"Captain! The Sky Shinobi are flanking from both sides!"
Aburame Shino's voice rang out.
On the back of the ninja dog Kurotama, Hajime Hoshita opened his eyes and looked to his left and right. In the dense forest, flickers of shadows darted between the trees.
"You all go on ahead!"
As his voice fell, Hajime had already vanished from Kurotama's back. His body split in two, rushing toward both flanks.
Moments later, Inuzuka Ryo and Aburame Shino heard agonized screams erupting from both directions.
Shortly after, Hajime caught up again, his ninja blade still dripping with blood.
However, the Sky Shinobi's tactic had undeniably succeeded.
Even though Hajime's team had been retreating in alternating shifts, their overall speed was inevitably slowing.
More and more Sky Shinobi were arriving, and the quality of their forces was steadily increasing.
Hajime had already encountered the jonin Kogetsu Daisei more than once.
In this worsening situation, casualties among the Root forces became unavoidable.
Eventually, they emerged from the forest into an open area—only to be surrounded from all directions by Sky Shinobi.
After a long chase, the Sky Shinobi had finally managed to encircle Hajime and his allies.
The cost? Dozens of their own dead.
Whoosh!
A signal flare shot into the sky, then exploded with a thunderous bang.
Shimura Daichi had fired the call-to-arms signal, summoning the other nearby Root squads.
"Use Earth Style to build a defensive line."
Hajime said firmly, "Buy me thirty minutes!"
Shimura Daichi nodded immediately. "No problem!"
"For the next thirty minutes, not a single enemy will reach you."
With that, he turned and gave a meaningful nod to the captains of the other teams.
In the next instant, the Root shinobi scattered. Those with Earth Style formed hand seals, and the ground trembled as stone walls rose, one ring after another, layer upon layer.
Two minutes later—
With a roar of air splitting from friction, a massive storm swept toward the Root's earthen fortifications.
Wall after wall exploded, reduced to shattered remnants.
This was the advantage of numbers: the Sky Shinobi could coordinate large-scale Wind Style techniques.
Even so, they couldn't wipe out the Root defenses in one fell swoop—only break through the outermost ring before charging in.
The real battle began. Dozens of fighters clashed in narrow corridors formed by stone walls.
Exploding tags, throwing weapons, close-range taijutsu and kenjutsu dominated the fighting. Ninjutsu exchanges were surprisingly rare.
Explosions, screams, roars, and the sound of blood spraying all mixed together into a chaotic symphony.
Hajime, still recovering his stamina, could smell the thick scent of blood from where he rested.
He assessed the battlefield—there was no question that the Root shinobi were elite. Not all were jonin, but every one of them was a top-tier chunin.
Still, they couldn't withstand the pressure of nearly a hundred Sky Shinobi attacking in waves. They were slowly being forced back, their maneuvering space shrinking rapidly.
And more enemies kept arriving.
Suddenly, Hajime heard Ryo's urgent shout.
It was about Aburame Shino.
Hajime's eyelid twitched, but he still didn't move.
His strength hadn't fully recovered yet—jumping into the fight now wouldn't change the outcome.
Time continued to tick by.
Nearly thirty minutes passed. Only three stone walls remained of Root's defense line.
Hajime, having rested, finally stood up, pressing his hands together to form the "Ram" seal.
Wood Style: Nativity of a World of Trees!
His gaze dropped as shoots and vines slowly emerged from the earth beneath him.
But the instant he opened his eyes wide, the growth of the vines suddenly accelerated. They expanded madly, thickening in moments to the width of a human waist, spreading rapidly in all directions like a surging green tide.
First they swept past the Root ninja—then the Sky Shinobi.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Vines lashed out everywhere. One by one, the Sky Shinobi were ensnared, their limbs bound tightly.
"Fall back!"
"Scatter!"
Shouts of alarm rang out as the Sky Shinobi realized the danger and hurriedly tried to retreat.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A sharp sound pierced the air.
A Sky Shinobi who had just barely escaped the vines let out a scream as a wooden spike skewered his body.
Hajime stood atop a thick vine, which was growing and surging forward, carrying him swiftly ahead.
As he advanced, he conjured wooden spikes in rapid succession, hurling them with his arms. Each one struck down a fleeing Sky Shinobi who had dodged the vine entrapment.
Standing high on the writhing wood, Hajime raised one hand vertically.
The Sky Shinobi who had been pierced and bound by vines let out horrific screams. Countless sharp wooden spikes burst from inside their bodies, sending blood spraying through the air and painting the green leaves crimson.
These screams sent chills down the spines of Kogetsu Daisei and the other retreating Sky Shinobi.
Just moments ago, they'd held the upper hand. Victory had seemed within reach—they had almost wiped out the enemy force.
No one had expected the tide to turn in an instant.
Kogetsu Daisei slashed through a vine trying to wrap around him. From the corner of his eye, he saw comrade after comrade being easily slaughtered while bound and helpless.
Some tried to perform Fire Style techniques, but Hajime never gave them the chance to finish their hand signs.
Even when someone managed to unleash a fire jutsu, it was quickly smothered by waves of green or extinguished by Water Style.
At last—
The forest ceased expanding.
Kogetsu Daisei and the others stopped and looked around.
Only twelve of them remained.
At the edge of the forest stood Hajime, leaning on a tree trunk for support.
Moments later, Inuzuka Ryo, Shimura Daichi, and the remaining Root ninja flashed into view—only eight had survived.
Behind them, in the man-made forest Hajime had conjured, nearly a hundred corpses were buried.
"Kogetsu… do we keep fighting?"
One Sky Shinobi asked, his voice trembling, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Kogetsu Daisei heard the fear in his comrade's tone. He glanced at the others—each of them, even the few remaining jonin, had completely lost their will to fight.
Just then, another Root squad arrived on the scene.
Kogetsu Daisei took one look, then gritted his teeth and said, "Retreat!"
The other jonin exchanged glances, then nodded one after another. "Retreat!"
A dozen or so Sky Shinobi turned and retreated without hesitation. Not long after, they met up with a squad of reinforcements and regrouped.
Yet even then, Kogetsu Daisei and the others didn't dare approach the forest Hajime had created again. They only watched it from a distance, observing as Root squads entered one after another.
…
Up in a tree, watching the Sky Shinobi retreat, Hajime exhaled silently in relief. His legs no longer felt so weak.
He was almost at his limit.
If it had gone on any longer, it truly would've become a fight to the death.
Thankfully, the Sky Shinobi were afraid now.
At this moment, Shimura Daichi and the other Root shinobi looked at Hajime with completely different eyes.
That overwhelming Wood Style—a single jutsu had reversed the entire battle. It was even more astonishing than anything he'd done before.
The Sky Shinobi, strung up and slain in horrific fashion, only further highlighted the terrifying might of Wood Style.
Hajime met their gazes calmly and said coolly, "Rest while you can."
With that, he leapt deeper into the forest.
Inuzuka Ryo quickly followed. "Captain, Shino is dead."
Hajime had already known. He paused for a moment, then said quietly, "Bring his body back to Konoha. He's a nameless hero who died protecting the village. His name will have a place on the Memorial Stone."
Inuzuka Ryo nodded silently.
(End of Chapter)