Konoha's Status Bar Ninja

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Figures flashed through the darkness.

From all directions—front, back, left, right—Hajime and his two companions were completely surrounded.

More than twenty Sand shinobi had appeared.

Inuzuka Ryo's eyes darted around, his palms breaking into a sweat as he crouched slightly, his muscles and nerves instantly tensing.

On his shoulder, the black sphere-like Kurotama leapt to the ground. Its body expanded instantly, claws extending, letting out a low growl.

Beside him, countless insects crawled out from Aburame Ryoma's body, swarming densely around him.

Looking at the sudden influx of Sand shinobi, Hajime spoke calmly, "To think you'd send so many just to deal with a few of us—what an honor."

"After all, you're the wielder of the Wood Release secret art. This many shinobi... is hardly an overreaction."

A middle-aged Sand shinobi stepped forward. "And we have more on the way. This is a show of respect to the so-called God of Shinobi. I trust you won't take offense?"

His words made Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Ryoma's hearts tighten. Inuzuka Ryo muttered almost instinctively, "Captain... our intel's been leaked!"

Aburame Ryoma had the same suspicion, but quickly dismissed it with a thought: Impossible. The village would never abandon someone who wields the Wood Release.

"It must be a flying summon beast... They can outpace us easily. The Sand shinobi had time to prepare this ambush."

Hajime didn't respond to Ryo. Instead, he chuckled. "You're quite polite."

"In honor of that, I'll make your death less painful."

The middle-aged shinobi's tone dropped. "As expected of someone who's mastered the Wood Release. You remain this confident even now."

"Still, let me offer you some advice. Surrender peacefully. We'll spare your life."

"And let your two companions walk free."

"Hmph." Ryo snorted. "Hey, we're not cowards who'd abandon our comrades."

"You bastards want to die? Then bring it on!"

The youngest among them, Ryoma, spoke in a calm yet childish voice, "My bugs are already starving."

Hajime glanced at Ryoma, tempted to teach him a new vocabulary word.

But now wasn't the time.

Opposite them, the middle-aged shinobi stepped back. "In that case, we'll just have to bring your corpse back instead!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A barrage of shuriken shot through the air—many laced with explosive tags.

Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!

Hajime clapped his hands and formed the Ram seal. From the ground, thick wooden tendrils rose and arched overhead, enclosing the trio in a dome. Layers upon layers formed an impenetrable shield.

Boom boom boom!

Rumble!

Despite the sheer volume of attacks, none broke through.

But under the cover of this assault, several puppets charged forward, manipulated by their masters.

The Wood Locking Wall parted, and a swarm of insects burst out, diving toward the puppets.

At the same time, more vines shot from the earth like dragons and serpents, twisting toward the enemy.

Wood Release: World of Trees Wall!

But just as the vines appeared, wind blades sliced through them.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The puppets launched volleys of poisoned senbon and kunai. Many insects fell, but more pressed forward, engulfing two of the puppets and rendering them immobile.

Hajime stepped ahead, shielding Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Ryoma. Countless senbon and kunai clattered against him, falling harmlessly to the ground.

Suddenly, Hajime vanished from his spot.

With a long blade in his right hand and his left hand forming a single seal, the severed vines regenerated, attacking the Sand shinobi with relentless fury.

The blade in his hand glowed with a sharp blue light, a stream of chakra flowing rapidly across its thin, deadly edge.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

He deflected a barrage of hidden weapons with precise swings of his blade.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground beneath him erupted as he burst forward, propelled by jets of chakra at his feet.

Boom!

A puppet exploded in the night with a flash of blue light, its pieces scattering in every direction.

Winds blasted beneath Hajime Hoshita's feet, propelling him forward with explosive force.

Behind him, Ryo and Ryoma followed close. Ryoma's insects never feared death; they swarmed into the puppets first, jamming their joints and limiting their movement.

Hajime, moving with lightning speed, destroyed three more puppets in succession. Just as he prepared to continue—

A sweeping storm of wind blades surged toward him.

Wind Release: Thousand-Faced Gale!

Hajime could withstand it with his hardened body, but Ryo and Ryoma couldn't.

So he shifted his focus. Vines erupted from the ground, forming layered wooden walls that blocked the oncoming wind blades.

But Sand shinobi were now attacking from the flanks—and four more puppets were incoming.

Hajime frowned slightly.

The enemy had numbers but wasn't charging all at once.

Otherwise, he would have unleashed Deep Forest Emergence from the start.

But their wave-by-wave attacks and cautious probing were clearly intended to wear him down.

Still, such caution made sense when facing someone who wielded the Wood Release.

Especially after two of their scouting squads had already been wiped out—intel the Sand shinobi clearly possessed.

"We need to end this fast."

