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[Konoha2] Chapter 45: The True Birth of the Deep Forest Emergence!
🕑 Added 2025-05-18 09:14:17 +0000 UTCSky Ninja Village.
Inside Yakushi Nonō ’s residence, Hajime Hoshita suddenly sneezed and rubbed his nose. “Someone must be talking about me.”
He stood up and stretched lazily as his body gradually sank into the floor.
It was time to relocate to a new hiding spot.
Not long after Hajime left, Kogetsu Daisei appeared in the room.
He wasn’t suspicious of Yakushi Nonō —just acting out of cautious habit.
But after scanning the place, he found nothing unusual.
Though Hajime had stayed here for a full day, he left behind no trace of daily life.
—
In a forest.
Hajime formed hand seals. Three Wood Clones emerged from behind him.
“Go. Try out what I worked out last night,” Hajime instructed.
The three clones nodded, then vanished from sight.
—
Moments later—
Kogetsu Daisei, having just left Yakushi Nonō ’s home, suddenly froze.
A black cloak. A demonic mask.
The figure leapt boldly across rooftops—completely brazen.
It was him!
Kogetsu Daisei shouted, “Intercept him!”
“Launch the signal!”
A flare shot into the sky.
Kogetsu charged forward ahead of everyone else, racing toward Hajime.
Seeing the commotion behind him, Hajime turned his head.
Ah, an old acquaintance.
He stopped at once, calmly stepping into a clearing and waiting quietly.
Shff shff shff—
One figure after another landed around him. In the blink of an eye, Hajime was surrounded.
He was alone, while the Sky Ninja had over ten people—two Jōnin, two Tokubetsu Jōnin, and the rest were Chūnin.
But despite the numbers, every one of them, including Kogetsu Daisei, had a grim expression.
This man had already cost them dearly.
And there was no telling if this one was the real body or just another clone.
Regardless, they had to go all out.
After a tense few seconds, Kogetsu hurled a shuriken—and the battle erupted.
Fire Release. Wind Release. These had been prepped in advance and were launched near-instantly.
The Sky Ninja coordinated like a machine, each strike flowing into the next.
Even if most jutsu were ineffective against Hajime, they needed to create interference—to open a window for follow-up attacks.
By now, they had a strategy: use Lightning Release for control, then finish with poison or sealing jutsu.
However—
Just as they had grown familiar with Hajime’s tactics, he had learned theirs as well.
They had prepared their jutsu in advance. So had he.
As the flames and winds roared, and torrents of water surged, thick vines burst from the earth and rapidly spread in all directions, forming a surging wave of greenery.
Wood Release – Deep Forest Emergence!
Compared to the last time, the trees grew much faster, larger, and denser—far sturdier.
BOOM!
Fire clashed with the green tide. Trees caught fire, but they kept growing, overwhelming the blaze and gradually snuffing it out.
The rushing water was split and diverted. By the time it reached Hajime’s feet, it had lost all force.
“Fall back! Don’t let those trees swallow you!”
Kogetsu Daisei roared, flinging a kunai.
The explosive tag attached to it lit up and detonated with a boom.
But the blast was nowhere near strong enough to halt the ever-growing vines.
The Sky Ninja were forced to retreat.
Suddenly, bare wooden tendrils erupted from behind them, slithering like serpents.
Binding Wood!
Hajime, standing atop a tree, was clearly splitting his focus—sweat beaded on his brow.
But the results were outstanding.
Even though the divided concentration and mental strain made his control over the Binidng Wood less precise, it still slowed the Sky Ninja's movements.
One after another, they were consumed by the green tide.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The vines struck from all sides like snakes.
The Sky Ninja darted frantically, barely keeping ahead of the assault. They had no time to weave hand signs.
One. Two...
One by one, they were snared by the vines, suspended helplessly in midair.
“Damn it…”
Kogetsu Daisei grit his teeth, cold sweat pouring down his face. Wielding a short blade in one hand and a kunai in the other, he slashed away desperately, freeing his comrades one by one from the entangling vines.
But soon after, those Sky Ninja whom Kogetsu had rescued were once again hoisted into the air by the vines.
At last, the green tide stopped expanding.
Kogetsu and the few remaining Sky Ninja halted, staring at the dense forest before them with grim expressions.
It was terrifying.
Completely beyond their league.
"Use Wind Release and Fire Release! The growth has stopped—now we can destroy this forest!" one Sky Ninja Jōnin shouted.
Kogetsu frowned.
If they burned the forest, they would likely burn alive everyone still inside it.
But was there another option?
No.
Even if it meant sacrificing that many people—even if the one they killed was just a clone—it had to be done.
Kogetsu couldn't find words to refute the decision.
Within the forest, Hajime looked up at the Sky Ninja dangling helplessly in midair. He clapped his hands together with a pa! and lowered his eyes slowly.
One Sky Ninja suspended in the air gritted his teeth and struggled desperately, forcefully refining chakra in an attempt to break free with a sudden burst.
But then—he felt something off.
His chakra… was vanishing.
"What?"
The Sky Ninja's face turned pale with horror. "My… my chakra is being drained!"
"What… what's going on?!"
He looked down at the vine wrapped around his arm and suddenly realized—it was the vine that was absorbing his chakra.
But this had never happened before.
This intel… they had never gathered it.
“…It’s finally working,” Hajime smiled.
His Wood Release had finally gained the ability to absorb chakra.
Even more brilliantly, the chakra absorbed by the Wood Release would be converted into life energy—
—which he could absorb himself.
Now Mom would never need to worry about him running out of chakra again. Wherever he lacked, he could just drain some!
Of course—
The absorption was a bit slow.
Hajime quietly observed.
The conversion rate wasn’t very efficient either.
He focused harder, trying to strengthen his control and speed up the process.
Outside the forest, Kogetsu Daisei and the others began their assault.
Wind Release and Fire Release—combined, they set the forest ablaze.
But Hajime wasn’t concerned.
Once the fire had engulfed the Sky Ninja who had already had most of their chakra drained, the vines at Hajime’s feet grew rapidly, lifting him high into the sky.
Then, with a sudden whoosh, the vines whipped him outward, flinging him from the inferno.
Outside, Kogetsu and the Sky Ninja looked up in stunned silence as Hajime soared overhead.
Then—
Midair, Hajime drew his sword.
Wind Release – Vacuum Blade!
Over a dozen wind blades howled down from above.
Kogetsu Daisei and the others dodged swiftly, but Hajime followed up by plummeting from the sky. As he fell, he formed the Ram seal with both hands.
Wood Release – Deep Forest Emergence!
Crack!
Kogetsu Daisei looked down just in time to see the earth split open. Tree sprouts burst forth, and under his horrified gaze, they expanded rapidly.
This second use of Deep Forest Emergence was clearly easier for Hajime.
In a flash, Kogetsu and the other Sky Ninja were engulfed in dense vines.
Each one was tightly bound, even Jōnin like Kogetsu Daisei couldn’t escape.
The vines grew directly beneath their feet—they had no time to react.
Before they could even struggle, their chakra had already begun to drain.
“…My chakra’s being absorbed…”
Kogetsu’s eyes widened.
“This… This is the secret technique of the legendary Ninja God…”
He felt his body growing weaker by the second—despair setting in.
In this state, there was no hope of escape.
By the time Sky Ninja reinforcements arrived at the edge of the forest, those within—Kogetsu Daisei and the others—were already emaciated, barely clinging to life.
(End of Chapter)
