Hayashi, determined to end the fight quickly, moved the moment his chakra surged. Lightning Release coursed through his body, accelerating his steps until he seemed to vanish from sight. In a flash, he thrust forward, his kunai cutting through the air toward the Sunagakure captain.
At the same time, he slashed down with a fierce follow-up strike.
The Sunagakure captain, who should have been able to evade with ease, suddenly felt his consciousness blur for an instant. His pupils trembled as he realized he had been caught in genjutsu without even noticing it. He had been guarding against the Sharingan from the start, yet he still fell into its trap.
By the time he dispelled the illusion, Hayashi's kunai was already slicing toward his throat.
He barely managed to intercept it with his own kunai. Sparks scattered as their blades met, and in that moment, Hayashi immediately overwhelmed him.
Using the locked kunai as a pivot point, Hayashi spun full-circle in mid-air and swept a powerful kick at the Sunagakure captain. The man retreated instinctively, avoiding the blow by a hair.
Hayashi's kick struck the ground with crushing force. A half-meter deep crater formed instantly, cracks spiderwebbing outward with sharp snaps.
"If that hit me, I'd be crippled, if not dead."
Cold sweat trickled down the captain's cheek. He had seen enough of Tsunade sama's brutal taijutsu on the battlefield to recognize the resemblance. Many of his comrades had been reduced to unrecognizable forms by kicks just like that.
He stepped back again, widening the distance. Hayashi's taijutsu clearly surpassed his, and as the exchange dragged on, the young Uchiha had already read most of his movements.
But Hayashi didn't give him room to breathe. The moment he retreated, Hayashi lunged after him like an unshakable shadow.
The Sunagakure jonin rapidly formed hand seals.
"Earth Release, Mud Spattering Stone."
Multiple fist-sized stones erupted from the ground and shot forward like artillery shells.
"Monster Strength Fist."
Hayashi smashed into the stones with raw power, shattering them effortlessly as he pushed straight through the jutsu. He charged directly toward the captain, refusing to be slowed.
Another genjutsu slipped over the captain's senses. His body froze for a fraction of a second, just long enough for Hayashi's lightning-coated kunai to carve cleanly through his waist.
But instead of blood, the figure split apart into mud.
"An Earth Clone?"
Hayashi landed and scanned the battlefield. His Sharingan flickered, searching for the real body.
Before he located him, two spinning Wind Release blades cut toward him from the side and rear, bypassing falling debris.
Hayashi flicked his kunai upward to intercept. Metal met compressed wind with a sharp clang, but no weapon could fully deflect Wind Release crafted to slice stone. The kunai held just long enough to redirect the first blade off its original path. Hayashi twisted, leaping past the second blade as it grazed by.
The two blades circled around and came at him again.
Then two more wind blades shot from the shadows, four in total converging on Hayashi.
The Sunagakure captain, knowing he could not match Hayashi in close combat, remained hidden while manipulating Wind Release from afar, using every advantage to stay alive and strike whenever Hayashi slipped.
Hayashi shook his head lightly, then accelerated forward. The four wind blades scraped gouges into the mountain surface as they chased him relentlessly.
Just before they reached him, Hayashi abruptly altered his path, diving downward. He twisted his body and charged directly into the gap between the blades.
His Sharingan traced their trajectories in advance. Covering his head with one hand, Hayashi spun gracefully through the narrow opening between the four spinning arcs, slipping through unharmed.
As he descended, lightning gathered in his left hand, crackling violently. The tomoe in his Sharingan spun as the light intensified.
His foot stepped on a falling rock, shifting his direction sharply.
"Chidori!"
A thunderous explosion followed. Hayashi pierced straight through a massive boulder to his right, shattering it apart.
The Sunagakure captain hiding behind it recoiled in shock. As the stone fragments scattered, he slashed toward Hayashi with a kunai.
At the same time, the four wind blades converged behind Hayashi.
"Chidori Stream."
Lightning burst from Hayashi's body, wrapping him in a sphere of electric force. The wind blades were instantly repelled. A surge of electricity traveled down the captain's kunai into his body, paralyzing him mid-air.
Then the lightning collapsed inward, converging into Hayashi's right hand. A spear of white light extended five meters outward, illuminating the rocky terrain.
Hayashi lifted his arm.
Chidori Sharp Spear.
He swung sharply, the extended Chidori slicing through the air toward the immobilized captain.
Though the spear lacked the concentrated lethality of the standard Chidori, its range made it devastating. A direct hit would bisect a body without hesitation.
Even paralyzed, a jonin's instincts remained. The captain twisted desperately, avoiding instant death. The spear carved through him, severing half his arm.
As he fell away, he escaped the radius of Hayashi's Lightning Release. The paralysis faded slightly. Panting heavily, he landed and immediately fled. With an arm lost, continuing the fight meant suicide.
"Running?" Hayashi said quietly.
He raised a black kunai. Chakra surged through his arm as he threw it. The kunai tore through the air like a launched projectile, punching a gaping hole straight through the fleeing captain's skull.
It didn't stop there. The momentum carried it forward, skewering several more Sunagakure ninja before finally embedding into the earth.
Hayashi stood still for a moment, surveying the battlefield. The crackle of residual lightning lingered in the air, illuminating the scattered debris and motionless bodies. His Sharingan shifted swiftly, scanning for any further threats.
The silence that followed was heavy, punctuated only by the distant sound of crumbling rocks and the faint whimper of the few surviving Sunagakure shinobi. Hayashi's breathing was steady, controlled, his eyes reflecting both the calm of a predator and the storm of battle he had just unleashed.
He crouched slightly, preparing for the next movement, every muscle ready, every sense alert. In the shadows, the remaining enemies reconsidered their options—facing Hayashi meant almost certain death.
The battlefield had been claimed, and the message was clear: Hayashi was unstoppable.
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I'll be dropping a 50% discount code for my Patreon membership on the 15th, in celebration of the upcoming Christmas season.
The code will be active from that day until the end of the month.
Stay tuned