Chapter 74: Guidance and Sudden Changes!

By the time Hajime returned to Konoha, it was already the afternoon of the 16th.

The first thing he did was go to meet with Danzō and report on the details of the mission.

For example, impersonating Suna-nin to stage an attack.

Intentionally letting the Ame-nin involved in the transaction escape.

Danzō was quite pleased with these decisions.

However, Hajime didn't end his report there. Instead, his tone shifted slightly.

"Lord Danzō, I've also made a shocking discovery."

"Oh?"

Danzō looked at Hajime with a calm and steady gaze.

Hajime said, "I obtained an Uchiha's Sharingan during the mission, and I discovered that its power can actually suppress the strength of the First Hokage's cells."

"Hm?"

Danzō's expression changed slightly.

Hajime continued, "Or rather, it's not just simple suppression. It's more like the power of the First Hokage's cells supports and enhances the Sharingan's abilities."

"There seems to be a mysterious synergy between the two."

"I obtained a double-tomoe Sharingan this time, so the sensation wasn't extremely strong. But if it were a three-tomoe Sharingan, I believe the effect would be much more pronounced."

He didn't speak in overly specific terms.

Yet within Danzō's heart, a storm had been stirred.

He had originally been considering how to acquire the power of Wood Release and had resolved to continue researching Hashirama's cells.

But Hashirama's cells were far too dangerous. Even with Hajime as a successful example, the chances of success still seemed slim.

However—if the Sharingan truly could suppress the power of Hashirama's cells...

Danzō stared at Hajime, his expression solemn.

"Alpha, are you absolutely sure you weren't mistaken?"

Hajime nodded firmly.

"I experienced it myself. The Sharingan and the First Hokage's cells do indeed complement each other."

"I believe we might even consider involving members of the Uchiha clan in experiments with Hashirama's cells."

As soon as Danzō heard that, he let out a cold snort.

"Uchiha cannot be trusted. They must never be allowed to gain the First Hokage's power."

"Alpha, this secret must not be leaked."

Hajime nodded immediately.

"Understood."

...

As he stepped out of Danzō's office, a faint smile crept into Hajime's eyes.

The bait had been planted.

Danzō, already a hardliner filled with suspicion and hostility toward the Uchiha, would now only grow more extreme.

Three-tomoe Sharingan? Hajime would never find that in excess.

After all, there was that ultimate genjutsu—Izanagi.

Just one three-tomoe Sharingan could mean multiple extra lives.

"Sigh… I do not kill the innocent, yet they die because of me."

"Well, it's only because I couldn't bear to let it go."

...

After dinner, Hajime returned to the Forest of Death and began repeatedly using the Sharingan to cast the Dreamwalker Technique.

First, to become more proficient in using the Sharingan; second, to use the Sharingan's power to further strengthen the Dreamwalker Technique.

Of course,

Techniques like Sky Step and Wind Release: Rasenshuriken were also not neglected in his training.

In particular, perfecting the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken had progressed even faster under the effects of the Total Concentration State than when he was splitting his attention between tasks.

The Total Concentration State greatly enhanced Hajime's chakra control, which in turn significantly improved the stability of the Rasenshuriken, making it viable for long-range throws to strike enemies at a distance.

November 18th.

Forest of Death.

Hajime lowered his gaze, but his consciousness was currently inhabiting a squirrel, navigating the Forest of Death through its eyes.

Suddenly, a weasel lunged out of the underbrush and pounced on the squirrel.

The squirrel struggled violently—then suddenly froze mid-movement, its eyes going blank with a dazed expression.

Elsewhere—

Hajime's awareness returned to his own body, and he reflected silently:

"It's quite dangerous, not inferior to the Spiritualization Technique in terms of risk, but the effectiveness is far less."

"I've more or less mastered this jutsu. Now the question is whether I can permanently stabilize the Total Concentration Status."

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a sharp sound sliced through the air.

The next moment, Inuzuka Ryo appeared.

"Captain, we have an urgent mission!"

Hajime stood up and fastened his mask.

"What kind of mission?"

Ryo quickly reported,

"A spy has been investigating the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki. It's very likely they've already gathered some intel."

"ANBU is already in pursuit. Lord Danzō has ordered our squad to make absolutely sure the information does not leak."

Hajime frowned, then leapt into the air.

"Any idea which village they might be from?"

