An invisible force strikes Takumi's body.
But against this level of power...
He stands there, motionless.
"Eh?"
Haido looks in surprise at the Gelel Stone in his right hand.
'I clearly activated the stone's power.'
'Why wasn't this boy blown away?'
"I told you."
Takumi's voice is cold, like piercing ice. "Your power, in this Shinobi World, is too weak."
"It seems I have no choice but to show you what real power is."
Haido shakes his head helplessly, then removes his robe as his body begins to change.
He transforms into a strange, inhuman, ghostly form.
"This is my true power."
Haido praises his own power. "Ordinary people like you cannot comprehend how great this power is."
"It seems you can no longer be called human."
Takumi's voice is no longer cold, but carries a hint of pity. "You can't even understand human speech anymore."
"Damn brat!"
Haido is finally enraged. He instantly appears before Takumi and throws a heavy punch into his abdomen.
The fist connects solidly with Takumi's stomach.
But Haido's expression freezes in disbelief.
The punch he threw with all his strength, hitting Takumi, seemed to have no effect.
"It seems you finally understand."
Takumi's gaze towards Haido is filled with the pity humans have for lower life forms.
He no longer sees Haido as human, but as some creature beneath humanity.
A creature he could easily crush.
"People like you have no reason to continue existing."
Takumi's words, like sharp thorns, shatter Haido's heart into pieces.
"Impossible! Impossible!!"
Haido slowly retreats, his face filled with despair.
If he had felt superior before...
Now, having personally tested the gap between himself and Takumi, he realizes for the first time:
The power he was so proud of might mean nothing in the eyes of others.
The other party had been telling the truth from the beginning. Only he, blinded by his own confidence, had ignored their words.
Now, he has only one thought:
Flee this place.
If he can escape, he has a chance to start over.
After all, on the other continent, he has no rivals.
He will never come to this continent again.
With his thoughts racing, Haido immediately makes his decision.
Four things resembling wings, yet slightly different, sprout from his back.
Just as he is about to fly, someone grabs his ankle.
"Who said you could leave?"
Takumi's voice makes him feel like he's fallen into an abyss.
"Please, spare me..."
Haido looks at Takumi, showing fear for the first time.
"Spare you?"
Takumi says softly. "Then who will spare those people you killed?"
"It's time for you to pay the price."
Bang!
With a casual flick, he slams Haido heavily onto the ground.
Haido immediately loses control of his body, his entire brain violently shaken.
He stands up unsteadily, his hands and feet like a drunkard's.
In his vision, Takumi's figure spins and multiplies.
"This punch, for the lives you cruelly slaughtered."
Bang!
One punch shatters Haido's right arm.
"This punch, for the innocent people you harmed."
Bang!
One punch shatters Haido's left arm.
At this moment, Haido's brain finally stops shaking.
Excruciating pain washes over him.
"Ah—"
He collapses to the ground, letting out agonizing wails.
His powerful recovery ability is useless; he cannot regenerate his severed limbs.
Having lost both arms, he can't even stand up from the ground.
He can only squirm on the ground like an insect.
"Down there, remember to dogeza and apologize to those people."
Takumi looks down at Haido from on high. His indifferent gaze makes Haido feel the true terror from the depths of his soul.
"Please, spare..."
Bang!
The loud noise drowns out his words.
Takumi lets out a long sigh.
"It's over."
Gaara said, turning to leave.
"Huh? We're leaving just like that?"
Kankuro was puzzled but still followed Gaara.
"His strength has grown again."
Gaara looked ahead, his eyes full of determination. "I carry a great responsibility. I absolutely cannot lose to him."
"I believe in you."
Kankuro said with a smile. "You have the highest talent among us. You'll definitely become the most outstanding Kazekage."
Temari watched Gaara and Kankuro leave first. Although reluctant, she still walked over to Takumi.
"The mastermind behind this has been eliminated. The request entrusted to Konoha can be considered successfully completed."
Temari sounded somewhat formal. After all, she was still a member of Sunagakure and couldn't act too inappropriately. "Thank you very much for your help, Takumi-kun."
"We are allies. If you need help, feel free to ask, no problem."
Takumi said with a smile. "As long as it's not too unreasonable a request, I don't think I have a reason to refuse."
"Thank you."
Temari showed a cheerful smile, trying not to look down at the strange corpse missing half its body on the ground. "We'll leave the rest to you. We need to go back and deal with the damage in our country."
"Then I won't keep you."
Takumi nodded.
Then, Temari's figure flickered and disappeared, chasing after Gaara and Kankuro.
"Are they leaving just like that?"
The director walked over. He wasn't averse to Haido's somewhat terrifying corpse. "This shoot went very smoothly. I was even planning to throw a celebration party."
"Gaara doesn't like that kind of occasion."
Takumi smiled. "Besides, he carries a heavy burden. He probably doesn't have time for such enjoyments."
"Is that so?"
The director didn't insist. "In that case, let's find somewhere nearby to celebrate."
He looked around. "I think that lakeside looks pretty good."
"It really does look good."
Takumi looked at the lakeside the director pointed to and agreed the environment was indeed nice.
He didn't want to go back so soon either.
If he accidentally ran into Orochimaru, the purpose of his coming out would be wasted.
"I'll collect this corpse."
Shino stepped forward, took out a scroll, and sealed Haido's body inside it. "Maybe his body will have some unique uses."
"Instead of studying his body, it's better to study that gem called the Gelel Stone."
Takumi pointed to the severed arm lying in the distance, with a green gem on the back of its hand.
"You're right."
Shino also sealed the arm away. "Although I don't think I'll be able to use it, it's indeed worth studying."
Perhaps because Haido had been utterly crushed by Takumi, Shino didn't think Haido's power was very strong at all.
Moreover, for Shinobi, blindly pursuing power while neglecting power that suited oneself was also a case of neglecting the fundamentals.
Excessively powerful techniques weren't something everyone could handle.
Powerful Ninjutsu inevitably required vast amounts of Chakra to perform.
Throughout the Shinobi World, those with vast Chakra Reserve were few and far between.
Besides the Jinchuriki, only the Uzumaki Clan of Uzushiogakure were famous across the Shinobi World for possessing massive Chakra.
But now Uzushiogakure had been destroyed, and the Uzumaki Clan's members were few and scattered across the Shinobi World.
They could be said to be completely insignificant.
Most Shinobi Clans chose secret techniques that suited them.
Like Shino's own clan's secret technique, the Manipulating Insect Technique, Shikamaru's Clan's Shadow Imitation Technique, and so on.