A cold glint flashed in Hajime's eyes. Behind him, two Wood Clones took form.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Both clones darted out, each wielding a single-hand seal and a long blade.

As their skin hardened, they shifted to dual-wielding blades.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

More puppets exploded under the gleam of blue chakra.

The Wood Clones specialized in close-quarters combat. Their dual-wielding style, combined with the burst movement technique he'd developed, made quick work of the four puppets.

At nearly the same moment, Hajime sheathed his blade and brought his hands together.

Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!

Massive vines burst from the ground, surging toward the Sand shinobi approaching from the rear.

RUMBLE!

The very air trembled as the vines roared forward. A storm of wind blades howled in response, slicing through the massive tendrils.

However, even as the vines were severed, they quickly regrew.

Hajime didn't hesitate to spend chakra in exchange for control of the battlefield, allowing the trees to engulf the remaining Suna-nin.

The wooden clones that had dealt with the puppets immediately entangled the enemies, and within moments, screams echoed from within the forest.

Got them!

"Retreat into the forest!" Hajime ordered in a low voice.

Ryo and Ryōma immediately pulled back into the woods.

Hajime leapt up, landing on a tree branch, still holding a hand seal with one hand and his longsword in the other.

Shu-shu-shu!

Suna-nin from all directions threw shuriken, each one tagged with explosive tags.

Wind Release would've been more effective here, but the ongoing screams of their comrades made them hesitate to unleash wide-scale Wind Jutsu to raze the trees.

So, using explosive tags to clear a path slowly seemed like the safest plan.

Boom-boom-boom!

A barrage of explosions lit up the forest. Fire burst into the sky, and numerous trees were blown apart.

Hajime casually swung his sword, knocking the shuriken away.

The surrounding explosions sent waves of scorching heat rolling through the air, making his clothes flutter and his long black hair whip wildly.

When the explosions ceased and the smoke cleared, the Suna-nin were shocked to find that the trees they had just destroyed had already regrown—before they could even advance.

And from within the forest, the anguished cries of their comrades continued.

"Damn it!"

"That bastard is deliberately forcing us not to use large-scale Wind Release!"

"Why don't we just launch a full assault? I don't believe his chakra can withstand an all-out attack from all of us!"

Anger from hearing their comrades' screams began to override the reason of many Suna-nin, turning calm minds violent.

But what they didn't know was that the rapidly regenerating trees weren't using Hajime's chakra at all—they were drawing from those very comrades of theirs now ensnared in the forest.

At this moment, the commander of the operation—the middle-aged Suna-nin who had spoken to Hajime earlier—Samaru Ōura, was also hesitating.

From the previous skirmish and the brief intel received from the Land of Zen, the most terrifying aspect of the Wood Release was its ability to create a forest and dominate the terrain entirely.

Moreover, those vines had seemingly infinite regenerative capacity, with chakra being the only real limitation.

Once trapped inside his domain, facing attacks from all directions would be incredibly difficult to counter.

The best counter was large-scale Wind Release to raze the terrain—but now they had hostages inside.

A mass Wind Release could easily take out their own people along with the enemy.

After a moment's hesitation, Samaru Ōura made a decision and swiftly issued an order.

"Charge into the forest!"

But not everyone—only those skilled in close combat, especially the puppet masters.

The rest were to remain outside to provide support.

If the battle within went badly, they would cover the retreat with large-scale Wind Release—or even launch indiscriminate attacks.

In any case, they could not allow the Wood Release user to cross the border alive.

At the command, over a dozen Suna-nin charged into the forest from all sides.

Watching them charge in, Hajime couldn't help but smile beneath his mask.

He leapt back, melting into the darkness.

At the same time, Ryo and Ryōma split up, each joining one of Hajime's wooden clones to form separate teams.

The moment the Suna-nin crossed into the forest domain, Hajime's voice echoed in their ears.

"Now, you're the ones who are surrounded!"

In the next moment, the entire forest came alive. Vines shot forward with sharp whipping sounds.

Then came the flash of blades—puppets sprang to life, revealing their hidden weapons as they slashed at the vines, clearing a path as they advanced.

Suddenly—

A flash of blue light, followed by a scream.

One Suna-nin had his sword-wielding right hand severed at the root, and before he could react, vines wrapped around him and dragged him into the shadows, disappearing before his comrades' eyes.

"Watch out!"

"Don't spread out! Maintain formation!"

"Use the puppets to restrain him—he's resistant to physical attacks and immune to poison!"

Cries of warning rang out one after another, mixed with the clang of metal, screams, and the sounds of exploding puppets.

In the pitch-black forest, Hajime moved like a ghost. The heavy, muffled booms from the air bursts at his feet echoed like war drums, striking terror into the hearts of the Suna-nin.

