Tap-tap-tap!
Footsteps echoed.
Hajime Hoshita stepped forward, looking at the old man and saying, "Didn't expect you to be a sensory-type ninja."
Qingtai stared calmly at the unfamiliar man before him and replied, "You're the one who caused the chaos in the village and assassinated our leader, aren't you?"
"Konoha truly lives up to being one of the Five Great Ninja Villages—so many talented individuals."
"If I can take you down today, I'll die without regrets."
Hajime raised an eyebrow at that, then turned his head—another Qingtai had appeared behind him.
Blocked front and back.
"Old men who don't die become thieves, huh? And this one's a real thief!"
Hajime drew his blade, and with a flash, vanished from where he stood.
In front of him, Qingtai's white beard and hair fluttered as he leapt up with a kunai.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Metal clashed in a burst of sparks within the dim corridor.
After several exchanges, Hajime landed a powerful kick that sent Qingtai crashing into the stone gate with a loud bang, then immediately closed in.
At the same time, the Qingtai behind him had already completed a set of hand seals and unleashed a sea of fire that surged through the passageway.
Ignoring the flames engulfing him from behind, Hajime thrust his blade at the Qingtai pinned to the door.
The old man's face, twisted by the firelight, showed no fear. Instead of defending, he drove his kunai straight at Hajime's heart.
Ding!
The kunai merely tore Hajime's clothing—his steel-like body granted him unmatched defense. A simple kunai was nothing to worry about.
Meanwhile, Hajime's blade pierced Qingtai's shoulder, nailing him to the stone door.
"So you were the real one," Hajime remarked.
Despite the pain, Qingtai's face showed a grim smile.
Just then, the flames roared forward.
But Hajime had already formed a hand seal—rows of wooden pillars shot up behind him, blocking the corridor.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Two layers of Wood Locking Walls were blasted apart by the fire, but it couldn't break through all of his defenses.
However, Hajime's expression suddenly changed.
Because the old man before him had ignited explosive tags all over his body.
They'd been planted there long ago.
Hajime immediately leapt back, but as he passed through the wood walls, the Qingtai clone pounced from behind—also covered in ignited tags.
A suicide attack!
BOOM! BOOM!
Both Qingtai bodies exploded almost simultaneously, triggering a chain reaction of tags buried along the passage, collapsing the entire tunnel in a thunderous roar.
Moments later, two Sky Ninja appeared before the collapsed entrance of the shelter. Their faces changed, and one shouted, "We must report to the jonin immediately!"
But just as they were about to move, whoosh whoosh whoosh—a volley of shuriken tore through the air.
The Sky Ninja tried to dodge, but as they moved in midair, wooden spikes burst through their bodies. The spikes forked out from within, tearing through their flesh and erupting from their bodies.
Their corpses hit the ground, blood splattering everywhere.
Hajime Hoshita stepped out from the forest, glanced at the two bloody corpses, and thought silently, "That blast made way too much noise. There's no hiding it from the Sky Ninja."
"And with such a commotion, they'll surely realize someone infiltrated again."
"Looks like I can't wait any longer…"
Hajime's figure flickered and vanished into the forest.
——
At Nonō Yakushi's residence.
Receiving the memories from his clones, Hajime sighed internally. "My enemies are their heroes, huh…"
Qingtai's suicide attack was impressive—tragic, even. Too bad he was the enemy.
And yet...
He'd left a trail.
"Shinnō?"
"He dares to use that name?"
Hajime scoffed coldly.
He was now certain—the aerial fortress probably already existed. And it might not even have been built by the Sky Ninja. It could be a relic from a past era.
That would mean it was hidden beneath the Sky Ninja Village.
But entering it posed a problem.
The tunnel discovered by the clone had already been destroyed. From the memories returned, it seemed even the other Sky Ninja aboveground didn't know about any alternate entrances.
Could he dig through from the surface?
Hajime figured that wasn't out of the question.
But another problem remained.
He still hadn't figured out what to do with the Zero-Tails.
In terms of sealing techniques, Hajime knew he'd barely scratched the surface.
And using the Gate of the Great God required Sage Mode to activate.
If I don't seal it and just blast it to pieces, it would feel like a bit of a waste.
After all, it is like a little portable battery.
But if I want to use the Zero-Tails as a power source, I'll need sealing jutsu.
"It's always when you need a jutsu that you regret not learning more!"
Hajime sighed inwardly, then pushed the Zero-Tails matter aside for now.
