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[Konoha2] Chapter 32: Battle of the Jonin!
🕑 Added 2025-05-06 17:10:42 +0000 UTC"Not yet."
Hajime Hoshita shook his head.
He might be a little unhinged at the moment, but he wasn’t crazy enough to think Root could take on the entire Sky Ninja Village by themselves.
If that were possible, Danzo wouldn’t need to go through the trouble of slowly bleeding the village dry—he could’ve just stormed in and crushed them.
If they called for reinforcements now, it would only draw more and more forces to this location.
In the end, it would turn into a full-scale confrontation, which would be disadvantageous for Root.
Hajime understood that his methods would undoubtedly provoke the Sky Ninja Village, but even so, they wouldn’t send all their forces at once.
At least, the response would be something he could handle.
Besides, Hajime had no intention of remaining here to fight the Sky Ninja Village in a prolonged battle.
Everything he was doing was for a single goal: to infiltrate the Sky Ninja Village more effectively.
While Aburame Shino began his work, Hajime leapt to the top of a tree, basking in the moonlight as he gazed toward the direction of the Sky Ninja Village.
Gradually depleting the enemy’s forces and bleeding the village dry—that was his suggestion.
But if he were to just kill a few Sky Ninja like the other Root squads, then what made him any different?
How could he stand out as the top under Danzo's command?
That codename "Alpha" would be meaningless.
So—he needed to pull off something big.
Step by step, he would solidify his position within Root.
If there were more missions like this in the future, he would be the one leading the charge.
This time, he wasn’t even given command over the other Root ninja.
To become the number one operative under Danzo... he still had a long way to go.
Because he was constantly in a potentially hostile environment—and because of the [Mental Abnormality] status—Hajime didn’t create any shadow clones to train.
He didn’t want them pulling any crazy stunts on their own.
What if one of them got bold and went straight into the Sky Ninja Village to assassinate the leader?
That would be catastrophic.
If it weren’t for the fact that the [Mental Abnormality] had previously inspired his Wind Step technique, Hajime would have written it off as the most useless condition ever.
***
The night passed uneventfully.
With the rising sun, the town began to awaken—and panic quickly spread.
Because the corpses of the four Sky Ninja were now hanging in the town square for all to see.
The most terrified of them all was the noble who had been robbed the previous day.
The moment he heard the news, he didn’t even dare eat breakfast. Grabbing a few samurai, he rushed straight to the Sky Ninja Village.
Only the Sky Ninja could offer him any sense of safety now.
All of this unfolded under the watchful eye of Aburame Shino’s surveillance insects.
***
In the forest—
Once Hajime learned the noble had gone to the Sky Ninja Village, he led Nonō and the others to begin setting up their next trap.
Two hours passed in a flash.
Shino’s insects returned with new intel.
Sky Ninja reinforcements had arrived!
This time, three full squads—twelve shinobi in total.
Nearly twenty minutes later, Hajime signaled back to Inuzuka Ryo and the others.
The enemy had arrived!
But clearly, this batch of Sky Ninja was more cautious—and much better prepared—than yesterday's group.
Just as they were about to enter the trap zone…
The Sky Ninja abruptly halted.
Then Hajime saw four of them standing on tree branches, forming hand signs in unison.
Wind Release!
They were planning to use Wind Release to destroy the trap-laden area.
Realizing what was happening, Hajime immediately signaled a warning to Ryo and the others: Take cover!
Within two seconds, the Sky Ninja completed their jutsu. Four of them opened their mouths and unleashed surging torrents of air.
With a thunderous roar, a violent gale erupted—evolving into a full-blown storm.
Inside that storm, countless razor-sharp wind blades spun and sliced through the forest, cutting even the thickest trees clean in half.
The traps Hajime and his team had carefully hidden throughout the dense forest were almost entirely destroyed by the sheer scale of the windstorm, rendering much of their setup useless.
Hajime and the others, who had been hiding behind the trees, were forced to change positions to avoid being struck by the blades—or blown away altogether by the fierce wind.
The storm raged on for a full minute.
