Hayate Continues

"In the past, I had no choice, but now I only want to save that man..."

"It doesn't matter if I ruin a major event. Let it be ruined; it's better without a war," Zeyu thought as he arrived on a rooftop.

Zeyu crouched down, closed his eyes, and activated his sensory perception.

"I hope I'm in time," Zeyu thought, veins bulging on his forehead as his perception expanded into the distance.

"Got it!"

Under Zeyu's perception, he detected an abnormally restless, evil chakra not too far away.

"That's it. Shukaku is irritable and difficult to control on the night of the full moon. That must be Gaara. There's only one person around him; it seems to be Baki."

"Good thing I'm in time."

Thinking this, Zeyu hurried toward that location.

Under the cover of night, Kakashi snuck onto the roof of Zeyu's room.

"Hmm? Who's there?"

Sensing someone, Kakashi immediately pulled out a shuriken and threw it into the bushes behind him.

Before the shuriken could enter the bushes, it was struck by a senbon, emitting a crisp "ding."

"Come out, Genma," Kakashi sighed helplessly before speaking.

The bushes rustled, and a figure darted out; Genma Shiranui landed beside Kakashi.

Genma threw an arm around Kakashi's shoulder and said, "Seriously, you find such a talent and don't even introduce him to me? Meeting in secret like this—that's not very friendly."

As he spoke, Genma pulled another senbon and held it in his mouth.

Kakashi gave Genma a deadpan look and said, "You followed me, didn't you? Besides, I only came back to return a kunai."

With that, Kakashi shook off Genma's arm and stepped lightly toward the window of Zeyu's room.

He slowly poked his head in, looking into the room under the moonlight.

"Hmm? Not here? Where would he go at this hour?" Kakashi thought.

No longer feeling constrained, he climbed through the window into the room.

He stood there in deep thought, looking at the room that had been rummaged through and left somewhat messy.

At this moment, Genma also entered the room and began to inspect the surroundings.

"I thought I'd be discovered and have to confront him, or that Zeyu would be fast asleep and I'd just drop off the kunai and be done with it. What is going on here?" Kakashi had a bad premonition.

"Hey, Kakashi, come look at this," Genma whispered, beckoning to Kakashi.

Kakashi walked over and was stunned.

In the large drawer that had been pulled open, a dazzling array of scrolls was neatly arranged, labeled with specific categories. The scrolls occupied half of the large drawer.

The other half contained a pile of kunai and shuriken, somewhat cluttered, clearly having been rummaged through just moments ago. Almost every kunai had a Flying Thunder God formula inscribed on it.

Kakashi casually picked up a scroll; the outside was labeled "Showboating." Kakashi looked puzzled and unfolded it.

After seeing what was written inside, his pupils dilated, and he was filled with shock.

It recorded the hand seals for the Chidori, and even included a drawing of the technique.

"No, impossible! Could it be..." Kakashi whispered, unable to believe it. Seeing that there seemed to be more content, he continued reading.

Genma, curious about Kakashi's reaction, leaned in.

"What is it, Kakashi?" Genma asked, looking at it with him.

As Kakashi scrolled through, he began to doubt reality.

The following sections recorded the Chidori Sharp Spear, Chidori Senbon, Chidori Current, and Lightning Style: Kirin.

Various derivatives of the Chidori were clearly recorded, complete with rough sketches. There were many drafts on the side, showing a process of exploration and troubleshooting for the ninjutsu.

"Kakashi, why do these moves look so much like your Lightning Blade?" Genma asked in confusion.

"This is terrifying. This kid is a monster. No, there's another possibility..." Kakashi muttered. He put the scroll away, ignoring Genma, his pupils trembling.

He glanced at the drawer in front of him, which still held several more scrolls, and couldn't help but swallow hard, cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Watching Kakashi like this, Genma sighed and said, "It seems this guy isn't simple. Hey, Kakashi, why don't we go tell the Hokage? This is a rare talent."

Only then did Kakashi snap out of it; he grabbed Genma's arm and said, "No, absolutely not!"

"We can't afford to provoke this kid. We must not make any decisions on our own!"

"Let's leave here immediately and find him to clear this up in person."

Kakashi finished speaking, put the scroll back in his hand, and pulled Genma outside.

The two of them leaped from rooftop to rooftop in succession.

"Hey, Kakashi, you said we need to find someone, but where are we supposed to look?" Genma asked, looking at the anxious Kakashi in front of him.

"Uh, I don't know either..." Kakashi said, feeling a bit awkward; he hadn't thought that far ahead just a moment ago.

Suddenly, a sound reached their ears. It wasn't particularly loud, but in the silent night, it seemed abrupt. Under the bright moonlight, the two looked toward the source of the noise, where a faint cloud of dust could be seen rising in the distance.

"What happened?" Genma asked, puzzled.

