Seeing his retreat completely cut off, the intruder's heart sank.
He immediately reached into his vest to pull out a signal flare, but before he could fire it, Baki was already upon him.
"Damn it!"
Forced to dodge in an awkward scramble, he barely avoided the initial strike.
Bang!
A split second later, Baki's right leg slammed heavily into the intruder's right shoulder. The sharp pain caused his hand to involuntarily unclench, and the signal flare fell uselessly to the ground.
There was no time to retrieve it. Baki was relentless, his attacks following like a shadow, forcing the intruder to retreat further and further just to maintain a sliver of safety.
As the dark clouds parted, the bright moonlight revealed the intruder's face.
It was a familiar, sickly-looking face.
The designated chief proctor for the third round of the Chunin Exams—Hayate Gekkō.
"Ho ho, if it isn't the chief proctor of the exams. What brings you to such a remote place in the middle of the night?" Baki asked, staring at Hayate as if he were already a corpse.
"Sand and Sound... what exactly are you planning?! Isn't the Sand Village an ally of the Leaf? And you... Menma Uzumaki! Are you betraying the village?! Why!?"
Hayate dropped his usual sickly demeanor, his face filled with grim determination as he glared at Baki in front of him and Menma, who had appeared silently to his right.
Compared to the conspiracy between the Sand and Sound, Menma's presence—and his apparent involvement in their plot—delivered the biggest psychological blow to the proctor.
That was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of the Hidden Leaf!
In that moment, Hayate wished he were caught in a genjutsu, or that the boy was some fake clone created to deceive him.
But the burst of Nine-Tails chakra he felt earlier had been undeniably real.
It made Hayate feel as though his world was collapsing.
Facing Hayate's angry shout, Menma merely looked at him expressionlessly.
He was just a minor character, a Special Jonin at best. Menma had only followed to ensure Baki didn't mess up. He had no interest in wasting words with a dead man walking.
"Heh, allies? Has Konoha ever truly treated the Sand as an equal ally? For over a decade, we have endured, but our patience has reached its limit. It is time to end this twisted relationship!"
A fierce killing intent surged from Baki's brow.
"Wind Style: Blade of Wind!"
Cutting the chatter, Baki attacked with his signature jutsu.
Boom!
A whirlwind of cutting air exploded forward.
Whoosh!
Baki charged, his speed pushed to the limit, causing Hayate's heart to skip a beat.
"Damn it!"
In a rush, Hayate drew the sword strapped to his back.
"Dance of the Crescent Moon!"
The cold glint of his blade flashed as he lunged forward. He knew defeating the enemy in front of him was impossible, especially with another Sound ninja and Menma watching. Forcing a breakthrough was his only chance of survival.
Clang!
However, Hayate had not only overestimated himself but also underestimated Baki.
Baki was one of the top Jonin in the Hidden Sand. The gap in their strength was stark.
It was a complete crush.
After just one or two exchanges...
Squelch!?
Baki easily exploited an opening in Hayate's defense.
The blade of wind struck true, cutting straight to his vitals.
With a swift, cross-cutting slash as they passed each other, Hayate's expression froze. He felt the intense, tearing pain in his abdomen. Lowering his head with difficulty, he saw blood spraying everywhere and felt his life draining away rapidly.
'Yugao...'
As the image of his lover flashed before his eyes, Hayate's vision went black. His consciousness sank into darkness, his body pitching forward before collapsing limply onto the ground.
Dead at Baki's hands.
Following the kill, Baki didn't stop. He thrust his wind blade directly into Hayate's skull, twisting violently to completely destroy the brain. After all, a ninja's corpse could still yield intelligence.
Especially for Konoha, where the Yamanaka clan specialized in extracting information from the dead.
Witnessing this, Menma simply flickered away, disappearing into the thick night without a word.
Baki stared deeply in the direction Menma had gone, a peculiar light gleaming in his eyes.
'Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, huh? Heh, heaven is truly helping the Sand Village!'
Whispering this to himself, Baki flickered and vanished from the spot.
Leaving only Hayate Gekkō's cold, desolate corpse lying on the wasteland.
---
Hayate's death was another alarm bell for the Hidden Leaf. Although there was no definitive proof yet, the death of a Special Jonin was a clear signal in itself. Even if just to guard against Orochimaru alone, Konoha needed to be on high alert.
In the critical two or three days leading up to the finals, the atmosphere within Konoha's leadership became incredibly tense.
But the common people remained oblivious, smiles still plastered on their faces. especially on the day of the finals.
The festive atmosphere in Konoha reached a fever pitch.
Menma, fully geared up, pushed open his door and stepped into the bright, sunny weather.
Feeling the enthusiastic buzz generated by the exams, a hint of mockery tugged at the corner of Menma's mouth.
'Twelve years... it really is time for you all to remember. I hope you can still smile when the time comes.'
Menma looked coldly at the crowds of villagers gathering in the streets, his thoughts chillingly grim.
They enjoyed the peace and tranquility provided by the Hidden Leaf. So, when the time came, they would have to pay the price for it.
Menma had plenty of reasons to despise these people. While he didn't care enough to personally seek revenge on every single one of them, seeing them suffer was something he would gladly watch.
'Alright, let's go. It's time for the main stage.'
Menma strode forward, heading straight for the stadium on the other side of the village.
By the time he arrived, even though it was still over an hour before the matches were scheduled to start, the area around the stadium was already surging with people.