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"Sealed... sealed up?"
"Did it work?"
"Yes! We caught that monster!"
"Awesome! We finally got him!"
"Orochimaru-sama really is incredible!"
"Yeah, no one can beat Orochimaru-sama!"
The remaining Konoha ninjas who were lucky enough to survive were overjoyed after seeing Hayato Hayato get sealed. Their eyes sparkled with admiration as they looked at Orochimaru like he was a god.
Orochimaru didn't react to their ass-kissing. He just shook his head slightly.
Even though Manda, his summoned beast, had a bad attitude and demanded a hundred human sacrifices every time it was summoned, it was undeniably powerful and one of his biggest assets.
But now, Hayato had actually managed to kill Manda in a head-on fight. Still, Ryūchidō had plenty of powerful summons. Orochimaru could still call forth other beasts just as strong as Manda.
Just as Orochimaru was about to make a move and bring Hayato back to the village, the dirt mound that was sealing him started to shake.
"Hmm?" Orochimaru narrowed his snake-like eyes at the mound where Hayato was sealed. The Konoha ninjas around him were equally stunned, all staring at the mound in shock.
"Wait—wait a minute. Is this guy… is he actually trying to break out of the seal?"
"You—you've gotta be kidding!"
"There's no way he can break it. That seal messes with the victim's metabolism and locks their chakra. There's no chance he's getting out."
"Y-Yeah, yeah… exactly…"
Their words gave them a bit of comfort. After all, no one had ever broken this seal before.
No matter how strong the target was, once they were sealed, that was it—unless the seal was broken from the outside.
But Orochimaru's expression started to turn sour. A disturbing thought hit him.
Once Hayato transforms into the Hulk, he completely loses his rational mind—so even if the seal messes with thought processes, it probably doesn't affect him much.
And though the seal blocks chakra, Hayato's power didn't come from chakra. It came from his bloodline limit—from his body itself.
Once he hulks out, he either has no chakra, or what little chakra he does have is like a candle compared to the blazing sun that is the Hulk's strength.
Sure enough, in the next second—boom!—a huge green arm burst out of the mound. Boom!—a second massive green arm followed right after. Then BOOM—the whole mound exploded apart.
Standing in front of Orochimaru was a green Hulk towering at ten meters tall.
Hayato had grown even bigger—his Hulk form was now truly enormous.
"ROARRR!!" Hayato, now in full Hulk mode, let out a furious roar at the Konoha ninjas—and even Orochimaru.
The sheer force of his voice sent shockwaves through the air. Some of the nearby ninja had their eardrums burst from the sound, blood trickling from their ears.
Then, Hayato smashed his huge fist into the ground. Instantly, the earth shook. Cracks spread out like spiderwebs from the impact, the ground collapsing under the feet of the panicked ninja.
Screams rang out as many were swallowed by the earth, their bodies completely buried.
The massacre began again.
Now standing ten meters tall, Hayato was even more powerful than before. His attack power had skyrocketed, and his area of destruction had grown with it. In the blink of an eye, almost every Konoha ninja had been wiped out by him.
In the forest a short distance away, Orochimaru was moving fast, weaving through the trees. His face was cold, but his eyes burned with excitement.
Hayato's power was just too insane. Every time he grew taller, he became exponentially stronger. Now that he was ten meters tall, Orochimaru had zero confidence he could take him down. And the scariest part was—Orochimaru didn't even know if ten meters was Hayato's limit.
"I couldn't bring him back to the village alive, but…" Orochimaru muttered to himself, glancing at his palm.
In his hand was a small amount of blood wrapped in chakra—Hayato's blood. He had managed to collect it early in the battle. After that, once Hayato started getting bigger, not just his strength but his defense became inhuman too.
Orochimaru hadn't been able to get a single drop of blood once Hayato grew past six meters.
Hayato had completely wiped out all the Konoha ninja. Even the ones who were hiding got dragged out and crushed—literally—with his fingers. The only one left was Orochimaru.
But Hayato wasn't going to let him go that easily. If anything, Orochimaru was the one he hated most.
With another furious roar, Hayato's massive leg muscles tightened and bulged. Already thick and powerful, they swelled even more. He stomped the ground hard—BOOM—leaving behind a massive crater.
Then, Hayato's gigantic body shot into the air, flying upward. He soared over a hundred meters high, and his body was still rising…
"....."