Konoha, Year 36. Root Base.
A Root ninja wearing a cat-faced mask bowed respectfully and reported to Danzo,
"Lord Danzo, while disposing of the bodies, we discovered someone who wasn't actually dead."
Danzo's eyes narrowed. "Not dead?"
"Aren't the bodies supposed to be inspected by the Anbu first before we handle them?"
"Who survived?"
The cat-masked ninja replied, "Hajime Hoshita."
Danzo immediately stood up. "Lead the way!"
Hajime Hoshita was a Root ninja Danzo had personally trained—one of the very first batch of shinobi nurtured exclusively by Root.
This time, Root had dispatched a number of agents for a Wood Release experiment. Hajime had been one of them.
Danzo had assumed they were all wiped out. Who would've thought someone survived—and the Anbu hadn't even noticed?
"If that's the case..."
Danzo's heart suddenly blazed with excitement. "Should I inform Hiruzen about this…?"
Torn between thoughts, Danzo quickly arrived at the room where Hajime Hoshita lay alive.
"Not a single wound on him?"
Danzo examined the unconscious young man with curiosity.
The cat-masked ninja explained,
"At first, he was just like the other corpses—no signs of life. But then we noticed a faint pulse. After cutting off the tree branches growing out of his body, his wounds began healing instantly. His vital signs also grew stronger by the minute."
"Regeneration…"
Danzo's eyes lit up with undisguised joy. He immediately ordered in a low voice,
"This matter is now classified as S-rank confidential. Without my permission, no one is to speak of it."
The cat-masked ninja hesitated, then asked cautiously,
"Lord Danzo… what about the Hokage?"
Danzo's gaze turned cold, murderous intent surging out of him.
"I said no one. Not. A. Single. Soul."
The Root ninja stiffened. "Understood, Lord Danzo!"
"Good."
Danzo cast one more glance at the unconscious Hajime Hoshita, then turned and left.
"Guard him well. The moment he wakes up, report to me immediately!"
"Yes, Lord Danzo!" the masked ninja answered with a bow.
Once Danzo and the Root agent left and the door clicked shut behind them, the supposedly unconscious Hajime Hoshita opened his eyes.
"Transmigrating into the Naruto world is one thing… but becoming a Root ninja? No future, no fortune—what kind of cursed life is this?"
Hajime's expression was far from pleasant.
Danzo, that bastard, wasn't just a terrible boss—he had no prospects either.
Being his lackey meant one thing: sooner or later, you were dead meat.
It should still be possible to defect right now. After all, he was the only known survivor of the Wood Release experiment—there's no way Hiruzen Sarutobi would let someone like that slip away.
However...
Hajime Hoshita lowered his gaze and silently began refining chakra, attempting to trigger a nature transformation into Wood Release—but he failed.
"Looks like I didn't directly inherit the Wood Release kekkei genkai. But my stamina has significantly improved, and my chakra reserves are at least ten times what they were before."
"Still, without Wood Release, my value drops considerably."
Opening his eyes, Hajime frowned slightly.
Currently, it's Year 36 of the Konoha calendar. The Second Great Ninja War hasn't broken out yet. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo—those two old frienemies—weren't nearly as antagonistic as they would be decades later.
Danzo's ambition wasn't that bloated yet. Root was still in its early stages—he hadn't even started branding his agents with the Curse Mark of the Tongue Seal.
"Right now, Sarutobi and Danzo are still working closely together. This is the era where they share power and stabilize Konoha after Tobirama Senju's death."
"Defecting probably isn't the best move... it doesn't even count as a middling strategy."
Hajime thought carefully to himself, "Even if I did switch sides and pledge myself to Sarutobi, what are the odds I could become Hokage?"
"I wouldn't beat the Three Legendary Sannin. Without Wood Release or some other cheat, I'd also lose out to Minato Namikaze and his space-time jutsu."
A ninja who doesn't aspire to become Hokage isn't a real ninja.
Since he'd arrived in this world and become a shinobi, he might as well do it right.
