In the tea forests of the Land of Tea, three shadows raced through the trees, their footsteps barely brushing the damp earth.At their head, Mayfair had changed into a blood-red dress, her delicate face half-hidden beneath the folds of its hood.
"Leader," one of the black-clad men following behind called out respectfully, "Ryoji is already waiting at the rendezvous point. Did something happen during the investigation?"
"Hmph… if something went wrong, then it deserved to," Mayfair replied coldly, her crimson eyes glinting. "I have no use for worthless trash."
Yet, even as she said that, the image of Kazehaya Hayate flickered unbidden in her mind—That brother… he's also a ninja. Could he have been hired by those villains to fight against us?
Her brows furrowed slightly, but then her lips curved into a faint smile."When my brother arrives, we'll just kill every last one of those bad people," she murmured. "Then there'll be no problem at all."
Shff! Shff! Shff!
In the blink of an eye, the three blood-robed figures appeared at the gates of Lord Ling Shan Yi's mansion. The courtyard was eerily quiet; few guests had dared to come.
"So, they think they can hide from me?" Mayfair sneered, her voice as sweet as it was venomous. "Ridiculous."
"Huh?" The moment they appeared, every ninja guard in the compound snapped to attention, forming defensive lines.
"A bunch of small fry…" Mayfair closed her eyes for a moment, sensing the chakra signatures around her. Every single one of them was low-ranked — genin or, at best, a few chūnin.No jōnin at all. Her expression turned faintly bored. "How disappointing."
"Oh?" A carefree voice echoed from above. "Then tell me—am I one of the small fry you're talking about?"
A flash of white light streaked through the sky, and Jiraiya landed heavily before her, standing tall, grinning with easy confidence.Their gazes locked — heat meeting frost.
"Well then," he said, his grin widening, "let's see if you've got the strength to back up that mouth."
A fierce battle was about to erupt.
Meanwhile, not far away, Hinata clutched Hayate's sleeve nervously.
"B-Brother Hayate… who are those people?" she asked softly, her pale eyes filled with worry.
"They're the leaders of the Blood Sect," Hayate replied quietly. He walked over to a table, sat down, and closed his eyes in silence.
Hinata and Kiba both froze. The girl from before—the one younger than us—is the Blood Clan's leader?They glanced at each other, disbelief written on their faces.
But Hayate's closed eyes weren't for rest. He was communicating with the System within his mind.
System, do I have sufficient clearance to access higher-tier information and exchange items?
Insufficient authorization.
The response came, cold and mechanical. Hayate frowned.
Escape wasn't the issue now—his recent speed training had finally begun to bear fruit. What he lacked was offensive power.
He thought for a moment. I could trade for powerful ninjutsu from the Naruto world… or maybe other special skills from different worlds.There were so many options—some even beyond comprehension.
Among the ninjutsu choices, the Tailed Beast Bomb stood out, but it required nearly all of his Almighty Points. Was it worth it?Just as he resolved to select it, a warning flashed in his mind:
Current divine power insufficient to fully utilize "Tailed Beast Bomb." Proceed with caution.
"...You've gotta be kidding me," Hayate muttered under his breath, nearly swearing aloud.All that thinking—just to get a "not enough power" message? Unreal.
Fine then."Exchange: Great Rasengan," he commanded mentally.
Ding! Congratulations. You have obtained Ninjutsu: Great Rasengan.
A bright stream of golden light burst from the sphere within his consciousness, shooting straight into the depths of his mind.
When the glow faded, Hayate opened his eyes and exhaled slowly. He could feel it—the energy swirling inside him, ready to be unleashed.
This should be more than enough for now.He decided to save the remaining 250 Almighty Points for emergencies.
"B-Brother Hayate… are you all right?" Hinata asked, tilting her head. "Your face just now—it looked… scary."
"Eh? H-haha… was it that bad?" Hayate scratched his head sheepishly, then smiled. "Actually, Hinata… I just developed a new ninjutsu. Want to see it?"
"Eh? O-okay!" she said, eyes lighting up. "Brother Hayate, that's amazing!"
"Hmph!" Kiba crossed his arms. "What kind of 'powerful' jutsu could you make? Probably just another substitution trick."
"You'll see for yourself." Hayate grinned. If I've got a new toy, I might as well show off.He'd kill two birds with one stone—impress Hinata and shut Kiba up once and for all.
"Let's move somewhere open. It's not convenient here."
"What's inconvenient about a substitution jutsu?" Kiba muttered, but he followed anyway, still grumbling as Akamaru barked softly on his head.I'll roast him after this, he thought smugly, already picturing himself laughing in victory.
They stopped deep within the forest, where no one else was around.
Hayate stepped forward, right hand outstretched. "Great… Rasengan!"
A violent hum filled the air. Chakra—no, divine energy—poured from his core, spinning violently into a swirling sphere.But unlike the familiar blue of Naruto's Rasengan, this one shone gold, radiating blinding light and crushing pressure.
"This… Hayate… what kind of monster are you…?" Kiba stumbled back, falling on his rear as Akamaru barked in fright.
"Brother Hayate… that's incredible…" Hinata whispered in awe.
"Drink!" Hayate shouted, thrusting his arm forward.
The Great Rasengan shot forward, its rotating core tearing through the trees ahead.
Shrrrkk!
Every trunk it touched was instantly shredded into dust by the spinning force.
BOOM!
The explosion ripped through the forest, carving a crater nearly five meters wide into the ground. Dust swirled in the golden light's wake.
No words were needed—its power spoke for itself.
"Monster… this guy's a complete monster…" Kiba muttered, trembling.Before, when Hayate beat him, he'd told himself it was just luck. But after witnessing this?There was no denying it—Hayate was on another level entirely.
He wanted to ask how Hayate could even use such a jutsu, but before he could speak, Hayate was gone.
"Eh? Where did that freak go now?" Kiba asked, spinning around. "Hinata, you were with him—did he say anything?"
"Brother Hayate said… he was going back to the Land of Tea," Hinata replied softly, her gaze distant. "He didn't say why… but maybe—he went after that girl."
She didn't realize it herself, but lately, Hayate had begun to occupy a quiet, precious space in her heart.
Whoosh…The wind rushed past his ears as Hayate darted through the trees, his eyes flashing gold.
"I have to catch up…" he muttered.Using Shunshin no Jutsu repeatedly left only seconds of recovery between each burst. He was pushing himself to the limit—but he didn't care.
Don't get hurt… please don't be in trouble, he prayed silently, racing toward the distant sounds of battle.