Konoha's Status Bar Ninja

Although it was a bit of a shame, Hajime didn't feel regretful.

A Kage of a Hidden Village wasn't someone that could be killed easily—especially the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages. They were all immensely powerful.

Of course, if the wooden clone had used a Wind Style: Rasenshuriken to hit the Third Raikage, he might have been killed.

But landing a hit with the Rasenshuriken wouldn't have been easy.

Once the Third Raikage sensed danger, his response would have been completely different.

"Cerberus, let's go."

Hajime walked out of the wooden cabin.

Ryo appeared. "Captain, did the clone fail over there?"

Hajime replied, "It wasn't exactly a failure. The Eight-Tails Jinchūriki of the Hidden Cloud is dead."

Behind his mask, Ryo's jaw dropped.

They were just sent to gather intel on the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki—yet he'd killed the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki instead.

Savage.

Terrifying.

"As expected of our captain!"

Ryo gave a thumbs-up, and the black dog at his side barked in approval.

…

By the time Hajime returned to Konoha, it was already late afternoon.

Upon meeting Danzo, he reported the results of killing the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki and injuring the Third Raikage.

Danzo was momentarily speechless.

The Eight-Tails Jinchūriki… was actually dead?

He had thought Hajime would just make the Cloud-nin pay a little, exact some revenge. He never expected…

At that moment, Danzo's expression as he looked at Hajime grew more complex.

This subordinate of his always managed to bring him surprises—sometimes pleasant, sometimes overwhelming.

But… was he too capable?

Things the ANBU didn't dare to do, Root was doing instead.

It was certainly bold and impressive, but maybe a little too brash?

Root was supposed to be the nameless guardians hidden in the shadows—shouldn't they stay discreet?

Before Hajime returned, Danzo had already been secretly warned by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

But hearing of such achievements now, Danzo couldn't help being impressed. Any thoughts of reprimanding Hajime completely vanished.

"With the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki dead, it won't be easy for the Hidden Cloud to train another one. That means one less trump card for them for a long while."

Danzo nodded with praise. "Alpha, you did well."

"I'll explain this matter to Hiruzen personally."

He was going to slap Sarutobi Hiruzen in the face with results.

In response to Danzo's praise, Hajime said, "I was simply following Lord Danzo's directives."

"If the Hidden Cloud dares to act against the village, we must retaliate with the harshest methods. That's the only way to deter those who harbor ill intent toward Konoha."

Those words went straight to Danzo's heart. "Well said."

"Hiruzen is still too soft."

"The Hidden Cloud spied on the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki—their intent is clear. In that case, we must strike back."

"If the ANBU can't do it, Root will!"

Hajime immediately played along. "Yes! I'll remember that!"

Danzo gave a slight nod. "Go rest."

"The situation in the ninja world is tense right now. War could break out at any moment. Be prepared."

Hajime's heart tensed slightly, and he immediately nodded. "Understood!"

After Hajime left, Danzo went straight to the Hokage Office and found Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was just about to leave for the day.

When Sarutobi heard that the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki was dead, he was equally shocked.

Danzo looked extremely pleased with himself, and said in a low voice, "Hiruzen, now that the Hidden Cloud has fallen behind us in terms of Jinchūriki, we should take a tougher stance against them."

"With a sharp blade like Hajime Hoshita, we can do so much more."

Sarutobi Hiruzen came back to his senses and immediately sensed the deep ambition in Danzo's tone. He replied seriously, "Danzo, don't be too hasty."

"We must avoid becoming the one that other villages target."

"As for Hajime, that child is indeed outstanding. And precisely because of that, we need to protect him—so he can go even further."

Danzo clearly disagreed. "If we succeeded once, we can make a second and third Wood Style user."

In his eyes, the many ninja of Root—aside from himself—were all tools that could be sacrificed at any time.

Hajime was indeed special, but he was still a tool that could be discarded if necessary.

And for the village's benefit, even Danzo himself was willing to be sacrificed.

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. "You want to restart the Wood Style experiments?"

"Hajime was just lucky. The village can't afford that kind of loss again."

Danzo wanted to argue but held his tongue.

Since that was Hiruzen's stance, then proceeding with experiments in secret would be perfectly reasonable.

…

After washing up, Hajime left the Root base and went into the bustling streets of Konoha to buy some snacks. Then he headed straight for the Senju Clan residence.

Tsunade wasn't home. The huge estate had only Nawaki inside.

The poor kid was eating instant noodles.

The sight made Hajime think of Naruto.

"Nawaki!"

Hajime walked in carrying the food.

Nawaki looked back when he heard the voice, then brightened up in surprise. "Hajime-senpai!"

"Come on, let's eat this together!"

Hajime shook the bag in his hand.

Nawaki's eyes lit up and he quickly ran to get bowls and chopsticks.

Soon, the two were eating enthusiastically together.

"Seriously, Nawaki, why were you eating instant noodles?"

"I treated my classmates to barbecue earlier."

Well, he was a little too generous.

"Hajime-senpai, you promised to teach me ninjutsu, remember?"

"Don't worry. I'm going to teach you today."

"Really?!"

"Of course. Right after we finish eating."

…

Half an hour later.

In the courtyard, Hajime's face turned solemn. "Nawaki, what I'm about to teach you is a Taijutsu Secret Technique."

"Taijutsu Secret Technique?"

Nawaki's eyes widened with excitement.

Hajime said seriously, "Turn around. I'll demonstrate it first."

Nawaki didn't suspect a thing and obediently turned around.

Hajime immediately formed the Tiger Seal and jabbed toward Nawaki's rear.

Nawaki's expression instantly twisted in pain, followed by a loud scream as he jumped more than ten meters into the air.

Moments later.

Nawaki clutched his butt, staring at Hajime with a deeply resentful gaze.

Hajime, still serious, explained, "Nawaki, don't underestimate this technique—it may look simple, but I only used the most basic form."

"Against an enemy, you can use a kunai, or even attach an explosive tag."

"This move is a trump card that can take away an enemy's fighting power instantly."

Nawaki nodded, but still felt it wasn't flashy enough. And he asked, "Hajime-senpai, isn't this move… kinda sneaky?"

Hoshita immediately frowned and lectured him, "Nawaki, when facing an enemy, there's no such thing as a move too cruel."

"Mercy to the enemy is being irresponsible to yourself and your comrades."

"On the battlefield, there's only one proper attitude toward your enemy—"

"Eliminate them!"

Nawaki nodded vigorously. "I understand, Hajime-senpai!"

Hoshita relaxed and smiled. "When you graduate, I'll teach you a real ninjutsu."

"But you absolutely can't let your sister know I was the one who taught you."

Nawaki got excited and nodded repeatedly. "Of course! I'll keep it a secret!"

(End of Chapter)

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