Chapter 72: Sharingan, and the Beginning of Sage Training!

Unknowingly, dawn had arrived.

And with it, Konoha began to awaken.

As for the Nine-Tails' transfer last night—it seemed to have left no trace at all.

That was, in fact, the truth. The barrier had completely sealed off all noise and movement, and the vast majority of Konoha's residents had no idea that the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki had already been replaced.

The sun rose in the east.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A series of figures suddenly appeared on the rooftop of Uzumaki Kushina's home.

Among them, the ANBU agent Hajime was familiar with stepped forward and said,

"Alpha, we are under orders from the Third Hokage. We're here to take over the protection of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."

"Understood."

Hajime nodded slightly, showing no surprise.

He had only been stationed here because of Uzumaki Mito's personal request—not because of Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust.

So being replaced now was completely expected.

Besides, at this stage, Kushina didn't need to be watched so closely for the time being.

Hajime speculated that Hiruzen had already made his move.

"My poor Lord Danzo…"

He offered Danzo a moment of silent condolence.

Still, he had already proposed the spy plan earlier—Danzo was likely prepared for such developments.

But having one's assets seized by others never sits well.

"Please wait a moment."

Saying that, Hajime opened the window and stepped into the bedroom, gently placing a scroll beside Kushina's pillow.

It was something he had prepared the night before.

Part of it was his personal insights into Rasengan training; the other part covered chakra nature transformation for Wind Release.

The latter was also homework he had assigned Kushina.

Once she finished mastering the Rasengan, her next task would be to develop Wind Release nature transformation.

After placing the scroll, Hajime vanished—leaving only a swirling gust of wind in his place.

Leaving Kushina's home, he shed his Root disguise and returned to his civilian appearance.

After having breakfast and buying two bottles of sake, Hajime made his way to the Senju clan's ancestral residence.

The outside of the mansion looked unchanged—but once inside, there was a stark increase in the color white.

This vast household, already quiet and lonely, now held a new layer of grief.

In the main hall, Tsunade and Nawaki were both dressed in white kimono.

Other than the two of them, no one else was present.

"What are you doing here?"

Tsunade looked up and was a bit surprised to see him.

Nawaki, red-eyed and still wiping away tears, turned his head with curiosity.

He had no idea when his sister had made such a friend.

"I came to pay my respects to Lady Mito."

Hajime stepped forward and bowed deeply with solemn respect.

Tsunade and Nawaki returned the gesture.

"How about a drink?"

Hajime raised the bottle in his hand.

Nawaki's eyes widened.

That didn't seem very appropriate…?

Tsunade glanced at him, then nodded and took one of the bottles. She opened it and tipped it straight back.

"Big sis…"

Nawaki opened his mouth to protest, but Tsunade held him down with one hand.

Hajime turned to Nawaki with a grin.

"Nawaki, right? Want me to teach you a fun jutsu?"

Tsunade let out a small hiccup and gave Hajime a sidelong glance but said nothing.

She assumed he meant the Rasengan.

"A fun jutsu?"

Nawaki pulled his sister's hand away, wiped his tears, and asked,

"What jutsu? Also, who are you? I've never seen you before, and you say you're my sister's friend?"

Hajime extended his hand.

"Hoshita Hajime."

Nawaki shook it.

"Nawaki! I'm going to be the future Hokage!"

Hoshita smiled widely.

"Me too! I'm going to be Hokage someday!"

Nawaki responded right away:

"Then you become the Fourth Hokage, and I'll be the Fifth!"

…What kind of logic is that?

Hajime gave him a thumbs up.

Tsunade muttered from the side, "Idiots. Both of you."

Hajime turned and asked,

"When will Lady Mito be buried?"

Tsunade shook her head.

"Grandmother asked to be cremated. Her ashes will be scattered into the sea—so she can watch over her homeland."

Hajime fell silent.

He could feel the remorse in Uzumaki Mito's heart for her native land. Otherwise, her remains should have been buried in the soil of Uzushiogakure, not scattered into the bay.

"This too… is a good resting place."

Seeing that Tsunade had already emptied the first bottle, Hajime handed her the second, then turned to leave.

"I'll return to make my report."

Nawaki quickly asked,

"Hajime-senpai, what about that jutsu you promised?"

Hoshita smiled.

"Don't worry. I keep my word."

"Next time we meet, I'll teach it to you."

"Also—starting today, you're a real man now. It's time to take on a man's responsibilities!"

Nawaki was stunned.

He understood what Hoshita meant and nodded with all seriousness.

"I understand. I'll protect my sister!"

Tsunade ruffled Nawaki's hair with a frustrated sigh.

"Idiot. First graduate from the ninja academy!"

Outside, Hajime's figure had already vanished.

…

At the Root base, Hajime had just returned when Aburame Ryōma came to inform him that Danzō wanted to see him.

Upon arriving at the office, Hajime bowed respectfully. "Lord Danzō."

Danzō, who had his back turned, slowly faced him. "Alpha—by now, you should have realized it. Hiruzen intends to pull you out of Root."

Hajime nodded. "Lord Danzō, this actually aligns perfectly with your plan."

"I've already established a basic level of trust with the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. From now on, I can control her through emotional bonds and ensure she becomes one of your trump cards at critical moments."

"Additionally, I've gained Tsunade's trust as well."

"And through her, Lady Mito has passed the First Hokage's Sage Arts scroll to me."

Danzō raised an eyebrow slightly. "Sage Arts?"

