"What?!"Gaara exclaimed as soon as he heard Hayashi Ren's words. Without hesitation, he activated his second ability. With a whoosh, a protective sphere of sand instantly enveloped his entire body.
He had no intention of getting knocked into the air and whittled down like before.
But Hayashi Ren's real target wasn't Gaara at all — it was Neji Hyuga.
"Leaf Shadow Dance!"Ren shouted softly, raising his foot and preparing to launch a flying kick at Neji.
Neji's heart skipped a beat. Alarmed, he extended both arms as blue chakra surged outward from his body. With a sharp hum, it rotated rapidly like a spinning dome.
"Gentle Fist Art — Eight Trigrams: Rotation!"
"Oh please," Hayashi Ren said with a casual smirk, already turning on his heel,"You really thought I was going to use a skill? I was just messing with you!"
In reality, all he did was initiate a basic attack and shout out a skill name. The moment Gaara and Neji used their defensive abilities, he canceled the attack and bolted.
He had completely played them both for fools.
"HAYASHI REN!!!""I'LL KILL YOU!!"
Neji and Gaara both exploded in rage.
Hayashi Ren had baited them into wasting their most powerful defensive skills — for nothing.
Gaara still had some leeway; he could at least use his Sand Armor again within two seconds. But Neji was left completely defenseless. He had nothing left to rely on.
It was a total loss.
[Puhahahaha! Hayashi Ren is absolutely genius! He baited those two kids into blowing their defensive skills with just a basic attack and a fake shout, and he got away with it too. I'm dying over here!]—Hashirama Senju, unable to stop laughing at Ren's antics.
[He has the potential to dance beside me.]—ID: Madara Uchiha
"Hayashi Ren, huh? Sounds like a kid from a civilian family."Tobirama Senju noted thoughtfully as he watched everything unfold.
A boy from a civilian background, with no clan ties and no political interference — to Konoha, this was an asset of immense value.
[Hiruzen, treat him well.]Tobirama sent a message in the chat, short and to the point. He didn't need to say more — he knew Hiruzen would understand.
[Understood, sensei.]Hiruzen Sarutobi replied almost instantly, already comprehending Tobirama's deeper meaning without needing further explanation.
"Is there something more to this?"Danzo glanced at the exchange between Tobirama and Hiruzen, pondering silently.
Back in the match, Neji's Rotation ended with a fading hum. A glowing Eight Trigrams formation lit up beneath his feet. Meanwhile, sand from beneath Gaara surged toward Hayashi Ren like a living tide.
Neji was about to use Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and Gaara had unleashed Sand Coffin.
"Let's be real—don't bother using your moves. I'm gonna win anyway."
Hayashi Ren chuckled lightly, then — whoosh! — he executed a precise flash step with a reverse kick, dodging Gaara's Sand Coffin.
By the time he reappeared, Neji was already airborne from a well-placed kick.
"Leaf Shadow Dance Flash…"Neji muttered coldly, his face dark. He would never forget — this was Ren's signature combo.
"You remembered. Good."Hayashi Ren smirked again.
Gaara, having missed his Sand Coffin, began channeling chakra for his Sand Armor — but before he could finish, there was a loud bang. A Deep Blue Smite hit him square in the chest.
And then — whoosh — a swirling blue Rasengan smashed into Gaara's face.
BOOOOM—!
The Rasengan struck cleanly, wiping out more than half of Gaara's HP instantly. Even though his Sand Armor activated after the hit, it was too late — the damage was done.
And Neji, who had just landed from midair, was now at critical health.
"Damn it… So he used Smite, followed up with Shadow Clone, hit Gaara with his real body, and sent the clone after me?"Neji gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Correct."Hayashi Ren's voice echoed out of nowhere — and then BAM!
A devastating Leaf Whirlwind kick landed on Neji's body, knocking him back and leaving him with just a sliver of health.
BAM! BAM!
Ren followed up with a couple of clean basic attacks — enough to finish Neji off.
[Hayashi Ren has slain Neji Hyuga.][Double Kill!]