Under the protection of his two comrades, Dan Katō sat cross-legged, formed a seal with his hands, and released both his spirit and chakra in unison. His ethereal form shot out of his body, howling through the night sky.
In the distance, hidden in the shadows, Hajime Hoshita silently watched the scene unfold.
"If I strike now, there's a good chance I could take out Dan Katō..."
The thought flickered through his mind before he quickly suppressed it and turned to leave.
Not long after, the memories of his shadow clone returned to him.
Faced with the Spirit Transformation Technique, the clone had been obliterated without even a chance to resist.
However, this also gave Hajime some insight into the technique.
It wasn't invincible!
"The key lies in spiritual will... and chakra reserves."
"A strong enough will, combined with sufficient chakra, can forcibly expel the invading spirit."
Hajime recalled Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.
Despite multiple successful transfers, Orochimaru was ultimately defeated by Sasuke Uchiha.
This proved that no technique was truly unbeatable—or flawless.
"Besides that, barrier techniques can suppress the Spirit Transformation Technique too."
"Sealing jutsu works even better... but in the chaos of battle, most sealing techniques are impractical. Adamantine Sealing Chains is a good option—though not a Kekkei Genkai, it might as well be."
"Still, the Gate of the Great God isn't bad either."
Hajime's thoughts wandered as he instinctively began analyzing methods to counter the Spirit Transformation Technique and similar jutsu.
Even so, his pace never slowed. Before long, he arrived at a pre-arranged inn and checked in under the identity of a merchant from the Land of Fire.
From now until he left the daimyō's city tomorrow, he would play the role of an ordinary merchant—unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't use chakra again.
Elsewhere.
Dan Katō's spirit returned to his body. Opening his eyes, he sighed, "Another clone. The real body's gone into hiding."
The expressions of the two Konoha ninja next to him shifted sharply.
"Wait... were we chasing a clone this whole time?"
"Or maybe that guy knows Earth Style in addition to Wind?"
They had moved fast, stayed close on the target's heels, and yet in such a short span, the real one had vanished with just two clones as cover. That could only be achieved through Earth Style.
Dan gave a vague response and said, "This matter ends here. I'll report everything to the Third Hokage when we return."
...
That night, the daimyō's city was anything but quiet.
Yet Hajime Hoshita slept soundly, resting until dawn, catching up on the sleep he'd missed the past two days.
Danzo had given him three days to complete the mission, and he was done in just one. With two more days to spare, he saw no need to rush back to Konoha—he didn't want to get caught in another flurry of missions and lose his time for training.
Early the next morning, Hajime left the city and headed to the famous Tanzaku Town, where he found a quiet place nearby for secluded training.
While Hajime immersed himself in intense training, the daimyō's city had already sent word to Konoha. Dan Katō and the others also returned and reported the events of the previous night to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Danzo hadn't informed Hiruzen in advance of the assassination attempt, but the Hokage had seen through it all. After hearing the report, he didn't react much—only praised Dan Katō's efforts.
Once Dan Katō left, Hiruzen immediately sank into deep thought.
There was no doubt—this time, Root had done an excellent job.
The blame had been perfectly pinned on the Village Hidden in the Sky, with no suspicion whatsoever.
For a moment, Hiruzen even considered using this incident as an excuse to declare war on the Sky Ninja Village and eliminate their repeated challenges to Konoha.
He was also certain the daimyō of the Land of Fire—whose authority had been threatened—would readily agree.
But in the end, he held himself back.
Konoha still needed time to build strength, to match the military power of the other four great shinobi villages.
He had to prevent a situation where Konoha became the target of a combined assault.
"What a shame... the Wood Style experiment failed..."
Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
That experiment had cost Konoha dearly. If not for that, he would've already made his move against the Sky Ninja Village.
...
Root Base.
Danzo had been waiting.
He was waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi's reaction.
But disappointingly, an entire morning had passed, and no one had come to find him.
He had already given Hiruzen the perfect excuse, yet it still hadn't changed his mind.
"Hajime was right…"
The thought flashed through Danzo's mind. He then stood up, left the Root base, and headed to the Hokage's office.
But before Danzo could speak, Hiruzen spoke first: "Root did very well this time!"
"However, even though it's a perfect excuse for war, the time to act still hasn't come."
"I need Root to be capable of wiping out the Sky Ninja Village without affecting Konoha's ability to confront the other hidden villages."
That one sentence shut Danzo down completely.
Danzo fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "I understand."
Hiruzen's expression eased slightly. "I will use these two incidents to hold the Sky Ninja Village accountable. But they likely won't yield so easily. The excuse for war still exists, and the initiative is in our hands."
"It's not time for a full-scale assault, but we can start making preparations."
Danzo nodded. After his eyes flickered briefly, he spoke: "Hiruzen, I need to select a group of children from the Ninja Academy and the major ninja clans to enter Root for specialized training. They will become the foundation of Root, guarding the village from the shadows."
Hiruzen hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He did need Root to grow stronger.
The recent efficiency of Root had proven that Konoha needed such a force—one that operated in even deeper darkness.
Seeing Hiruzen agree, Danzo was secretly overjoyed.
If things went according to plan, Root's power would undergo a dramatic transformation within just a few years.
After all, students from the Ninja Academy and children from ninja clans already had a foundation. Training them would be far quicker than starting from scratch with orphans.
Of course, he wouldn't ignore Hajime's suggestion either.
The orphanage was still a viable place for selecting future operatives.
...
As the sun set, in a forest just outside Tanzaku Town—
With a loud bang, Hajime Hoshita grinned. "Finally done."
He had finally burst the water balloon.
Next up was the rubber ball.
Tossing aside the water balloon, Hajime reached into his pack and pulled out a rubber ball to continue his training.
Having learned some technique through the water balloon, the next step with the rubber ball was relatively easier for him.
Unlike Naruto, Hajime already knew all the steps.
So as he practiced with the rubber ball, he began focusing on compressing his chakra further, making the gathered chakra more stable.
When Naruto trained, even after bursting the rubber ball, he still had to learn how to condense chakra into a single point and stabilize its rotation.
The more stable and centralized the rotation, the more the chakra naturally compressed—and the more powerful it became.
Hajime planned to complete everything in one go.
Because he had several advantages over Naruto:
Greater focus!
Superior chakra control!
Gripping the rubber ball in both hands, Hajime began the final phase of the Rasengan training.
As he continuously poured chakra into it, the rubber ball began to bulge in places, as if it would burst at any moment.
Hajime focused all his attention, carefully gathering and controlling the chakra within the ball.
Suddenly—bang!—the rubber ball exploded. A violent burst of wind swept outward, forcing Hajime to step back, and his palms were scorched by the intense chakra.
But the injuries healed in an instant.
Without hesitation, Hajime pulled out another rubber ball and resumed his training.
Failure after failure...
Until late into the night, the rubber ball in his hands—once on the verge of bursting—suddenly calmed. The previously wild chakra seemed to vanish entirely.
Hajime's eyes lit up with joy.
He had done it!
Taking large strides, he approached a massive tree, held the rubber ball with one hand, and pressed it against the trunk.
In the next moment, the rubber ball exploded—an azure Rasengan lit up the darkness. The rapidly spinning chakra sphere bored straight through the thick tree trunk.
Boom!
The upper half of the tree came crashing down, and the Rasengan in Hajime's hand finally dispersed.
(End of Chapter)