The battle raged within the forest, while outside, Samaru Ōura and the remaining Suna-nin listened to the shouting and screams—each sound twisting the knife of anxiety deeper.

Even just from the sound, they could tell the intensity of the battle within—and that despite their superior numbers, their forces were clearly at a disadvantage.

As the sounds began to die down, Samaru Ōura shouted, "Wind Release!"

Several Suna-nin immediately formed hand signs.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

Wind Release: Chaotic Air Dance!

Wind Release: Sandstorm!

These three large-scale Wind Release jutsu weren't particularly destructive on their own.

But the raging winds and swirling sand blasted through the relatively sparse forest, bending trees and disrupting their movement.

At that moment, both Ryōma and Inuzuka Ryo had to go prone, unable to fight amidst the windstorm.

But Hajime and his two wooden clones charged forward through the storm, pursuing the few Suna-nin who were struggling to retreat against the gusts.

As the storm subsided—

A Suna-nin burst out from the edge of the tree domain.

Samaru Ōura immediately leapt forward to receive him.

But just as he moved, the sound of sharp whistling sliced through the air—countless wooden spikes shot out from within the forest.

The escaping Suna-nin tried to dodge with flickers of movement, but couldn't avoid being pierced by the wooden spikes.

Samaru Ōura had only just landed when the body before him was impaled from within by sprouting wood. Blood sprayed across his face.

His expression froze. Lifting his gaze to the edge of the tree domain, where Hajime Hoshita had appeared, Samaru forced down his rage and growled, "Raze it!"

"Understood!"

Several Suna-nin shouted in unison.

Wind Release: Cast Net!

Wind Release: Grand Cast Net!

Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!

The storm rose once more—this time with blades of wind interwoven into a wide web, slicing through everything in its path. Trees were shredded and toppled in swaths.

However—

The vines kept growing, dense and endless, forming walls of vegetation.

The Suna-nin's Wind Release only managed to clear a perimeter of ten or so meters before losing momentum.

Once the windstorm passed—

Before Samaru Ōura and the others could form new hand signs, the forest was already regrowing, rapidly expanding outward.

"How does he still have this much chakra?!"

One of the Suna-nin shouted in disbelief.

Samaru Ōura was equally stunned, and sensed something was wrong—but there was no time to analyze it. He immediately began retreating with the remaining men while forming hand signs.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

But it wasn't enough to stop the tide of vines surging from every direction.

The issue was clear: after each jutsu, the Suna-nin needed time to re-form hand signs, but Hajime continued with a single-handed seal, endlessly drawing chakra from the captured Suna-nin, letting the forest expand at terrifying speed.

By the time Samaru Ōura and the others finished their next set of seals, the tree domain was already upon them.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

The storm swept through, toppling thick trees—but they just grew back as fast as they were cut down.

Seconds after the Wind Release ended, the trees fully regenerated and surged forward again.

At that moment, Samaru Ōura deeply understood the terror of the secret Wood Release technique.

"There's no escaping…"

He suddenly stopped.

"You all retreat first!"

With that, he opened his mouth and released a sharp burst of air. A storm howled to life, wind blades tearing through the incoming vines.

"Captain…!"

The retreating Suna-nin turned back, only to see Samaru Ōura engulfed by a tide of green, disappearing from view.

Inside the tree domain—

Two figures crossed paths in a flash.

As he landed, Samaru Ōura looked down to see blood pouring from his abdomen.

The second blade!

During that brief clash, Hajime had released his seal, drawn a short blade, and slashed across his midsection.

Shu-shu-shu!

The vines howled in, rushing toward him.

Samaru tried to dodge, but staggered—then was bound by the vines. His chakra began draining away.

"S-So that's it…"

Eyes wide, Samaru Ōura finally realized what had been off from the start.

These vines could drain chakra!

"So the people you captured at the beginning… weren't hostages at all."

He spoke through ragged breaths.

Hajime landed in front of him, his voice cold and calm. "I told you—I'd make your death painless. Now, I'll keep my word."

With that, Hajime formed a seal.

DreamWalker Technique!

Their eyes met. Samaru Ōura's eyelids grew heavy and slowly shut. Darkness swallowed his consciousness.

At that moment, the last few remaining Suna-nin were also consumed by the tree domain—then wounded and suspended by Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Ryōma.

The battle was over. The Suna-nin had been utterly annihilated.

Hajime, however, didn't let Ryo or Ryōma rest. He left two wooden clones behind in the tree domain, and the three of them immediately crossed the border into the Land of Rivers without pause.

Less than fifteen minutes later—

Outside the tree domain, the sound of rushing air echoed.

Figures landed one after another—

Reinforcements from the Hidden Sand had finally arrived.

(End of Chapter)

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