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With both hands, he grabbed a huge tree—about a meter thick in diameter—and with a roar, he uprooted it right out of the ground.
Clutching the massive tree tightly in both arms, the monstrous Hayato treated it like a weapon. Holding the tree like a giant club, he swung it hard and slammed it down onto one of the ninja.
Even though these ninjas were all skilled—none below mid-level Jonin strength—they'd never faced an opponent like Hayato before. Seeing him so ferocious and brutal, they were momentarily frozen, their reactions slowed down. This gave Hayato the chance to brutally crush a few of them with sheer force.
"Don't get close to him. And don't let him get close to you. Sure, he's super strong, but he doesn't have any ranged attacks. His speed is fast, but his flexibility isn't great. Keep your distance, keep your distance, and use ninjutsu against him—mainly binding and restraining techniques."
Danzo, leader of Root, was experienced in battle. Even though several of his men had died in the brief fight, he quickly spotted some weak spots—or rather, vulnerabilities—in Hayato, and ordered his men to target those.
As he gave orders, Danzo's eyes gleamed with command. A monster this powerful? Exactly what he wanted to control. If it weren't for the Nine-Tails, he wouldn't have had to hold back—he'd already have seized the beast and started a war.
Following Danzo's orders, the ninjas immediately backed off from Hayato and began using various ninjutsu techniques aimed at him, mostly ones designed to bind or hinder his movements.
Techniques like Earth Style: Swamp of the Netherworld were even used. But Hayato had faced this before. Although he seemed like a wild beast with no reason, his battle instincts were sharp. When caught in the Swamp of the Netherworld, he used his overwhelming strength to forcefully break free.
Though they couldn't injure Hayato much, their tactics did cause trouble. At least now, he couldn't move as freely as before.
"Roar!" Hayato growled and growled in frustration. These ninjas swarmed around him like annoying flies, throwing out countless weak but bothersome jutsu nonstop.
Even though one punch could kill them, they buzzed around, impossible to catch. It was maddening—trying to hit them but always just out of reach.
Danzo watched with a smile, confident he'd found Hayato's weak spot and had him under control. "Get ready. We're capturing him now."
"Yes, Lord Danzo!" The Root ninjas moved unpredictably to avoid his attacks, continuously releasing various ninjutsu.
"Ahhh!" Hayato roared furiously, lifting his head to the sky in anger.
"Now!" Danzo's eyes lit up. "Now's our chance!"
Swiftly, ropes infused with chakra and sealing power flew toward Hayato, aiming to bind him. Some ropes even crackled with electric arcs to paralyze whoever they trapped, making them easier to subdue.
But just as they moved in, Hayato suddenly changed again, much to their shock. Boom! His already tall frame—over three meters tall—grew even bigger, towering around five meters now.
With the height increase came weight, pressing down so hard the ground beneath him cracked and sank.
Smack!
The giant Hayato grabbed the ropes flying at him. The electricity zapped his palms, but the shock was weak. It only made his hands tingle and fueled his anger.
"Roar!" He growled, yanking the ropes hard. The Root ninjas felt the massive force surge through the ropes, yanking them toward Hayato with no control.
Boom!
Hayato's huge fists smashed into the airborne ninjas. Screams filled the air, blood splattered everywhere, soaking the ground red—and some even splashed onto Danzo's smiling face.
Only one or two quick ninjas managed to use substitution jutsu and barely escaped with their lives. The rest were all dead.
"....."