The explosion of the Earth Release caused cracks to appear even in the hard rock. However, the ground absorbed the impact of the explosion, so the rock dome remained intact.
The next moment, a Vacuum Bullet struck the rock dome, piercing through it.
Hayato, who was injecting Chakra into the rock dome, immediately noticed this and moved to his right.
He was constantly on guard for another sneak attack. However, he didn't have much time to move; although he dodged, the Vacuum Bullet still left a deep gash on his upper left arm as it flew past.
Hayato frowned, but he had no time to mind the pain. While dodging the Vacuum Bullet, he could no longer supply Chakra to the rock dome.
Renjiro's Shadow Clone noticed this and once again placed his hands on the ground, performing Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide.
The ground beneath the rock dome immediately began to crack. Realizing the danger, Hayato opened a hole in his rock dome and exited.
The ground beneath the rock dome continued to crack. After cracking for 10 meters, the entire rock dome collapsed inwards.
As soon as Hayato left the dome, he was attacked by Vacuum Bullets and Earth Spears. But he successfully dodged them. Feng Zheng concluded.
“It seems long-range attacks won't be able to kill him.”
After Hayato left the dome, Feng Zheng and Renjiro's Shadow Clone weren't the only ones attacking him.
Hodaka and Mieko also began to move, Body Flicker Techniqueing in front of him.
Mieko immediately threw several Shuriken, while Hodaka charged forward, aiming to seal his Chakra points.
Hayato immediately dodged the Shuriken. Hodaka used this opportunity to close the distance between them and attack him.
Hayato blocked Hodaka's attack, analyzing as he did so.
“How did these kids get here? Did they defeat our Chunin? Or did they get help from reinforcements? What about Doi? I need to break free quickly!”
Hayato's back was against the wall. Realizing that continued defense wouldn't break him free, he decided to go on the offensive. He started with Hodaka, who was fighting him.
Unfortunately, the enemy's attacks were too relentless. He tried to gain the upper hand in his engagement with Hodaka, but Hodaka's Taijutsu was just as good as his!
Additionally, he also had to watch out for Mieko's Shuriken, Feng Zheng's Vacuum Bullets, and Renjiro's Shadow Clone's long-range Ninjutsu.
With Hodaka fighting at close quarters, the Vacuum Bullets became too dangerous to use. While it did put pressure on Hayato, Feng Zheng didn't think it would have much effect.
So, Feng Zheng flashed, also joining Mieko and Hodaka in the fight.
Hayato noticed Feng Zheng and thought.
“So it's him. It seems there are no reinforcements. But does this mean all three of them won their battles?”
As he reached his conclusion, his expression became grim.
“We underestimated them. This mission is now a complete disaster!”
Feng Zheng stayed behind Hodaka, making several Hand Seals. Hayato had been keeping a close eye on Feng Zheng.
Renjiro's Shadow Clone observed his students, analyzing.
“All three of them are here. So the enemy's four Chunin must all be dead.”
He laughed.
“I didn't expect to be the slowest one to deal with my opponent. My main body seems to still be in a stalemate.”
Renjiro's Shadow Clone stayed behind, merely observing his students. His mere presence put a lot of pressure on Hayato.
He hoped his students would gain experience fighting an experienced Jonin. After all, missions often go wrong. Next time, he might not be around to watch them.
Hodaka continuously engaged Hayato in close combat. Mieko used her Shuriken to create openings for Hodaka. And Feng Zheng used Air Bullets to prevent Hayato from retreating.
Hayato's expression was grim.
“These brats are very strong. The three of them together can contend with me. And they don't give me any chance to use Ninjutsu! And that Shadow Clone is still watching me.”
“But with these brats here, he won't use any major Ninjutsu. However, I need to save some Chakra to deal with the clone, and then I need to escape. And I still have to go see Doi!”
Although many thoughts flashed through Hayato's mind, it did not affect his fighting. For the next 5 minutes, the battle remained a stalemate.
During these 5 minutes, Hayato gave Feng Zheng and Mieko multiple opportunities for close combat. However, all these openings were traps.
Feng Zheng and Mieko did not fall for them, but instead stayed behind Hodaka to provide mid-range support.
Hayato's situation was getting worse and worse. Although he wasn't seriously injured, there were many times he narrowly escaped death. He had many small wounds on his body. A fatal blow was only a matter of time.