"Can you master them?"

Hajime shook his head. "Extremely difficult."

"But with Tsunade's help, there's a strong possibility."

"And once I've mastered Sage Mode, I'm confident I can suppress the Nine-Tails on my own, allowing you to fully control that power."

Danzō's eyes glinted sharply, then he nodded. "Very well."

At that moment, Hajime added, "Lord Danzō, if we add one more thing, our control over the Nine-Tails will become even stronger."

Expressionless, Danzō asked, "What thing?"

Hajime replied, "The Sharingan."

Danzō's eyes narrowed slightly. "The Sharingan?"

Hajime nodded. "The technique I developed, Dreamwalker Technique, would have far more powerful hypnotic effects if enhanced by the Sharingan."

Danzō immediately recalled the moment Hajime had hypnotized the Nine-Tails the previous night.

More importantly, what Hajime was proposing fit Danzō's own plans perfectly.

He had already been considering having Hajime make a move against the Uchiha—both to gain power and to hold something over Hajime in case this double agent ever turned on him.

Now that Hajime had brought it up himself, it was ideal.

"I understand. Go find Daichi."

Danzō phrased it subtly.

But Hajime knew—he had walked straight into Danzō's carefully laid trap.

As expected, the old fox didn't trust him.

...

After leaving Danzō's office, Hajime immediately went to find Shimura Daichi, who handed him a piece of intel.

It was about the Uchiha.

Their weapon business.

Hajime studied the report thoughtfully.

Ninjas earned wealth through missions—but that was mostly how civilian shinobi made their living.

In the case of Konoha, not to mention the smaller clans, the major shinobi clans all had their own foundational industries.

For example, the Nara Clan raised deer—antlers alone were a valuable resource.

The Inuzuka Clan specialized in breeding ninja hounds.

The Akimichi Clan had deep expertise in food and cuisine.

As for the Uchiha Clan, they had carved out a unique domain in the realm of ninja tools.

This clan controlled a group known as the Ninja Cats, who were highly skilled in crafting various ninja tools.

Hajime recalled that after Sasuke Uchiha defected from Konoha, he seemed to have relied on the Ninja Cats to produce many tools.

The weapons created by the Ninja Cats weren't just used internally by the Uchiha; they were also sold to outsiders.

Such as various smaller or scattered ninja clans throughout the shinobi world.

Groups like the Fūma Clan, for instance.

But now, Root had uncovered that the Uchiha were actually conducting transactions with Amegakure—the Village Hidden in the Rain.

On the surface, that wasn't necessarily a problem.

After all, Konoha and Amegakure weren't enemies at the moment. In fact, they had recently collaborated on a mission.

But if someone wanted to accuse the Uchiha of colluding with an external force, the case could be made—albeit a flimsy one.

Danzō using this to blackmail them was perfectly in character.

"Uchiha Yūtō, Uchiha Masakazu—both have two tomoe Sharingan."

According to the report, these two Uchiha Chūnin were responsible for the trade with Amegakure, along with a few Genin who hadn't awakened their Sharingan.

"Two tomoe... still not quite enough," Hajime muttered, slightly dissatisfied.

However, a Uchiha with three tomoe wasn't exactly easy to deal with.

Starting with dual tomoe wasn't a bad plan.

After committing the entire report to memory, Hajime destroyed the intel in front of Shimura Daichi.

Once they parted ways, Hajime made his way to Root's archive.

He had previously requested access from Danzō, and now came to retrieve two types of ninjutsu: Earth Release and Water Release.

For now, he had no intention of delving too deeply into either; he just wanted to learn a few commonly used techniques to diversify his arsenal and reduce any glaring weaknesses.

After collecting the scrolls for the two chakra natures, Hajime immediately created Wood Clones.

This time, he produced nine at once—using the chakra he had absorbed from the Nine-Tails the night before, which he hadn't yet expended.

Since it couldn't be stored for long, he figured it was best to use it all in one go.

Once the clones left, Hajime leapt into the Forest of Death and sat cross-legged atop a massive tree canopy.

"Let's try Sage Mode training first."

He lowered his eyes and entered meditation, attempting to achieve a state of mental stillness and merge with the natural world, hoping to sense nature energy.

However, this step couldn't be achieved through focus or high concentration alone.

On the contrary, it required an empty, tranquil mind—pure meditation.

He tried for quite some time without success. After thinking it over, he decided to hypnotize himself.

By forcibly suppressing his conscious mind and allowing his subconscious to take control, he hoped to bypass the mental barrier.

But the subconscious only handled basic bodily functions. It couldn't actively perceive the world.

Failure.

"To merge with nature... Mokuton?"

Hajime pondered for a moment, then descended from the treetop and melded into the trunk of the tree.

This was a Wood Release technique that allowed him to become one with the tree, rendering him undetectable.

This time, Hajime finally sensed the immense natural energy flowing throughout the world.

"No wonder Sage Mode users have such incredible sensory perception... Nature energy saturates the entire environment. Although it may vary in density, there are very few places completely devoid of it."

"This means, with the help of natural energy, one's perception could extend to every corner of the shinobi world."

Hajime marveled silently.

But he also knew—sensing nature energy was only the very first step.

The truly dangerous part was next:

Absorbing it.

A slight misstep, and he could be completely assimilated by nature.

But before that, Hajime had to reach the point where he could sense natural energy in a normal state.

Because if he could only sense it while merged with a tree, he wouldn't be able to pull himself out in case he lost control.

(End of Chapter)