Kiba Inuzuka let out a sharp shout as he and Akamaru lunged at Hayashi Ren with a coordinated strike.
In terms of raw attack power, Hayashi Ren was slightly weaker at Level 2 compared to Kiba. In a direct trade of hits, he had no chance of winning.
At the moment, Kiba still had half of his HP, while Hayashi Ren's health had already dropped to one-third.
To make matters worse, Kiba's first skill was about to come off cooldown. If things kept going this way, Hayashi Ren would be the one to fall.
But Ren had never intended to trade hits in the first place.
A cold smirk appeared on his face as he said calmly,
"You're about to witness my strength."
"Boom—!"
With a thunderous impact, Ren landed a clean hit using Leaf Whirlwind.
The kick connected solidly with Kiba, and with two follow-up auto-attacks, he shaved off over half of Kiba's HP, dropping him from half health to just a quarter.
Even so, since Fang Over Fang was almost ready again, Kiba didn't retreat.
On the contrary, he boldly counterattacked!
"Kiba—!"
A whimper slipped out—
Just as he was about to activate his skill, Ren's heel slammed directly into Kiba's chin, interrupting the activation and launching him into the air.
Kiba instinctively tried to Flash, but since he was airborne and CC-locked, he couldn't move.
With a swift punch and two more kicks, Hayashi Ren finished him off.
[First Blood!]
The battle space rang out with the iconic alert.
The spectators watching the match were shocked.
No one had expected Hayashi Ren to be this bold. It was one thing to invade the enemy jungle at Level 1, but now he'd managed to kill Kiba, even though he was at a disadvantage in attack stats?
That level of courage and precision was almost terrifying.
[This kid… he's interesting. Monkey, he's worth training.]
— User ID: Tobirama Senju
[Hahaha! Never thought I'd get to see such a fun younger generation even after I died. Truly, founding the Hidden Leaf Village was the best decision I ever made.]
— User ID: Hashirama Senju
[Hmph. That kid's got guts.]
— User ID: Madara Uchiha
[Where the Will of Fire flies, the Leaf endures… Hayashi Ren is both the Leaf and the Flame!]
— User ID: Hiruzen Sarutobi
[Well said, Monkey.]
Moved by Hiruzen's words, Tobirama quickly sent a message.
[Haha, it's all thanks to your teachings, Sensei.]
— User ID: Hiruzen Sarutobi
Inside the Root headquarters, Danzo stared coldly at the barrage of messages in the MOBA battle feed, his heart churning with jealousy.
"Hiruzen, you're always playing the noble teacher… but only I know what a coward you truly are."
"How can a coward possibly lead Konoha into the future?"
His fingers clenched tightly into a fist, the knuckles cracking with tension.
"Hayashi Ren… he can only reach his full potential under my control."
The thought grew colder in his mind.
Danzo glanced at Hayashi Ren—who had just kicked a river crab to death and was now heading confidently down the mid-lane—and a sinister smile curved his lips.
"Since you refuse to let me manage Hayashi Ren… I'll just take matters into my own hands."
"He's the kind of person you can't control anyway."
Danzo was done watching from the sidelines. He had decided to forcibly recruit Hayashi Ren into Root.
Standing in his office, he called out in a low voice,
"Chōen, Kuroji."
"Swish, swish—"
Two sharp, blade-like sounds cut through the air.
A moment later, two masked Root operatives appeared before him—one wearing a monkey mask, the other a black pheasant mask—and both knelt on one knee.
"Lord Danzo."
"You two—once Hayashi Ren exits the MOBA space, bring him to me. Understand?"
Danzo's tone was icy and direct.
"Yes."
Both operatives replied in unison.
Poof!
With two bursts of smoke, they vanished into thin air.
Danzo turned his gaze back toward the mid-lane, where Hayashi Ren had just entered the bushes. His voice grew colder:
"Hayashi Ren… last time, you killed an elite chunin."
"This time, let's see if you can take down two jonin."