"The barrier... it's about to break!"
"Grit your teeth and hold on! This is his final counterattack—we can outlast it!"
"It's cracking! The barrier's cracking!"
"Fix it! Patch it, now!"
They could all feel the crushing pressure coming from the barrier. Just moments ago, they were smug, thinking they'd trapped Hayashi. But now they were panicking. Their chakra was draining fast, and their faces were growing pale.
Crack. Crack.
Against the absolute power of Wood Release, they were starting to feel helpless.
The cracks on the barrier kept spreading. That soft crackling sound grew more and more frequent. To Hayashi, it sounded like a nameless, beautiful melody—something to lose yourself in.
But to them, it was like the devil whispering in their ears, relentless and full of dread.
And then—
The cracks overwhelmed the barrier, and it shattered with a loud bang!
The explosion flung the barrier team backward. They coughed up blood mid-air as they crashed to the ground.
Their faces were filled with shock.
The barrier... was really broken.
"H-How is he still this strong...? He was supposed to be at his limit... Why? Why?!"
The leader of the barrier squad couldn't hide the disbelief in his eyes.
But the moment he saw the giant tree burst through the seal and rise skyward without even slowing down, that disbelief turned into raw fear.
In front of their eyes, the tree grew— from thirty meters... to fifty... to a hundred... two hundred...
When the tree finally stopped growing, it had reached a towering height of 350 meters!
The tall tree stood out in the surrounding forest, like a crane among chickens—extremely noticeable and eye-catching!
The branches of the tree continued to spread, forming a massive canopy that covered nearly 500 meters in all directions. Everyone who saw the suddenly appeared giant tree couldn't help but marvel at its size.
"Wow, that's huge!" Kakashi and the others, who were watching from a distance, gulped in disbelief.
"Kakashi, is this tree real? Or is it an illusion?"
He knew that Wood Style user was strong, but he never imagined that someone could make a giant tree sprout out of nowhere with just a wave of their hand.
Yet, he was now standing in the shadow of this enormous tree.
Might Guy, known for his mastery of taijutsu, was still struggling to understand the bizarre sight of the tree growing with just a single gesture.
"It's real, no doubt about it," said Kurenai, her beautiful eyes narrowing in focus as she watched the tree. She added, "But this person is still a step behind the First Hokage. I've heard that the First Hokage's jutsu could turn a forest into a sea of trees!"
"However, we might have underestimated this Wood Style user. This is probably the true extent of their power... if we faced him, we could be in real danger."
Kurenai reassessed the situation and felt a sense of relief that Kakashi hadn't let them step in.
Otherwise, they might have had to face such a terrifying opponent. It was a decision that could have been disastrous!
Thinking this, she glanced at Kakashi with a thankful look.
Kakashi was also taken aback. He had originally thought the only card left to play was the Eight Gates technique, but he hadn't expected this forbidden technique. He couldn't help but smile bitterly—capturing Hayashi seemed impossible now.
Within a radius of several dozen miles, all the ninjas who saw the towering tree were rushing towards it.
They wanted to see who was behind the creation of this giant tree.
On top of the giant tree!
A figure suddenly appeared at the halfway point of the tree trunk, standing tall and looking down at the messy group below.
It was them who had trapped him, causing him to end up in such a sorry state!
"What do we do now?"
The people who had surrounded Hayashi earlier were startled. They seemed to have already predicted the outcome and quietly whispered to their companions.
"Run!"
Someone suddenly shouted, ready to get up and drag their injured body to escape.
They had angered such a monster; all they could do now was run, as far as they could.
"Think you can escape?" Hayashi had locked onto these people, sneering coldly at the ones trying to flee. "If you attack me, you better be ready to risk your life!"
With that,
Hayashi tilted his body, stepping firmly onto the tree trunk.
He began running along the trunk.
Thud, thud, thud.
His steps echoed as he ran along the vertical tree trunk, and in the blink of an eye, he leaped from over 20 meters above the ground, chasing after them.
Boom~~!
Hayashi's figure fell straight to the ground, sending dust flying. Even where he landed, a mark was left behind!
Slowly lifting his head, he looked at the escaping group, a smile creeping across his lips. He tapped his foot against the ground and charged after them.
Hand seals formed, and vines shot out, entangling the fleeing figures.
He wasn't going to let any of them get away.
Boom~!!
The battle resumed, but these people were already injured from maintaining the seal. They were no match for Hayashi.
The wind was fierce and quick.
In just a short time, eight or nine more corpses lay at the base of the tree. Before they died, they seemed to have seen something terrifying, their faces filled with disbelief.
"So this is what it feels like to unlock the Yin Seal?" Feeling the change in his body, Hayashi even found some pleasure in this terrifying power!
He felt stronger than ever before, and for a moment… he truly believed he could fight Genya.
"You've been watching for so long; it's time for you to come out!" After checking his current condition, Hayashi turned his gaze toward the hidden location of Kakashi and the others.
His voice was cold. In fact, he had already noticed Kakashi and the others during the battle, but had been too busy fighting to pay them any mind!
Now, he needed to deal with some loose ends. He didn't want to be ambushed by anyone else while he was still weak.
"Oh~~ we've been discovered!" Guy awkwardly said, then stood up.
Kakashi and Kurenai exchanged glances before standing up as well. They walked out from their hiding place and stood about ten meters away from Hayashi under the tree.
The closer they got, the more they could feel just how massive this tree was, and how it was something this person had created.
Hayashi knew there were three people watching him, but when he saw Guy, his pupils flickered for a moment.
It was just a brief flicker, though. His calm quickly returned, and with a cold look, he said, "So, are you three here to capture me?"
He was working for Genya now, and if Kakashi and the others really intended to capture him, that would make them his enemies.
"Don't get angry, we're different from those people!" Kakashi said, looking at Hayashi in front of him. He then continued, "We only know that you might be in danger, so we'd like to ask you to stay in Konoha for a while. Konoha can guarantee your safety!"
Kakashi repeated the noble words of Hiruzen Sarutobi, especially emphasizing the word "ask."
After witnessing Hayashi's strength, he was even more unwilling to have a conflict with it!
****
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