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[Konoha2] Chapter 37: Pursuit and Escape!
🕑 Added 2025-05-14 04:03:25 +0000 UTCThe Wind Style: Rasenshuriken exploded!
The violently expanding orb of light swallowed the entire office building—then rapidly shrank again.
BOOM!!!
A terrifying storm burst outward, kicking up sand and debris in a violent shockwave.
Hajime Hoshita, still in midair, was blown away by the blast.
He quickly performed the Great Forest Technique—thick vines sprouted from both his palms, piercing into the earth and anchoring him in place.
Meanwhile, the Sky Shinobi who had been approaching the area after sensing the battle were also caught in the sudden storm and sent flying.
When the storm finally subsided—
Hajime landed on the ground and immediately rushed into the massive crater left by the Rasenshuriken.
This was where the Sky Shinobi Village's leader’s office had stood. Now, nothing remained but a gaping pit and shattered ruins.
At the bottom of the crater lay the Sky Shinobi leader—Fukū.
Landing before him, Hajime saw that Fukū’s body was in total ruin. His cells had been shredded by the Rasenshuriken. Though not dead yet, he was completely paralyzed.
Hajime drew his blade. Under Fukū’s gaze, filled with despair—
Slash!
The head separated from the body.
Hajime took out a sealing scroll and sealed Fukū’s head inside. Without delay, he launched himself out of the Sky Shinobi Village at full speed.
Behind him, one Sky Shinobi after another arrived at the battlefield. Seeing the headless corpse of their leader, they were all stunned, frozen in disbelief.
It wasn’t until a Sky Jonin arrived that order was restored. With his command, squads of shinobi began pursuing Hajime Hoshita in large numbers.
At that moment—
Outside Sky Shinobi Village, six Root teams lay in ambush.
Two of the teams, led by Shimura Daichi and Nakamura, had been summoned by Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Shino. The other three Root teams had been stationed nearby long before, and had moved in only after sensing the eruption of battle within the village.
“The captain’s out!”
Inuzuka Ryo’s sharp eyes caught sight of Hajime speeding toward them.
Aburame Shino said calmly, “Looks like Nonō isn’t with him.”
Inuzuka Ryo fell silent.
Given the magnitude of that explosion... that kid, Yakushi Nonō, probably...
Soon—
Hajime rushed into the forest where Inuzuka Ryo and the others waited. Not long after, wave after wave of Sky Shinobi broke out from the village, chasing close behind.
After learning the situation from Inuzuka Ryo, Hajime immediately ordered, “Split into two groups of three squads each. We’ll set alternating ambushes and retreat in turns.”
One Root team leader protested, “Captain, shouldn’t we take this chance to eliminate more of the Sky Shinobi while they’re in disarray?”
“There aren’t that many of them pursuing us.”
Hajime turned a cold gaze toward him. “The Sky Shinobi leader is dead. The entire village will stop at nothing to hunt us down.”
“You think this isn’t the time to retreat?”
What?!
Everyone looked at Hajime, stunned.
The Sky Shinobi leader... was dead?
This...
Gulp.
Someone couldn’t help but swallow hard.
That was the leader of an entire shinobi village. In terms of position, he was on par with the Hokage of Konoha.
Even if Fukū wasn’t as strong as the Third Hokage, he was undoubtedly still a powerful shinobi—and he had guards, too. And yet... he’d been assassinated.
And it seemed... by just one person?
No—two people.
Still, even with two—it was almost too unbelievable.
The one who had interacted with Hajime Hoshita the most—Nakamura—was initially shocked, but upon recalling Hajime’s past behavior, he found it oddly unsurprising.
This guy had even dared to… target the Third Hokage…
Shimura Daichi was one of the few who knew that Hajime possessed Wood Style and also knew that Hajime had previously killed the S-rank rogue ninja Kakuzu. So he quickly composed himself and said, “Alpha, we’ll proceed as you suggest.”
With that, the others had no further objections.