Ryo followed closely behind.

"Most likely Kumogakure."

"So far, the spy has fled north."

Hajime nodded.

"Got it. Speed up!"

The two of them quickly met up with Aburame Ryōma, who was waiting for them at the village gate.

Once outside the village, the three of them immediately began tracking northward.

"Cerberus, how long has it been since the spy left the village?"

Hajime suddenly asked.

Ryo replied,

"The spy entered the village disguised as a civilian traveling with a merchant caravan. The caravan left the village about half an hour ago."

Half an hour.

Hajime immediately said,

"I'll go ahead. You two follow!"

As his voice fell, his figure was already mid-air. A burst of wind shot out beneath his feet, suspending him momentarily—then, to Ryo and Ryōma's astonishment, he began sprinting through the air as though walking on solid ground.

This was the result of Hajime's continuous training through his shadow clones over the past several days.

The Sky Step technique had matured.

Staring in the direction Hajime vanished, Ryo took a moment to process before exclaiming,

"Captain never fails to surprise. That kind of ability—truly one of a kind!"

"But seriously, Pegasus, can you tell what kind of body flicker technique that was?"

Aburame Ryōma considered it carefully.

"It should be Wind Release."

"Other than Wood Release, Wind Release is what Captain excels in the most."

"In that moment just now, it looked like he used Wind Release to form a high-density airflow, then leveraged the reactive force from that compressed wind current."

Ryo thought it over seriously, then nodded.

"Precisely controlling the strength of those air currents is no easy feat."

"A technique like that... I doubt anyone but Captain could've come up with it."

Ryōma nodded in agreement, then added,

"Let's speed up too—otherwise, by the time we arrive, we'll only be helping him clean up the corpses."

…

While sprinting through the air, Hajime naturally moved at incredible speed, quickly overtaking the ANBU operatives.

But with only a glance at them, he continued forward.

Not long after, a merchant caravan came into view.

Boom!

Hajime descended from the sky and landed in front of the caravan, blocking its path.

Chaos broke out within the caravan as several samurai drew their swords, ready for combat.

Hajime swept his gaze across them, but didn't bother wasting words. He directly activated the Dreamwalker Technique using his Sharingan.

In an instant, starting with the samurai, one after another closed their eyes and collapsed into a deep sleep.

But the next moment, all of them stood up again.

> "We're from the Land of the Moon, hired by Kumogakure."

> "We don't know what Kumo's actual target is."

> "Only one Kumo-nin is involved."

…

Hajime quickly extracted the intel he needed.

The caravan wasn't affiliated with the Land of Lightning or Kumogakure itself, but they had been hired by a Kumo shinobi. In other words, they knowingly aided a spy.

They could be considered part of the espionage network.

They didn't know the target was the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, and they confirmed that only one Kumo-nin had infiltrated Konoha.

As for whether the spy had allies waiting to assist—they knew nothing.

Once the interrogation ended, each of them fell back into unconsciousness as Hajime dispelled the genjutsu.

At that moment, the ANBU operatives finally arrived.

Hajime said coldly,

"These people were hired by a Kumo-nin. You're in charge of eliminating them."

The four ANBU were stunned. The squad leader asked,

"Wouldn't it be better to take them back to Konoha for further interrogation?"

Hajime shot him a cold glare.

"And who's going to escort them back?"

"Besides, don't you trust my abilities?"

Boom!

Chakra surged—an intense blue aura enveloped Hajime.

"If you don't want to die, then follow orders obediently!"

With that, Hajime leapt into the air and continued his sky-bound pursuit.

It wasn't until he had vanished into the distance that the four ANBU finally snapped out of it.

"Gulp—"

"That guy's ridiculously strong!"

"Damn it... His aura and killing intent totally overwhelmed us just now!"

"Captain, what should we do?"

The ANBU squad leader looked down at the caravan members slowly waking up with dazed expressions and gave a cold order:

"Kill them all, then continue the pursuit!"

"Understood!"

The three ANBU operatives nodded and drew their blades, slaughtering everyone in the caravan. Only after the massacre did they resume their chase.

Meanwhile—

Hajime, now some distance ahead, suddenly frowned. His body shot upward in the air.

From the forest below, a barrage of shuriken suddenly flew up at him.

The Kumo-nin had allies lying in wait to stop pursuers!

(End of Chapter)

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