-----
-----
The next second—BANG!—a figure burst straight out of the roaring waterfall.
It was Hayata Hayato.
With a fierce shout, he unleashed a storm of punches in an instant. In a blur, Hayato transformed into a human Thousand-Armed Kannon, his fists raining down in a relentless barrage that engulfed the two Rain Ninja.
Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering through the air as it poured from their bodies.
"Pffft!"
Suddenly, a shadow appeared right behind Hayato. A poisoned blade was driven hard into his back, sinking deep into the center of his spine.
Hayato's assault halted instantly. The two Rain Ninja he'd beaten nearly to death collapsed onto the ground, barely clinging to life, unable to move.
"Nice one, Kuromoku!" The two dying Rain Ninja's eyes lit up when they saw their comrade drive the venom-coated blade into Hayato's heart. They even managed to cheer weakly.
But just as Kuromoku was about to yank his blade free, he froze.
It… wouldn't budge.
A flicker of shock crossed his face—Hayato hadn't fallen. Instead, he had one hand clamped tight around the blade, gripping it so hard Kuromoku couldn't pull it out no matter how hard he tried.
"Go to hell!"
With a dragon-tail kick, Hayato's foot smashed into Kuromoku's chest. Kuromoku's eyes went wide as blood sprayed from his mouth before his body was sent flying. He crashed to the ground with a sickening thud, his ribcage caved in with a footprint-shaped dent. One kick—dead.
The two Rain Ninja who had been cheering a moment ago now stared wide-eyed, utterly stunned.
But when they noticed the dark, sickly color spreading across Hayato's face, they couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Haha! Hahahahaha! You're poisoned! You're dead, you hear me? Dead!"
Hayato felt his whole body going cold, his mind starting to sink into a fog. But he clenched his teeth, reached back, and tore the poisoned blade out of his back.
Black blood sprayed from the wound.
His jaw still locked in determination, Hayato took one slow, heavy step forward… then another… heading straight for the two Rain Ninja.
Whether the poison killed him or not didn't matter. Whether his body could endure didn't matter.
The only thing that mattered… was killing these two right here, right now.
"You… you monster!" The two Rain Ninja's faces twisted. Someone hit with that venom should've been dead in seconds, yet Hayato was still coming, teeth gritted, eyes locked on them like death itself.
His mind was hazy, almost gone. But the sheer will to kill them kept him moving, dragging his nearly burnt-out body forward step by step.
"S-stop! Stop right there!"
"Damn it! Monster! Die already! Don't come any closer!"
"Stay away from me!"
They screamed, desperate not to die. If their bodies hadn't been shattered and their bones broken from his earlier attacks, they would've bolted without a second thought.
Thud!
But just then, as Hayato dragged himself forward, his foot caught on a loose rock. He stumbled—and fell face-first to the ground.
The only thing keeping him moving—pure willpower—finally snapped. He didn't get back up.
For a second, the two Rain Ninja just stared in disbelief. Then, their expressions lit up.
A rush of wild laughter burst out of them—they were saved. They wouldn't die at his hands after all.
"Heh-heh-heh… See? No matter how tough you are, you're still dead in the end."
"You were this close! This close to killing us! Why aren't you getting up, huh? Hahahaha!"
"Messing with us was your biggest mistake! Serves you right!"
"Lucky for us, Kuromoku's blade was poisoned. I used to think his methods were low… but now? Guess that poison saved our lives!"
"Yeah… too bad Kuromoku's still dead, though."
The two Ame-nin were laughing their heads off, taunting the hell out of Hidetaka Takeda, who was lying on the ground completely motionless.
God, they looked ugly when they laughed like that. This was the difference between shinobi from small countries and those from the great nations. Even if they were jōnin, their behavior was just plain disgraceful. A Konoha jōnin, for example, would never show a face like that in battle.
But right then, faint streaks of green started to appear on Takeda's body. His hands were even trembling slightly. The two Ame-nin noticed the change in his skin color, but naïvely assumed it was the poison's effect — that the toxin was making him turn colors.
While they were still grinning like idiots—
Takeda suddenly got up.
And in the blink of an eye, he morphed into a terrifying, over-two-meters-tall green monster.
"Ha—ha—gaaaahhh—"
The laughter died instantly. Their faces froze.
"M-Mon… monster…"
Just before losing consciousness earlier, Takeda had once again transformed into the Hulk. Thick black blood squeezed out of his wounds, only to vanish quickly as his chest injury healed right before their eyes. Poison? Yeah, that didn't work on the Hulk.
Fully healed, Takeda's monstrous face twisted into a snarl as he slowly stomped toward the two Ame-nin.
"D-Don't… don't come any closer!"
"Stay away, you freak!"
Their voices went high and sharp with pure panic.
BAM!
Takeda's fist came down hard. A sickening crack followed, blood splattering everywhere. With just one punch, he smashed one Ame-nin's skull to pieces.
The other one saw this and… yeah, he literally pissed himself.
Takeda had planned to kill both of them, then keep pounding their corpses into paste. But when he saw the piss stain spreading, even his monstrous face seemed to twist into a look of disgust. One more punch killed the guy instantly. Then he straightened up, turned away, and quickly slipped into the nearby forest.
Within moments, the towering green figure vanished among the trees.
Deep down, Takeda didn't want Konan to see him like this…
"....."