Having completely subdued Kakuzu, Hajime finally stepped forward.
Seeing Hajime's cautious approach, Kakuzu stopped pretending and raised his head, asking, "You seem to know a lot about me, don't you?"
Hajime nodded in acknowledgment.
Kakuzu continued, "Could it be that you also possess some kind of immortality technique?"
"Otherwise, I clearly took your heart!"
Hajime chuckled lightly. "Kakuzu, as a shinobi, I don't go around revealing my own intel."
"Even though your life is now completely in my hands."
It was precisely because of the imbalance in information that Hajime was able to defeat Kakuzu.
Had they been on equal footing in terms of intelligence, Hajime knew he wouldn't have stood a chance against him.
Luckily, Hajime knew Kakuzu had five hearts.
But Kakuzu didn't know Hajime had three.
After Kakuzu had ripped out one of his hearts, a new one had spontaneously regenerated within Hajime's body.
Even with this advantage, the ambush had nearly been evaded by Kakuzu.
Kakuzu's gaze darkened. "Since you know my secrets, yet didn't kill me immediately, you must have a reason beyond simply completing Konoha's bounty mission."
"You want my secret technique."
His tone was certain.
Hajime admitted straightforwardly, "That's right. My goal is your secret technique—Earth Grudge Fear."
"Kakuzu, hand over the technique, and you might live."
Upon hearing this, Kakuzu sneered coldly. "It seems your understanding of Earth Grudge Fear is quite limited."
Hajime's expression turned cold. "Kakuzu, you'd better recognize the situation you're in."
"I'm well aware," Kakuzu said with a frigid voice.
"But you won't be able to extract Earth Grudge Fear from my body."
"I've survived until now precisely because of its power."
"Once I lose this technique, my life ends with it."
Hajime frowned.
He had already prepared himself for the possibility that, even if he obtained the technique, it might take a long time to master.
But he hadn't expected the situation to be this severe.
If death was inevitable, how could Kakuzu possibly hand over Earth Grudge Fear willingly?
Was Kakuzu lying?
Hajime pondered quietly but judged that the chances of Kakuzu lying were extremely low.
If that were the case, was everything he had done up until now pointless?
Staring coldly at Kakuzu, Hajime said, "Kakuzu, if you have no way of giving me the Earth Grudge Fear technique, then there's no reason for you to continue living."
Though sweat beaded Kakuzu's forehead, his voice remained steady. "It's true. If you seek Earth Grudge Fear for its life-extending properties, then I can't help you."
"You're suggesting," Hajime said, "that you could work for me? Become my subordinate?"
Kakuzu corrected, "A partner."
"I could help you solve a lot of problems."
Another Kage-level powerhouse under his command?
It did sound tempting.
However, Hajime knew he currently had no means of completely controlling Kakuzu.
He didn't doubt for a second that if he let Kakuzu go, the man might betray and kill him the next time they met.
The only reason Hajime had managed to capture Kakuzu this time was the overwhelming advantage in intel.
Although he hadn't exposed the fact that he too had multiple hearts, someone as experienced as Kakuzu could deduce many things.
Without the advantage of surprise—
Facing Kakuzu at full strength, with all five hearts intact, would be an entirely different battle.
As his thoughts raced, Hajime stared at Kakuzu and said coldly, "Sorry, I don't need a so-called 'partner' I can't control."
Then he raised a hand vertically. "In that case—"
Kakuzu's pupils contracted as black tendrils exploded out from his body, trying to break free.
But Hajime was faster.
The wooden spikes embedded in Kakuzu's body grew and branched once again, ruthlessly piercing his final heart.
The writhing tendrils froze in midair, then fell limply to the ground.
One of the infamous Immortal Duo—Kakuzu—was dead.
Hajime stared at Kakuzu's fading corpse, feeling a moment of dazed disbelief.
Since the awakening of his past memory, this was the first familiar figure to die by his hand.
Moreover, it wasn't just an ordinary person—
It was a Kage-level powerhouse!