The Sky Shinobi leader had been assassinated—and inside his own village, no less. The Sky Shinobi were bound to go berserk.
Earlier, Hajime had already thrown the village into chaos, mobilizing much of their forces.
And Fukū, the Sky Shinobi leader, had deliberately used himself as bait to make this success possible.
Even though the Sky Village was a minor ninja village, it still ranked in the second tier. It might not have dozens of jonin, but it certainly had over ten.
Compared to that, their few Root squads were not nearly enough to stand head-to-head.
A fighting retreat was the best option.
Once the decision was made, the group moved swiftly.
Shimura Daichi’s and Nakamura’s squads, along with another team led by a burly Root shinobi, formed the first interception group.
Hajime’s team and the remaining two squads began retreating.
Soon—
The first wave of Sky Shinobi pursuers stormed into the forest.
Clang! Clang!
Boom!
Aaahhh!!
Metal clashing, ninjutsu roaring, and blood-curdling screams echoed through the forest.
Flashes of movement darted between trees, battles breaking out at every turn. Blood splattered through the air, dyeing leaves red. Corpses dropped from above, kicking up dust.
The Root shinobi fought while retreating, claiming the lives of one Sky Shinobi after another.
But the Sky Shinobi pursued relentlessly.
More and more joined the chase from behind.
Elsewhere—
Hajime silently took a soldier pill to restore his stamina.
The earlier battle had drained him significantly—especially the technique Deep Forest Emergence.
He had easily captured the Sky Shinobi leader’s three bodyguards. While not full jonin, their strength was at least at the level of special jonin.
Hajime carefully reflected on his performance in the fight.
Fighting normal jonin posed little problem.
But against someone like the Sky Shinobi leader—it was like trading a thousand for three hundred: he could win, but not without a price.
If it weren’t for the Hashirama cells, he wouldn’t have been able to wield the incomplete Wind Style: Rasenshuriken the way he did.
Killing Fukū would’ve been nearly impossible.
As for the Wood Style kekkei genkai, it was incredibly versatile but still required deeper mastery and development.
After all, Hashirama Senju’s Wood Style wasn’t powerful because of the technique alone—but because he was Hashirama Senju.
After a ten-minute rest—
Shimura Daichi’s team rejoined them, just as flickers of motion appeared behind—Sky Shinobi giving chase without pause.
Hajime stepped out from behind a tree, clapped his hands together, and formed the Ram (巳) seal.
Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!
His immense chakra surged into the ground, flowing through thick roots and into the surrounding vegetation.
In an instant, the forest came alive. Branches and vines stretched outward—shff! shff! shff!—swooping toward the oncoming Sky Shinobi.
“Watch out!”
BOOOOM!
“Damn it—what kind of secret technique is this?!”
Roars and explosions filled the air.
Sky Shinobi after Sky Shinobi were ensnared by vines. Already prepared, Inuzuka Ryo, Aburame Shino, and the others charged in and struck.
Screams of pain erupted in a concentrated wave.
From behind, even the retreating Shimura Daichi and the others couldn’t help but look back—only to see the Sky Shinobi tied up like lambs waiting for slaughter, being eliminated with ease.
“So… this is the power of Wood Release?”
“Amazing… truly incredible!”
“I can’t believe the Wood Style experiment actually worked!”
Many Root shinobi were in awe—it was their first time witnessing the terrifying power of Wood Style.
The ambush ended swiftly.
But Hajime had once again drained his strength. After swallowing another soldier pill, he was carried off by the now-enlarged Kurotama.
By the time real Sky Village jonin, led by Kogetsu Daisei, caught up, all they found was a field of corpses—none of them their enemies.
Some Sky Shinobi couldn’t help but tremble. “Captain… should we really keep pursuing them?”
“The enemy clearly came well-prepared.”
Kogetsu Daisei snorted coldly. “They assassinated our leader. We must trap them in the Land of the Sky!”
“Split up and flank them—keep them pinned down and stall for time!”
(End of Chapter)
