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Chapter 132 – Ashes and Echoes
🕑 Added 2025-07-23 12:31:59 +0000 UTCChapter 132 – Ashes and Echoes
Outside the Hokage Tower, the evening breeze rustled through the trees as a sudden pulse of warped chakra cracked the air. Space twisted like folded cloth, and Hajime appeared in full armor, towering in the center of the street. Around him, a dozen scientists were bound and silent, their hands sealed behind their backs with glowing chakra threads. Behind them lay several large storage scrolls, sealed with reinforced kanji,and 1 metallic pods containing a Clone.
The bustle of Konoha slowed for a heartbeat as the villagers caught a glimpse of the armored juggernaut. Yet no panic followed. This was Hajime, and his presence, while titanic, was already legend.
A masked ANBU shimmered into view, materializing just ahead of him with calm precision.
“State your business, Commander Hajime,” the ANBU said, though his voice lacked any aggression. It was routine, protocol before all else. Even Added Commander even though the war was over, it was his respect to Hajime.
Hajime’s voice carried like a stone dropped in still water. “These are members of an enemy Organization, scientists, researchers, developers. Their facilities were destroyed. They now belong to Konoha.”
The ANBU gave a slight nod, observing the strange equipment and still figures. “I see.” That was all. He moved aside with a subtle hand motion toward the Hokage Tower’s main gate. “Hokage Sama is inside.”
Hajime didn’t reply. With a wave of his hand, the chakra threads moved, guiding the prisoners and their cargo forward. Every footstep of his armored boots echoed through the quieting night.
Inside the Hokage Tower
Tsunade looked up from her desk, her amber eyes sharp but tired. She had expected Hajime’s return to take weeks, maybe longer. The mountain temple ruins had barely cooled in intelligence reports. Yet now, chakra signatures flared right beneath her tower. And one of them, immense, steady, and unmistakable, was already climbing the stairs. As Hajime is leaking out his chakra to let them know.
Shizune blinked. “Could it be?”
The door opened before she could finish. Hajime stepped through, ducking slightly beneath the frame. A few steps behind him stood Amado, hands still bound but calm, followed by a pair of ANBU guiding the other researchers.
Hajime reached up and slowly removed his helmet with both hands. The seals disengaged with a soft hiss. His silver hair caught the lamplight.
Tsunade’s lips curled into a rare smile. “Back so soon?” she said as she stepped forward.
“I was efficient,” Hajime replied simply.
Without waiting for ceremony, Tsunade reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips. It wasn’t long or showy, just enough to say I’m glad you’re alive. Amado awkwardly looked away, clearing his throat. And Shizune blush from them kissing, blocking her eyes with her hand but was still peeking at them through the gaps.
Hajime turned and stepped forward, sitting down in a custom-made chair of darkened steel and chakra-reinforced joints. It let out a subtle thud as it absorbed his weight. Designed by the finest blacksmiths in Konoha, it was the only thing in the room able to accommodate his full size, 2.65 meters tall, over 560 kilograms fully armored.
“These people,” he began, gesturing toward the captives, “are not common criminals. They are researchers. Engineers. Assets. You can put them to work. Use them as you see fit.”
Tsunade raised a brow. “You trust them?”
“No,” Hajime said, voice like iron. “But I understand their usefulness.”
He then looked toward Amado and nodded. “Hand her the data.”
Amado, still bound but oddly calm, fished a small scroll from his inner coat pocket with his teeth. A kunai-wielding ANBU gently took it and passed it to Tsunade.
She unfurled it on her desk. Her eyes scanned the first lines, coordinates, maps, encrypted details of bases and names. Her gaze sharpened.
“Scattered outposts… resource stockpiles… even records of missing members.”
Hajime folded his hands. “They are still out there. I could eliminate them, but I’d rather not. Let Konoha do it. Hunt them down while they’re scattered and weakened.”
Tsunade smirked faintly. “You really do hate wasted effort.”
Their moment was interrupted by the soft hum of the Containment Pod. As it was losing power.
“I’ll take them below,” he said.
Tsunade gave a slight nod. “Be careful. I doubt anything can hurt you, but… that doesn’t mean you should be careless.”
Beneath the Hokage Tower – Hajime’s Lab
A thick metal door, smooth, rune-marked, and unmarked by dust, recognized Hajime’s psychic signature before he even touched it. It hissed open with a sound like breathing steel.
He stepped inside, boots clanking softly against obsidian-black floors. The temperature dropped immediately. Faint blue chakra lamps lit the space. No one else was allowed here.
Tall columns rose around him, carved with runes from languages lost to the Elemental Nations. the Grey Knights had etched their memory deep into his mind. The lab no longer resembled the crude medical space it once was. Everything here had been reshaped by Hajime’s hand, an intersection of chakra, and psychic science.
At the far wall, two armor stands stood like silent guardians.
One held his old armor, clean, shining, yet still humming faintly with residual chakra.
The other stand remained empty.
With deliberate motion, Hajime pyschic reached to his back and began to remove the segmented plates of his armor. Each piece was placed carefully on the empty stand. Breastplate. Pauldrons. Greaves. The final piece, the core plate embedded with his warp-threaded chakra lines, locked into place.
Only then did he move to the far table.
From the compartments built into his armored pack, Hajime removed two sealed containers. He placed them gently on the steel surface. The soft thunk echoed like a ritual.
Each container held something far more dangerous than weapons.
One contained a pair of Rinnegan, still glowing faintly, their ripple patterns like tides frozen in time.
The second held a Byakugan and a golden-ringed Kokugan, their surfaces cold and silent, yet watching.
He would study these eyes.
They were his trophies. Not for display.
End of Chapter 132
