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"Hmph, useless trash!"Danzo didn't feel a bit sad over the deaths of his subordinates. Instead, he frowned, visibly annoyed—as if disgusted that his men were so weak and pathetic.
He seemed to view their deaths as nothing more than garbage getting cleaned up. Then his eyes turned toward Hayato, but now with a flicker of surprise and interest.
Hayato didn't give a damn what Danzo was thinking. Roaring with fury, he charged straight at him, his fists the size of beer barrels smashing forward with devastating force.
Danzo tapped his foot and leapt backward, dodging the punch just in time. His hands flashed through a series of seals, and he shouted:"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
A barrage of air bullets hammered Hayato's body, each shot slamming into him like cannon fire. He roared in anger, momentarily slowing his charge.
Seeing this, Danzo narrowed his eyes. He was seriously impressed by Hayato's raw strength and insane durability. The more he saw, the more he wanted him.
With someone like Hayato thrown into battle, he'd be a living war machine. Just send him in and let him bulldoze everything—no need to strategize.
Hayato grabbed a giant boulder like it was a pebble and chucked it at Danzo. Danzo swiftly slashed through it with his kunai—two quick swipes, horizontal and vertical.
The boulder split cleanly in midair, the halves whooshing past him and crashing into the ground behind.
But what Danzo didn't expect was that Hayato had rushed in right behind the rock. Just as Danzo finished cutting the boulder, Hayato was already in his face.
Seeing that massive, truck-sized fist coming at him, Danzo's face changed. He tried to dodge—but it was too late.
WHAM!
Hayato's punch slammed down—but instead of hitting Danzo directly, it landed on something in front of him.
A gigantic summoned beast had appeared, blocking the blow. It had an elephant-like trunk, two huge saber-like tusks, and limbs built like a tiger's—with long, deadly claws. The thing looked downright savage. It was Danzo's summon—Baku.
Danzo had managed to summon Baku just in time to take the hit for him.
But Hayato's punch smashed into Baku's head with a loud BOOM, sending the massive beast flying backward. It crashed right into Danzo, pinning him under its weight with a huge CRASH.
Then, with a puff of smoke, Baku vanished on the spot.
Poor Baku—just summoned and it barely lasted a second before getting KO'd by one punch.
"RAAHHHH!!"Hayato roared and leapt into the air, aiming straight for the spot where Danzo had been flattened. His enormous fist came down from above like a meteor, carrying unimaginable force.
Danzo scrambled, rolling away across the ground and diving to the side in a panic.
BOOM!!
Hayato slammed into the spot Danzo had just been standing. Danzo had dodged in time, but before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the ground beneath him began to crack and quake violently.
The earth split open beneath his feet, shaking so much that he couldn't even stand properly.
And then Hayato came at him again.
Danzo could now see Hayato's monstrous face—twisted, wild, and full of fury. His eyes raged like a beast. For the first time, Danzo—the head of the Root Division—was visibly panicking.
He wanted to retreat, but the cracked and shaking ground gave him no footing. As Hayato barreled toward him, Danzo gritted his teeth and braced himself.
"Earth Style: Hardening Technique!"
Immediately, the ground around Danzo rose up and wrapped over his body, forming a thick, rock-like armor shell.
And just as the armor fully formed—BAM! Hayato's punch landed.
Danzo flew like a ragdoll.
Even with the Hardening Technique that gave him some physical protection, the force still blasted through, shaking his insides. Danzo felt something rupture and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood mid-air.
He hit the ground hard, groaning in pain, his body wrecked. But before he could do anything else—
BOOM!
A massive green figure landed in front of him.
A giant—easily five or six meters tall. Completely green, muscled like a monster, face twisted in fury. The sheer presence was like a demon god out of legend.
WHAM!
The giant's enormous hand slapped down on Danzo, pinning him. His entire body was covered by that hand, with only part of his chest and head still visible.
"No—!" Danzo realized what was coming when he saw Hayato raise his other fist high into the air.
CRACK!!
The massive fist crashed down, slamming into Danzo's head and chest.
The sheer force nearly knocked Danzo unconscious. His mind went blank. Luckily (or unluckily), the earlier Hardening Technique kept him from being smashed to a pulp outright. If it weren't for that, he'd already be dead.
Hayato saw that Danzo wasn't crushed from the first punch and frowned. He raised his fist again—and brought it down even harder.
BAM!
BAM BAM BAM BAM!!
The giant fist kept raining down, one blow after another, like a demolition crew pounding in support pillars. Only this time, the "foundation" being smashed was a human body.
"....."