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[Konoha2] Chapter 81: Team Hoshita vs. Iwa-nin!
🕑 Added 2025-06-15 06:03:33 +0000 UTCIwagakure – Tsuchikage Tower.
Even before the official proclamation from the Daimyō of the Land of Birds arrived, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had already received the news.
Most of the noble ministers in the Land of Birds had intricate ties with Iwagakure.
The moment the Daimyō's residence experienced upheaval, many of these nobles immediately dispatched samurai to deliver secret reports.
Hajime observed this but did nothing to stop it—in fact, he was more than happy to see it unfold.
However, the message that reached Ōnoki left him furious.
“That Hanzō bastard’s ambition... I really underestimated him!”
It was one thing for Hanzō to invade the Land of Rivers—that could at least be justified.
Before the First Shinobi World War, the Lands of Rain and Rivers were once one nation, and the Land of Rivers had originally been within Amegakure's sphere of influence.
But the Land of Birds was different.
Hanzō’s actions were nothing short of declaring war on Iwagakure.
And war should be answered with war.
Still seething with rage, Ōnoki immediately convened a high-level strategy meeting.
Within less than a minute, the consensus was reached.
Deploy forces to the Land of Rain!
Orders were issued without delay.
The army would be split into two forces. One would march directly into the Land of Rain.
The other would head for the Daimyō’s palace in the Land of Birds.
The vanguard of the first force totaled 80 shinobi. Their first mission was to seal off the border between the Lands of Rain and Birds to prevent Amegakure from sending reinforcements.
Ōnoki’s top priority was securing Iwagakure’s vested interests in the Land of Birds.
His goal: “Shut the gates and beat the dog.”
The second force was composed of 40 shinobi, divided into four squads, each led by a Jōnin.
Their task: eliminate all Amegakure shinobi currently inside the Land of Birds.
According to incomplete intel, the Rain-nin who attacked the Land of Birds were few in number—a swift decapitation strike tactic.
That meant Iwagakure had to move quickly to resolve the issue before more forces from Amegakure could pour into the country.
By noon that same day, Iwa-nin reconnaissance units had already entered the Land of Birds.
The Root shinobi assigned to monitor them immediately began retreating.
One unit pulled back all the way to the Daimyō’s residence, where a Root ninja asked Hoshita Hajime:
“Captain, should we withdraw from the Land of Birds entirely?”
“We’ve discovered another large Iwa-nin force. They’re likely already sealing off the border.”
Hajime shook his head.
“No—we must engage the Iwa-nin and buy time until they officially invade the Land of Rain and make the situation irreversible.”
“So, we can’t leave today.”
“We have to hold out until tomorrow.”
As he spoke, two more Root teams returned from the border.
They had set out with eight members. Now, only five came back. The other three were corpses, sealed away in scrolls.
Hajime was not surprised.
Root was made of elite shinobi—but Iwa-nin were no amateurs either.
In war, casualties were inevitable.
He sent wood clones to tend to the wounded members of the returning units, then silently began mapping out retreat routes.
The Land of Birds was too small.
There wasn’t much room to maneuver.
And since he couldn’t expose his identity, his full strength would be restricted.
That left only one viable tactic: \\small-scale skirmishes, retreating while fighting—\\never get bogged down in a drawn-out battle with Iwa-nin.
Otherwise, the casualties among his team would be unacceptable.
While it’s said a merciful man shouldn’t lead troops, minimizing death—when possible—is always ideal.
An hour later.
The Iwa-nin vanguard reconnaissance team arrived at the Daimyō’s residence.
Ten members total, including sensory types.
They quickly identified the number of ninja stationed within the palace.
Ten.
Far fewer than they had anticipated.
But considering that the enemies were elite Rain-nin, this wasn’t unexpected.
As the team leader, Jōnin Kurei immediately gave an order: “Inform the rear forces about the situation here. Also—”
Before he could finish, the Iwa-nin sensory ninja shouted, “Enemies approaching fast!”
Kurei barked, “Retreat!”
“Fall back from the Daimyō's residence! Establish favorable terrain and await reinforcements!”
He was extremely cautious.
Because Kurei knew very well the strength of the comrades originally stationed at the Daimyō’s residence.
For them to be wiped out so swiftly, the enemy must be incredibly strong.
Their current team wasn’t suited for a direct confrontation.
Iwa-nin retreated, and Konoha pursued.
They quickly exited the Daimyō’s residence and entered the wilderness.
Once the Iwa-nin halted their retreat, they immediately began reshaping the terrain.
High walls and deep trenches were constructed, forming a maze-like battlefield.
The Iwa-nin all concealed themselves within it.
Seeing this, Hajime paused and furrowed his brow slightly.
If he didn’t need to hide his identity, he could have simply flattened everything with Wood Release.
But now, his best available option seemed to be Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
So be it.
Hajime stepped forward—air currents erupted from beneath his feet, allowing him to walk through the sky as if it were solid ground.
“What the hell?”
“That guy...”
“Does he have abilities similar to Lord Third Tsuchikage?”
The Iwa-nin immediately noticed and Kurei shouted, “Watch out for aerial attacks!”
Three Iwa-nin formed hand seals, ready to counter.
Meanwhile, in the air, Hajime swiftly formed hand signs.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
At the very instant he began forming seals, Kurei recognized it. “It’s Wind Release!”
“Be alert. It’s likely a diversion to cover another attack!”
As his voice fell, the roar of wind tearing through the air rang out. A storm swept in, stirring up sand and stones.
Though it didn’t do much damage to Iwa’s defenses, the storm kicked up a thick dust cloud that obscured vision.
In the sky—
After casting Great Breakthrough, Hajime immediately began forming a Rasenshuriken.
