Looking at the explosion he had just created, Hayashi dropped to the ground, his exhausted body finally giving in.
A wave of dizziness washed over him—perhaps the lingering effect of his recent battle with the jonin.
Forcing himself upright, Hayashi squinted through the drifting smoke. He wanted to confirm if Sakada had been obliterated by the explosive tags.
But as the smoke cleared, there was no sign of blood or a body—only fragments of earthen walls scattered around. The remains of an Earth Release jutsu were obvious.
Broken pieces of stone and dirt lay piled atop one another, blasted apart by the explosion.
Suddenly, a pale hand thrust out from under the rubble.
"Hahaha! You bastard—you almost killed me!"
Sakada's rough voice came from beneath the debris.
Hayashi's expression darkened. He immediately recognized the technique—Earth Release: Multiple Earthen Wall.
So that was it. At the very last second, the jonin had used Earth Release to block the blast.
As expected of a jonin.
Sakada pushed aside a large rock, revealing his burned face. His once-yellow ninja uniform was now scorched and torn, smeared with blood and ash. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
Only his black-rimmed glasses remained intact.
If he hadn't been skilled in Earth Release—if he hadn't reacted in that critical instant—he would have been blown to pieces.
"Damn it!" Sakada growled through clenched teeth. "If anyone ever tells me Leaf genin are easy to handle again, I'll make sure they regret it!"
He sat on the ground, his body trembling from pain. Blood seeped from his mouth and ears.
Hayashi tightened his grip on a kunai, his breath ragged. The distance between them was too wide for genjutsu, but that didn't matter.
The kunai whistled through the air like a cannonball, flying straight toward Sakada's head.
The injured jonin barely had time to react.
It's over, Hayashi thought.
But the kunai only grazed Sakada's ear, drawing blood.
"Argh!" Sakada snapped to attention, startled by the sharp pain.
Hayashi frowned. Why didn't it hit?
Then—a sudden sting in his arm.
He glanced down and saw his skin turning faintly purple where Sakada's kunai had cut him.
It was poisoned.
"You poisoned your kunai?" Hayashi hissed.
Sakada smirked as he clutched his bleeding ear. "That punch you gave me earlier—I let it happen on purpose. I pretended to be careless so I could get close enough to scratch you. I didn't expect your strike to be that strong, though. Guess I walked right into your trap."
He tilted his head. "Tell me, Do you have a relationship with Tsunade?"
"She's my teacher. You scared now?" Hayashi replied coldly.
"Hmph. Terrifying indeed," Sakada admitted. "The orphan of Uchiha Kagami, student of Tsunade herself... A genin who can push a jonin this far should be proud. I'm almost reluctant to kill you."
Hayashi felt the poison slowly spreading through his bloodstream.
"The Sand's poisons... they really live up to their reputation," he muttered.
Sakada chuckled. "I've got two pieces of news for you—one good, one bad. Which do you want first?"
"Good news," Hayashi said, brushing the dust off his clothes.
"The good news is, this poison is new—still in testing. You're lucky. You'll last about forty minutes before it kills you."
"And the bad news?"
"There's no antidote," Sakada sneered. "And I'll end you in ten."
Before Hayashi could respond, Sakada's figure blurred, closing the distance in an instant. A short blade gleamed in his hand as he swung for Hayashi's back.
The moment the blade was about to strike, Hayashi's genjutsu enveloped Sakada's senses.
The jonin froze.
Ninjas are masters of deception, Hayashi thought. You can't trust a single word they say.
Judging from the mild discoloration on his arm, it wasn't an instant-kill poison—but it would eat away at his body if he fought for too long. He'd have to finish this within twenty minutes.
No prolonged taijutsu. No mistakes.
Sakada broke free from the illusion and appeared behind Hayashi, blade raised again.
"Giving up already, kid?"
His weapon sliced through the target—
—but the figure of Hayashi vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Shadow Clone!?" Sakada's eyes widened.
He stared at the empty spot where Hayashi had stood.
A clone?
All that time... he'd been talking to a clone!
"Trying to run, huh?" he muttered furiously, scanning the treeline for his opponent.
---