They were too far apart—Hajime couldn't hear what the Sky Ninja was saying.
But it didn't matter. Whatever he was saying, the fish was already in the net. Hajime wasn't about to be polite.
A shadow clone stepped out from behind a large tree, raising a single hand.
Boom!
Rumble!
One of the corpses suddenly exploded, fire and smoke billowing out in a violent blast.
That explosion acted like a signal. Before the Sky Ninja could react, the rest of the corpses began exploding one after another.
In an instant, all the Sky Ninja were engulfed—buried beneath flame and destruction.
The traps Hajime Hoshita and Sarutobi Toku had set weren't triggered by contact—they were activated deliberately.
And they were incredibly simple: explosive tags hidden under the corpses' clothing.
So the Sky Ninja's cautious inspections had been completely useless.
When the explosions finally ceased and the smoke began to clear—
A single Sky Ninja stumbled out from behind a dirt wall he had created, dazedly looking around.
He was the only one still standing.
The others had either been killed outright or lay seriously injured on the ground, including the two squad captains.
Shaking his head to clear it, the Sky Ninja staggered forward, trying to reach his fallen captain.
But just then, a dark swarm of insects burst from the ground, instantly engulfing him.
He struggled for only a moment before collapsing to the ground with a thud.
Moments later, Hajime and his three teammates appeared.
"Bugs, leave one alive," Hajime ordered calmly. "Ask if there are any more Sky Ninja… or if any other forces are involved."
"Understood."
Aburame Shino nodded. A mass of dark insects flew out from his body, splitting into several groups.
It didn't matter if they were already dead or not—each body was bitten thoroughly by the insects.
In the end, only one person remained: the female squad captain.
Shino used the same interrogation method Hajime had once used on Naoya.
The woman broke almost instantly—she couldn't even bear losing an ear before she spilled everything.
Standing to the side, Hajime listened quietly, a smile forming under his mask.
"So it was the Cloud Ninja… Just as I suspected."
"No wonder the Sky Ninja were acting so recklessly. They had a backer behind them."
"What a shame… I just wonder if that backer is as reliable as they think."
Hajime let out a cold snort, then turned and walked away.
After dealing with the female ninja, Aburame Shino followed close behind.
A short while later, the four rejoined Tsunade and the others.
Hajime got straight to the point: "The Sky Ninja have all been eliminated. But we discovered something unexpected."
"The Sky Ninja were colluding with the Cloud Ninja. There are Cloud operatives currently in the Land of Hot Springs. They were originally supposed to act as well, but the Sky Ninja rejected them."
Jiraiya's face darkened. "So there is a stronger force pulling the strings."
Tsunade frowned. "You're planning to take down the Cloud Ninja too?"
Hajime replied coolly, "Your mission is over. But ours isn't."
"The will of Root is to protect Konoha from the shadows—to eliminate all threats to the village."
"Whether it's the Sky Ninja or the Cloud Ninja—if they threaten the village, they must be eradicated."
His words left Tsunade and the others momentarily speechless.
Then Orochimaru asked, "Do we even know how many Cloud Ninja are out there?"
Aburame Shino answered, "All we know is that there's a single contact point between the Sky Ninja and the Cloud Ninja—a team-sized group. As for how many might be hiding in the shadows, we have no idea."
Tsunade immediately shouted, "That's way too dangerous!"
"If there are more Cloud Ninja lurking in the dark—no, there will be more of them hidden."
"If that happens, you'll be walking right into a trap."
Jiraiya nodded, looking at Hajime. "We should report all this to Konoha first before taking the next step."
But Hajime remained unmoved. "Then you three can return to the village."
With that, he turned and walked away.
The three Root members followed him without hesitation.
Though they didn't entirely agree with Hajime's decision, after everything they'd experienced together, they'd stopped questioning his choices.
Besides, they didn't think he was wrong.
Watching the four of them leave without hesitation, Tsunade and the others couldn't help but fall silent.
"Madmen," Tsunade muttered under her breath.
Jiraiya let out a wry smile. "They make me feel ashamed."
Orochimaru's expression was calm as he said, "So… you two have already decided to follow them?"
Tsunade and Jiraiya both nodded.
"No matter what," Jiraiya said, "they helped us back there."
"Helping them now is simply returning the favor."
Orochimaru didn't bother with more words. He simply started walking.
Moments later, the three of them caught up to Hajime's group.
"Hey, do you have a battle plan?" Tsunade called out to Hajime.
Without looking back, Hajime replied, "You can call me 'Alpha'."
"The plan is simple. We'll draw out the Cloud Ninja."
"Once the hidden ones reveal themselves, that's when you strike."
Tsunade and the others exchanged glances before Tsunade nodded. "No problem."
"But shouldn't we be a bit more cautious? Maybe gather more intel first?"
Hajime responded, "The Cloud Ninja are more familiar with the area than we are."
"We'll expose ourselves too easily if we sneak around—better to go in directly."
"You three are students of the Third Hokage. You're stronger than us. It shouldn't be an issue."
Hearing the compliment, Jiraiya chuckled. "Hahaha, can't argue with that—but you guys aren't weak either."
Tsunade couldn't help but silently curse Jiraiya for being such an idiot.
The group traveled in silence after that.
By dusk, Hajime and his group arrived outside a small town.
The meeting point between the Sky and Cloud Ninja was inside an inn within the town.
Rather than head straight in, Hajime first took a soldier pill, rehydrated, and rested for a full half hour. Only then did he use the Transformation Jutsu. Disguised as merchants, he and Inuzuka Ryo's trio entered the town.
- The Nin-Jammies Inn. -
Hajime glanced up at the sign, then strode in confidently.
The moment he entered the lobby, he immediately locked eyes with a middle-aged man sitting on a sofa reading a newspaper.
Their eyes met.
They both reacted almost at the exact same moment.
Same trade!
As Hajime turned, he dispelled the Transformation Jutsu. In the same motion, his right hand dropped to his sword hilt while his left hand quickly formed a single seal.
Crescent Moon Dance!
At the same time—
The man with the newspaper kicked the table in front of him straight at Hajime and let out a sharp whistle.
On the second floor of the inn, two meditating Cloud Ninja heard the whistle and instantly leapt to their feet.
Across the street, in another building, three more Cloud Ninja broke through a window at the sound of the signal and charged in.
Meanwhile, Inuzuka Ryo and the others were still at the inn's entrance.
The battle erupted just like that—suddenly and violently.
Inside the lobby:
Hajime cleaved the flying table in half with one swing. Shadow clones burst out from his sides, charging at the enemy.
In the limited space, there wasn't much room to maneuver. As wood splinters flew, screams followed.
The middle-aged man's left arm was severed, and a deep gash opened across his chest.
As Hajime's clone moved in to finish him, a volley of shuriken whistled through the air.
The shadow clone dispersed on impact, and Hajime's blade spun into motion, ringing with clang clang clang as it deflected every shuriken.
Then—two Cloud Ninja closed in, blades drawn.
One of them had lightning dancing along the edge of his sword.
Buzz!
Wind Release chakra flowed into Hajime's blade as he charged forward—one against two.
Outside the inn:
Sarutobi Toku fired a signal flare into the sky.
Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Ryo intercepted the three charging Cloud Ninja.
Outside the town:
Tsunade and the others had been waiting.
The moment they saw the flare explode in the sky, they leapt into action and charged into town.
(End of Chapter)