Danzo's ambition was burning—and so was Hajime's.
The Nine-Tails, huh?
What an incredible chakra battery!
Although his own chakra reserves were already considerable thanks to the Hashirama cells in his body...
Who would ever complain about having too much chakra?
Besides, Hajime figured that while his chakra might seem massive compared to an average ninja, when measured against the true monsters out there, it wasn't much at all.
At the very least, his chakra couldn't compare to the Nine-Tails.
Not even half of the Nine-Tails.
Maybe just barely on par with the One-Tail.
Looking at the current situation, Hajime estimated that he might be assigned a role similar to Yamato's.
"Uzumaki Kushina, huh…"
A flood of thoughts flashed through Hajime's mind in an instant—some of them rather wicked.
Like… should he make a move early and get close to Kushina while he had the advantage of proximity?
But right now, Kushina was just a ten-year-old girl.
Planning something like that now would be downright creepy.
Hajime could admit he'd do just about anything to become stronger, but... he still preferred someone like Tsunade.
Or rather—
Tsunade was more suitable. More helpful for his climb to the top!
"Claiming the Nine-Tails doesn't necessarily require claiming Uzumaki Kushina…"
Then Hajime thought of Minato Namikaze.
That guy had probably already graduated ahead of schedule, right?
Already taken in as Jiraiya's disciple?
Deep in thought, Hajime returned to his residence without even realizing it.
Shaking off his musings, he pulled out the scroll containing the secret Wood Release techniques and fixed his eyes on one jutsu in particular—
Hokage-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique: Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands!
This technique was specifically designed to suppress Tailed Beasts.
As far as Hajime knew, only two people had ever used it:
Its creator, Hashirama Senju, and the "civil engineer" of the shinobi world—Yamato.
But the results were vastly different depending on the user.
When Hashirama used it alongside his True Several Thousand Hands, he could singlehandedly subdue a fully-transformed Nine-Tails controlled by Madara Uchiha.
Yamato, on the other hand, could only manage to partially suppress a berserk Naruto in his Jinchūriki state.
At most, he could reliably hold back the Four-Tails form.
"To use Wood Release to suppress a Tailed Beast, the core principle is to treat the beast's chakra as life force—absorbing it to empower the technique itself."
"In other words, using the Tailed Beast's power... to suppress the Tailed Beast."
Hajime carefully analyzed the fundamental mechanics of the jutsu.
You could say it was using the beast to control the beast.
But there were limits—it was still directly tied to the user's own capabilities.
"Chakra control ability, Wood Release mastery…"
Hajime fell deep into contemplation.
Each person had a different capacity for bearing the load.
Absorbing Tailed Beast chakra wasn't limitless.
If you took in too much, you'd lose control.
In other words... you'd burst!
Hashirama's chakra levels were on par with the Nine-Tails itself, so of course he could crush it with one hand.
Yamato's Wood Release was only about 20% of Hashirama's strength. His tolerance was limited.
"As for me," Hajime speculated, "once I've fully mastered this jutsu, I could probably handle… up to seven tails at most. And that's only in a Jinchūriki state."
"Unless I master Sage Mode and use the Torii Seal Gates, then maybe—maybe—I could suppress a fully transformed Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
Of course, all of this was just Hajime's estimation based on his current knowledge. The true measure would only be revealed when he personally faced the Nine-Tails' power.
"The Nine-Tails, huh…"
Hajime unconsciously licked his lips.
The Nine-Tails was the closest Tailed Beast to the Ten-Tails, and its chakra was the most similar in nature.
Studying the Nine-Tails' chakra could help him push his Wood Release development to an entirely new level.
Right now, Hajime could use Wood Release to absorb chakra from other people, enhancing his techniques. He could even use enemy chakra as life force to restore his stamina.
But he still couldn't redistribute the absorbed chakra to others like White Zetsu could.
However, Nine-Tails chakra was so adaptable that it could be balanced and used by nearly any shinobi.
That was very similar to how White Zetsu transferred chakra to others.
Hajime speculated it all traced back to the Ten-Tails.
White Zetsu had also been created using Hashirama cells—but he was different. His body had been made using the Rinnegan and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
And the Demonic Statue was the husk of the Ten-Tails.
The Nine-Tails, on the other hand, was part of the Ten-Tails' chakra.
Rolling up the scroll, Hajime created a wooden clone to begin training in Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands.
For someone like Hajime, who had already mastered using Wood Release to absorb chakra, learning this technique wouldn't be difficult.
So—he let a clone handle it.
While his clone was off training, Hajime continued developing his hypnotic genjutsu.
He wanted to solidify the status of "Hypnosis Master."
This ability—when it came to hypnosis—might very well rival the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Just a glance, a sound, a gesture… and before they realized it, the target would be hypnotized.
Its applications went far beyond simple interrogation. In a life-or-death battle, even a momentary lapse in focus could decide the outcome.
However, creating a genjutsu focused on hypnosis—one different from the Temple of Nirvana Technique that he had already mastered—was no easy feat.
Before he knew it, evening had arrived.
