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"Summoning Jutsu: Rashōmon!"
Just as Hayato's huge fist was about to smash into Orochimaru's face, Orochimaru immediately used his summoning jutsu.
Orochimaru pressed both hands down on the ground, and in the next moment, a massive gate resembling a terrifying demon erupted from the earth, right in front of him, blocking the attack.
Bam!
Hayato's fist slammed into the Rashōmon gate with a thunderous boom. But then, unbelievably, his fist broke straight through the gate — and didn't stop there. It kept going forward and landed a solid punch on Orochimaru's body.
With a spurt, Orochimaru spat out blood and was sent flying backward, crashing hard onto the ground. He staggered but struggled to get back up.
Luckily for Orochimaru, even though the Rashōmon couldn't fully block Hayato's attack, the gate had absorbed about 70% of the force.
So while that punch did hit Orochimaru, it wasn't deadly — and didn't seriously injure him either.
"That attack is insanely strong. Not even Rashōmon could fully stop it," Orochimaru muttered in amazement.
But Hayato didn't care about Orochimaru's shock. What mattered to him was that Orochimaru was still alive. Without hesitation, he charged at him again.
"Orochimaru-sama!""Damn it.""Monster!"
The Konoha ninja who had come with Orochimaru watched Hayato nervously. Fear was creeping into their hearts. But as long as their leader Orochimaru was still standing, they hadn't completely lost hope.
Seeing Hayato rush in again, they launched their own attacks—ninjutsu, weapons, all kinds of techniques.
But no one dared to try taijutsu (hand-to-hand fighting) against him—no one was stupid enough to get close to Hayato's fists on purpose.
"Roar!" Hayato had planned to finish Orochimaru first, then deal with the others. But the Konoha ninja swarmed around him like annoying flies, buzzing all over the place.
Their attacks didn't hurt him at all, but they were a huge nuisance. With a furious roar, Hayato slammed his huge palm down hard on the swarm of attackers.
Smack!
Blood splattered everywhere. Two of the ninja were smashed flat into pulp. Dead beyond doubt.
After crushing those two pesky "flies," Hayato got even more fired up and started smashing through the rest of the group.
His huge fists and palms landed blow after blow, killing one or more ninjas with every strike.
Compared to the frustrating fight against Orochimaru—where he could barely land a hit—this felt so much better.
"Damn it! Summoning: Ten Thousand Snakes!"
Orochimaru's expression darkened as he watched Hayato stop chasing him and start slaughtering the other Konoha ninja instead.
You have to remember, at this point, Orochimaru was still loyal—this was before he betrayed the village after the Second Great Ninja War. He cared deeply about his teammates.
Seeing Hayato rampage against the Konoha shinobi, Orochimaru couldn't hold back any longer. He summoned the Ten Thousand Snakes.
Boom!
A giant python appeared right in front of Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, if you want me out here, I'll need a hundred sacrifices!" the giant snake said, eyes gleaming.
"No problem. Just catch that big guy for me! If you can't, at least bring me his corpse," Orochimaru replied calmly. He wasn't surprised by the snake's demand—he was used to it—and pointed to the rampaging Hayato.
"Hmm? That is one big guy. And he's strong too. Orochimaru, I'm going to need a hundred sacrifices to take him down." The snake's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Alright!" Orochimaru nodded decisively.
"Then get your sacrifices ready, Orochimaru!" With that, the giant snake lunged straight at Hayato.
Hayato was busy chasing down the Konoha ninja when he heard movement behind him.
Turning around, Hayato saw a massive snake rushing at him. Without hesitation, he swung his fist, aiming a punch straight at the snake.
"....."