When it finally ceased, the once-dense forest had been reduced to a vast, open clearing.
“Move out!”
The order came from a Sky Ninja with a thick beard.
His name was Harukatsu, a Jonin from the Sky Ninja Village.
Hajime's gaze immediately locked onto the man giving commands.
Shoot the horse before the rider. Capture the leader before the thief!
In a battle where they were outnumbered, the most dangerous opponent had to be eliminated first.
Hidden behind one of the few remaining trees untouched by the wind blades, Hajime pulled out two shuriken. With a breath, he infused them with Wind Release chakra nature transformation.
Then he stepped from behind the tree, arms whipping forward. The two shuriken spun through the air, streaking toward the Sky Ninja from the flank.
“Watch out!”
A Sky Ninja shouted. Several of them threw their own shuriken to intercept, but Hajime’s shuriken batted them away easily.
Left with no other choice, the Sky Ninja had to leap aside to avoid them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Thick tree trunks were cleanly severed by Hajime’s shuriken, crashing heavily to the ground.
Even before the shuriken struck, Hajime had already drawn his blade and charged forward.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Metal rang as Hajime darted and flickered between movements, weaving through the leftmost Sky Ninja squad. With each swing of his sword, six wind blades roared forth—aimed directly at Jonin Harukatsu.
At the same time, Hajime formed a seal with his left hand, hardening his skin.
The incoming shuriken from the Sky Ninja clanged harmlessly off his body.
Earth Release – Earth Spear!
Immunity to physical attacks.
“Scatter!”
Harukatsu shouted. Four Sky Ninja immediately split apart. The wind blades slammed into the ground, slicing deep gouges into the earth.
Harukatsu himself landed atop a tree stump just as he completed a jutsu—fire erupted from his mouth, a wave of flame surging toward Hajime.
Still, Hajime charged head-on. Switching to a one-handed grip, he brought his sword down in a powerful arc. A massive wind blade sliced through the flames, splitting the firestorm in two.
At that moment, Hajime's left hand again formed a seal—earlier, the three Sky Ninja who had scattered now landed, preparing to strike—but thick vines burst from the earth, binding their bodies tightly.
Harukatsu was also targeted by the Wood Release attack.
However, casting a four-target jutsu with only one hand slowed Hajime down.
Harukatsu, being a Jonin, reacted instantly—using the Body Flicker Technique to evade the vines.
But mid-air, he met Hajime head-on.
Or rather—the Wood Release was never meant to hit him. It was just a feint.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their blades collided in a flurry of sparks as the two figures clashed from the air all the way to the ground.
Upon landing, Harukatsu grunted as he was slammed in the chest by a powerful kick from Hajime, sent tumbling backward through the dirt.
At the same time, he hurled a smoke bomb.
Bang!
The smoke burst forth, engulfing Hajime.
But the next instant, the smoke split open as a whirling blade cut through it—piercing Harukatsu’s body mid-flight.
Poof!
His body burst into dirt—it was a substitution clone. The real Harukatsu emerged from underground, hands moving rapidly through hand seals.
At the same time, two Sky Ninja had broken away from Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Shino. They both completed their seals—one casting Wind Release, the other Fire Release—sending a surge of searing flames into the smoke.
But just as Harukatsu prepared his own jutsu, his expression suddenly changed.
“Watch out!” he shouted.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A flurry of sharp whistling sounds filled the air.
Abandoning his seals, Harukatsu rolled aside as a wooden spike whooshed past, tearing his sleeve and pinning into the earth.
The two Sky Ninja who had just launched their jutsu weren’t so lucky—each was impaled by a wooden spike through the body.
From the side—the very direction the Sky Ninja had originally come—Hajime appeared, holding a single hand seal aloft. The wooden spikes inside the two Sky Ninja immediately branched and grew.
Blood splattered. Agonized screams tore through the skies.
And from behind a wall of wood that had shielded him from the flames, Hajime Hoshita leapt high into the air—one Rasengan in each hand—clashing once more in close combat with the mid-air Harukatsu.
(End of Chapter)
