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[Konoha2] Chapter 49: Twin Blades & Ryoma!
🕑 Added 2025-05-23 18:01:49 +0000 UTC"Retreat!"
Seeing Danzo appear with reinforcements, Dodai didn’t hesitate for a moment and gave the order to fall back.
Sakumo Hatake sheathed his blade and stood still, making no move to pursue.
Without Danzo’s orders, the Root shinobi remained motionless as well.
Hajime stared at Sakumo’s upright back, deeply shaken.
Though it had only been a fleeting glimpse, Sakumo’s speed—his overwhelming momentum that pierced through everything—had burned itself into Hajime’s mind.
He was strong.
Hajime firmly believed that even if he used Deep Forest Emergence, it wouldn’t be enough to trap Sakumo Hatake.
With that speed and piercing power, Sakumo could likely slice right through the forest without slowing down.
Lightning Release combined with kenjutsu—Sakumo’s style—was far superior to Hajime’s current combination of Wind Release and swordsmanship.
In terms of sheer speed, there was simply no comparison.
"Against a powerhouse like him, my only option is to keep distance if I want to survive."
Hajime instinctively began to treat Sakumo as his imaginary rival.
And if the roles were reversed…
If his opponent were a fellow Wood Release user, and he could only rely on Wind Release—
The conclusion he reached was: not enough to break through Deep Forest Emergence.
"My speed is still far too lacking… and my blade, not sharp enough."
…
After the Cloud ninja retreated, Danzo stepped forward to converse with Sakumo.
Hajime waited for a while until Danzo turned around and gave the command: "Withdraw."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Root shinobi vanished one after another.
They headed south.
As they traveled, the number of Root operatives around Danzo gradually decreased.
By the time they reached the Land of Hot Water at noon to rest, only Hajime and two squads led by Shimura Daichi remained at Danzo’s side.
Inside a wooden house constructed with Wood Release—
Hajime and Shimura Daichi sat cross-legged across from Danzo.
Danzo, expressionless as always, asked, "Alpha, you’ve seen Sakumo Hatake’s strength for yourself. What do you think?"
At this point, Hajime wasn’t wearing his mask. His expression turned serious as he replied, "He’s very strong."
"My Wood Release has improved again recently, but even with my strongest Deep Forest Emergence, I wouldn’t be able to restrain him."
"The White Fang’s speed is simply too fast. He’s an exceptionally skilled assassin with a power that’s nearly unstoppable."
Danzo gave a slight nod. "Indeed, the current White Fang is the sharpest blade in the village."
"But your progress has been impressive. If you continue at this pace, you’ll surpass him."
"Don’t forget—you carry the First Hokage’s power."
In Konoha, especially among those who had lived through the era of the First Hokage, there was no one who didn’t hold a certain reverence—even superstition—for his power.
Even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who would one day be called the strongest Hokage, couldn’t help but conduct experiments with Wood Release.
Hearing Danzo’s words, Hajime’s expression shifted from grim to confident. "I’m confident that one day, through Wood Release, I’ll surpass the White Fang—becoming the sharpest blade in Danzo-sama’s hand, and in the village!"
Danzo was quite pleased with Hajime’s attitude. Then, he gave a stern command: "Master the part of Wood Release that suppresses tailed beasts—quickly."
Hajime’s heart tensed slightly at the order. His mind raced with thoughts before he lowered his head. "Yes, Lord Danzo."
Half an hour later, the group set off again, arriving back in Konoha by evening.
After several days away, Hajime couldn’t help but quietly sigh in relief—it felt like coming home.
However, once he returned to the Root base, that feeling immediately vanished.
The atmosphere in the Root headquarters was naturally oppressive.
Even though Hajime had long since grown used to it, the Root base never felt like home. It wasn’t a place where one could let their guard down or truly relax.
So, after only three hours of sleep, he woke up, washed up, and headed to his usual training grounds.
Sitting casually on the grass, Hajime silently mulled over Danzo’s orders from earlier that day.
Uzumaki Mito was nearing death.
The time to replace the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki was approaching.
Additionally, it was highly likely that Danzo planned to reveal Hajime’s existence to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“…But it seems Danzo is confident he can convince Hiruzen to let me remain in Root?”
Hajime frowned to himself.
The current political landscape of Konoha was clearly different from the one he remembered from the future.
The relationship and tensions between Danzo and Hiruzen were not nearly as strained as they would be later.
“But considering the importance of a jinchūriki… no matter how good their relationship is, or how useful Danzo might be now, Hiruzen couldn’t possibly allow a Wood Release shinobi—one capable of suppressing a jinchūriki—to remain hidden in Root.”
Suppression meant… control.
The realization dawned on Hajime. “That sly old fox Danzo… his appetite is enormous!”
“He wants both Tsunade and the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki!”
“No—controlling the Nine-Tails takes priority.”
“Compared to Tsunade and the prestige of the Senju name, Danzo clearly values control over the Nine-Tails far more.”
Thinking about it, Hajime couldn’t help but reflect: ‘Plans never keep up with change.’
He quieted his thoughts and formed hand seals, creating multiple shadow clones to train separately.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, after finishing his early training, Hajime left the Root base dressed as an ordinary civilian. After grabbing breakfast, he headed to a ninja tools shop to collect a custom order he’d placed earlier—a pair of twin blades.
One long, one short.
The long blade was a standard-style ninja sword—nothing fancy in design.
But this was a true chakra blade, capable of acting as a medium for ninjutsu.
The short blade was the same—also a chakra blade.
Its design was similar to that of Sakumo Hatake’s signature short sword.
Back at the Root base, Hajime began devoting some of his energy to developing a dual-blade combat style—fighting with both hands independently.
Because he could split his focus, his left and right hands could perform entirely different actions without interfering with each other. That meant his dual-blade technique could go far beyond mere synergy or mutual coverage.
It could become something unpredictable—difficult to read, difficult to counter.
Of course, mastering twin blades for live combat was far more complex than simply drawing circles with one hand and squares with the other. Hajime would need time—gradually training, refining, and eventually building a complete personal dual-blade combat system from scratch.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, the destruction of the Sky Ninja Village and Konoha’s nationwide manhunt for the remaining Sky Ninja had stirred quite the commotion.
The most immediate consequence was that all the major hidden villages began accelerating their military buildup.
Suddenly, the currents of unrest across the ninja world began surging with greater intensity.
But none of this had anything to do with Hajime.
He continued his training in peace, in stark contrast to the busyness of his fellow Root operatives.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
That day, while Hajime was in the middle of training, Inuzuka Ryo arrived with someone in tow.
“Captain, this is the new member of our team.”
Inuzuka Ryo introduced him: “He’s from the Aburame clan. His name is Aburame Ryoma—twelve years old.”
Hajime raised his brow slightly at the name.
It was familiar.
A Root operative skilled in infiltration—someone who, in the future he remembered, would serve as one of Danzo’s personal guards alongside Orochimaru.
But right now, Aburame Ryoma was still just a twelve-year-old boy—green and inexperienced.
Removing his mask, Ryoma bowed deeply. “Captain, I’m Aburame Ryoma. Codename: Pegasus.”
Hajime gave a slight nod, then looked at Inuzuka Ryo. “You didn’t come just to introduce him, did you?”
Inuzuka Ryo nodded. “Orders from Danzo-sama. We’re to assist with an Anbu operation.”
Hearing this, Hajime nodded silently, donned his mask, and vanished without a word.
Inuzuka Ryo followed at once, with Aburame Ryoma trailing behind.
(End of Chapter)
