Konoha: Who Says the Shinobi World Can't Play Hunter?

Chapter 34: Survival Exercise (Part 3)

Ichirō and Nobuko's aggressive assault had put Hayate in a difficult spot. Facing two armed and relentless genin while keeping his own attacks in check—without resorting to ninjutsu or lethal techniques—left him with limited options. He was forced to retreat and break free from their assault before finally drawing his sword.

As a renowned kenjutsu specialist, the moment his blade was in hand, his entire presence changed. With the sword, his movements became far more precise. Ichirō's iron staff, which had once been a formidable force, now seemed clumsy in comparison. His raw strength was undeniable, but his attacks were filled with openings. With a slight redirection, Hayate's blade easily deflected the iron staff, tracing along its length to nearly reach Ichirō's fingers.

Faced with the threat of losing his hand, Ichirō had no choice but to abandon his weapon, retracting his arms and leaping back to protect himself.

With a single maneuver, Hayate had disarmed him—proving without a doubt that he was a true elite jōnin.

Nobuko rushed in to cover Ichirō's retreat, but she was already too late—Ichirō's iron staff had been discarded. Now, she had no choice but to stand her ground and clash with Hayate herself. Gripping her oversized kunai like a short sword, she managed to exchange a few blows with him, just enough to give Ichirō time to withdraw.

Now disarmed, Ichirō's intimidation factor was drastically reduced. But his straightforward personality kept him focused on the plan—his job was to keep the instructor occupied, preventing him from targeting the others. As for himself, he wasn't even thinking about survival anymore.

With no weapon in hand, he relied purely on his fists. Compared to his staff techniques, he was much more skilled in taijutsu.

Hayate observed him with mild admiration. His student was fearless. Out of respect, he sheathed his sword. Fighting a barehanded opponent with a blade was simply unnecessary.

Let's see what you can do with just your fists, he thought.

Ichirō charged again, his attacks fueled by brute force. He wasn't subtle—every punch and kick came straight at Hayate with sheer power. Hayate, testing him, allowed a few of the blows to land. From this, he quickly grasped Ichirō's level of skill.

If this were a fair fight between equals, Ichirō's strength alone would give him an advantage. He could easily overpower weaker opponents.

But Hayate was far from a weaker opponent.

His strength matched Ichirō's, but his speed and technique were vastly superior. Within moments, he countered with just three precise strikes.

A knee to the ribs.

A palm to the shoulder.

And finally, a well-placed kick to the stomach—sending Ichirō flying.

Nobuko, watching in frustration, couldn't intervene. She was skilled with shuriken, but in such a close-quarters fight, she couldn't risk hitting Ichirō by mistake. And in hand-to-hand combat, if Ichirō couldn't win, she stood no chance.

Now that Ichirō had been knocked away, she finally found an opening. She had prepared her shuriken in advance, and the moment he was sent flying, she let them fly to cover his retreat.

For an elite jōnin, dodging a few shuriken was trivial. But Hayate's sharp eyes caught a subtle detail—some of the shuriken had thin slips of paper attached to them.

Explosive tags?

Hayate instinctively pulled back. It wasn't that he was afraid of them, but in a real battle, charging into an unknown trap was reckless. Even if they weren't real explosive tags, the risk of them being a trick was enough reason to be cautious.

He had already assessed their abilities. There was no need to chase them down. Capturing them wasn't the goal—evaluating their limits was.

"Ichirō, run!" Nobuko shouted, thinking she had successfully deceived Hayate. She helped Ichirō up, preparing to retreat into the forest.

"You two seriously underestimate an elite jōnin," Hayate's voice came from behind them.

Before they could react, he was suddenly there—right behind them.

A shiver ran down their spines.

Their trick had failed.

Hayate had quickly realized the flaw in their fake explosive tag tactic. They hadn't ignited the tags before throwing them. An actual explosive tag needed to be activated before being deployed. Without a clear sign of ignition, he saw through their ruse immediately.

In the blink of an eye, he used the Body Flicker Technique to close the gap.

Thud! Thud!

With two swift punches, he knocked both of them down and efficiently tied them up before placing them gently under a tree.

Despite how roughly he had handled them, Hayate had actually begun to approve of their efforts. He recognized their determination.

They had fought well.

But Kazama…

Hayate's approval for the other two only deepened his disappointment in Kazama.

While his teammates fought desperately, he ran away?

How could someone like that be a worthy teammate? No—he wasn't even worthy of being called a ninja.

Abandoning one's comrades to save oneself was unforgivable.

"Old friend… I'm sorry," Hayate muttered under his breath. "Your grandson is not worth your effort."

His expression darkened as he turned and walked toward the forest.

Today, he would teach Kazama a lesson.

---

Inside the Forest

This part of the forest, close to the training field, wasn't too dense. The wind from outside could still be felt, carrying a subtle coolness that contrasted with the heat under the open sun.

But this cool air did nothing to cool Hayate's frustration.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, the sound of something cutting through the air caught his attention.

Hayate's instincts kicked in, and he immediately dodged behind a tree. Three shuriken embedded themselves into the bark with a dull thunk!

He frowned.

"So, he actually set up traps along his escape route? Clever," he muttered. "But useless against me. In fact, all this did was reveal his direction."

Still, he moved cautiously. He didn't expect only a single trap—there were likely more ahead.

Then—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

More projectiles came flying at him from different angles. Again, he dodged behind a tree.

But this time, the moment he took cover—

Snap!

Click!

Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!

Suddenly, the entire forest seemed to come alive. The quiet atmosphere was shattered as strings triggered mechanisms, setting off a chain reaction of traps. Bowstrings twanged, launching arrows. Hidden devices released waves of kunai and shuriken. Leaves rustled violently as an ambush of attacks engulfed Hayate's position.

The very tree he had taken cover behind was nearly obliterated by the sheer force of the trap. Half its trunk was shredded, leaving only a frail remnant trembling in the aftermath.

Hayate barely managed to escape unscathed.

He had expected traps.

But he hadn't expected this many.

More than that—this wasn't just a random scattering of tripwires.

Someone had triggered them on purpose.

That meant—

The traps were manually controlled.

There were only three people in this exam:

Two were already tied up.

That left only one possibility.

Kazama.

Hayate's anger finally cooled.

For the first time today, he began to take Kazama seriously.

"You've been disappointing me this whole time," Hayate murmured. "But… maybe I misjudged you."

His opinion of Kazama shifted—from laziness, to disappointment, to a spark of anticipation.

"Show me what you're really capable of."

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You can read advance chapters ahead on patreon.com/fishkiss69, I will upload 1 extra chapter every day there.

THANK YOU

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