Just as Hayashi was about to retreat, a terrifying force suddenly surged forward!
In an instant, he was blasted backward by the overwhelming power. As his body flew through the air, a vine shot out and grew wildly, wrapping around him and stopping his movement mid-air.
"Not bad at all," Hayashi muttered, interest flashing in his eyes as he looked at Jūgo’s attack.
But Jūgo had clearly lost control. Eyes filled with bloodlust, he charged again like a madman, his sanity completely gone.
"Hmm? Something’s wrong... he’s practically lost his mind," Hayashi said to himself, already grasping the situation after a brief clash.
Jūgo couldn’t seem to control his power—or his mind—during combat.
No wonder Genya had only mentioned him in passing. A berserker who can’t even control himself has no real potential. How can someone like that become strong?
Even in his current rampage, his strength only slightly surpassed Hayashi’s base form. Not to mention the Eight Gates—Hayashi didn’t even need that. With just the Yin Seal, he could easily defeat this version of Jūgo.
With a quiet whisper, Hayashi manipulated the vines to entangle Jūgo.
Explosions echoed through the air as vines shattered, torn apart by Jūgo’s rampage. He charged like a wild beast, unstoppable and ferocious.
Hayashi stood high above, looking down at the prey caught in his cage.
No matter how wild Jūgo was, once locked on by Hayashi, there was no escape.
After a short while, the vines had fully restrained him. Though Jūgo still struggled, the thorns had pierced into his body and were draining his chakra. His sanity gradually began to return.
"Who are you? Why did you attack us!?" Jūgo growled, eyes still burning with anger as he glared at Hayashi. "Let me and Kimimaro go! Let us go!"
Though the vines held him tight and the thorns were draining his chakra, Jūgo continued to roar with all his might.
If it was just about him, it would be one thing, but the person in front of him had actually tied up Kimimaro. This was something he couldn’t accept. He would even be willing to die for Kimimaro.
"How about you come with me? Our leader can control the natural energy building up inside you!" Hayashi didn’t forget Genya’s orders and repeated them to Jugo.
Jugo was first stunned but immediately shook his head decisively. "I’ll stay with Kimimaro. As for your leader—tch!"
His tone was filled with disdain.
"Jugo!" Kimimaro lifted his head to look at Jugo, and in his cold eyes, there seemed to be a flash of light.
Just as Hayashi was about to say something, a chilling sound of clapping echoed, followed by the faint sound of footsteps!
A sinister voice rang out. "Is it a bit too much to take my people right in front of me?"
Hayashi couldn’t help but glance sideways!
He saw a pale figure, someone with a sinister look, stepping forward, one step at a time.
The newcomer moved slowly, but as soon as he entered Hayashi’s sight, the air grew heavy with an overwhelming pressure.
The person was strong—just a glance was enough to tell he was not someone to be taken lightly.
Hayashi didn’t even have the confidence he could win!
Taking a few steps back, Hayashi finally asked seriously, "Are you Orochimaru?"
One of the legendary Sannin of Konoha, his reputation wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
Genya had also warned him to stay far away when dealing with Orochimaru, fearing being caught in some kind of scheme!
"You’ve come looking for me. Don’t you know who I am?" Orochimaru chuckled softly, as a tail appeared from behind him, slithering toward the vines that were restraining Jugo and Kimimaro.
With a flick of his snake tail, he easily freed Jugo and Kimimaro.
"Be careful, Lord Orochimaru. This guy is strong!"
Kimimaro and Jugo quickly moved behind Orochimaru, their eyes wary as they stared at Hayashi in front of them. If he made a move, they were ready to act.
"Hehe... Such a perfect Wood Release user—how fascinating."
Orochimaru didn’t seem worried. He licked his lips with his tongue, but there was no hiding the greed in his eyes as he looked at the stranger.
The last time he saw someone with such good control over Wood Release was Yamato, a result of his own experiments.
But compared to this guy, Yamato was nothing. This one had true, natural-born Wood Release.
And his control over it? Far beyond anything Yamato could do.
He was a perfect vessel.
Orochimaru even thought—if he had someone , he wouldn’t need to keep switching bodies anymore.
That idea made his eyes gleam with calculation.
When their eyes met, the stranger actually took a step back without realizing it.
Something about Orochimaru’s gaze gave him the chills.
"Well then, what do you want from me?" Orochimaru asked when Hayashi stayed silent.
"It’s simple. Our leader wants to meet with Kimimaro and Jugo—to have a proper talk."
Hayashi didn’t bother hiding his reason for coming. It was about Jugo and Kimimaro.
Orochimaru chuckled softly. "Your leader... Is he the leader of Atsukara?"
"Yes," Hayashi nodded.
Atsukara wanted Kimimaro and Jugo?
Orochimaru fell into thought. These two weren’t ordinary.
Seems Atsukara had done its homework.
They even knew about Jugo... and he was only recently brought back by Kimimaro.
That meant Atsukara’s intelligence network ran deep.
The more Orochimaru thought about it, the more alert he became.
Atsukara felt more and more mysterious.
"Kimimaro and Jugo are my subordinates. They’re not going anywhere." Orochimaru shook his head.
"You refuse?" Hayashi frowned slightly, unsure how to negotiate with Orochimaru.
Taking them by force crossed his mind.
But when he thought about their current strength, it would just lead to both sides getting hurt.
And unless there was no other choice—he didn’t want that.
But before Hayashi could figure out what to say, Orochimaru spoke again:
"But... we can make a bet. If you win, I’ll let Kimimaro and Jūgo go with you for a while. As for whether they’ll join your ’Atsukara’ group... that depends on your leader’s ability."
"What kind of bet?" Hayashi frowned. He wasn’t sure what Orochimaru was planning.
"A month from now, you’ll fight Kimimaro and Jūgo again. If you win, you can take them away," Orochimaru said casually, as if it was no big deal.
"Those two? They’re no match for me." Hayashi looked at Kimimaro and Jūgo, still unsure what Orochimaru was getting at.
The earlier fight had already made it clear—they weren’t strong enough to beat him. So why make this bet?
"That’s not your concern. If they lose a month from now, you can take them," Orochimaru replied with a calm smile. Then he turned his gaze to Hayashi. "So, do you accept the bet?"
Hayashi took a deep breath. "If I lose, what do I have to do?"
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