The ANBU squad had a total of four members, but they were currently facing over a dozen enemies. Among them was the former Konoha ninja who had retired after losing his left arm in battle.
Despite the missing arm, he wielded a blade in his right hand, his expression fierce and ruthless. Under the curtain of rain, he was locked in fierce combat with an ANBU shinobi, fighting evenly.
The other three ANBU were being overwhelmed by ten Ame-nin (Rain Ninja), two of whom had already been taken down, but two ANBU had also sustained injuries.
This was the scene Hajime and his team arrived to.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it!"
Wood Style – Deep Forest Emergence!
In the moment his feet hit the ground, Hajime completed the hand signs.
The Rain Ninja quickly noticed the arrival of enemy reinforcements and began shouting to alert each other. Four of them immediately broke off and charged toward Hajime's group.
But before they could reach him, thick vines and trees erupted from the ground, growing at an alarming speed. In an instant, they surged toward the sky like a tsunami, drowning the attackers and even blotting out the rain.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Damn it!"
"Break out, quick!"
The Rain Ninja roared as they swung their blades, cutting through vine after vine. But no matter how many they slashed, more kept coming from all directions, impossible to fend off.
In less than three seconds, the four Ame-nin were completely bound by the vines.
At the same time, the expanding forest swallowed the rest of the Rain Ninja and the ANBU, wrapping everything in its wake.
At that moment, it wasn't just the Rain Ninja who were stunned—the ANBU were just as shocked.
No—perhaps even more so.
They recognized this: a Wood Release secret technique—the very power the First Hokage used to bring peace during the Warring States period!
"Weren't the Wood Style experiments all deemed failures and sealed away?!"
"Someone actually mastered a Wood Release secret art!"
"This is insane!"
"With this kind of dense offense, escaping is practically impossible!"
The four ANBU stared in disbelief as the once deadly enemies, including the rogue Konoha shinobi, were effortlessly ensnared by vines.
The enemy that had nearly wiped out their team was subdued in seconds—such power was overwhelming.
Ryoma Aburame was shaken to the core. At this moment, his mind echoed with Ryō Inuzuka's earlier words:
"Never doubt the captain. The captain's will is Lord Danzō's will."
"Because he is Lord Danzō's sharpest blade—the deadliest weapon of Root!"
Ryoma had not fully understood those words before. But now… he did.
With a single strike, all enemies were captured. Hajime flickered through the forest and appeared in front of the one-armed rogue ninja.
Their eyes met. The rogue shinobi glared back fiercely, his expression twisted as he sneered, "Don't waste your breath. I'm not telling you a thing."
"Also, don't even think about digging it out of my brain—I sealed it long ago with a jutsu tag."
Hajime turned slightly and said to Ryō Inuzuka, "Cerberus, teach Hiyuma how it's done. Start interrogating the Rain Ninja—begin with their leader."
"Yes, Captain!" Ryō Inuzuka nodded.
Before he could act, the ANBU squad leader stepped forward and offered, "Let us handle this. We can extract the intel with genjutsu and mental probing."
Hajime glanced at the ANBU team.
So, they've got someone from the Yamanaka clan.
But Hajime shook his head and refused. "The Yamanaka clan's techniques are excellent—but too slow. We're in the Land of Rain. We need results fast."
"Cerberus—go."
Ryō Inuzuka immediately led Ryoma Aburame to the Rain Ninja leader, and instructed him to proceed step by step—beginning with unleashing his insects to devour the enemy's chakra and flesh.
The ears.
The neck.
The face…
Screams of agony echoed through the forest.
Even the seasoned ANBU and Root shinobi—accustomed to bloodshed—shuddered at the gruesome sight.
The remaining Rain Ninja looked on, terrified beyond belief.
Meanwhile, Hajime turned his gaze back. From beneath his mask, his eyes locked with the rogue ninja's—and he smiled with a slow, deliberate cruelty.
"Don't worry," he said. "You'll be telling me everything soon enough."
In that instant, his eyes and voice radiated irresistible, hypnotic power.
The one-armed ninja's eyes went blank, his mind growing hazy and drowsy. Without even realizing it, he was hypnotized by Hajime Hoshita's ability as a Hypnosis Master.
"Name."
"Takashi Kamishiro."
"When did you start leaking intel about the village?"
"Konoha Year 30."
"Who did you sell the information to?"
"Iwa-nin, Ame-nin…"
The back-and-forth interrogation left both the ANBU and Root ninja around them utterly stunned.
This was… way too easy.
Aside from Wood Style, was this guy's Genjutsu really this advanced?
"Why did you betray the village?"
"I was captured by Iwa-nin… To survive… so my children wouldn't become orphans…"
By the time Shimura Daichi arrived with reinforcements, Hajime had already reached the end of his interrogation.
Takashi Kamishiro's betrayal wasn't complicated.
He was captured during a mission and, in order to survive, chose to betray the village.
And once that line was crossed, there was no bottom to fall to.
Since he had already given intel to the Iwa-nin, handing it over to Ame-nin, Kumo-nin, or Suna-nin didn't bother him anymore.
Of the Five Great Nations, the only one he hadn't sold secrets to was Kirigakure.
What's more, the deaths of his former teammates back then had indeed been orchestrated by him, using Iwa-nin as a tool.
The reason? He realized his betrayal had been discovered by them—so he acted decisively and eliminated them.
As for the "Ame-nin" involved in this incident—they weren't actually from the Hidden Rain.
They were Iwa-nin in disguise.
It had all been a premeditated operation.
The ANBU team, the squad escorting the merchant caravan—everyone involved was meant to die. Their deaths would then be blamed on Amegakure, to ignite conflict between Konoha and the Hidden Rain.
In less than five minutes…
Relying on his master-level hypnotism and the ruthless physical torment Ryōma had inflicted, Hajime had obtained all the information he needed.
Shimura Daichi's expression was solemn. "Alpha, this matter must be reported to Lord Danzō!"
"You're the fastest among us—you should return to Konoha and make the report."
Hajime asked, "No flying summoning beasts to send messages?"
Shimura Daichi shook his head.
Hajime fell silent for a moment, then made a decision. "Yomaki Mimura."
The captain of the team protecting the caravan, Yomaki Mimura, instinctively responded, "Yes?"
Hajime said, "You will continue escorting the merchant caravan as planned."
"ANBU—you will take Takashi Kamishiro back to Konoha and report directly to the Third Hokage."
"Ten—we're taking these Iwa-nin imposters to Amegakure… to meet Hanzō."
Everyone turned to look at Hajime in surprise. Shimura Daichi quickly asked, "Alpha, what are you planning?"
Hajime replied coolly, "Obviously, to inform Hanzō that the Iwa-nin disguised themselves as Rain Ninja and attacked Konoha shinobi in order to provoke a war between Konoha and Amegakure."
"Such despicable actions deserve punishment."
"And we are willing to cooperate with Amegakure in punishing Iwa."
"The Land of Rain is surrounded by the great nations. Iwa likely has many hidden agents still embedded here. We'll flush them out, eliminate them, and deliver Iwa a message—a warning."
His words left Daichi and the others once again speechless.
Yomaki Mimura swallowed hard and couldn't help but say, "Um… Shouldn't this kind of decision be reported to the Third Hokage first… and made by him?"
The ANBU team captain immediately nodded.
Even Shimura Daichi thought so—this wasn't the sort of decision they had the authority to make. It should be reported to Lord Danzō first.
But none of them could deny it—
Hajime Hoshita's decision…
Just felt so damn good.
(End of Chapter)
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