One quasi Kage level shinobi, two veteran elite jonin.
If this level of combat power were not restrained on the main battlefield, the consequences would be unpredictable. A single breakthrough could destabilize an entire front.
But if intelligence had already been intercepted and an encirclement executed cleanly, then the risk could be reduced to nearly nothing.
Just like now.
With one hand resting on his hip and the other casually lifting his index finger, Hayashi stared at the three burly Sunagakure shinobi before him.
"You are surrounded."
One against three.
It could still be called an encirclement.
Hayashi did not conceal himself. Not out of arrogance, but because there was no need.
In Sage Mode, his ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu were amplified to another level entirely. In this state, Hayashi's raw physical speed already surpassed what he could achieve when opening the first gate of the Eight Gates.
With Lightning Release chakra flowing through his legs, his acceleration became explosive.
Before the three Sunagakure shinobi could even process what they were seeing, a figure with golden snake eyes and dark markings across his face descended from above like a falling thunderbolt.
Villains die from talking too much.
Hayashi had no such intention.
In the next instant, his eyes shifted into the Three Tomoe Sharingan. Lightning crackled faintly around him as he propelled himself forward at a speed nearly impossible to track with the naked eye.
The ground beneath his feet fractured under the force of his launch.
"Konoha ambush. Our intelligence leaked."
The thought had barely formed in the leading jonin's mind before Hayashi had already slipped past the defensive line and appeared directly before the puppet master positioned in the rear.
In any coordinated squad, puppet masters were priority targets.
Just like medical ninja in Konoha.
The Uchiha crest on his attire was unmistakable. A lone Uchiha with this level of strength left little room for doubt.
Konoha's Lightning Flash, Hayashi.
The shinobi who had shaken the battlefield during the Second Great Ninja War.
"Retreat!"
The captain's shout came too late.
A streak of blood arced through the air.
The puppet master's head separated cleanly from his body before he had the chance to fully deploy his puppets.
Hayashi stepped back instantly.
An Earth Release technique surged upward in retaliation. Simultaneously, under the control of the remaining elite jonin, sand and broken stone peeled from the canyon walls and rained down from above.
Perfect use of terrain.
Hayashi leaped repeatedly, his movements precise and controlled, avoiding the falling debris as though he had predicted each trajectory in advance. He sprinted up the canyon wall.
The Sunagakure captain, a shinobi specialized in taijutsu, intercepted him mid ascent.
The man had already recovered from his initial shock. With coordinated support moments earlier, he used the Body Flicker Technique to close distance in an instant.
His fist shot forward, aimed directly at Hayashi's head.
Hayashi did not move.
Not until the fist was a breath away.
Then he twisted slightly, the motion minimal yet perfectly timed, allowing the strike to graze past harmlessly.
Using his left foot as a pivot, his right leg snapped upward in a clean arc.
The impact landed squarely.
For a brief moment, it seemed as though time had stalled.
In reality, Hayashi had never moved faster.
The Sand shinobi could not evade.
A thunderous impact echoed as the captain was kicked away like a launched projectile.
A sharp sonic boom tore through the canyon air.
Then a heavy crash as the man slammed into the rocky wall and plunged into sand and debris.
Loose stones cascaded down, burying him.
Hayashi walked forward calmly.
An ordinary jonin would have died from that strike.
But this one was different.
He sensed something familiar.
The rubble shifted.
The Sunagakure captain emerged, his body covered in cracks like fractured glass.
"Armor of Sand."
Hayashi had seen this defense years ago in the Land of Rivers during the previous war. Back then, defeating it had cost him dearly. His subordinate, yuu, had fallen during that ambush.
Five years had passed since then.
He would not struggle the same way again.
"Earth Release, Earth Spikes."
The remaining elite jonin finally resumed support.
Yet in Sage Mode, Hayashi's sensory perception had reached a level beyond conventional limits.
He leaped before the spikes even broke through the surface.
Metal clashed mid air.
Sparks flew as his kunai collided with the captain's blade.
The sharp ringing of steel echoed repeatedly.
At first, the Sand captain detected nothing unusual. But with each successive clash, something felt wrong.
His reactions were slowing.
Hayashi's offense was accelerating.
And the force behind each strike was overwhelming.
Caught off guard, the captain took a kick to his arm. Using the recoil, he retreated to create distance.
His entire arm went numb.
The Armor of Sand shattered again under a single kick.
The disbelief in his eyes was obvious.
Konoha's Lightning Flash was known for Lightning Release and powerful genjutsu.
Why was his taijutsu alone this oppressive?
Was this even human?
A more pressing thought emerged.
Why had his subordinate stopped providing support?
In those brief seconds of close combat, an elite jonin should have been able to unleash multiple techniques.
Had Konoha sent reinforcements?
There was no time to verify.
Hayashi did not allow openings.
The instant the captain's focus wavered, Hayashi slipped low and drove forward.
"Snake Style."
The Sand captain's eyes widened in horror.
Though Hayashi's fist had not yet physically touched him, an invisible force had already struck.
Natural energy surged through the blow, distorting impact beyond conventional contact.
His face twisted.
Then his neck followed.
The world tilted.
The last thing he saw was the canyon wall behind him.
Because his head had rotated ninety degrees.
Silence returned to the canyon.
Hayashi dusted off his hands lightly and turned toward the final enemy.
The remaining elite jonin stood motionless, already trapped within a genjutsu cast earlier in the exchange.
Even amid high speed taijutsu combat, Hayashi had woven illusion seamlessly.
In Sage Mode, he had relied primarily on taijutsu and a single genjutsu.
Yet the result was decisive.
He regarded the immobilized shinobi calmly.
Now, only one remained.
The desert wind swept softly through the canyon, carrying away the scent of blood.
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