Late at night on November 21st.
It was once again time for the status bar to refresh. Inside the wooden cabin in the mountains behind Konoha, Hajime waited with slight anticipation.
The status effect [Total Concentration] was not only crucial in battle—it was incredibly helpful for learning and training as well.
Take Wind Release: Rasenshuriken for example—his progress in the past seven days had been significant.
If he could solidify this state permanently, Hajime was confident he could completely master it and achieve the ability to throw the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken even in a normal state.
Right on schedule, the status bar refreshed.
Hajime's eyes lit up with joy—Total Concentration was still active!
Sure enough, when he looked again, the list of solidified statuses now included [Total Concentration].
Then he turned to the newly acquired status:
> Current Status: Photographic Memory
> Note: While in this state, everything you see will be stored as permanent memory.
> Refresh Countdown: 167:57:55
Another extremely useful ability.
But…
Hajime pondered, trying to find a way to capitalize on it.
Ninjutsu... photographic memory of ninjutsu?
Training... but I'm already in this state, so I can't train it further.
What a pity.
Regretfully, Hajime set it aside for now.
In the days that followed, he began frequently leading teams on missions.
Not just him—the entire Root division became increasingly active.
Political assassinations began in earnest.
The Land of Rivers, the Land of Grass, the Land of the Moon, the Land of Hot Water, and even the Land of Birds…
Under these political assassinations, the situation in the ninja world grew tenser by the day.
Aside from the isolationist Hidden Mist Village, the Hidden Sand, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Cloud all began increasing their influence over their neighboring countries.
And with the increasing number of clashes between the villages, the name "Wood Release User" became more and more well-known.
Time flew by, and before long it was the night of the 28th.
[Photographic Memory] expired right on time.
As expected, it hadn't been solidified.
Hajime immediately looked at the new status.
> Current Status: Chatterbox
> Note: In this state, you have seven mouths and eight tongues.
> Refresh Countdown: 167:57:55
Staring at the new status, Hajime was speechless.
Another bizarre one.
What the hell do I need this many mouths for?
Am I supposed to "Talk no Jutsu" the enemy into submission?
And eight tongues—what good is that supposed to do?
Licking something, maybe?
He mentally complained, then shifted his vision—sure enough, his real mouth now appeared nested in layers of ghostly, translucent mouths.
And inside his own mouth, seven illusory tongues were crammed together.
Just looking at it made Hajime feel an urge to cut his own tongue out.
Still, after his brief grumbling, he calmed himself and began thinking through the potential utility of the status.
This one was similar to the previous [Indecisive] state.
The extra mouths and tongues were all illusory—not physically real.
Wait a minute…
Recalling how [Indecisive] had worked, Hajime suddenly noticed something. "Even though they're illusory, I could control them all at once."
He had never simultaneously used all three hearts from that state—but he had used two consciousnesses at once.
Which meant…
"I can use seven mouths and eight tongues simultaneously."
Hajime thought to himself: "Forget the tongues for now—seven mouths…"
The mouth was one of the most common channels for ninjutsu.
If I could use seven mouths to mold and release chakra at once—whoa!
Wouldn't that mean a sixfold boost in output power?!
Or maybe extend the duration and intensity of a jutsu?
The more he analyzed it, the more interesting this state became.
Immediately, he prepared to create shadow clones to test it out. But just as he started to form hand seals, a flood of memories entered his mind.
Feedback from a Wood Clone that had been training outside.
Hajime's expression lit up with joy. "It finally worked!"
He stood and walked out of the cabin. Raising his right hand and extending one finger, he began rotating the air. Chakra gathered at the fingertip, forming a Rasengan the size of a fingertip.
Buzz!
With a sharp screech, the mini Rasengan expanded slightly—transforming into a rapidly spinning Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
With a flick of his finger, Hajime launched the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. It flew through the air and struck a large tree over ten meters away with pinpoint accuracy.