"It must be there! Let's go!" Kakashi said, picking up his pace and rushing over.

A short time before this.

Gaara sat on the roof of a high, ancient building, his hands pressed against his chest as he felt the restlessness of Shukaku within him, his own mood growing irritable in turn.

Baki stood under the eaves of a rooftop nearby, watching Gaara from afar.

"Yo, you're here? You're late," Baki said, looking at Kabuto Yakushi, who had just arrived.

"My apologies, I was delayed by some trivial matters," Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses.

Suddenly, Baki noticed a figure constantly walking toward Gaara and asked, "That person, I remember he's one of your Sound ninja, isn't he? What is he doing?"

"Ah, he found me and wanted to prove himself no matter what, so I brought him along," Kabuto said. The moonlight reflected off his glasses, obscuring his eyes, and a smile played on his face.

One building away behind the two, a ninja leaned against the corner of a wall.

That person seems to be called Kabuto Yakushi. Who is he meeting with? Hayate Gekko thought. He wanted to get closer to hear what they were talking about.

Hayate poked his head out from the corner, watching the corner of the wall where the two stood, and was just about to move forward.

Suddenly, someone behind him reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

Hayate instinctively reached for his sword, his hand darting toward the hilt on his other shoulder, but his wrist was gripped tightly, leaving him unable to move.

Breaking into a cold sweat, Hayate gritted his teeth and looked back, only to see a man in a white hooded cloak and a mask standing beside him.

Hayate looked at Elephant in surprise.

Seeing that Hayate had recognized him, Elephant released his wrist, then placed a finger to his lips to signal for silence.

Hayate nodded, and the two remained in their positions without making a sound.

At this moment, Zeyu had already arrived nearby, watching the two with a puzzled expression.

That's Elephant, isn't it? Why is he here? Zeyu thought.

In truth, Zeyu did not know that after he had punched Shukaku away in the central tower of the Forest of Death, the Third Hokage had witnessed the scene.

The Third Hokage knew the situation was certainly not simple, but fearing that he might alert the enemy and startle the snake, he had dispatched Elephant alone to investigate the matter in secret.

As it happened, he had run into Hayate, who was out on a reconnaissance mission.

Hayate had also followed them because he found Kabuto Yakushi suspicious.

Zeyu watched the two for a while, lost in thought, then smiled.

This is good. I've thought of a good plan.

Hayate gently removed Elephant's hand from his shoulder and tried to move forward, but was grabbed by Elephant once again. Hayate looked at Elephant in surprise.

Elephant simply shook his head slightly, signaling Hayate not to go, then pointed behind them, intending to lead Hayate away.

Hayate shook his head as well, his gaze firm; he seemed to have made a decision, prepared to face death.

Suddenly, a sound came from the distance. Dosu, who had stepped forward to provoke Gaara, was dealt with in one move by the irritable Gaara. He collapsed into the ruins, leaving only a bleeding arm visible, his life or death unknown.

In the silent night, the sound was deafening.

Both of them were startled by the commotion, but before they could recover, a black shadow suddenly appeared before them, reaching out to grab both of them by the arms.

In an instant, they vanished from the spot.

Then, the three of them appeared together in a small, open space in the distance.

Elephant and Hayate were shocked by the sudden change in their surroundings and immediately began to draw their weapons.

The figure in black quickly let go of them and leaped backward to put some distance between them.

Hayate and Elephant still dared not speak, keeping their weapons trained on the figure in black.

"Wait, don't attack, we're on the same side," said the masked Zeyu, lifting the Konoha forehead protector at his neck to show them.

"Who are you?" Hayate asked, still gripping his sword with both hands.

Elephant looked around, then raised his head and noticed the dust rising in the distance, realizing that he and Hayate had been brought far away in an instant. He said to Zeyu in a low, surprised voice, "This ninjutsu... could it be?"

Zeyu pulled the kunai he had stuck into the ground, put it away, and said to the two, "No time to explain. Let's leave here first; this isn't the place to talk."

Elephant raised his hand to rest it on the back of Hayate's blade and gave him a nod.

Hayate looked at Elephant and finally sheathed his sword.

Just as the three of them were about to leave, "Quite the lively scene,"

Kakashi said as he leaped into their midst.

"Yo, good evening," Kakashi said, raising a hand to greet them.

Genma also appeared behind them, looking at the group with a smile.

"Huh? Kakashi-sensei?" Zeyu blurted out before he could stop himself.

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized he was done for; he covered his mask and prepared to bolt.

Kakashi stepped forward, slung an arm around Zeyu's shoulder, and whispered with his hand cupped to his mouth, "You're Zeyu, right? Don't be in such a rush to leave; let's chat for a bit."

Beneath his mask, Zeyu gave him a deadpan look, thinking, It's over. There's no point in hiding anymore. One wrong move... I just hope I don't lose.