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Hayato made his move without hesitation. He knew there was no way to talk things out with those Rain-nin, so he didn't waste a single word. Instead, he went straight for the strongest attack he could pull off right now—something like Pegasus Meteor Fist, an all-out, overwhelming barrage—blasting through most of the Rain-nin who came at him. Only a few genin managed to survive, but he didn't have the strength left to chase them down.
Sure, if he transformed into the Hulk, those guys wouldn't stand a chance of getting away. But for just a few low-level ninjas? Not worth going full raging green monster.
Honestly, whether he killed those genin or let them run didn't make a difference to him. If he wiped them all out, no one would be left to tell Hanzō the Salamander—but Hanzō was already keeping tabs on him and would come for him sooner or later. If he let them escape and report back, same result—Hanzō still wouldn't let him off. Either way, no difference at all.
The next morning, when Hidetaka woke up and stretched, his body was still a little sore, but the wounds from yesterday were pretty much healed. That's what he relied on—this insane recovery speed that no normal human could even dream of, all thanks to his brutal training.
He slid the door open and stepped outside. In the kitchen, Konan was moving back and forth, busy making breakfast. When she spotted him, she ran over and reached out, feeling his arm. Once she confirmed the wounds were completely gone, she finally let out a sigh of relief, her face lighting up with a happy smile.
"Breakfast will be ready soon! Go wash up so we can eat," she said brightly.
"Yeah," Hidetaka replied with a grin, patting her on the head before heading into the bathroom to wash up.
At first, he'd never planned on setting up much of a home here—kitchen, bathroom, that stuff didn't matter to him. But because Konan was living with him, he'd gone ahead and prepared those things. Turns out, they really were coming in handy now.
"Big bro Hayato!" Nagato and Yahiko ran over, eyes wide as they looked him up and down. Seeing no sign of any injury at all, their faces lit up with joy and a little bit of envy.
"Mm," Hidetaka gave a simple nod. His tone was flat, but it was still a greeting. Even if he didn't really have feelings for the two, they were still neighbors—no harm in acknowledging them.
"Big bro Hayato, what kind of jutsu did you use yesterday? That move where you smashed through the rocks and killed a bunch of Rain-nin in one hit?" Yahiko asked, making big hand gestures, eyes shining with excitement.
"That wasn't ninjutsu. Just plain taijutsu," Hidetaka said casually.
"Huh? But it was crazy strong!" Yahiko blinked, then his eyes lit up even more. "Big bro Hayato, can you teach us that move?"
"It's just a regular punch. If you wanna learn it, go practice yourselves. There's no trick to it," Hidetaka replied, still calm. He wasn't lying—he'd just thrown all his strength into the fastest, fiercest punches he could, hitting over a hundred times in one breath. No secret techniques, no hidden skills. Just pure strength and physical ability stacked up to the limit.
Yahiko opened his mouth to keep asking, but Nagato tugged his sleeve. Compared to Yahiko, Nagato was sharper—maybe it was the Rinnegan, maybe just better instincts. He knew Hidetaka didn't dislike them, but he also didn't particularly like them either. At best, they were just "slightly familiar strangers." He didn't want Yahiko's questions to start annoying him.
As for their little display, Hidetaka didn't even register it. The only person he really cared about was Konan. Everyone else? Whether they lived or died didn't matter much to him.
Meanwhile, while Hidetaka was back to his daily training, those escaped genin had already made it to Hanzō's presence. Faces pale and still shaking with fear, they bowed low.
"Lord Hanzō! That guy, Hayato—he… he not only refused your generous offer, but he also killed Lord Miku and the others!"
"Hayato? He dared to turn me down? And killed my men? Bold, very bold!" Hanzō snorted coldly. Sure, Konoha had beaten him into hiding, and Sunagakure had done the same, and Iwagakure too—but he was still the leader of the Land of Rain, the so-called Demigod of the Shinobi World. And now some wandering no-name ninja had the nerve to refuse his recruitment, let alone kill his people? No way was he letting that slide.
"Go bring me Hansan and the other three," Hanzō said darkly.
"Yes, Lord Hanzō!"
Before long, four Rain-nin appeared before him—four full-fledged jōnin.
"Hayato dared to kill my men and reject my goodwill! So now, the four of you will go and capture him for me. If he resists, then bring me his corpse instead," Hanzō ordered, his tone cold enough to chill the air.
"Yes, Lord Hanzō!" The four jōnin bowed and left immediately, heading straight for Hidetaka.
For Hanzō to send all four of them at once was no small thing. After years of war, the Land of Rain's ninja numbers were already at rock bottom. Other than the jōnin who guarded him personally, these four were all he had left to deploy. Sending them all meant one thing—he was taking Hayato extremely seriously… or he hated him that much.
Either way, he was ready to throw everything he had at this.
"....."