Rubbing his brow, Hajime muttered, "Creating a high-level jutsu really isn't easy…"
After a moment of thought, he got up, changed into his casual clothes, and left the Root base. He walked through the bustling streets of Konoha and arrived at the village hospital.
He hadn't seen Nonō Yakushi in days. As team leader, it was only proper to check in on his subordinates.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Hajime stopped in his tracks as he heard a familiar voice.
He approached a room and peeked inside, where he saw Tsunade frowning as she studied a medical chart.
"Cases of sleepwalking aren't uncommon," she said, "but within the ninja population… this is a first. And more than that—murder while sleepwalking."
"Are you sure they weren't being controlled by a genjutsu?"
The male doctor opposite her replied, "Lady Tsunade, we've tested that possibility thoroughly—there's no sign of genjutsu manipulation."
"When sleepwalking episodes are triggered, any attempt to interfere causes the patient to wake, so we haven't been able to record real-time physical data during an episode."
"And from tests conducted at other times, nothing abnormal has turned up."
"So right now, we can't determine whether the cause is physiological or psychological."
Tsunade folded her arms in thought. "This really is a difficult case…"
"Well then, since we can't do live monitoring, let's start by collecting blood and other samples taken during the episodes and analyze those."
"In addition, I'll ask the Yamanaka clan for help. When the next episode hits…"
Outside the door, Hajime listened to the conversation—and suddenly froze.
Sleepwalking.
Sleepwalking murder.
Wasn't that like Cao Cao's legendary line: "I love to kill in my dreams"?
Hajime's eyes narrowed. A flash of inspiration exploded in his mind.
Whoosh!
His body vanished, leaving behind only a swirling gust of air.
Inside the room, Tsunade paused and looked toward the doorway.
…
Back at the Root base, Hajime immediately pulled out a blank scroll, grabbed a brush, and began writing rapidly—progressing at lightning speed.
The night passed without incident.
At 5 a.m. the next morning, after sleeping only three hours, Hajime stepped outside full of energy for his early morning training.
Even while he was training, his brain was running at full speed—analyzing and refining his new technique.
After breakfast, Hajime summoned Ryō Inuzuka and Ryōma Aburame to the training field.
"Cerberus," Hajime said, "you're familiar with the Temple of Nirvana Technique, right?"
Ryō nodded. "An A-rank genjutsu. Not easy to pull off. It can hypnotize groups, but as long as your target is alert, it's not hard to resist."
Hajime nodded in agreement.
Still, as shinobi—especially assassins like those in the Foundation—stealth and surprise were everything.
Even in direct combat, jutsu should be delivered with speed and unpredictability.
Real battles between ninja didn't involve shouting the name of your jutsu.
"Today, we're going to train your resistance to genjutsu," Hajime said to the two.
"This is under the condition that you've already been warned—it'll be much easier than a real combat scenario."
Hearing that, both Ryō and Ryōma grew tense, immediately assuming a serious stance.
Hajime said no more. He flicked a handful of shuriken and swiftly formed hand seals.
Genjutsu – Temple of Nirvana!
Just after dodging the shuriken, Ryō and Ryōma saw feathers drifting down from the sky—their minds began to grow drowsy.
Woof! Woof!
The ninja dog, Kurotama, barked furiously, snapping Ryō back to full awareness.
Ryōma, on the other hand, remained unaffected due to the insects living inside his body.
Hajime raised an eyebrow. Both of them were specialized secret-technique users. Their unique physiology made them resistant to typical genjutsu.
Especially Ryōma—his body was teeming with kikaichū.
"…The precision of Temple of Nirvana's hypnosis still isn't quite there."
As Hajime thought this, he moved in an instant, charging toward Ryō and Ryōma.
The three clashed at close range. After a few exchanges, Hajime kicked Ryōma flying. His body rolled across the ground several times before he leapt to his feet—only to stagger, eyelids heavy and body sluggish, as exhaustion seeped into his brain like a sedative whispering: Rest.
But thanks to the insects inside him, Ryōma snapped back to full consciousness a moment later.
Still, he was rattled. When did the captain cast another genjutsu? I didn't even see the hand seals…
That reminded him of the time Hajime interrogated the Iwa-nin—that had clearly involved hypnosis too.
Was it… the moment I made eye contact with him just now?
Ryōma guessed—and then he saw Ryō and the dog Kurotama both get knocked back.
Just as they flipped to their feet, their bodies froze mid-motion, eyes shutting as if they'd fallen into sleep.
They were hypnotized!
Ryōma's eye twitched in alarm—because a moment later, Ryō and Kurotama both reopened their eyes.
But this time, their gazes were empty, movements stiff—they took two mechanical steps forward…
And then—under Ryōma's stunned gaze—their bodies snapped back into action like puppets reanimated, leaping high into the air in perfect coordination.
Fang Over Fang!
RUMBLE!
Ryōma barely dodged the powerful attack, watching the dust billow around him as shock flooded his heart.
"They were hypnotized… and then controlled like puppets?"
(End of Chapter)