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BOOM!
Like a freaking missile, Hayato's huge body came crashing down from the sky, aiming straight for Orochimaru.
Sensing that something was off, Orochimaru looked up just in time to see Hayato's massive figure barreling toward him.
His expression changed instantly, and his hands flew into motion, forming a jutsu seal faster than ever before—way faster than he'd ever done in the past.
POOF!
Orochimaru pulled off a perfect Substitution Jutsu. With a puff of smoke, a wooden log took his place right before Hayato smashed into it.
The log shattered instantly from the impact, and Hayato's massive frame slammed hard into the ground, shaking everything around.
The earth rumbled violently, and within a radius of over a kilometer, deep cracks split the ground apart. That one hit alone wiped out a huge chunk of the battlefield.
Even though Orochimaru had dodged Neji's earlier attack using Substitution, the shockwaves from Hayato's crash gave away his position.
Hayato spotted him instantly. Without missing a beat, he grabbed a massive rock—split but not fully broken from the earlier impact—and hurled it straight at Orochimaru like a cannonball.
The boulder whistled through the air and was right in Orochimaru's face before he could react. He had just used Substitution and was still dealing with the tremors in the ground, so dodging was almost impossible.
All he could do was raise his arms in front of him in a desperate attempt to block.
WHAM!
The boulder slammed into his arms—CRACK!—they snapped on impact like twigs. But the rock didn't stop there. It kept going, crashing into his chest.
SPLURT! Orochimaru coughed up a mouthful of blood—chunks of his internal organs came with it. The force sent him flying hundreds of meters before he finally hit the ground with a loud THUD, most of his body pinned under the massive rock.
At that point, nearly every bone in his body was crushed. He was a mangled mess—blood everywhere, body twisted, and no signs of breathing. That hit was brutal—the force behind it was easily stronger than any S-rank jutsu.
But then…
The bloody mess that was Orochimaru suddenly opened its mouth. A pale, creepy hand reached out from inside, stretching his jaws open wider and wider until—out crawled another Orochimaru.
Yup, it was one of his secret life-saving moves—Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement. He used an external body as a shell, and when things got really bad, he could crawl out from the mouth of the old one.
It was one of the best escape techniques out there, but it burned through a ton of chakra.
The newly emerged Orochimaru was gasping for breath and looked super weak—like he just came out of a coma.
And just then—BOOM BOOM BOOM—heavy footsteps pounded the ground again. The earth trembled as Hayato charged in once more, giant fists cutting through the air as he aimed to smash Orochimaru again.
Orochimaru's face turned pale. He'd already been no match for Hayato under normal conditions—now, after using his secret jutsu and burning through so much chakra, it was even worse.
"Damn it," Orochimaru cursed, forcing the last of his chakra to move through his body. "Ninjutsu: Slithering Evil Snake!"
He slammed his hand on the ground—and from under Hayato's feet, a huge serpent burst out, aiming to launch Hayato into the air.
But the snake wasn't nearly strong enough.
Hayato grabbed its head with both hands, held it still, and then—SQUISH!—squeezed until the snake's skull exploded like a water balloon.
In that brief moment, Orochimaru had already whipped out a bunch of clones—Water Clone, Earth Clone, Shadow Clone—you name it. They all scattered in different directions. He was trying to figure out which version would fool Hayato best.
Hayato let out a furious roar and went straight after one of the clones. POW! One punch and it turned into a pile of dirt. He chased the next—smashed it. Then the next.
Water clones, Earth clones, Shadow clones—didn't matter. Hayato smashed them all like nothing.
Finally, he caught the real Orochimaru—grabbed him with one giant hand and lifted him high into the air.
SLAM!
He smashed Orochimaru into the ground so hard that Orochimaru coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Then—BAM!—Hayato's fist came down again.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Meanwhile, back at the spot where the other Orochimaru's crushed corpse lay under the boulder, something moved. A tiny white snake—no thicker than a pinky finger and only about ten centimeters long—slithered out of the broken body.
It stared in the direction Hayato was in, eyes filled with a mix of fear… and greed.
Then it dove underground and disappeared.
Back on the battlefield, Hayato finally let out a deep breath after pulverizing Orochimaru's body. His ten-meter-tall form started shrinking, eventually returning to his normal size.
He collapsed on the ground, completely wiped out. If it weren't for the rise and fall of his chest, you'd think he was dead too.
"....."