Chapter 75: I Simply Just Want to Take You All Out!

After dodging the surprise shuriken attack, Hajime flipped in midair—head down, feet up. The next instant, a gust of air burst from beneath his feet as he shot down like a missile.

Wind Release – Great Breakthrough!

As Hajime reversed his posture, he had already completed the hand signs. While plummeting downward at high speed, he opened his mouth and unleashed a powerful torrent of wind that roared down like a raging storm.

The intense wind pressure shattered the trees below into splinters.

The Kumo-nin, who had been preparing for a second wave of attacks, immediately scattered in all directions to avoid the destructive gusts.

Although it was technically a C-rank Wind Release technique—usually considered low in lethality—Hajime's execution made it terrifyingly powerful.

The storm shredded the forest, slamming into the ground with a deafening crash and kicking up clouds of dust and debris.

Spreading his arms, Hajime let currents of air swirl in his palms, slowing his descent dramatically before he landed gently into the churning dust cloud.

Landing without a sound, he clasped his hands together and formed the Ram sign.

Wood Release – Nativity of a World of Trees!

Thick vines and roots burst from the earth and rapidly expanded.

The Kumo-nin, still on alert and now lacking visibility, didn't notice the creeping vines slithering toward them like venomous snakes—until it was too late.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The vines struck without warning.

"Watch out!"

"Damn it, it's Wood Release!"

The Kumo-nin shouted in alarm, but were quickly bound by vines that wrapped around their limbs and torsos, hoisting them helplessly into the air.

As the dust cloud settled, it revealed four Kumo-nin—all captured alive.

Hajime leapt to one of them. The moment their eyes met, he activated the Dreamwalker Technique—the shinobi's expression blanked out, eyelids drooping as he fell into deep sleep.

Then came the control phase.

The vines loosened, and the manipulated Kumo-nin instantly sprang to his feet and sprinted toward the Land of Fields.

"Darui!"

The remaining three Kumo-nin shouted in panic, but no matter how they called, they couldn't rouse the now-controlled Darui.

Hajime ignored the other three. While following behind Darui, he raised one hand vertically.

Eternal Tree Binding Burial!

Countless vines erupted and twisted, burying the remaining three Kumo-nin alive beneath a writhing forest of tendrils.

Soon after, the ANBU squad arrived on the scene.

"That was a Wood Release secret technique!"

"Incredible speed!"

"Pursue him!"

Shocked by the aftermath, they immediately began tracking Hajime using the trail he'd left behind.

They quickly discovered there were two distinct tracks—one leading, one following.

A Kumo-nin had escaped?

Who was capable of slipping away from such a powerful Wood Release jutsu?

Not long after the ANBU team departed, Ryo and Ryōma also arrived at the battlefield left behind by the Wood Release technique.

After a quick inspection, Ryo made a judgment:

"Four Kumo-nin. Three dead. Looks like one of them has been taken over by the Captain's Dreamwalker Technique."

"Nice work—Captain's efficiency is as terrifying as ever. The spy's not getting away now, right?"

Aburame Ryōma replied, "It's too early to conclude that. Since Kumo arranged backup for interception, they likely have reinforcements waiting at the border too."

Ryo, however, was full of confidence in Hajime:

"Unless the Third Raikage himself leads the team, no one's stopping our Captain!"

…

By dusk, Hajime had followed Darui all the way to the border of the Land of Fields.

Then, figures began to emerge one after another.

As expected, the Kumo-nin had arranged for a support unit at the border—to receive Darui and intercept any pursuers.

Without a word, Hajime swiftly formed hand seals.

At the same time, Darui—who had already passed through the welcoming ranks of Kumo-nin—also formed the Ram seal with both hands.

Wood Release – Nativity of a World of Trees!

The many Kumo-nin, who had been preparing to intercept Hajime, suddenly looked down in shock as countless vines burst from the ground. Starting small, they expanded rapidly with explosive force.

"It's a Wood Release technique!"

"Damn it, how can it be cast from such a distance?!"

