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Bang!
A corpse was thrown out of the house—it was one of the Black Tiger Gang's thugs. The sight gave quite a few people a good scare. They shivered and stared in the direction of Hida Hayato's room, their fear growing deeper.
Some people even started packing up and preparing to move out. They were worried that once the Black Tiger Gang showed up, they'd get caught in the crossfire.
The people moving out looked bitter and helpless. It wasn't just "afraid to speak up"—it was more like "not even daring to be angry." To them, whether it was Hida Hayato or the Black Tiger Gang, both were people they absolutely couldn't afford to mess with.
Hayato noticed all this. His expression shifted slightly, then returned to calm. If they wanted to leave, fine—let them. For those who chose to stay, Hayato would protect them as best he could, make sure they didn't get dragged into anything.
That was enough. After all, humans are social creatures. Even if you don't like talking or dealing with people, even if you prefer some peace and quiet, nobody wants to live all alone in some remote, deserted mountain forever.
"Man…" Hayato let out a long sigh. The reason he came to the Land of Rain in the first place was to escape the ninjas from Konoha and find a quiet place to settle down.
He never expected the situation here to be this bad. Even worse—despite how bad things already were, there were still scumbags like that Black Tiger Gang thug roaming around.
Yeah… having a peaceful life was not gonna be that simple.
Sure enough, just like Hayato expected, peace wasn't something you could get easily.
That very evening, members of the Black Tiger Gang showed up at Hayato's door.
BANG!
Another arrogant kick. The front door—which Hayato had only just repaired after killing that thug—was kicked open from the outside and splintered into pieces again. Cold wind howled in from outside.
Hayato frowned and looked up at the group standing at his door.
The one in front was a massive man. He was so big, just standing there was enough to block the entire doorway. He had a giant broadsword slung over his shoulder, and his face was full of menace—basically screamed "bad guy." Behind him stood a bunch of his men.
"You the one who killed my guy, punk? Got some balls, huh…" the big guy roared, his eyes gleaming with rage.
He swung his massive sword, and with a loud THUD, it slammed into the wall of the rundown house, making the whole place shake like it was about to collapse.
Hayato had already expected something like this might happen, but seeing these guys show up in person still pissed him off. He didn't say a word—just moved his wrist slightly, and a kunai appeared in his hand.
He had already made up his mind: he was gonna take out every single one of these guys in one go. That was the only way to avoid more trouble later. As for talking things out? Forget it. He wasn't in the mood.
Plus, Hayato really didn't want to turn into the Hulk—or rather, if he could avoid it, he preferred not to become the Hulk. Losing control of yourself? That's not fun.
Just to explain: Hayato's Hulk bloodline limit was fueled by anger. He needed to light that emotional fire to transform.
But if he could kill the people making him angry before that rage fully exploded—basically venting it early—then there wouldn't be enough fuel to ignite the fire, and he wouldn't transform. No rage, no Hulk. Simple.
Hayato flicked his wrist, kunai ready, then launched himself like an arrow straight toward the door. With a burst of speed, he aimed the kunai directly at the big guy's heart. The guy was over 190 cm tall—Hayato was just barely over a meter himself—so going for the head was tricky. The heart was a better target.
The Black Tiger Gang leader hadn't even finished his tough-guy speech before Hayato was already in his face. His expression changed fast.
Clearly, he had no idea Hayato lived by the rule: "If you can fight, don't talk. If you can't win—turn into the Hulk and then fight."
Before he could react, Hayato was right in front of him. The gang boss tried to dodge, but with all his men crowding behind him, there wasn't much space to move. Even trying to push back, he barely managed to shift to the side.
SHLNK!
The kunai didn't hit the heart, but it still carved a deep, long gash across his chest.
"AAAGH!" the boss howled in pain. In a rage, he swung the huge blade on his shoulder in a wide arc, not caring at all that his own men were around him.
SPLAT!
The blade swept through a half-circle, and three or four of his own guys were instantly cut down. Then—CLANG!—the sword was blocked. Hayato's kunai had stopped it cold.
Hayato didn't even feel strained stopping the attack. Sure, the boss was strong, but the cramped space made it hard for him to swing properly.
Plus, after slicing down his own guys, by the time the blade got to Hayato, there wasn't much force left. Hayato blocked it like it was nothing.
"....."