The Entire Chapter Was Praising Hayato 2/2

Shark meat smelled like urine. If they wanted to eat it, it needed special preparation. Clearly, they did not have the conditions for that right now. In the end, Sarara never got to eat any shark meat. In fact, as soon as the meat was put over the fire, the smell sent everyone fleeing in panic.

After eating and drinking their fill.

Sarara dragged Naruto off to the beach to pick up seashells.

The boys sat on the beach and chatted.

Rock Lee said solemnly, "Hayato, thank you for the ninjutsu scroll."

"Oh, the Nail Fist? I couldn't use it anyway," Hayato said.

It was not actually that he could not use it, but that its growth potential was not high.

Upgrading Nail Fist required pure Steel Fist and an exceptionally strong physique, while Hayato's path was Gentle Fist and ninjutsu-enhanced taijutsu. If Hayato used the scroll directly, he could obtain Triple Nail Fist right away, while Rock Lee would have to start learning from Double Nail Fist. If Hayato wanted to upgrade Nail Fist, he would have to rely on the system. Rock Lee, however, did not need to. He only needed to master the technique, and as his strength increased, Nail Fist would naturally continue evolving.

Just imagine it. With the Fifth Gate open, Rock Lee could at least use Twelvefold Nail Fist. How many seconds could Gaara's Sand Armor hold up before him? Perhaps Kimimaro's bones could endure it, but Nail Fist's destructive power penetrated deep into its target. Hard bones alone could not completely defend against it.

Rock Lee had lost to both Gaara and Kimimaro. Their turtle-shell-like defenses certainly countered him, but his lack of powerful destructive moves was also one of the reasons for his defeats.

Might Guy's Night Guy was essentially just a flying kick. What truly destroyed everything was the devastating power unleashed under the Eight Gates Formation.

That kick had nearly kicked the story straight into its ending.

Imagine something even bolder: if Might Guy opened all Eight Gates and used Infinite Chain Nail Fist, could Madara still withstand it head-on?

Around noon, Konoha's second wave of reinforcements arrived. They were Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi, Iwashi Tatami, and an ANBU squad.

Genma Shiranui and the other two had once served as the Fourth Hokage's guards. Deeply trusted by Minato Namikaze, they had personally been taught the Flying Raijin Technique by him. Unfortunately, the three lacked sufficient talent and could only form a formation to use the Flying Raijin Formation.

The Flying Raijin Formation could transport objects or people within the formation elsewhere.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's intentions were clear. If necessary, the three would use the Flying Raijin Formation to send Naruto, Sasuke, and the others away.

Whether they had known from the start or had been informed by the Third Hokage before the mission, the three already knew that Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's posthumous son. The way they looked at Naruto was clearly different.

The ANBU squad had four members: three jonin and one medical ninja. It was a formidable lineup.

The jonin leading them was Nara Shiosui, while the members were Yamanaka San and Naoki Irie.

Nara Shiosui was a trusted subordinate of the Hokage and often ran errands for him, so he had met Hayato a few times.

Hayato was most familiar with Yamanaka San. They had once interrogated prisoners together in Konoha Prison. Hayato had been deeply impressed by the Yamanaka Clan's secret mind techniques.

When Nara Shiosui saw that every Konoha ninja was intact and unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he muttered to himself that the black emergency request might have been a little exaggerated.

Next, everyone arrived at the site where Hayato had fought Kakuzu and Hidan.

The battlefield looked like the aftermath of a disaster. Those seeing it for the first time were left dumbfounded. Nara Shiosui no longer doubted the necessity of the black emergency request, instead marveling at and feeling fortunate that no one from Hatake Kaito's team had died.

Nara Shiosui was extremely intelligent. Just from the traces left behind, he could roughly deduce the course of the battle. Yet there were many parts that left him utterly baffled.

Nara Shiosui had no choice but to ask Hatake Kaito.

Hatake Kaito said helplessly, "Hayato was the main force in the battle. Why not let him answer your questions?"

"Ah!"

Nara Shiosui could not help crying out. Everyone looked at Hayato with disbelief in their eyes.

Being able to take part in a battle of this level was already remarkable. Who would have thought that this young man before them had actually been the greatest fighting force?

