After leaving Danzo's place, Hajime Hoshita regrouped with Ryō Inuzuka and the others. He said, "You can take the secret technique documents back with you, but under no circumstances are they to be leaked."
Sarutobi Toku and the other two quickly nodded. "Understood!"
Hajime waved his hand. "Dismissed!"
The trio nodded again, then each used the Body Flicker Technique to depart.
Hajime returned to his own quarters and changed clothes, but he no longer felt like going out for a stroll. Instead, he simply pulled out the sealing jutsu materials he had just obtained.
"The Sora-nin stole Konoha's sealing jutsu documents... was their target Zero-Tails?"
"They were already plotting this far back?"
Hajime pondered to himself. "The Village of Sky Ninja... I remember it was wiped out by Konoha during the Second Great Ninja War. Could this theft of secret techniques have been the spark that started it all?"
He also recalled that remnants of the Sora-nin had made several assassination attempts on Danzo.
"Shinnō...daring to use that name, he's already seeking death!"
With a faint snort, Hajime immersed himself in the sealing technique documents.
The materials stolen by Naoya Tsuchiya were considerable. They included basics like the Fire-Sealing Method, the Five Elements Seal, the Uzumaki Clan's Four Symbols Seal, and even the legendary Reverse Four Symbols Seal that was said to have sealed an entire bridge.
These materials were relatively detailed and complete.
There were also many incomplete notes on sealing techniques, some without even names.
But based on the content, they were clearly intended for sealing Tailed Beasts.
These fragmented documents were likely leftovers from Konoha's original research into sealing the Nine-Tails.
By the time Hajime lifted his head from the documents, it was already five in the morning.
"Zero-Tails, the Void… if I recall correctly, it's a creature formed from dark chakra. In terms of spiritual danger, it might even surpass the nine Tailed Beasts."
After thinking for a moment, Hajime decided to put the matter aside for now. He packed up the materials, changed his clothes again, and went out to train.
Basic physical conditioning, taijutsu training — this was part of his usual routine.
But now, Hajime had even more on his training agenda.
Wood Release needed no explanation, and training the Rasengan would help him improve his chakra control.
Ironically, the Wind Release he was originally best at had been pushed to the end of the list.
He skipped breakfast and settled for a soldier pill instead.
Hajime trained non-stop from morning until noon before finally returning to the Root base for lunch.
But before he could even let out a satisfied burp, Nakamura appeared again. "Alpha, Lord Danzo summons you!"
Hajime quickly wiped his mouth and, in the blink of an eye, appeared before Danzo, dropping to one knee. "Lord Danzo!"
Danzo gave a slight nod, then spoke gravely, "According to intel from the Anbu, someone in the border defense unit has colluded with the Sora-nin and sold them the border defense layout."
"We don't have solid evidence yet, only a list of suspects."
"Alpha, take a team and get to the bottom of this. Find out who's selling out the village."
As he finished speaking, Shimura Daichi handed Hajime a folder of documents.
Hajime took them with both hands and responded with a powerful voice, "Rest assured, Lord Danzo. I will root out the vermin feeding on Konoha."
Danzo replied coolly, "The current head of the border defense unit is Sakumo Hatake. Go, at once."
Hajime's eyelid twitched slightly, but his voice remained firm. "Understood!"
…
Five Minutes Later
Hajime Hoshita led his squad out of the Root base and headed northeast after leaving Konoha Village.
On the road, Sarutobi Toku asked, "Captain, what's the mission this time?"
Hajime replied, "We're to identify the traitor within the border defense unit who sold intel on the defense layout to the Sora-nin."
"Currently, there are three suspects."
"Kurosue Yūma, Dōjō Takuya, and Akabane Nozomi."
"Do any of you know these three?"
Aburame Shino spoke up, "Captain, I know Akabane Nozomi."
"We were classmates at the Ninja Academy."
"He's a gentle person, well-liked during school, and very diligent. He's a Chūnin now."
Hajime gave a slight nod.
He had already memorized the intel on the three suspects.
In addition to what Shino said, Akabane Nozomi was also an orphan and had mastered both Fire and Earth Release.
He did indeed have a good reputation—not just among his peers, but even others who knew him spoke highly of him.
At first glance, Hajime was already suspicious of the guy.
Not for any particular reason—just that his evaluations seemed too perfect.
In the entire ANBU investigation, no one had said a single bad thing about him.
Add to that the fact that he was an orphan... tsk, tsk. Everything about him screamed "spy."
As for the other two, their files painted them as completely ordinary.
None of Hajime's team knew them personally, either.
So he took a moment to go over the intel on all three, then said, "Our official cover for this mission is that we're ANBU members evaluating potential recruits."
Sarutobi Toku hesitated a moment before asking, "Captain, won't that be a hard sell?"
"According to the reports, none of these three would qualify for the ANBU."
It was a fair point—all three targets were average Chūnin, nothing impressive.
And ANBU, especially the Hokage's personal unit, was typically composed of elite-level Chūnin at the very least.
Hajime responded noncommittally, "Well then, are there people in the northeastern border unit you do know who are qualified for ANBU?"
Sarutobi Toku nodded immediately. "Yes—Mimura Yokan. He's currently a Tokubetsu Jōnin. From what I know, once he completes enough missions, he'll be promoted to full Jōnin."
Inuzuka Ryō chimed in, "There's someone from the Inuzuka Clan—Inuzuka Kyō. He's a Chūnin."
Aburame Shino followed up right after. "The Aburame Clan has one as well—Aburame Shisei, also a Chūnin."
Hajime nodded. "Good. Then we'll include those three as well."
The rest of the journey passed uneventfully.
By dusk, the four of them arrived at the main base of the border defense unit.
Leaving the other three outside, Hajime entered Sakumo Hatake's tent alone.
This was their first meeting, and Hajime was struck by Sakumo's gentle demeanor—it didn't match his fearsome nickname in the slightest.
"Lord Sakumo, I come under orders from Lord Danzo to assess six individuals as potential ANBU candidates," Hajime explained, producing Danzo's official order—a simple sheet of paper.
Sakumo reached out and looked it over, nodding. "No problem."
"However, moving six people at once may affect our frontline defense."
Hajime immediately offered, "Three at a time is sufficient."
Sakumo nodded again. "That's better. May I have the names of the six? I'll need a bit of time to make arrangements."
Hajime listed the six names, then added, "We'll begin by evaluating Kurosue Yūma, Dōjō Takuya, and Akabane Nozomi. I appreciate your assistance, Lord Sakumo."
Facing a powerhouse like Sakumo Hatake, Hajime was extremely courteous.
It wasn't just that he wanted to avoid making enemies—there was no reason to attract attention right now.
More importantly… he couldn't win in a fight.
(End of Chapter)