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"That's awesome!"
"We finally caught him. Quick, seal him!"
Seeing Hayato trapped in the Yomi Swamp, the Root ninja couldn't hide their excitement. Someone immediately stepped forward, ready to seal Hayato.
No one was stupid — from the start, after realizing how tough Hayato was, they had already planned out ways to deal with him. Sealing him was one of those methods.
Strips of cloth used for sealing, about the size of an adult's palm, flew from the hands of the Root members, wrapping toward Hayato. They really intended to seal him right there and then, take him back to Konoha, and hand him over to Danzo.
Hayato was stuck in the Yomi Swamp, and no matter how much he struggled, he kept sinking deeper. Now, seeing those sealing strips wrapping around him, trying to bind him, he got even angrier.
With a roar, his inner power surged, and his body grew bigger—though part of him was still submerged in the swamp, so it was hard to tell at first.
As the strips tried to wrap him up, Hayato roared again and slammed down his huge, thick arm hard on the cloth strips. But the ninja controlling the strips were skilled too—they twisted the cloth just right to dodge his smash.
Boom! His green arm crashed into the swamp with a splash. Brown mud flew everywhere, some splattering onto Hayato himself, and even the Root ninjas standing outside the swamp got hit with mud.
Even though his head was filled with rage and he had no real sense of reason, seeing the mud splash made him raise his arm again and again, pounding on the swamp's surface. Mud splattered wildly with each strike, and by using the force of his hits, Hayato was able to keep his body balanced for now, stopping himself from sinking further.
If he kept it up, he could smash all the swamp mud away and finally break free. Luckily for the Root ninjas, they were busy sealing him, so they weren't too worried about that just yet.
Hayato saw the layers of cloth wrapping around him, trying to imprison him inside this seal made of cloth strips. He got even more furious and roared loudly:
"RAAAHH!!!"
"His anger kept burning, fueling itself like a fire that wouldn't go out. As his rage grew stronger, his body started growing bigger too, surging past three, then four, then five meters, his mass expanding with every burst of fury.". Along with the height, his strength increased massively.
"No, no way!
He's way too strong!
His power is messing with my seal! Damn it, if only I could just stop him from moving for one second—just one second—I could finish the seal!"
The ninja sealing Hayato was struggling badly, his face red from the effort. The best way to seal someone is to stop them from moving, even just for a moment. Otherwise, sealing someone is insanely difficult.
Hayato being stuck in the swamp was kind of a half-measure. He couldn't move, but he still had enough strength to fight back—especially as his power kept growing. So sealing him became that much harder.
Other ninjas watching frowned but nodded in understanding. They finally saw how powerful Hayato really was. Just one ninja's ninjutsu wouldn't work on him. So all the earth-release ninjas moved in together:
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison Technique!"
In the next instant, the swamp under Hayato hardened, locking his lower body into place underground. Then dozens of round stone pillars sprouted up all around him, trapping him in the center.
Honestly, this technique should've worked for the other ninjas—maybe not locking him down forever, but enough to hold him for a few seconds. But unfortunately, they targeted the wrong guy.
Who had Hayato turned into? The Hulk! What's the Hulk's greatest strength? First, insane regeneration—he's basically unkillable and just gets stronger the more he fights. Second, raw strength, especially now that he was about six meters tall.
"RAAAHH!" With a savage roar, Hayato crushed the stone pillars locking him in, smashing them apart with brute force. Then, in less than a second, he leapt up from the solid ground. He was completely free.
"....."