These three ninjas are a bit weak!
Senju Hayashi felt that he had only opened the third gate of the Eight Gates when these Jonin couldn't handle it?
Ridiculous!
He had no chance against Guy-sensei and Genya in battle.
The Konoha Jonin are too weak. Is this what Sarutobi Hiruzen, the so-called Hokage, thinks of me? He only sent the weakest Jonin to attack?
No matter what, these Jonin are indeed weak.
Cough, cough.
"This guy is strong, everyone run!" Rat staggered to his feet. When he looked at Hayashi, fear had already appeared in his eyes. One move nearly killed him.
This is the difference in strength!
Although he had been careless with the move that lost to him just now, only Konoha's top Jonin could defeat him so easily.
The ninja in front of him? He's not someone we can fight!
After saying that,
He performed a Wind Blade jutsu and simultaneously created three shadow clones, quickly darting off into the distance.
"Think you can escape?" Hayashi naturally wouldn't let him get away. Vines rose up in his escape direction, instantly piercing through the shadow clones, leaving only the real body.
At the same time, the other two ninjas tried to escape using the same method.
Helpless,
Hayashi created two Wood Style clones to delay the two escaping ninjas. He was going to deal with them one by one!
In the pitch-black night, ninjutsu exploded!
The ground shook!
The battle looked extremely intense.
The battle lasted for what felt like an incense stick's worth of time before it finally stopped. The dark forest returned to silence once again.
"You were too eager to escape. If you had attacked together, you might have caused me some trouble!" Senju Hayashi dusted himself off, then turned to look at the three ninjas bound by vines behind him.
But these three ninjas were barely clinging to life, breathing heavily, with more exhalation than inhalation. Yet, they glared at Hayashi with resentment.
Hayashi himself bore a few new wounds, his clothes were torn, and even his mask had a small crack in it, which he touched gently, his heart aching. "Next time, I'll make sure to protect my mask!" he muttered.
The three ninjas had tried to retaliate in their final moments, but it was too late. They had each chosen to run, missing their best chance to work together and severely wound Hayashi.
Cough
"This time, we admit defeat. Who are you, really?" Rat asked, still struggling.
"Don't you know we're ninjas from Konoha? Do you understand the consequences of killing us? This mission was even ordered personally by Lord Hokage!"
"Heh... you wanted to kill me, so why can't I fight back?" Senju Hayashi sneered at the naive Rat.
As for Konoha and Sarutobi Hiruzen... what were they to him? Nothing more than insignificant figures. The only person he truly respected was Genya.
Ever since Hiruzen's guards locked him in a cell and tortured him, Hayashi had lost all respect for Sarutobi, and he held no fear for him.
What's more, he had learned some of the secrets behind the Uchiha unrest, and his impression of Sarutobi had only worsened.
"Lord, I already said, it was our mistake. We mistook you for someone else!" Rat tried again, but suddenly his eyes widened as he recalled Hayashi's earlier words. "Wait... You're Senju Hayashi?"
Yes... the man before him was definitely Senju Hayashi. No wonder he said he was just retaliating!
Initially, Rat had gotten the wrong idea, thinking Hayashi was just a normal ninja, never considering that such a strong ninja could be Senju Hayashi.
The fact was clear. The person in front of them was definitely Senju Hayashi.
"Correct!" Senju Hayashi took off his wooden ox mask and looked at Rat. "Now tell me, why did Hiruzen Sarutobi send you after me?"
The moment they saw Senju Hayashi, the other two's pupils shrank! They didn't expect the person they were chasing to be this strong. If they had known beforehand how powerful Hayashi was, they wouldn't have come back.
"Heh... Now that it's come to this, do you really think I'll speak?" Rat forced a bitter smile. Since he had already failed, he decided to go out with some pride.
Creeeek, creak...
Hayashi lightly touched the vines, and they tightened around Rat. The vines grew longer, and the sharp thorns dug deeper, while new thorns emerged and pierced his body.
The intense pain made Rat scream and tremble.
"My patience is limited," Hayashi said. "So, will you speak?"
"No." Rat still resisted.
Hayashi didn't wait for him to finish his words. He struck the vines again. "Seems like you're quite stubborn. You'll feel this again. If you still don't talk, these vines will slowly grow inside you. You'll suffer in this pain for at least 72 hours!"
"You're a demon! A demon!" Rat gritted his teeth through the pain, glaring at Hayashi. "No wonder you're allied with the Uchiha. You're all evil at the core!"
The extreme pain had started to make Rat lose his sanity. He wanted to provoke Hayashi into killing him quickly.
Bang! Bang!
"Tell me, why did the Third Hokage send you after me?" Hayashi asked with curiosity.
"No more games," Rat said, barely able to endure. "I'll speak… but only if you make it quick afterward!"
After a long pause, Rat finally gave in.
"The Third Hokage sent me to ask you about the Uchiha clan... and to kill you!"
"Want to explore the Uchiha clan's secrets? Heh, with Genya here, you have no chance!" Hayashi sneered coldly, and the vines grew even faster.
At this rate, the Konoha ninja could survive for half an hour.
"Ah~~ You're dishonest!" The Konoha ninja groaned in pain. "Senju Hayashi, you have the First Hokage's Wood Release, but instead of helping Konoha, you're helping the Uchiha. The Uchiha clan will become a threat in the future with someone like you on their side!"
Hayashi looked at the Konoha ninja with a grim smile. "The Uchiha evil? A threat? If it weren't for Genya-sama saving me, I would have been dead by now. My sister would have been dragged off by Danzo for his experiments. In my eyes, it's Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo who are the true evil ones!"
"Let me remind you one more time: Genya-sama is far stronger than you can imagine!"
"Uchiha Genya is stronger than you?" The Konoha ninja couldn't believe what he was hearing, and even the pain seemed to lessen a bit.
"Naturally," Hayashi nodded, then used his vines to gag the Konoha ninja's mouth. "To put it in Genya-sama's words, you're just frogs at the bottom of the well. It's normal you can't see Genya-sama's true strength."
He then turned his gaze to the other two dying ninjas, who smiled bitterly. "End our suffering, please. We just followed Rat's orders."
Hayashi nodded.
Half an hour later, the entire forest was silent again. Even the vines, which had once reached toward the sky, slowly retracted back into the earth.
After finishing everything, Hayashi clapped his hands and muttered in dissatisfaction, "If only my vines were poisonous, that would have been better."
The next day.
Sarutobi Hiruzen waited for Rat's report in the Hokage office, but Rat didn't return. His brow furrowed.
"Rat, did something happened to him?"
****
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