Hayato Ren casually brushed off the remark and quickly retreated deeper into the forest with Charmeleon.
After putting several miles between themselves and the campsite, Hayato Ren called out into the pitch-black forest:
"You rats hiding in the shadows, come out. I've already spotted you."
After his words faded, the forest fell into complete silence once more.
It seemed as though everything that had just happened was merely a figment of his paranoia.
A moment later, seven or eight dark figures suddenly emerged around Hayato Ren.
One of the shadows stepped forward, looking at Hayato Ren as he spoke:
"Since you've discovered us, you might as well surrender quietly."
Hayato Ren shot him a cold glance and responded disdainfully:
"Did that old dog Danzo send you?"
The shadow's expression remained completely unchanged, as if none of this concerned him.
"Enough idle talk. You only have two choices now: either come with us willingly, or we break all your limbs and take you by force. Out of respect for our shared village, I'd prefer not to make this messy."
"Spare me. You're not worthy of being called ninja - you're just Danzo's tools. And what makes you so sure you can take me down?"
"We've analyzed your intelligence countless times. Even with that strange Summoning Beast of yours, you're only equivalent to two jōnin at most. You're no match for us."
Watching the shadow's confident demeanor, Hayato Ren showed no trace of panic on his face.
He pulled several items from his pocket and casually shoved them into Charmeleon's mouth.
As soon as the items were swallowed, Charmeleon's body began to radiate a brilliant white light.
What Hayato Ren had just fed Charmeleon were Rare Candies.
Although he hadn't drawn any new Pokemon Eggs during this period, thanks to the lucky six-sided dice, he had obtained quite a few Rare Candies.
The effect of Rare Candies was to directly increase a Pokémon's level by one, so Charmeleon was now evolving into Charizard.
To be honest, Hayato Ren sometimes wondered if he had come to the wrong world. Why were most of the items from the Roulette coming from the Pokémon world?
Though uncertain of what was happening, the ninjas' combat instincts told them they couldn't allow Charmeleon to complete its evolution, or something terrible would happen.
Just as the ninjas launched various Ninjutsu attacks at the evolving Charmeleon, their techniques suddenly struck a purple barrier.
A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Hayato Ren's mouth.
"You didn't think I was just talking big earlier, did you? I've already set up a Barrier around us using Sealing Technique. For a short while, you won't be able to touch me."
As various Ninjutsu were unleashed without restraint, the originally indestructible Barrier began to develop a crack, seemingly on the verge of shattering at any moment.
Just then, the white light enveloping Charmeleon finally dissipated.
A Charizard standing over four meters tall appeared in everyone's sight.
The evolved Charizard was significantly larger than ordinary Charizard—standard Charizard typically measured only about 1.7 meters in height.
Hayato Ren's Charizard was more than twice the size of a standard Charizard.
The Charizard let out a tremendous roar toward the sky, announcing its arrival.
Sensing the oppressive aura emanating from the Charizard, the leading ninja immediately decided:
"The mission has failed. Retreat now."
Subsequently, the ninjas scattered in all directions.
Hayato Ren gave the Charizard a glance, and it flapped its massive wings, instantly appearing behind one of the ninjas. It extended its huge dragon claw, cleaving the ninja in two.
After a series of agonized screams, the Charizard flapped its wings and returned to Hayato Ren's side.
As for the Root ninjas, the Charizard had eliminated every last one of them, leaving not even ashes behind.
Hayato Ren reached out and patted the Charizard's solid chest, saying happily:
"From now on, Charizard, you can carry me while flying."
The Charizard extended its claw and tossed Hayato Ren onto its back in one swift motion, then beat its wings and soared into the sky.
A powerful gust of air instantly swept over Hayato Ren's body, but he quickly adapted to the airflow.
Enjoying the cool breeze at high altitude and gazing at the endless forest below, Hayato Ren finally understood why humanity held an unyielding yearning for the skies—the sensation of flying was simply exhilarating.
After circling the sky several times, Hayato Ren had the Charizard land and let him down.
He then quietly returned to the camp alone.
After eliminating that wave of Root ninjas, Hayato Ren's escort mission proceeded without further incident.
Three days later, the group finally arrived at the Konoha camp, and Hayato Ren's mission was successfully completed.
Just then, a voice filled with surprise suddenly called out to Hayato Ren:
"What are you doing here, kid? I told you not to leave the village!"
Hayato Ren turned to see Tsunade looking at him with clear displeasure.
After a brief moment of shock, Hayato Ren rushed toward Tsunade like a swallow returning to its nest, throwing himself into her embrace and beginning to complain:
"Teacher, you have no idea—the moment you left the village, people started bullying me..."
Hayato Ren recounted every detail of what had happened during this period, his story punctuated with pauses.
After listening, Tsunade's face darkened completely.
"That old bastard Danzo actually dared to lay a hand on you. Don't worry, once I return to the village, I'll make sure you get justice."
Tsunade patted Hayato Ren's head while making her promise.
Just as the teacher and student were sharing this heartfelt moment, another voice suddenly interrupted them.
"So you're Hayato, right? Truly remarkable—you actually led a team alone to escort the supply squad all the way here."
Hayato Ren followed the voice and saw a blue-haired man looking at him with a sunny smile.
For some reason, the moment he saw that blue-haired man, Hayato Ren felt a surge of hostility rise within him.
Thus, he turned to Tsunade and asked:
"Teacher, who is this blue-haired guy?"
Hearing this, Kato Dan's smile nearly faltered.
What the hell is "blue-haired guy"? Is he talking about me?