"No—it's Darui!"

"Darui, what are you doing?!"

"That guy's a fake!"

"No—he's under a genjutsu!"

"Darui's been put under a genjutsu!"

Cries of alarm rang out. Some Kumo-nin tried to snap Darui out of it, but the ever-growing vines twisted thickly around him like a cocoon.

As the endless vines expanded and enveloped the area, Darui's figure began to thin and weaken.

His chakra was being completely drained, and his life force was steadily siphoned away.

Once the forest domain took shape, Hajime arrived like a flash of death.

Both hands on his swords, arcs of blue light flickered wildly through the trees.

Agonized screams rang out as one Kumo-nin after another fell. Each was quickly ensnared by vines, their chakra rapidly extracted.

The tree domain continued expanding, and even more vines lashed out at the remaining enemies.

Hajime's advantage grew with every passing second. The Kumo-nin numbers dropped sharply.

Out of eight Kumo-nin, it took less than a minute before only one remained—captured alive by Hajime.

As he stared at the masked figure of Hajime, even Karu, a Jōnin, felt an uncontrollable chill crawl down his spine.

He had already heard rumors that a powerful Wood Release technique had appeared in the Sky Ninja Village, and that it was astonishing in strength.

Afterward, a public bounty of 36 million was even placed on the user.

Only when facing him in person did Karu realize just how shallow those scattered reports, rumors, and even that thirty-six million ryo bounty truly were.

Still, despite the fear in his heart, Karu clenched his teeth and spat, "The intel has already been sent. You've failed."

"Someone will come for you. Sooner or later, this grudge will be avenged!"

Hajime couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "To be honest, I'm not particularly concerned about that intel."

"The identity of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki isn't exactly difficult to figure out."

"The village didn't even put much effort into hiding it. If they had, there wouldn't have been so few of us sent after you today."

"The reason I moved so quickly wasn't to intercept any intel—it was simply because I wanted to kill all of you."

Karu's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't comprehend this kind of thinking.

Hajime continued, "As for revenge, I'm looking forward to it."

"If your Third Raikage personally comes for me, that'd be ideal."

"Although, I'd actually prefer visiting your Hidden Cloud Village instead. I hear your environment's not the best—maybe I'll plant a few trees while I'm there?"

"Hmm, you guys should be grateful I'm helping improve your living conditions, don't you think?"

Grinding his teeth, Karu snapped, "You lunatic!"

But Hajime didn't mind such childish insults. On the contrary, he smiled and asked, "Say, what do you think—should I use genjutsu to control you and have you go back and kill a few of your comrades? That'd be pretty entertaining, right?"

Karu's expression changed dramatically, his face filling with terror. "Don't even think about it!"

Immediately, he tried to bite off his tongue and block his own airway.

But before he could clamp down, his consciousness grew hazy.

Genjutsu!

The realization hit him, but he was already powerless against the creeping tide of sleep.

Successfully gaining control over Karu, a seasoned Jōnin, Hajime finally let out a breath of relief.

Everything he had just said was actually to weaken Karu's psychological defenses—laying the groundwork for his DreamWalker Technique.

Without breaking his spirit, even with a dual tomoe Sharingan, controlling a Jōnin-level ninja like this would not be easy—especially for any extended period.

Releasing Karu, Hajime then had him run along the Land of Fields border, heading toward the Land of Hot Water.

There was no hope left of intercepting the intel—after all, Kumo-nin had most likely used a flying beast.

As for why they didn't use such a method inside the Land of Fire—it was because Konoha also had plenty of flying creatures. Once outside Konoha's sphere of influence, the intel would be much safer.

After draining all the Kumo-nin of their chakra, Hajime created a wood clone and sent it to follow Karu.

Despite how flippant he sounded earlier—like he could take on even the Third Raikage with ease—Hajime was very rational… and very much afraid of dying.

An infiltration this deep into enemy territory, practically a suicide mission?

Of course he'd send a clone instead.

(End of Chapter)

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