Outside the Sky Ninja Village.
Orochimaru pulled his blade from the body of a Sky Ninja, flicked off the blood with a casual motion, and lifted his head to gaze in the direction of the village.
The resistance from the Sky Ninja Village was growing increasingly intense.
At the same time, more and more villagers were fleeing.
"The power of Root seems to be beyond imagination..."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with sharp light.
He, along with the forces brought by Jiraiya and Tsunade, had been stationed outside the village. Judging by the current situation, the internal conflict within Sky Ninja Village was clearly turning against the Sky Ninja faction.
Suddenly, Orochimaru's gaze sharpened as a blur flashed by and landed right in front of him.
"Orochimaru-sama, orders from Danzo-sama. You are to immediately lead a full assault on the Sky Ninja Village."
The Root ninja who had delivered the message didn't wait for Orochimaru's reply. He vanished with a Body Flicker Technique the moment he finished speaking.
"So the full assault begins this soon?"
Orochimaru furrowed his brow. "What exactly is happening inside the village?"
"Even if they've lost their leader, the Sky Ninja still have a decent number of Jōnin, and a considerable force of Chūnin…"
This time, the reinforcements brought by Orochimaru and the others from Konoha barely numbered over a hundred.
Sky Ninja Village belonged to the second tier of ninja villages in the Shinobi World. Not counting the Genin, just based on intelligence reports, they had somewhere between 700 to 800 Chūnin.
That was not a weak force.
Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have hesitated so much before taking action.
Still puzzled, Orochimaru didn't hesitate to carry out the order.
Danzo was a veteran of the battlefield with extensive experience—Orochimaru trusted his judgment.
Elsewhere, Jiraiya had also received the order. Without delay, he led his team and began tightening the noose around Sky Ninja Village.
Inside the Sky Ninja Village.
The memories of three shadow clones returned one after another.
Hajime Hoshita felt a surge of exhilaration within.
He had done it.
Moreover, as the memories of the Wood Clones flowed back—
With his deepening mastery of Wood Release, Hajime could clearly feel the changes in his body.
His physical vitality was increasing!
First, the Hashirama Cells within him became significantly more active. Then, even his own native cells showed signs of increased vitality.
The most direct result of this transformation was an increase in his chakra reserves.
"So the Hashirama Cells still have more potential to be tapped!"
Hajime was overjoyed.
Not only had he further unlocked and utilized the potential of the Hashirama Cells, but he had also pushed the limits of his own physical capabilities.
Which meant… the scale at which he could perform Deep Forest Emergence had just grown.
"As expected of the Hashirama Cells…"
Hajime couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
With just a bit of excavation, his strength had grown to another level.
Right now, if he faced an average Jōnin, he could absolutely crush them using Deep Forest Emergence.
And the best part? He didn't fear being outnumbered.
Of course, it wasn't as if Deep Forest Emergence was invincible.
Large-scale Fire or Wind Style techniques could still destroy Wood Release—provided the enemy could form seals within the forest, or attack from outside fast enough to outpace the growth of the trees.
"There really is no such thing as a perfect or invincible jutsu, but…"
Hajime leapt down from the tree. "As long as I'm invincible, that's all that matters!"
He formed hand seals, and behind him, six Wood Clones emerged from the ground.
"Go now. From this moment on, we decide how chaotic Sky Ninja Village becomes!"
"Go plant some trees…"
Hajime gave the order.
The next second, the six Wood Clones vanished in a flash.
With the tree-planting task handed off to the clones, Hajime's real body made a bold leap straight toward the Sky Ninja Village's hospital.
This time, he didn't bother to disguise himself with the Transformation Technique—he stormed into the hospital openly, without a shred of concealment.
Then—Deep Forest Emergence!
Vines burst out wildly from the ground and walls, rapidly engulfing the entire hospital.
Injured Sky Ninja, medical-nin, and ordinary doctors alike were swiftly entangled by the vines—everyone, that is, except for Nono Yakushi.
When Nono appeared before Hajime and respectfully addressed him as "Captain," the Sky Ninja suspended in the air all widened their eyes in shock.
A spy!
"So that's it… This woman…"
"Damn it! She was hiding in the hospital all along!"
"Bastard!"
Realizing the truth, many of the Sky Ninja snapped, cursing uncontrollably in rage and despair.
Hajime ignored them completely, calmly siphoning their chakra to replenish his own reserves.
Meanwhile, in a hidden chamber, a pair of eyes watched the unfolding scene outside through a tiny peephole.
"Infiltrated us as a medical-nin…"
Shinnō clenched his fists, struggling to contain his fury, then turned and swiftly left the room.
However—
What Shinnō didn't know was that the moment he turned to leave, Hajime's gaze swept directly in his direction.
Hajime wasn't a sensory-type ninja.
But Deep Forest Emergence possessed a barrier-like quality—its vines could extend his sensory perception through contact.
And through that, Hajime had sensed Shinnō's presence.
Still, now wasn't the time to deal with him.
Let Shinnō continue his efforts a bit longer—Hajime would harvest the fruits later.
…
Retracting his gaze, Hajime led Nono Yakushi out of the hospital—only to run into Ryo, riding atop his signature black sphere.
Seeing Nono, Ryo's eyes lit up with surprise. He quickly reported, "Captain, Danzo-sama has ordered an all-out assault on the Sky Ninja."
Hajime nodded, instantly understanding Danzo's intent.
Concealed Wood Style!
"I understand."
As he spoke, he raised one hand and created a Shadow Clone. The clone took some explosive tags and entered the hospital.
Moments later, the tags were activated, and flames engulfed the hospital, now covered in a dense web of wood.
"Let's go!"
Hajime launched himself into the air.
Elsewhere—
Within the forest created by a Wood Clone, Root operatives stared at the rows of shriveled corpses, swallowing nervously.
The sight was genuinely chilling.
After carefully placing explosive tags, the Root shinobi withdrew from the forest and detonated them, setting the woods ablaze.
Each of the six Wood Clones had created its own forest within the Sky Ninja Village, and in each forest, dozens—if not hundreds—of Sky Ninja were buried.
This was the reason Danzo had ordered the full-scale assault.
Sky Ninja morale had nearly collapsed—crushed by Hajime Hoshita alone.
Danzo seized this pivotal moment and personally led the charge into the Sky Ninja Village, delivering the final blow to their crumbling will to fight.
Without Jōnin leadership, the Sky Ninja forces scattered like sand.
Though they still vastly outnumbered Konoha's forces, they were disorganized and easily routed.
Standing on a rooftop, Nono Yakushi looked at the fleeing villagers below with a trace of pity in her expression.
Behind a mask, Hajime remained expressionless and said coldly, "If the Sky Ninja had succeeded, it would be Konoha facing this same fate right now."
Nono nodded, forcibly pushing down her compassion.
She remembered what Hajime had told her once—
Showing mercy to the enemy is cruelty toward yourself and your comrades.
Ryo watched the total chaos engulfing the Sky Ninja Village. Though his face was hidden behind a mask, his mind was dazed.
It had happened so fast.
The Sky Ninja were collapsing like paper.
Yet not long ago, they had suffered heavy casualties battling them. Aburame Shino had died in that conflict.
Even further back, Sarutobi Toku had essentially died because of the Sky Ninja.
"Let's go."
Hajime fitted a mask over Nono Yakushi's face and leapt into the air once more.
Ryo snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Hajime's retreating figure.
He thought to himself,
"Though Hajime didn't destroy the Sky Ninja Village alone, it's because of him that it fell so swiftly."
"Wood Release… what a terrifying and powerful force."
(End of Chapter)
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