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"Lady Kazekage!"
"The Third Kazekage!"
The Sand Shinobi couldn't help but cry out in grief after hearing the Third Kazekage speak. But they were still shinobi—disciplined—so after hearing his words, they stopped fighting and quickly pulled back.
The Third Kazekage, meanwhile, threw everything he had at Hayato. He used every attack jutsu in his arsenal, one after another, hammering them at the rampaging monster. It was enough to draw all of Hayato's attention.
With a furious roar, Hayato charged straight at him.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wings!"
A massive pair of black wings suddenly appeared behind the Third Kazekage. Made entirely of iron sand, they flapped hard just as Hayato lunged—and with a sharp whoosh, the Kazekage took to the skies.
"Come on, then! Try and catch me, you monster!" he shouted, unleashing another jutsu. Dozens of iron spears materialized in midair and rained down toward Hayato like a deadly storm.
"ROAR!" Hayato bellowed.
The iron spears slammed into his body, but only barely managed to pierce the skin—and even those tiny wounds instantly began to heal. Roaring again, Hayato's already huge muscles bulged even more, especially his legs, swelling to nearly double their previous size.
BOOM!
With an earth-shaking crash, his hulking body rocketed into the sky, hurling itself straight at the Third Kazekage.
"What the—?!" The Kazekage hadn't expected Hayato to jump that high, and was startled. He hurriedly twisted his body, trying to dodge in midair.
BAM!
Hayato's giant fist smashed into the Kazekage's iron sand wings. Iron sand exploded in all directions. The Kazekage's body tilted mid-air, wobbling, about to fall. But just in time, he regained control, reforged the wings with iron sand, and flapped them hard—flying off again.
Meanwhile, Hayato let out another roar and crashed back down to the ground. The impact made the whole earth tremble—it was like a mini-earthquake. Then, without pause, he charged after the Third Kazekage once more.
The Kazekage flew at top speed through the air, while Hayato chased him from the ground. Every so often, Hayato would suddenly leap high up, aiming a brutal smash at him. Each jump threw the Kazekage into a panic—sometimes even managing to break his wings. Every time that happened, the Kazekage had to quickly repair them to stay airborne.
From a distance, the Sand Shinobi watched the two figures—one flying, one chasing—fade away into the distance. They looked around at the battlefield: scattered limbs, twisted bodies, pools of blood mixed with dirt… The sight weighed heavy on their hearts. Some shinobi, unable to take it, even began to cry.
Shinobi usually aren't afraid of dying. They're trained to accept it from the start. But what scared them was dying at the hands of a monster like Hayato—especially after seeing what he did to the ones who'd already fallen.
Hidden in the shadows, Orochimaru silently watched the whole scene—the Kazekage flying off, the battlefield littered with Sand Shinobi corpses, many of them jonin. A cruel smile crept onto his face.
"Release."
POOF!
Orochimaru vanished in a puff of smoke. It turned out he had only been a shadow clone all along, sent to gather intel. Now that the clone had seen everything, it dispelled itself, sending the information back to the real Orochimaru.
Back with his real body, Orochimaru's eyes lit up, and a twisted smile formed on his lips.
"Sensei Sarutobi, it's time to move. Hayato is rampaging through the Sand Village forces. He's already killed at least thirty jonin, over a hundred chunin, and who knows how many genin. Even the Third Kazekage had to abandon the front line just to lure him away."
"Right now... is the perfect time to strike."
...
When Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, and the others heard what Orochimaru said, they couldn't hide the shock in their eyes. But right after that, their expressions sharpened with determination.
"Alright," Hiruzen said. "Jiraiya, take the Ino-Shika-Cho clans and the Aburame clan—head straight for the Sand Village camp from this side. Orochimaru, you take the Uchiha and Hyuga clans and strike from the other direction... Tsunade, you head here to block any surprise attacks from the Stone Village..."
"Yes, sensei!" Jiraiya and Orochimaru responded in unison.
Without wasting another second, they all moved out. They dropped everything and rushed at full speed toward the Land of Wind. This was their best shot to defeat Sunagakure. If they could take down the Sand Village, only the Stone ninja would remain. You could say this battle would decide whether Konoha wins or loses the entire war.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru led their squads and charged straight at the Sand ninja.
Without the Third Kazekage to lead them, and with so many of their forces wiped out by Hayato, it was obvious the Sand shinobi's morale had hit rock bottom.
So when Konoha's forces suddenly launched a surprise attack, the Sand ninja—completely unprepared—got totally overwhelmed. Ninja after ninja fell under the assault. It was a total disaster for the Sand Village. They were crushed in just one battle. And to avoid getting wiped out completely, they had no choice but to surrender. They signed a declaration of defeat, and as the losing side, they'd obviously have to pay the price.
While Konoha was striking the Sand Village, Hayato was still chasing down the Third Kazekage like a madman.
Hayato kept grabbing boulders or massive tree trunks and hurling them with brutal force at the Kazekage. Sometimes he'd leap into the air and go straight for a close-quarters smash.
But no matter how strong he was, it was still a pain trying to catch someone who could fly when he couldn't.
Once they were far enough from the Sand Village forces, the Kazekage started to speed up, hoping to lose Hayato. But no matter how fast he flew, Hayato kept matching his pace. He just wouldn't shake him off.
Still, the difference between flying and not flying was a big deal. Using his air advantage, the Kazekage started flying in circles, using the terrain to his benefit. Eventually, he finally managed to evade Hayato.
But by the time the Kazekage made it back... it was already too late. The Sand Village had been completely defeated.
And all of this? It was thanks to one person—Hayato.
The moment he turned into the Hulk, he was just... way too powerful.
"....."