Hayato waved his hands repeatedly. "Captain is exaggerating."

As expected, Kaito was merely being modest. That makes much more sense, Nara Shiosui thought.

Hayato began recounting the battle from the moment he had launched a sneak attack with "Overheat."

Nara Shiosui immediately interrupted him. "Y-you sniped from two hundred meters away? How powerful was it?"

He asked because most ninja techniques were meant for close or mid-range combat. Two hundred meters already fell into the category of extreme range, and Nara Shiosui doubted Hayato's supposed sniping ability.

"Overheat!"

Explaining it would be complicated, so Hayato could not be bothered and demonstrated it directly.

Bang!

A tree as thick as a large bowl two hundred meters away snapped in half at the waist. Its crown crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar.

The others present could not help putting themselves in that position. If they faced such a sniper attack, could they evade it?

Quite a few of them broke out in cold sweat.

Nara Shiosui added a note to Kakuzu's intelligence file: Highly alert, quick reactions.

Next, as Hayato described Hidan fighting him with the Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe, Nara Shiosui added a note to Hidan's intelligence file: Large-area weapon attacks, agile taijutsu.

When Hayato reached the part where Hidan leaped high into the air with a pitch-black spear, Nara Shiosui added: Arrogant and reckless.

Then came Sarara's near-perfectly timed Dance of the Crescent Moon. Moonlight Iaido: Upper Crescent had indeed struck Hidan in the chest and abdomen.

Nara Shiosui considered whether he should delete Hidan's intelligence file. After all, he was a dead man.

"Wait, you're saying Hidan was fine? Acting as though nothing had happened? Are you sure?" Nara Shiosui was stunned once more. "Are you sure you aren't describing someone from a story?"

He looked to Hatake Kaito, wanting confirmation that Hayato was not simply spouting nonsense.

Hatake Kaito knew that some things were difficult to believe without seeing them firsthand. He nodded solemnly. Ninja themselves were beings who transcended common sense, were they not?

Nara Shiosui hesitated before adding to Hidan's intelligence file: Immortal body.

After that came the Forbidden Cursed Body, Kakuzu's hardening technique that was nearly physically immune, five hearts and five lives, four tentacle monsters, and ninjutsu attacks of five different elements—one fantastical situation after another. By the time Kakuzu and Hidan retreated, everyone had been shocked numb.

In the end, Nara Shiosui no longer questioned anything. He merely recorded the intelligence mechanically.

"As expected of Konoha's strongest clan!"

Everyone sighed in admiration.

Hayato: ???

What did this have to do with the Hyuga Clan again? This was clearly my—Hyuga Hayato's—perfect performance.

Forget it, forget it. Whenever something exceeded everyone's understanding, they just explained it away as being related to the Hyuga Clan. It saved Hayato a lot of trouble. Like the Fire Rat Robe. Yes, it was a treasured Hyuga Clan possession. No explanation needed.

Even after a long while, Naruto still looked unconvinced. "That was ninjutsu? That wasn't ninjutsu, right? That can't possibly be ninjutsu!"

Neji Hyuga remained silent, the flames of battle burning fiercely in his eyes.

Rock Lee wore an expression of worship. As expected of Hayato, the one who defeated me.

Sasuke clenched his fists tightly. "I want to become stronger too. Stronger than ever, stronger than everyone else."

Hayato said, "By the way, judging by his forehead protector, Hidan is a rogue ninja from Hot Water Village. His immortal body is probably connected to some Evil God cult. Kakuzu is a rogue ninja from Hidden Waterfall Village and once fought Hashirama Senju. The village archives might have records of him."

After confirming the information repeatedly, Genma Shiranui and the other two used the Flying Raijin Formation to send Shiosui back to Konoha.

It was not only because Kakuzu and Hidan possessed strange and powerful abilities, but also because they wore standardized uniforms. That suggested there might be a secret organization behind them.

Such important intelligence had to be reported to the Hokage immediately.

[PS: Thanks to 1A90 for 1 recommendation vote, Yren'Guming for the recommendation vote, God Fallen into the Mortal World for 4 recommendation votes, and Peak Bloodwater for 5 recommendation votes.]

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