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No, this was even easier than swatting a mosquito—at least a mosquito could fly and dodge. These sealing squad shinobi? They were even easier to crush.
In the blink of an eye, the entire sealing team was wiped out.
"What?!"
"Bastard! Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
"Why didn't the sealing work?! Even tailed beasts can be sealed—why the hell didn't it work on him?!"
The sight was unbearable. The squad they thought could pin down Hayato had instead been reduced to pulp in just a few strikes. Every Iwa-nin watching was shaken. Seals worked even on bijuu, yet against Hayato they'd been useless—like serving themselves up as easy prey.
"Damn it! Get a grip!" Ōnoki roared, his eyes bloodshot as fury poured off him. "All of you—attack that green monster! Use your strongest jutsu! This time, we're killing him no matter what!"
His rage wasn't just at Hayato. It was at himself. This was his second massive blunder. The first time, he'd led an entire strike force of elites to ambush Hayato, only for nearly all of them—jōnin at worst, most of them elite jōnin—to be slaughtered. Iwagakure had bled hard for that mistake, a loss so severe it rattled the village to its core.
And yet here they were again. To avenge that disaster and finish Hayato, Ōnoki had even brought a jinchūriki and a sealing unit. But Hayato's strength was overwhelming. Not only was he trading blows head-on with the Four-Tails, Son Gokū, he looked like he was actually winning. The sealing team hadn't even slowed him down—they'd been annihilated instantly.
After brushing aside the sealing squad, Hayato turned on the charging Four-Tails. He let out a guttural roar, raised his fist high, and the moment Son Gokū lunged, Hayato's punch slammed straight into the beast's face.
Boom!
The giant body of the Four-Tails was knocked flying. With a sickening crack, one of its massive fangs snapped clean off and clattered to the ground. Hayato had just punched a tailed beast so hard he broke its tooth.
"Raaagh!" Son Gokū's scream echoed across the battlefield. Clutching his face with one massive hand, the beast glared at Hayato with eyes that weren't just angry—they held a trace of fear. Never before had Son Gokū faced an enemy like this. Someone who could go toe-to-toe with a tailed beast… and actually push it back. Such power was something it had only ever associated with legends.
In Hayato's presence, Son Gokū felt the same crushing pressure it once felt when facing the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and his Wood Release. That overwhelming power that made resistance feel pointless. But even Hashirama hadn't ever broken its fangs.
"Rrrraahh!"
The Four-Tails hesitated, shaken, but Hayato had no intention of letting him off. With that massive body, Son Gokū was the perfect target—and Hayato wasn't about to waste it. He roared back, leapt into the air, and came crashing down toward the beast.
"You bastard! You think I'm actually afraid of you?!" Son Gokū howled, baring his broken grin. Energy churned at the back of its throat, dark and ominous. As a tailed beast, there was no need to hold back—the beast bomb, its most devastating attack, began to form between its jaws.
The raw power radiating from it made even Ōnoki and the others flinch with unease. The danger was obvious.
But Hayato didn't stop. He closed the distance in a blur and, with another bone-crunching smash, drove his fist into the Four-Tails' face again, cutting the beast bomb short.
The Tailed Beast Ball, already halfway formed, was smashed apart in an instant by Hayato's brutal punch. Even unfinished, the thing still carried a dangerous amount of power. But compared to a fully-formed Tailed Beast Ball, it was nothing—and standing right next to it, Hayato barely took any damage.
Clack!
Another fang hit the ground. That same punch hadn't just shattered the ball, it had knocked out one of Son Gokū the Four-Tails' tusks again.
…Poor guy.
Honestly, Son Gokū's power wasn't even in the same league as Hayato's—and his brain wasn't helping him either. Who in their right mind tries charging up a Tailed Beast Ball in the middle of a fight like this? The thing takes forever to form. If your opponent doesn't interrupt you, that's just plain stupid.
"What…?"
Ōnoki, Rōshi, and the others froze, stunned by what they were seeing.
But Hayato wasn't stunned at all. With a furious roar, he lunged forward, tackled Son Gokū to the ground, and raised his massive fist. Then came the pounding—bam, bam, bam!—raining blow after blow down on the Four-Tails.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
"Lava Release: Scorching River of Magma!"
Rōshi and Ōnoki, unable to hold back any longer, launched their attacks at Hayato. Twin jutsu slammed into him at once.
"Raaaghhh!"
Hayato let out a roar, abandoning the Four-Tails, who had gone limp as if he'd already given up, and charged straight at them instead. His wild strength fueled terrifying speed, and in the blink of an eye he was right in front of the two. Then the frenzy began.
Wham!
Ōnoki was blasted away with a single punch, crashing to the ground hard. He'd already been injured, and now those wounds stacked on top of each other. This time, he couldn't get back up. All he could do was glare at Hayato with burning hatred.
"Lord Tsuchikage!" Rōshi's heart lurched as he saw Ōnoki smashed aside. His eyes widened when Hayato lifted his foot and aimed a stomp right at the old man. In Ōnoki's condition, one step would finish him for good.
"Lava Release: Granite Armor!"
Boom!
The defensive technique wasn't bad—Hayato's foot stopped short, unable to crush Ōnoki. But that only enraged him further. With another deafening roar, he raised his leg even higher and slammed it down with full force.
Crash!
Cracks split across Rōshi's defense. Sweat poured down his face, his expression turning pale as he struggled to hold back the crushing weight.
"....."