But if becoming Hokage was nearly impossible… then—
"Staying in Root might not be such a bad option after all."
Hajime analyzed calmly, "Things now are different from how they were during Yamato's era. Back then, Danzo was already deep into his own plots. But now? Danzo is still Sarutobi's right-hand man. Together, they're the ones holding Konoha together after Tobirama's death, keeping the powerful Uchiha and Hyuga clans in check."
"For the time being—and for quite a while going forward—Danzo will be the second most powerful man in the village."
"And as Root gradually becomes his personal army, his authority will only grow. It's practically the ninja world's version of the Eastern and Western Depots."
A smile slowly crept across Hajime's face.
He might not make it to the Hokage seat…
But becoming the leader of Root?
That didn't sound half bad.
One way or another, Hajime Hoshita was never going to be someone else's underling.
He would stand at the top—answering to no one!
And that journey… began with seizing control of Root.
As this thought clicked into place, Hajime felt as if a heavy fog had lifted from his mind.
Then suddenly, his vision went dark for a moment. His perspective shifted—and he saw something floating above his head.
A Status Bar.
> Current Status: Immortality <
> Refresh Countdown: 04:32:32 <
Staring at the floating text, Hajime came to a realization.
"So the reason I survived the Wood Release experiment… was this status bar?"
"Refresh countdown... That means I've got less than five hours left before the 'Immortality' status disappears."
A new idea immediately sprouted in Hajime's mind.
Time to undergo another Hashirama cell transplant.
Maybe this time he'd awaken Wood Release.
Even if not, his chakra levels or healing ability would surely grow.
"Besides, since I've already absorbed some of the Hashirama cells while in the 'Immortality' state, even if that buff wears off, my body should be able to handle future transplants safely."
With that thought, Hajime got up from the bed and opened the door.
"You're awake?"
The cat-masked Root ninja was startled, then quickly said, "Please stay in the room. I'll inform Lord Danzo immediately!"
Smack!
Hajime slapped him across the face, leaving the ninja dumbfounded. The blow nearly knocked his mask off.
"Are you trying to make Lord Danzo come see me?"
Hajime scolded him, "Obviously, I should go pay my respects to him, idiot. Now take me to him—immediately!"
Behind the mask, the Root ninja stood in stunned silence.
This bastard actually hit him!
Is he insane?!
Rage surged in his heart, and killing intent erupted from the cat-masked Root ninja.
Hajime Hoshita scoffed. "What? You think you can kill me?"
In an instant, all that killing intent vanished without a trace.
The guy standing in front of him wasn't the same as before.
Forget killing him—even if a single hair was out of place, Danzo-sama would probably have his head for it.
"This bastard… he's way too arrogant!"
The cat-masked Root ninja swallowed his anger and silently turned to lead the way.
But Hajime didn't move.
"Hey!"
"If you realize you were wrong, then you should apologize. Actually, you should be thanking me."
The Root ninja froze mid-step, the urge to stab this guy with a kunai rising like a tidal wave.
He took a deep breath and forced it down, then turned around and bowed to Hajime.
"…I apologize."
"Thank you for your guidance."
Hajime nodded in satisfaction, stepping forward with a smile and patting him on the shoulder. "That's more like it, Nakamura-kun."
"Knowing your mistakes and correcting them is how you grow. That's how you can better serve Root and become a strong asset in Lord Danzo's hand."
...Nakamura: You're not supposed to call me by my name—you're supposed to use my code.
But he didn't dare say it out loud.
He didn't want to get smacked again.
(End of Chapter)
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T/N:
Hello all!
I'm back with another translation from the author of 'Konoha's Tag System Ninja' – a story many of you loved, and honestly, so did I! Your support fueled my daily updates then, and I hope it continues now.
Also, I don't know if someone already translating this or not, and I don't care. I like this story and My promise is simple: I'm translating this new book to the end, no matter what.
If you've enjoyed my work on 'Konoha's Tag System Ninja,' you already know the quality you can expect. So, if you're looking for a consistent and high-quality translation, dive right in!
Keep those power stones coming to ensure no delays!
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