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[Konoha2] Chapter 87: Reunion and Strategy!
🕑 Added 2025-06-22 19:09:09 +0000 UTCThe rendezvous with Tsunade’s team relied on prearranged, specific markings.
Under the cover of night, Hajime followed Crow to an abandoned village.
The place had been deserted due to the war—utterly silent and lifeless.
Crow, familiar with the terrain, led the way to a relatively intact wooden house.
“Captain, this is the place,” Crow said, turning back.
Hajime nodded and instructed Crow to stand guard outside before stepping into the house.
Inside, it was pitch-black. Every step on the wooden floor let out a creaking sound.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the darkness:
“Password!”
Hajime couldn’t help but chuckle when he heard it.
“Orochimaru!”
A figure stepped out from the shadows—it was indeed Orochimaru.
“'Alpha? You’re supposed to use the password.”
Hajime removed his mask.
“I figured my face would be more convincing than a password.”
Orochimaru replied coolly,
“And you didn’t consider the possibility that this could be a trap?”
Hajime gave a light laugh.
“I may not be a sensory-type, but you, Orochimaru, are too unique to mistake.”
“But this is just a clone, isn’t it?”
Looking at Hajime’s face, Orochimaru’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“Let’s confirm your identity first.”
Just as he finished speaking, green sprouts grew out from the wooden floor beneath him.
Orochimaru looked down and his pupils shrank involuntarily.
“Mokuton… so it really is you!”
Hajime nodded.
“It’s me.”
Orochimaru quickly regained his composure and turned around.
“Follow me.”
Hajime followed him into a cellar, which led to a hidden passageway.
They passed through it and emerged in a larger underground chamber. It was spacious, lit by flickering torches—and Tsunade and Jiraiya were already inside, each holding a bowl of water.
As it turned out, the Orochimaru outside was only a clone. His real body was in the cellar.
“It’s you!” Tsunade exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Hajime and stood up.
Hajime smiled.
“Isn’t it perfectly normal for a Root ninja to be me?”
“After all, a mission this dangerous needs someone with sufficient strength.”
Tsunade spoke reflexively,
“But you’re a Mo—”
She caught herself and didn’t finish the sentence.
Orochimaru interjected,
“Tsunade, seems like you knew all along he’s the Mokuton wielder.”
Jiraiya looked completely baffled. Then realization dawned on him. He jumped up and looked Hajime up and down.
“You’re the one with Wood Release?”
“Wait—Tsunade, when did you find out?”
No one answered Jiraiya. Tsunade kept her gaze on Hajime.
“Your identity?”
Hajime replied,
“During a recent clash with Iwa-nin, I killed their elite jōnin, Yami. My intel is basically exposed now.”
Of course, his appearance hadn’t been revealed.
But in Konoha, there was no longer much need to hide his so-called “true identity.”
After all, he couldn’t keep living his whole life in the shadows.
“Wait—you killed Yami?” Jiraiya blurted out again.
Tsunade shot him a glare.
“What’s so shocking? He’s a Mokuton user.”
Jiraiya turned to Hajime.
“Hajime… Hajime Hoshita, right?”
Hajime nodded with a smile.
“That’s my real name.”
Now reintroduced, the four of them sat together.
Tsunade asked,
“So what have you found out about Iwa’s supply lines?”
Hajime answered,
“There are three main routes. We’ve more or less confirmed them all.”
“On the surface, everything looks fine.”
Jiraiya leaned forward.
“But if it just looks fine, that means something’s not fine, right?”
Hajime shook his head.
“I mean we haven’t seen anything suspicious yet. But my instincts tell me something is off.”
The other three stared at him intently.
Hajime explained,
“The reason Iwa entered the Land of Rain so early was because I impersonated an Amegakure shinobi and stirred up trouble at the Bird Country’s daimyo residence.”
“Iwa-nin took a heavy loss from that, so Yami led an elite unit to hunt me down.”
“Considering I showed up in the Bird Country, it’s easy for them to predict I’d go after their supply lines.”
Orochimaru nodded thoughtfully.
“So you believe Iwa has laid a trap?”
Hajime nodded.
Jiraiya frowned.
“It makes sense, but it’s still too uncertain.”
Orochimaru pondered aloud,
“Attacking enemy supply lines is the most basic tactic. Iwa-nin will surely be on guard—setting traps is to be expected.”
Tsunade scolded,
“Idiot Jiraiya! A ninja’s intuition is often more reliable than intelligence reports.”
Jiraiya rolled his eyes.
The last time he mentioned trusting his gut, Tsunade definitely hadn’t supported him like this.
Something’s off. Seriously off.
Jiraiya’s eyes darted between Hajime and Tsunade, back and forth.
Hajime glanced at him and smiled.
“Right now, there’s no solid evidence to support it. But figuring out whether Iwa’s set up traps isn’t that difficult.”
Orochimaru asked,
“You’re thinking of probing them?”
“But doing that will alert Iwa-nin. If there aren’t any traps, we’ll lose the element of surprise for future attacks.”
Hajime shook his head.
“There are three supply routes. With just a handful of us, we couldn’t take out all of them at once anyway.”
“Our goal isn’t to sever their logistics—it’s to unsettle their rear lines.”
The three Sannin exchanged glances and then nodded together.
“So how do you plan to probe them?” Tsunade asked.
Hajime replied,
“One at a time.”
“I’ll be the bait in the open, while you all remain in the shadows.”
“I’ll send in clones to scout. If there’s a trap, I’ll immediately retreat.”
“If there isn’t, we strike in a coordinated wave—one in the open, one in the shadows—taking turns to harass them.”
It was undeniably a straightforward and blunt strategy.
But Hajime understood very well—sometimes the simpler the plan, the fewer chances there were for mistakes.
The three of them exchanged a quick glance before nodding in agreement.
Jiraiya pulled out a map and laid it open. Three supply routes were clearly marked on it.
Clearly, they hadn’t relied solely on Root’s intel either.
“Which route do we start with?” Jiraiya asked, pointing at the map.
Hajime glanced over it, then pointed to the closest one.
“Let’s start here.”
“This town is a key node.”
“And this mountain—it’s being used as a warehouse.”
“The warehouse is the key target, and also the most likely trap. I’ll send a clone to scout it, while the rest of you infiltrate the town.”
“If it’s not a trap, I’ll cause a major commotion. You’ll notice a glowing orb—that’s your signal to strike and wipe out Iwa’s active forces.”
“But don’t get greedy. Raiding supply lines is a war of attrition.”
The three nodded in acknowledgment.
Orochimaru added,
“If it is a trap, we retreat immediately and shift to one of the other two routes.”
“Second route—this one.”
“Based on our intel, this is Iwa’s main supply route. It’s also the most heavily defended.”
Hajime nodded in agreement.
He had no objections.
Very soon, the four of them finalized the plan.
Once the discussion ended, Hajime got up and left.
He returned to his temporary base.
Hajime glanced toward his status panel.
It was about to refresh.
“Hope the next one isn’t as awful as the last…”
Hajime sighed inwardly.
A new day arrived swiftly.
The status bar panel refreshed right on time.
(End of Chapter)
