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Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, even Orochimaru, and a bunch of other shinobi—including Hyūga clan members with Byakugan and Uchiha with Sharingan—appeared together in front of Hayato.
"So, you're Hayato? What are you doing here, suddenly showing up like this?"Hiruzen narrowed his sharp eyes at Hayato. Even though Hayato looked insanely strong, Hiruzen didn't feel particularly threatened. But deep down, he knew—that feeling was just an illusion.
Honestly, when Hayato walked in like this, Hiruzen seriously considered capturing him right then and there. But Hayato's power had turned out to be way beyond expectations. And on top of that, the Second Great Ninja War had already kicked off—Konoha was under attack from both Iwa and Suna. Now really wasn't the time to stir up trouble with someone this powerful. Not yet, anyway. They'd deal with him after the war.
Staring Hiruzen down, Hayato pulled a map from his cloak and pointed to a specific area."I want all Konoha ninja to stay the hell out of this zone."
"What?"
"Come again?!"
Plenty of people scoffed, glaring at Hayato like he was insane. Was this guy actually serious?
"You folks in Konoha should know a little bit about me, right?" Hayato said calmly. "Sure, I might not look that strong right now. I probably couldn't even take on a Konoha jōnin in a fair fight. But you do know what I'm like once my kekkei genkai activates. Don't you?"He looked over at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, you should know firsthand. Honestly, I'm surprised you're still alive."
"Heh heh heh…" Orochimaru let out a creepy chuckle, licking the corner of his mouth with his tongue. "Yeah, your kekkei genkai is insanely powerful. If I hadn't been extra careful, I might've been dead already."
Hearing that, Tsunade and Jiraiya—who were standing nearby—didn't look all that surprised. They knew a bit about what had happened. But the others? Especially the Uchiha and Hyūga shinobi? Their eyes widened with shock.
Sure, Orochimaru was officially just a jōnin, but his strength had long surpassed that rank. The only reason he hadn't been promoted was that, in a village like Konoha, the highest rank below the Hokage was jōnin—there was nowhere higher to go. So, for someone that powerful to nearly die fighting Hayato… yeah, everyone started looking at him a lot more seriously now.
"My kekkei genkai might have its flaws," Hayato said, still pointing at the map, "but on a battlefield like this, it's incredibly deadly. If you don't want me showing up on your side of the war, then keep your people out of this zone."
At that, everyone's faces darkened.
"Are you threatening us?" Hiruzen's eyes gleamed with cold fury.
"Damn right I am," Hayato replied without hesitation.
No one in Konoha expected him to be so blunt. The whole place went quiet for a moment.
"You arrogant little punk, you really think you're invincible?!" Tsunade snapped, her temper flaring as she looked ready to punch someone.
"So that's your decision?" Hayato said coldly. "Fine by me. But just know this—either I die, or Konoha gets wiped off the map."
His voice was calm, but it chilled everyone to the bone.
"....."