More urgently, his Chakra was dwindling. And Renjiro's Shadow Clone was carefully observing him.
He understood that maintaining the status quo was very unfavorable to him, so he decided to continue attacking and find a breakthrough.
Just as Hayato was making his decision, a Shuriken flew towards him. He tilted his head, avoiding it.
Immediately following, Hodaka attacked with Gentle Fist. Hayato began to move backward to avoid Hodaka.
However, two Air Bullets shot out from behind him, one of which was aimed at him.
Hayato had no chance to use Ninjutsu for defense and could only charge forward towards Hodaka to dodge the Air Bullet.
Hodaka aimed his palm at Hayato's chest. Hayato used his left hand to strike Hodaka's wrist, deflecting Hodaka's attack.
Hayato followed up with a powerful kick to Hodaka's left side with his right leg. Hodaka blocked the kick with his left forearm. However, the force of the kick sent Hodaka flying several meters to his right.
Hayato immediately ignored Hodaka and rushed towards Feng Zheng and Mieko, thinking.
“Even if I provided an opening, these kids didn't attack. So their Taijutsu must be very weak!”
Seeing Hayato running towards him, Feng Zheng's eyes widened. He shouted.
“Oh no!”
And immediately ran to his left, leaving Mieko alone to face him.
Seeing one of the two children run away, Hayato sneered. He thought.
“Just as I thought. They are all hiding behind that Hyuga kid. So they are good at mid to long-range combat, not Taijutsu. I'll kill this girl before that Hyuga kid comes to save her, and then kill the one who ran away too.”
Mieko inwardly scoffed at Feng Zheng's escape. She threw the Shuriken in her hand at Hayato and grabbed a kunai.
Hayato dodged the Shuriken and also grabbed his kunai, attacking Mieko.
Mieko blocked his attack with her kunai and almost simultaneously kicked his abdomen. Hayato exclaimed in shock.
“Her Taijutsu isn't bad!”
Just then, Hodaka ran towards him from behind, while Mieko attacked from the front.
Hayato's expression became serious, and he grabbed another kunai.
He blocked Mieko's attack and was about to look at Hodaka when he suddenly felt something on his right side.
He looked and saw that the escaping boy was attacking him with a sword. Feng Zheng attacked him with such force as if to split his body vertically in half.
Realizing the danger, he increased the strength on the kunai blocking Mieko, sending Mieko flying.
Almost simultaneously, he raised the kunai in his other hand to block the sword, and kicked Hodaka behind him.
The sword collided with the kunai, and the kick landed on two outstretched fingers. Hayato grunted when he felt Hodaka seal the Chakra points on his foot.
But, he soon widened his eyes, seeing the sword pierce through his kunai and chop down towards his head.
He stepped on Hodaka's fingers, wanting to use the reactive force of the fingers to jump away from Hodaka, while dodging the sword.
After doing so, his body began to move towards Feng Zheng's right side. The sword, originally aimed at the center of Hayato's head, missed. However, it struck his shoulder and severed his right arm!
Feng Zheng looked at his opponent in surprise.
“He used Hodaka's attack to push himself away from my sword swing! I can't believe he's still alive under such an encirclement!”
Hodaka and Mieko were also surprised that Feng Zheng failed to kill him.
However, the three immediately attacked him again. Hodaka bypassed Feng Zheng's sword to attack Hayato. Feng Zheng also moved towards him, swinging his sword at Hayato again.
Hayato, who landed only two zhang away from Feng Zheng, was still in shock! His right arm was severed, and his right foot was injured.
He looked at Feng Zheng's sword in horror, groaning in pain, and retreated.
However, Mieko was right behind him, stabbing him in the back with a kunai.
Hayato spat out blood, stopped, and swung his left fist behind him, trying to hit Mieko.
However, Hodaka and Feng Zheng had both already arrived in front of him. Feng Zheng stabbed his sword into Hayato's heart, while Hodaka stabbed two fingers into Hayato's throat.
Hayato looked at Hodaka and Feng Zheng in disbelief. When he entered the Land of Fire, he didn't expect to be killed by Ninja only a third of his age!
The Hidden Mist Village veteran Jonin, Sanshu Hayato, died in battle!