First, he'd deal with the Sky Ninja. Once his strength was sufficient, he could retrieve the Zero-Tails at any time.
As for Shinnō... that guy seemed like a capable talent—perhaps he could be of some use.
Sorting through his thoughts, Hajime quickly formed hand seals.
Six wooden clones emerged from his back and vanished from the room with a whoosh.
Since he'd already been exposed, it was time to begin the terror assault ahead of schedule.
Hajime's expression turned ice-cold.
——
Although Hajime's clone had taken care of the Sky Ninja investigating the collapsed shelter, the explosion had been too loud. The Sky Ninja quickly realized Qingtai had been giving a warning.
In no time, their forces were mobilized.
Sensory ninjas began scouring the area.
And the Sky Ninja were extremely cautious—every sensory squad was supported by two backup teams.
"So cautious, huh…"
"Learned your lesson the hard way?"
On the street, Hajime, disguised as an ordinary villager, looked up at the sensory Sky Ninja on the rooftop.
"Well then… time to switch from assassination… to full-on assault!"
Whoosh!
Hajime launched himself into the air, forming seals with both hands.
The sensory ninja on the rooftop abruptly opened his eyes and turned around. "Be careful!"
The surrounding Sky Ninja also noticed and responded immediately, unleashing a volley of shuriken.
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
Boom!
A powerful gust tore through the air, blowing all the incoming shuriken off course and even sending the leaping Sky Ninja tumbling backward.
Hajime, however, moved with the wind, flashing onto the rooftop. With a lift of his right hand, wooden vines extended from his palm and shot toward the sensory ninja.
Two of the sensory ninja's teammates reacted. One drew his blade and charged forward, the other began weaving hand seals.
The swordsman leapt high and rained down a barrage of shuriken mid-air.
The other unleashed a torrent of water, surging like a river.
A classic diversion tactic—rescue the besieged by attacking the enemy's camp.
Meanwhile, the sensory ninja kept retreating under the pressure of Hajime's vines.
Suddenly, Hajime severed the vines from his palm, launched into the air, dodged the incoming water jutsu, and parried all the shuriken with his blade. He then clashed with the attacking Sky Ninja mid-air.
After three swift exchanges, Hajime landed a solid kick, sending the Sky Ninja crashing into his comrade who had used the water jutsu.
A wooden spike instantly fired down.
The water-style ninja caught his comrade, but the wooden spike pierced through both of them, his vision obscured by the falling body.
From above, Hajime held up one hand.
The two Sky Ninja on the rooftop were instantly killed.
At the same time, a kunai laced with explosive tags flew at Hajime mid-air.
BOOM!
A massive explosion engulfed him in fire.
The Sky Ninja below breathed a sigh of relief—only for the smoke to suddenly part.
A storm of wind blades rained from above.
The sensory ninja tried to dodge, but one blade hit him dead-on. Blood sprayed into the air.
"How is this possible?!"
The Sky Ninja who had attacked earlier were stunned.
That close—completely covered in explosive tags—and he wasn't even scratched?!
Landing, Hajime's left hand flicked, firing three wooden spikes in rapid succession.
The already wounded sensory ninja couldn't dodge—one spike pierced through his chest.
Behind Hajime, waves of fire, wind, and earth-style ninjutsu surged toward him.
With one hand, Hajime formed a seal—Cutting Technique! The sensory ninja was instantly killed, skewered on the spot.
At the same time, Hajime swung his blade, sending out a flurry of wind blades that sliced open the rooftop. He dropped down into the building, narrowly avoiding the barrage of ninjutsu attacks.
"After him!"
Six Sky Ninja, both shocked and furious, used Body Flicker Jutsu and followed through the rooftop gap.
Shu-shu-shu!
Sharp wooden spikes shot out—three Sky Ninja were instantly impaled.
"Bastard!"
"Catch him!"
"Die!!"
The remaining three roared. One of them threw a metal chain, wrapping it around Hajime. The other two rushed in from both sides with blades drawn.
Clang!
Hajime blocked one of the blades with his own, letting the other strike his shoulder directly.
But not even a drop of blood flowed.
The two Sky Ninja's eyes widened in disbelief. "What… how?!"
A second later, shrill screams rang out—blood splattered across the walls.
"Having cheats feels so damn good!"
Reappearing on the rooftop, Hajime ignored the Sky Ninja beginning to surround him, sighing with satisfaction in his heart.
This was just a clone.
But it already felt like using his real body.
And one that wasn't afraid to die.
(End of Chapter)