Within the World of Trees, Hajime held a one-handed seal in his left hand and a ninja blade in his right. His figure darted through the air as he cut down Iwa-nin still resisting the wooden vines. One by one, they were bound, their chakra drained, and their bodies visibly shriveled.
Each Iwa-nin was captured until only the squad leader, Masaya, remained.
At last, Masaya managed to escape the Tree Realm. As he landed, he turned to face Hajime, who was in hot pursuit. Slamming both hands onto the ground, two massive oval-shaped boulders rose up on either side of Hajime and slammed toward him.
Masaya's timing was flawless.
Hajime released his hand seal, drew his blade, and spun midair. Twin swords enveloped his body as Wind Release chakra erupted from the blades, forming a wind-blade vortex—
A prototype of the Sword Storm technique!
But the next moment, the vortex was caught between the two massive stones.
"Die!"
Masaya snarled through gritted teeth.
Then—crack!
The stones fractured and exploded with a thunderous boom!
Smoke and dust billowed.
The next instant, blades of wind tore through the smoke, howling toward Masaya.
He quickly leapt back.
The wind blades carved deep gashes into the earth, which were soon filled with rainwater.
After dodging repeatedly, Masaya finished his own set of hand seals. Slamming his hands to the ground, several earthen walls rose up to block the incoming wind attacks.
"Not good!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Masaya caught sight of Hajime flashing toward him from the left.
He only had time to activate his Hardening Technique, turning his body as tough as stone—similar to Kakuzu's Earth Spear technique.
Hajime slashed at Masaya's neck, but the blade only barely broke the surface of his hardened skin and could go no further.
Masaya seized the chance to twist his body. With one hand, he grabbed the back of Hajime's blade, and with the other—now turned to stone—he launched a punch at Hajime's head.
Boom!
Hajime's head exploded into splinters of wood.
"A clone!"
Masaya's expression changed.
The remaining half of the clone quickly turned into wood, entangling Masaya just as he tried to retreat.
"Hn?"
Masaya suddenly felt his chakra leaking out rapidly. The vines wrapped around him grew swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, they had become towering trees, binding him even more tightly until escape was impossible.
"This thing… it absorbs chakra to grow!"
Masaya fell into despair.
"So this is… the legendary Wood Release technique…"
Hajime stepped forward and placed his hand on the tree trunk. A surge of life energy flowed into his body.
Once the chakra from the jōnin Masaya had been completely drained, Hajime raised one hand.
The vines surged upward and swallowed Masaya whole.
Tree Bind Flourishing Burial!
Having eliminated the Iwa-nin pursuers, Hajime immediately moved to catch up with Inuzuka Ryo and the others.
Half an hour later, Hajime caught up with them. The Village Hidden in the Rain was already within sight.
A moment later—
The group stopped at the bridge leading into the village. Ahead, four Rain-nin stood at high alert, extremely wary.
After all, the prisoners Daichi Shimura and the others brought with them were dressed as Rain-nin—clearly not here with good intentions.
Thud!
At Hajime's signal, Inuzuka Ryo threw one of the captives onto the ground.
"They're not your comrades."
Hajime explained calmly, "We're from Konoha. Inside the borders of the Land of Rain, we were ambushed by these people. After capturing them, we discovered they were Iwa-nin in disguise."
The four Rain-nin glanced at each other, exchanging uneasy looks.
Hajime continued, "That's why we've brought them here. We wish to request an audience with Lord Hanzō, the Demi-God of the Shinobi World."
"If you don't believe us, you're free to take the prisoner to see Lord Hanzō yourself. I trust in Lord Hanzō's wisdom to judge the truth."
The Rain-nin captain looked down at the captive, then turned to a subordinate.
"Yuu, go report to Lord Hanzō!"
"Yes, sir!"
The young Rain-nin immediately stepped forward, hoisted the captive onto his back, and leapt away.
About fifteen minutes later—
Yuu from the Rain-nin returned with four other Rain-nin, arriving at the bridge.
"Friends from Konoha, I am Suikaze. Please follow me—Lord Hanzō has agreed to meet with you."
The middle-aged Rain-nin, wearing a ponytail and bearing a scar at the corner of his eye, spoke politely.
Hajime exchanged a glance with Daichi.
Daichi stepped forward and removed his mask. "I am Daichi Shimura from Konoha. We appreciate your help."
The group followed Suikaze and the Rain-nin across the bridge and into Amegakure.
The Village Hidden in the Rain was far less lively than Konoha—perhaps due to the constant rain.
Passing through the unique architecture that stood out from Konoha's style, Hajime and the others were brought before a wooden-style building.
However, aside from Hajime and Daichi, the rest—like Inuzuka Ryo—were asked to wait outside.
They were led through courtyards and walkways.
Before long, Hajime came face to face with the renowned "Demi-God of the Shinobi World"—Salamander Hanzō.
Wearing a respirator mask, Hanzō's appearance gave no clear indication of his age.
Still, Hajime estimated he couldn't be much older than Danzō—likely still in his prime.
"Lord Hanzō."
Hajime and Daichi bowed slightly, showing respect.
Though Amegakure was not one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, as its leader, Hanzō's status was equal to that of the Five Kage.
Not to mention—he carried the title of Demi-God.
"Speak. What is your purpose here?"
Hanzō was brief and direct.
Hajime lifted his head slightly. "Lord Hanzō, our purpose is not what's important."
"What matters is that Iwa-nin, disguised as your subordinates, attacked us. Their intentions are already quite clear."
"They aim to provoke a war between our two villages. And once that war begins, Iwa-nin will no doubt strike from behind."
"In my opinion, the best course of action is to cut off the malicious hand Iwa has extended into your territory—punish and warn them."
"We are also willing to assist you in this matter, standing beside you against the scheming, ambitious Iwa-nin—as a response to this incident."
Hanzō's eyes narrowed behind the mask as he stared at the masked Hajime, a subtle hint of scrutiny in his gaze.
He had to admit—Hajime's proposal aligned perfectly with his own thoughts.
Dealing with the Iwa-nin within the Land of Rain posed no issue for Amegakure.
But if Konoha were involved, it would further worsen relations between Konoha and Iwagakure.
At the same time, it would create a false impression for Iwa—that Rain and Konoha were forming an alliance—possibly causing Iwa to restrain their ambitions.
And lastly, this would be a chance to show some goodwill toward Konoha.
However—
Hanzō asked, "Do you have the authority to make such decisions?"
Hajime replied immediately, "I represent the will of Lord Danzō, Hokage Advisor, who in turn acts under the will of the Third Hokage."
Daichi Shimura nodded stiffly.
They were, indeed, acting on Danzō's orders.
And Danzō was, in fact, executing the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's will.
So what Hajime said was entirely true.
Hanzō lowered his eyes slightly. "Kuroame, take your team and assist our guests from Konoha. Find the Iwa-nin and eliminate them. Then deliver their corpses to the border of the Land of Earth."
A middle-aged man in a black cloak and respirator stepped forward from the left. "Yes, Lord Hanzō."
Daichi let out a quiet sigh of relief. He hadn't expected Hanzō to agree so easily.
But Hajime wasn't surprised at all.
Right now, Hanzō was full of ambition.
He was suspicious by nature, and at the height of his power—there was no way he'd allow Iwa-nin to operate in his territory disguised as Rain-nin and frame his people.
Hajime had simply made a proposal Hanzō could not refuse, even if his rank didn't officially entitle him to speak for Konoha.
(End of Chapter)