: "Full Body Earth Armor! Go, Tengen Ri-Kyo!"
The trio flew straight at Ren. All four men engaged in intense, high-paced combat, three against one.
The three leaders launched simultaneous punches at Ren, who deflected their efforts with the sword. He descended on a rooftop, then faced Tengen's summoning.
Ren deflected the summon's punch with ease, leaping up to deliver a powerful kick that sent the beast reeling.
Out of nowhere, Ozai and Tengen attacked again, but Ren was prepared. He grabbed Ozai's hand as he coiled a fireball, deflected it downward, and swung his sword to block Tengen's attack.
A burst of Kai erupted from Ren's body, blasting the two opponents away.
Ren moved nimbly across rooftops as lightning flashed toward him from the sky.
He evaded most attempts, but one lightning strike circled around his katana, stunning Indra.
Indra: "Impossible!"
Ren: "Lightning Blade!" He vanished from view and struck Indra across the chest.
Two massive boulders approached, but Ren weaved between them. Tengen's Ri-Kyo attacked with a powerful smash that sent Ren hurtling backward.
Ren spun mid-air and landed gracefully, inches from the ground, vanishing and reappearing above Ri-Kyo.
Swinging his katana with force, Ren cleaved the spirit in two. Throughout the attack, Ren's blade emanated Kai.
Ren pivoted, flashing from sight again, striking Tengen and Ozai alternately. Lightning-fast movements created a maze of slashes and lightning.
Ren: "Shiver, Lightning Blaze Blitz!"
He backed away, grinning.
The trio rose, preparing a colossal combined attack.
Ozai: "Phoenix Flame Burn!" He aimed both palms at Ren.
Tengen: "Iron Rock Cannon!" His hands slammed the ground, conjuring a blast.
Indra: "Lightning Gun." He clasped two fingers.
The terrain trembled under the weight of unleashed Kai.
Stomping, Ren summoned an incantation circle beneath his feet.
Ren: "Second Circuit, Open. Kai Release!"
A blinding pillar of light enveloped Ren, soaring skyward.
Ren: "GETO-SHURA!" The light condensed into a massive form. Behind Ren, a colossal knight mirrored his stance.
The scene shifted to Renzo gazing upward.
Renzo: "Father."
Ashia: "That level of Kai is unreal. What's happening?"
Returning to Ren, the three clan leaders launched their attacks, each arcing toward him.
Ren stepped forward and swung his blade. The knight behind mirrored his action. A surge of white Kai cleaved through their attacks, altering the weather dramatically.
Ren ascended, appearing above his opponents. Their reactions were sluggish. He swung downward, stopping just before Indra's face. The sheer force created a spiraling shockwave.
Stepping back, Ren pointed his blade at them.
Ren: "Had enough? Or are you as eager for round two as I am? Know this, you stand before The Royal Guardian himself, Ren Kurosaki!"
End of Chapter.