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After taking down all the ninjas who came at him, Hayata Hayato's rage finally began to settle. His massive green body slowly shrank back to normal, and the green color faded.
At the same time, his mind started to clear.
As his sanity returned, Hayato was shocked at what he'd done while transformed into the Hulk. But along with the shock came an incredible feeling of relief—no, more like satisfaction.
All those who bullied him, who looked down on him like he was nothing… now they were like helpless ants under his fists. That kind of power—it felt amazing.
But when people calm down, they start overthinking. Even though Hayato had torn through all the ninja who came after him, he couldn't help but worry—what if stronger ones showed up? What if the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, got involved?
He didn't really know how strong his Hulk form truly was. Sure, it felt unbeatable… but he didn't want to risk sticking around Konoha to find out. While his body was still way stronger than a normal person's, he stomped hard on the ground—BOOM!—leaving a crater underfoot and launched himself forward, blasting out of the village at top speed.
Meanwhile, the higher-ups in Konoha had already received word about the situation. The Third Hokage, the heads of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, even Danzo from Root—they all now knew about Hayato. Well, not the full picture.
What they knew was this: a freakishly strong monster had gone wild in the village. This thing was immune to genjutsu, ninjutsu, and basically any kind of attack—it healed instantly and fought like a force of nature. Worse, it had already killed a bunch of ninja, including several jonin.
Everyone moved out immediately. According to the intel, this monster was nearly on the same level as a tailed beast. That meant it couldn't be ignored—it needed to be driven off or killed. Of course, Danzo had other ideas. He wanted to capture it. Control it. Classic Danzo.
But by the time any of them arrived, Hayato had already escaped Konoha.
Not long after leaving the village, his transformation wore off completely. The towering, four-meter-tall green beast was gone, and in its place was a tiny, skinny, fragile-looking boy who barely stood a meter tall.
"Finally got out of there before that weird transformation ended… Otherwise, who knows what would've happened," Hayato muttered, breathing a sigh of relief. He had no idea what that transformation even was—some kind of kekkei genkai, maybe? He didn't know how long it lasted or how powerful it could become.
And Konoha… well, it was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. Who knew how many monsters were hiding in the shadows there, or how many secret weapons they had tucked away? The moment Hayato got his sanity back, he made the only move that made sense: run.
If he hadn't come back to his senses, he probably would've just kept smashing his way through the village. No one could say how much damage he would've caused—or what they would've done to stop him.
A cool breeze blew past, and Hayato suddenly shivered. He looked down—and instantly froze.
He was completely naked.
No clothes. Not even underwear. Just standing there, out in the open.
His face turned bright red. Thank God no one else was around. If anyone had seen him like this, he wouldn't have known where to put himself.
"Seriously… sure, turning into that giant green monster feels amazing. I got to beat the crap out of everyone who ever messed with me. But this is the aftermath? This is way too embarrassing. And come to think of it, when I transformed, did I even have any clothes on?"
His face twisted in awkward frustration. He wished he could just disappear into a hole somewhere. Being the Hulk felt awesome—pure revenge, no worries, no fear—but this?
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, the top brass had already gathered to discuss the incident with the mysterious green giant.
"According to the ANBU's investigation, that green monster… is actually someone from our own village," said the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He wasn't that old yet, but he still held his signature smoking pipe. His face, however, looked grim.
"What?!" The head of the Uchiha clan looked furious. Four Uchiha had died in the attack—one of them a jonin who had awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan. That kind of ninja wasn't easy to come by, even among the Uchiha. "Even if he is one of us, what he's done can't be forgiven!"
"Agreed," said the Hyuga clan head darkly. "Our Hyuga ninja were only trying to stop him from harming others, and he still…" His words trailed off, face tight with anger. Usually the Hyuga and Uchiha were at odds, but this time they stood united—Hayato had killed several of their own too.
"In that case, leave this matter to me," Danzo said coldly. "I assume no one has any objections?"
The others knew Danzo too well. If he got his hands on Hayato and dragged him into Root, the kid was as good as lost. But none of them spoke up. Everyone had their own agenda.
That's when the Third Hokage laid out Hayato's file for everyone to see.
"Hayata Hayato…? Hmph. A weak, pathetic loser? Must've just gotten lucky and awakened some kind of kekkei genkai…"
"....."