Just as the windstorm ended and the dust had yet to settle, to the shock of the surrounding Root ninja, the Rasenshuriken was hurled from his hand.
“What?!”
“He can actually throw it like a real shuriken?!”
“The chakra in that... it’s terrifying...”
The Root ninja were utterly astounded.
With a sharp whirring sound, the Rasenshuriken tore through the smoke and appeared above the Iwa-nin.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The prepared Iwa-nin responded instantly, spitting out volleys of stone bullets—but as they neared the Rasenshuriken, they were shredded instantly.
Kurei’s expression changed drastically. He shouted, “Defen—”
Before he could finish, Hajime opened his mouth midair and declared:
“Explode!”
The spinning Rasenshuriken detonated instantly, bursting into a radiant sphere of energy. The orb expanded rapidly, swallowing everything in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, the glowing explosion engulfed the entire Iwa-nin formation, and then quickly collapsed inward.
BOOOOM!!
A terrifying shockwave swept outward, carrying clouds of sand and debris.
“So strong!”
One by one, the Root ninja were blown back, sliding across the ground, unable to keep their eyes open.
In the air, Hajime shielded his face with his hand.
When the storm subsided and he looked down again, the Iwa-nin's battlefield had vanished—in its place was a massive crater.
Inside the crater were four corpses.
Moments later, more Iwa-nin emerged from underground.
Their tunneling skills really were something else.
Without hesitation, Hajime clapped his hands together.
Water Release: Water Collision Wave!
Moisture from the surroundings condensed into swirling currents of water.
The water spiraled upward, then crashed downward like a waterfall.
At the same time—
Nine Root ninja surged forward to attack.
Inside the crater, Kurei quickly completed a series of hand seals.
Earth Release – Earth and Stone Dragon!
A stone dragon burst from the ground, rising high into the air and colliding with the torrent of water pouring down.
Boom!
The stone dragon shattered, and the water scattered in all directions, losing its offensive power.
Boom!
Hajime dove from the air, twin blades in hand, slicing apart a barrage of incoming stone bullets.
Bang!
The earth erupted as his strike missed—Kurei had already leapt back and placed both hands on the ground.
The spot where Hajime stood suddenly erupted with jagged stone pillars, shooting skyward.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Hajime hurled his ninja blades one after another.
Kurei dodged frantically.
Hajime’s figure blurred like a shadow and appeared before Kurei in a flash, reclaiming his blades and attacking with both.
Kurei no longer had time to weave signs; he crossed two kunai to block the twin blades.
Clang!
Sparks flew. Kurei’s expression shifted. “Such strength!”
As Hajime relentlessly slashed, Kurei kept retreating.
“This guy’s swordsmanship…”
Forced to drop one kunai after another, cold sweat streamed down Kurei’s face.
Suddenly, he grabbed Hajime’s short blade with one hand, letting the long blade crash down on his shoulder.
Hardening Technique!
His hand remained unscathed, and though his armor split open, his shoulder underneath was unharmed.
Hajime narrowed his eyes, raised a leg, and kicked Kurei away. At the same time, he sheathed his blades and dashed forward again, catching up to the staggering Kurei. In his right hand, a Rasengan formed—this time infused with Wind Release nature transformation.
It wasn’t a Rasenshuriken—just a Wind Release: Rasengan.
The orb struck Kurei squarely in the chest.
His armor shattered, revealing toughened, hardened skin beneath.
Boom!
Still airborne, Kurei was sent flying, smashing into the crater wall.
Gah!
He coughed up blood, then looked down at the bruised and purpled skin on his chest, utterly shocked.
His Hardening Technique… had actually been broken through by brute force.
At that moment, Hajime charged forward again.
Gritting his teeth, Kurei leapt aside, but Hajime was already on him—three punches and two kicks, sending him crashing back again.
As their eyes met in mid-air, Kurei suddenly felt his consciousness dimming, a drowsy urge to sleep overtaking him.
“No… something’s wrong…”
Kurei bit his lip hard, just about to form a seal—but Hajime was already upon him, seizing both his arms. Their faces nearly touched as their eyes locked.
Kurei’s mind reeled. His body froze.
The next moment, sleep claimed him. His eyes shut.
Hajime landed, still holding Kurei, then raised one hand vertically.
Kurei's closed eyes suddenly opened—now under genjutsu—and he immediately turned and rushed toward an Iwa-nin who was fighting a Root ninja.
“Captain, you—”
“Ahhh—!”
“Damn it, the captain’s been caught in genjutsu!”
“Nooo—!”
…
Less than a minute later, the battle was completely over.
After spilling all the intel, Kurei, under everyone’s shocked gaze, pulled out a kunai and drove it into his own heart.
Terrifying.
To think the captain possessed not just Wood Release, but such overwhelming Wind Release power as well… No wonder Lord Danzō held him in such high regard. Seems the rumors weren’t exaggerated after all!
That was the unanimous thought of the seven remaining Root ninja.
At this moment, Hajime’s strength had completely won them over.
The way they looked at him had completely changed.
Hajime felt it, but didn’t care.
Whether his power came from his own training or from Hashirama’s cells, it was all his now.
Why others respected him didn’t matter.
That they respected him—that was what mattered.
“Clean up the battlefield. The main Iwa-nin force will arrive soon.”
Hajime gave the order.
Out of the ten enemy Iwa-nin, one had escaped—he had slipped away before the fight began, clearly to report back.
The bodies of their own were packed up to be taken away. The enemy’s corpses were burned with Fire Release to cover up any intel.
Afterward, Hajime led his team back into the Daimyō’s residence, quietly awaiting the arrival of the Iwa-nin main force.
Even without using Wood Release, Hajime could feel the pressure from this incoming enemy force.
(End of Chapter)
