-----
-----
The giant snake twisted its agile body, and Hayato's fist swung through the air, missing completely and smashing into the ground with a booming crack, leaving a crater.
But the giant snake bounced its body and instantly climbed onto Hayato, wrapping around him tightly.
It squeezed hard, trying to bind him so tightly that he couldn't move, gradually tightening its grip to choke him.
At the same time, it opened its huge, bloody mouth, aiming to swallow him whole.
"Ah!!!" Hayato roared in frustration and pain as the snake squeezed him tighter and tighter. His huge body started creaking under the pressure, making sharp cracking sounds.
With a furious, almost desperate roar, he grabbed the snake's weak spot with one hand, and his muscles bulged as his thick arm pushed with all its strength, suddenly wrenching free.
He slammed the snake's weak spot into the ground hard, pinning it down, then raised his other fist high and brought it crashing down with full force.
Bam!
A deafening blow—Hayato's fist smashed hard into the giant snake's head.
The snake staggered, dazed by the powerful hit, and its grip on Hayato loosened just a little. But Hayato didn't let up. One hand kept the snake's head pinned down, while the other raised again and slammed down once more.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Punch after punch, relentless and fierce.
No matter how much the giant snake twisted and struggled, Hayato kept pounding its head without pause.
Even though the snake was a powerful summoned beast and its skull was pretty tough, maybe one punch wouldn't break it, but two punches? Three? Four? And Hayato's attacks didn't stop at just four.
Soon enough, the snake's skull cracked open. Blood poured down its head, and with each heavy hit, its head nearly deformed.
Watching this brutal beating, Orochimaru and the other Leaf ninjas were on edge, some even shocked. That was the massive summoned beast—the leader of the snake clan—and yet Hayato was beating it so mercilessly, nearly killing it.
Orochimaru and the others kept attacking Hayato, but it was like scratching an itch for him—no pain at all. He just kept pounding the snake's head.
"Ah, Orochimaru! Hurry, summon me back!" the snake screamed in agony, begging Orochimaru to reverse the summoning. It realized if this kept up, it would definitely die.
It could have ended the summoning itself to retreat to the Dragon Cave, but Hayato was holding its head tightly and hammering it so hard the snake had no energy left to do so.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, looking at the almost-dead snake being beaten down. "Sorry, snake.
You're going to have to buy us a bit more time. Seal squad, get ready—let's seal Hayato together." He shouted to the sealing squad and began forming hand signs rapidly.
Under Orochimaru's control, the earth around them started to rise, covering Hayato in a mound of yellow soil.
The sealing squad began their technique, trying to trap Hayato inside. Since the snake was caught in Hayato's grasp, they even prepared to seal the snake along with him.
"Damn you, Orochimaru! You bastard! I'll kill you, I swear I will!" the snake yelled, struggling madly, but before it could do more, Hayato's heavy fist slammed down from above again.
Thud!
The giant snake's huge head was smashed to pieces by that punch. Its headless body flailed wildly before being covered by the rising yellow earth, trapped inside the seal. The earth continued to rise, quickly covering Hayato as well.
"Ahhhh!"
The snake was dead. Hayato felt a burst of satisfaction in his heart. But the sealing technique closing in made him furious.
Hayato slammed his fist down hard on the yellow soil, sending chunks flying everywhere.
Yet under Orochimaru's control, the broken earth quickly restored itself, even thickening to trap Hayato further.
No matter how much he struggled, eventually, the soil buried him completely. Then, a few sealing symbols appeared on the soil's surface, and just like that, Hayato was sealed away.
"....."