For a moment, Hajime felt a surge of mixed emotions.
A bit of excitement, and a bit of bittersweet loss.
Even a Kage, when faced with an overwhelming information disadvantage, could be taken down by someone like him—a mere Chūnin.
Of course, while his official rank was Chūnin, Hajime's true combat strength far exceeded that.
His expert-level kenjutsu alone was enough to reach Jōnin standards.
But against someone like Kakuzu, that wasn't nearly enough.
During their battle earlier, his sword had been effortlessly dismantled by Kakuzu.
"Intel... and trump cards!"
Looking at Kakuzu's corpse, Hajime warned himself internally.
Hard power was important, but intelligence and hidden cards were even more crucial!
Stepping forward, Hajime lowered Kakuzu's body and sealed it carefully within a scroll.
Kakuzu's body still had research value.
And, who knew, it might come in handy in the future—
For example, with the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
Of course, before sealing the body, Hajime thoroughly searched it.
Things like kunai, soldier pills, explosive tags—those were expected.
The real surprise for Hajime was Kakuzu's stash of money.
"Tch tch, as expected of the Akatsuki's most hardworking wage slave!"
"Over 300 million ryō saved up."
Grinning from ear to ear, Hajime's earlier disappointment about not obtaining Earth Grudge Fear vanished into thin air.
After tidying up, Hajime left the battlefield and returned to the valley where his temporary camp was set up, continuing his training.
There wasn't much time left—he had to hurry.
Although he could no longer solidify the Indecisive status, Hajime was determined to at least train and perfect the "dual soul-consciousness" skill.
Thus—
For the final stretch, the clones he created no longer practiced ninjutsu, but instead focused on training both hands to simultaneously draw circles and squares.
He could feel success was within reach, so he was putting everything into it.
Time flew by.
Night soon fell.
Inside the wooden house crafted with Wood Release, one by one, his clones transformed back into lifeless wooden figures. Hajime lay sprawled across the floor, gasping for air.
After a while, he struggled to sit up, drank some water, and then ate a soldier pill.
Once his stamina recovered slightly, Hajime stretched out his arms, brought his fingers together, and gathered Wind Release chakra at his fingertips, forming sharp blades of wind.
Then, moving both hands simultaneously, he carved into the wooden floor with the wind blades.
Before long, a dragon was etched on the left, and a dog on the right.
Hajime looked at the results and smiled.
Although it didn't quite match the exquisite dual consciousness of the [Indecisive] status, the improvement was still tremendous.
For example, ambidextrous combat, extending into dual-wielding sword styles.
Or performing dual one-handed seals to cast combination ninjutsu.
Or, mastering Wood Release even further.
Or even perfecting the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Ideas and inspirations flooded Hajime's mind all at once.
Once he felt his energy was fully restored, Hajime leapt out of the wooden house.
Lowering his gaze in focus, and operating under his single-consciousness state, Hajime opened his eyes and formed a single "Snake" hand seal.
Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!
Thick vines erupted from the ground, forming a row of sturdy wooden barriers.
Without changing his seal, two wooden clones sprouted from behind him.
The clones leapt forward, standing atop the wooden wall.
Still maintaining the same seal, Hajime directed more vines to shoot out from the ground, attacking the wooden clones atop the wall.
Wood Release: Binding Branches!
Still just a "Snake" seal.
Immediately after, Hajime released his hands, raised his right palm, and from the center of his palm, numerous vines burst forth, growing rapidly and branching out as they extended forward.
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
After severing the vines from his palm, Hajime revealed a satisfied smile.
"Compared to Hashirama Senju's ability to summon anything with just a clap of his hands, I'm still a bit behind—but this is real progress."
Previously, he had to meticulously and properly form full hand seals to use Wood Release techniques, even though their seals were relatively simple.
But now, with the "Dual Mind" skill—
He could complete the Wood Release secret techniques with just a single "Snake" seal.
(End of Chapter)
***
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