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Every Jonin is an elite, and even more so when he's from the famous Uchiha clan.
They'd already seen how Hayato killed a Chunin with a single punch, and they'd witnessed his destructive power back in the ninja academy.
So it was obvious his strength was no joke. That's why, when Hayato's punch came flying in, the Uchiha Jonin instantly formed a hand seal—poof!—he vanished, leaving only a wooden log behind.
And right then, Hayato's punch landed.
Boom!
The log exploded into splinters under the force of his punch.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"A massive ball of fire blasted from the Jonin's mouth, engulfing Hayato in flames.
From the start, the Jonin had figured out that fighting Hayato wasn't that hard. Yeah, Tsun Hida was strong and fast, but he wasn't exactly agile. Plus, all he did was rely on brute strength—he didn't seem to know any other jutsu.
Judging by the way he fought, the Jonin figured Hayato probably didn't even have much chakra to begin with. So he went with a strategy that played to those weaknesses.
"Aaargh!"A roar of pain echoed from within the flames. It wasn't just rage—there was real agony in that scream. Clearly, Hayato, who wasn't exactly in his right mind to begin with, had taken the full hit of that fire-style jutsu.
Hearing Hayato's cry, the Uchiha Jonin smirked. The two Chunin flanking him had the same smug look, their eyes full of scorn as they stared at the blaze.
As far as they were concerned, Hayato was toast. Even if he somehow survived the jutsu, he'd be seriously injured. Either way, there was no way he was escaping the Uchiha's grip.
BOOM!
Just as they were convinced Hayato was finished, something massive burst out of the flames.
A towering figure, nearly three meters tall, all muscle and rage, charged out. His entire body was bulging with raw, brutal power. He was green from head to toe—except for his jet-black hair. A hulking green giant. No doubt about it.
BOOM!
The green monster—Hayato—shot out of the inferno and leapt high into the air, then came crashing down toward the three ninjas like a wrecking ball.
Turns out, the fire hadn't destroyed him. It had pushed him over the edge.
Hayato had already begun evolving before, but now, trapped in flames, his body constantly seared by fire, the pain drove him into an uncontrollable fury.
His rage reached its peak—and triggered another transformation. He became the Hulk.
As the green giant, he still felt the burn, but the tough skin now shielded him from the fire. Even the areas that had been burned were rapidly healing. In the blink of an eye, a fully restored Hulk had emerged from the blaze.
He stomped the ground hard, launching himself into the air and coming down with a crushing blow aimed right at the three ninja.
The Uchiha trio never saw it coming. They hadn't expected Hayato to survive, let alone turn into an even scarier version of himself. By the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late.
Out of the three Uchiha, the Jonin was the fastest. He used Body Flicker Technique to dart out of harm's way in an instant. But his two subordinates—both Uchiha Chunin—weren't so lucky.
WHAM!Two enormous green feet came down on them like hammers.
SPLAT!
Blood sprayed in all directions. White brain matter, red blood, and shattered bone fragments flew everywhere. The two Uchiha Chunin were crushed into literal meat paste by Hayato's stomp.
"Nooo!"The Jonin, who had just managed to dodge with the Body Flicker Technique, let out a horrified scream when he saw what happened.
Right at that moment, members of the ANBU and the Hyuga clan, along with others from various factions, arrived on the scene.
And what they walked into was the sight of Hayato turning two Uchiha into bloody pulp. Their expressions instantly turned grim.
As seasoned ninjas, they'd seen their fair share of death—many had killed plenty themselves. But turning someone into raw meat? That was beyond the pale, even for them.
Not something most ninja would ever do, no matter how brutal they were.
Even the most hardened killer would've felt a chill watching that.
"....."