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Hayato had been training almost the entire day, pushing himself to the limit. Meanwhile, Orochimaru and his team had been secretly watching him the whole time.
Only after Hayato had completely drained his stamina and tossed aside a huge boulder did Orochimaru finally step out from the shadows with his men.
In a flash, Orochimaru appeared right in front of Hayato his eyes glowing with interest. Because he had been spying all day, Orochimaru now understood Hayato's physical abilities much better—and that only made him want to capture Hayato even more, to study him.
Hayato, utterly exhausted, saw Orochimaru suddenly appear before him and instinctively narrowed his eyes. He immediately recognized the man: Orochimaru—the early series villain of the Naruto world, and even in the later arcs, a major figure tied to many events. This guy was insanely twisted.
Right after Orochimaru showed up, other Leaf Village ninjas jumped out from all directions, surrounding Hayato on every side.
"You know me?" Orochimaru asked, licking his lips with his long tongue, a greedy look in his eyes.
"Orochimaru? So the Leaf still won't just let it go?" Hayato stared hard at him. No matter what, Hayato was very wary of Orochimaru. This guy was not only twisted but also an insanely smart scientist with who knows what kind of tricks.
"Heh heh heh. Just let it go? Not a chance. You know the Leaf and the Rain Village are at war now, right? It's because of you. Well, even if it wasn't you, war would have come eventually.
But how could we ignore your existence? I'm curious though—knowing we might come for you, why did you still push yourself so hard? You've almost drained every last drop of strength and chakra. Aren't you worried we'll capture you? Or... does your bloodline limit have nothing to do with stamina or chakra?
Maybe it only activates once your body's completely spent? Or maybe that's what powers it up?" Orochimaru looked at Hayato with intense curiosity, like a mad scientist staring at his perfect test subject.
"No comment. And here's a warning: don't look at me with those eyes—" Hayato's voice was cold as he stared back.
Hayato hated that look Orochimaru gave him, especially knowing exactly what kind of twisted guy he was.
"Heh heh heh, Hayato, come with me. Follow me, and I can study your bloodline limit. I can teach you how to train properly. I can give you real power." Orochimaru smiled darkly.
Even though at this point he wasn't a rogue ninja yet, his nature was already set. Plus, capturing Hayato would be a huge win for him—his master Sarutobi Hiruzen even hoped for it.
"Hmph!" Hayato snorted, glancing at the surrounding ninjas before fixing his eyes back on Orochimaru. He didn't care what this Orochimaru was like now—he was his enemy.
In fact, Hayato was already thinking about killing Orochimaru right then and there. Whatever would come later in the story, whatever else, it wasn't his concern anymore.
"So it looks like a little force is necessary?" Orochimaru's cold smile grew wider. At once, the ninjas surrounding Hayato each threw small spherical objects at him.
Hayato was utterly drained and tried to dodge, but he couldn't get away. The spheres didn't hit him directly, but suddenly grey smoke started pouring out from them.
"Poison gas?" Hayato's mind flashed with that thought. The next moment, he felt his eyelids grow heavy, his brain clouding. It was a sleeping drug.
Bang! Hayato swayed twice and collapsed to the ground.
Seeing this, Orochimaru's expression didn't change. He just waved his hand and said, "Go. Capture him."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" Two ninjas responded immediately, rushing forward with ropes to tie up Hayato.
"....."