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The Rain Ninja split into three groups, heading for three different battlefronts. Konan and the Four-Tails, Son Gokū, stuck to the plan they'd made earlier—mainly focusing on defense. Meanwhile, Hayato led his men straight to the battlefield against Konoha.
At the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, Hayato chose a spot that was easy to defend but tough to attack, setting up camp there. He ordered ambushes placed at key locations to guard against Konoha sneak attacks. That was the main reason he'd brought his troops in the first place. After everything was set, he prepared to head out on his own.
"Chief! Please allow us to follow you!" his guards cried, dropping to one knee in front of him.
"You're staying here," Hayato shook his head. "The way I fight doesn't suit having allies nearby."
"But Chief—"
"That's an order."
"Yes, Chief!"
Leaving his guards behind, Hayato took off toward Konoha's encampment. The coming fight was his to handle alone.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!""Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
The moment his feet touched the ground, a storm of shuriken flew at him. At the same time, wind and fire combined into a sea of roaring flames that came crashing down to engulf him.
Boom!
A wooden log was shredded by the kunai and shuriken, then swallowed in fire until nothing but ash remained.
"Damn it! Substitution Jutsu! Stay sharp!" the enemy leader shouted when he saw the switch.
But before his words even finished, screams ripped through his own squad. Hayato had already slipped into their ranks and begun the slaughter.
His strength was already Kage-level—one of the strongest even among the elite. Taijutsu was his specialty, and with the constant weight of his Super Added-Weight Rock Technique enhancing his speed, he moved like a phantom.
"Shit!" The leading jōnin's eyes widened as Hayato butchered half his men in the blink of an eye. He lunged, kunai flashing coldly, aiming straight for Hayato.
Crack!
One punch. That was all it took. Hayato's fist slammed into the man's head, crushing it like a hammer smashing a watermelon. Blood sprayed everywhere. The jōnin had chosen the worst way to fight—matching Hayato in close combat. If he'd used ninjutsu, maybe he could've lasted a little longer. But hand-to-hand? The result was inevitable.
With the elite jōnin dead, the rest stood no chance. Against Hayato's speed, they couldn't even run. It was pure slaughter.
Still, before the last of them fell, they managed to fire off a signal flare. Konoha's forces were probably on alert by now. Not that Hayato cared. He knew his power couldn't be hidden. Whether they spotted him early or late made no difference—he planned to take on the whole village himself.
Boom!
Suddenly, a massive serpent burst from underground, jaws snapping at him. Hayato leapt high into the air to avoid being swallowed.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
A torrent of searing fire roared from the mouth of a pale man with long white hair. The heat was far stronger than any ordinary fire jutsu.
Boom!
The flames engulfed Hayato, but when the blaze cleared, all that was left was another burning log. Substitution Jutsu again. Hayato might not excel at flashy ninjutsu, but the basics—like substitution—he'd mastered to near-instant execution.
"Ninjutsu: Fierce Snake Stride!"
Two massive snakes materialized, snapping at him from both sides.
"Tch." Hayato snorted, blasting one away with a punch and whipping the other aside with a powerful kick.
But just then, a figure rushed him head-on. A pale fist slammed toward him with brutal force. The timing was perfect—three attackers moving as one. Hayato threw up his arm to block.
Crash!
The blow hit like a cannon. Even with years of training and his hardened body, Hayato felt the shock lance through his bones. His feet dug two deep trenches into the ground as he was forced back. For the first time in a long while, his arm ached, as if cracks might spread through the bone.
And then he finally got a good look at his opponents.
A pale-skinned man with snake-like eyes.A white-haired fool with red markings around his eyes.And a blonde woman with a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead and a huge kanji for "gamble" on her clothes.
The Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.
Hayato hadn't expected them to appear this quickly. Though he had slain Hanzō of the Salamander before, the Sannin had already earned their title from battling him themselves.
"Huh? You're tougher than I thought," Tsunade said, studying him curiously. "You took a punch from me head-on and didn't drop dead."
She was intrigued—this man was younger than her, yet already leader of the Rain Village. Because of him, Konoha had gained a huge advantage in the Second Great War. Later, he even forced the Stone Village to surrender single-handedly. No wonder she wanted a closer look.
"....."