The Rasenshuriken immediately expanded, slicing the tree cleanly in half.
"Perfect," Hajime quietly praised.
Thanks to his dual-focus ability and the current Total Concentration state, he had finally fully developed this jutsu.
From now on, Hajime had a powerful new trump card.
In terms of single-target offense, Wind Release: Rasenshuriken was arguably the most powerful among all Wind Release techniques.
Moreover, it served as a template—one that could be applied to many other ninjutsu forms.
"Now that Rasenshuriken is complete, and Sky Step is gradually being mastered, developing the next level—Wind Release Chakra Mode—will likely take a long time. So, it's time to broaden the range of Wind-style applications."
Hajime decided to learn all the Wind Release jutsu he hadn't yet studied, adding versatility to his arsenal.
"Next, let's test… the power of seven mouths."
Too lazy to use clones, Hajime formed hand seals with both hands, opened his mouth, and expelled a stream of air.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
The airflow surged, turning into a violent gust of wind.
Though Hajime had used only a small amount of chakra and the pressure wasn't especially high, as soon as the first blast ended, another followed—and another, and another.
Seven consecutive streams of wind burst from his mouth, creating seven layers of continuous gales.
In a real battle, it would be easy to imagine the effect: if an opponent assumed your jutsu had ended, only to be hit again and again—completely overwhelmed and driven into the ground.
"Excellent. Very powerful!"
Hajime nodded in satisfaction.
Now then… what were the eight tongues good for?
After all, there are no useless statues, only useless shinobi.
Hajime kept an open mind.
If he were Orochimaru and used snake-based jutsu, then maybe having so many tongues could be put to offensive use.
But right now, aside from licking certain things, Hajime couldn't think of any practical use.
"My thinking just isn't broad enough…"
He shook his head with a sigh and shelved the thought for now, turning instead to another question:
How could I permanently solidify this state?
Body modification was one option—he could implant eight tongues into himself.
But eight mouths…
"What kind of damn status is this…"
Hajime's attitude once again shifted nimbly.
After a moment of reflection, he put it aside for now.
Leaving a shadow clone behind to continue training, Hajime returned to the wooden cabin, lifted his outer robe, sat cross-legged, and lowered his gaze to focus once more on sensing natural energy.
Training in Sage Mode was proving to be quite difficult.
Before he realized it, dawn broke. A new day had begun.
But for Hajime, it made no difference—just another day of monotonous training.
Compared to missions involving assassinations, Hajime actually preferred the dull grind of self-improvement.
There was no thrill in killing—especially not when the targets weren't powerful enemies like the Third Raikage.
But with training—even completing a single new jutsu—came a rush of satisfaction.
Unnoticed, November slipped by, and the final month of Konoha Year 36 arrived.
One day—
Hajime was in the middle of training when Ryo came rushing in.
"Captain! Lord Danzō has summoned you!"
Opening his eyes and rising to his feet while putting on his coat, Hajime asked, "Is it an emergency mission?"
Ryo shook his head. Behind the mask, his expression was grim.
"No. War is about to break out."
Hajime's hands paused slightly.
"Is the Hidden Rain Village making a move?"
Rin nodded.
"They've moved south into the Land of Rivers."
Putting on his coat, Hajime returned to the Root base with Ryo.
"'Alpha,'" Danzō said darkly, "Take a team to the Land of Birds. Pose as Hidden Rain shinobi and launch attacks on the Land of Birds."
"Make sure Iwagakure starts a war with Amegakure."
Hajime nodded immediately. "Understood."
Leaving Danzō's office, he saw that a unit had already assembled outside.
Three four-man teams—twelve people in total.
This time, neither Ryo nor Ryōma were among them.
Their distinctive fighting styles were too recognizable and unsuitable for a mission like this.
Sweeping his gaze across the assembled team, Hajime gave the order:
"Move out!"
(End of Chapter)
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