Returning to the inn, Hajime thought to himself,
"Looks like I need to proceed from two fronts."
"One, control a logistics officer in Sunagakure to gather intel."
"Two, investigate where the supplies from Sunagakure are being transported."
"As for the logistics officer… I'll make my move tonight."
Hajime had already obtained a list of Sunagakure's logistics personnel from Nono.
This kind of intel wasn't hard to acquire—in fact, it was relatively easy to get.
However, choosing which person to target for information was critical.
Hajime didn't intend to go after any of the top officials. The risk was too high, even if they had access to more valuable intel.
At the same time, those individuals were also much stronger.
Better to play it safe.
With that decision made, Hajime refocused on ninjutsu.
Over the past two days, he had already shortened the hand seals required and could now summon a Wood Clone beside him with just one-handed seals.
Likewise, a Wood Clone could summon his main body in reverse.
Unfortunately, his attempt to replicate a Flying Thunder God–style teleportation—where both the original and the clone simultaneously use Summoning Technique to switch places—had failed.
He had reached a point where he was still operating within the framework of Summoning Jutsu.
"Maybe I should change my approach…"
"For now, forget the Flying Thunder God technique and focus on Wood Release."
The fact that Hajime could push Summoning Jutsu this far was largely thanks to the unique properties of Wood Release.
Moreover, Jiraiya had once mentioned—
Without a summoning contract or beast, using the Summoning Jutsu could be extremely dangerous; it might even teleport the caster to an unknown location.
In other words, the Summoning Jutsu inherently could teleport the user.
With that in mind, Hajime shifted his thinking.
Before, he treated his Wood Clone as a summoned creature. Using the same chakra signature and the unique nature of Wood Clones, he had made mutual summoning between them possible.
Now, he aimed to discard the "summoning creature" concept entirely, and instead focus on simply teleporting himself.
The anchor point would be the Wood Clone—or more precisely, the connection between his main body and the clone.
"Let's give it a try…"
Hajime created a Wood Clone.
He didn't even leave the room. Standing just a short distance away within the same bedroom, he attempted to move the clone directly beside him—not by summoning and reverse summoning, but through pure relocation.
Evening came before he realized it.
Exhausted from the massive chakra consumption, Hajime smiled weakly.
He had done it!
He could now directly teleport himself to where his Wood Clone was.
It was similar to how Jiraiya had once been sent to Mount Myōboku—
The difference being, Jiraiya's event had been accidental.
But Hajime had done it deliberately, using his Wood Clone as a precise coordinate.
With this, a teleportation exchange akin to the Flying Thunder God Technique was now feasible.
Of course, it was still different from Flying Thunder God.
That technique allowed the user to leave a seal on kunai, people, even objects—and teleport instantly to those marks.
Hajime could only do it through Wood Clones for now, which was still a major limitation.
But reaching this stage already filled him with joy.
And more importantly—he now had a clear path forward.
Dispelling the clone, Hajime got up and stepped out, heading into Sunagakure's night market to enjoy a variety of local delicacies.
Once full and with most of his chakra restored, he returned to the inn.
The operation began.
He created a clone and had it slip silently into the darkness.
About an hour later—
Hajime received the clone's memory feedback.
"Hm?"
He was a little surprised.
"The supplies have been going along the same route all this time—and they're still being sent toward the Land of Rivers."
Hajime frowned in thought.
"Could it be that Sunagakure really is planning to build up their strength and then launch a fierce offensive into the Land of Rivers?"
"If that's the case, then Konoha must be ready to fight on two fronts."
Thinking this over, Hajime quietly left the inn and made his way to Nono's home.
He planned to leave Sunagakure tomorrow.
That evening, Nono returned home early—she knew all too well how efficient Hajime was.
Sure enough, when she walked in, Hajime was already waiting inside.
This time, though, she remembered what happened yesterday and didn't leap at him. Instead, she obediently gave the passcode:
"I'm afraid of dying!"
"I'm a good person!"
After the correct exchange, Nono came over and sat beside Hajime.
"Onii-chan."
Hajime patted the girl's head and said, "I'll be leaving Sunagakure tomorrow."
Nono's joyful mood plummeted, but she quickly managed a gentle smile.
"Mm. Don't worry, Onii-chan. I've completely integrated into Sunagakure now."
Hajime nodded.
"Just focus on your role as a medical ninja. Gathering intel doesn't necessarily mean infiltrating secure areas to steal documents. The patients you treat—those injured shinobi—are actually your best source of information."
"I'll teach you a genjutsu."
Nono's eyes lit up and she immediately nodded.
Without delay, Hajime taught her the DreamWalker Technique.
The technique was currently classified as S-rank, but the entry level wasn't too difficult.
Hajime divided the jutsu into two parts when teaching it:
The first part was hypnosis, the second part was manipulation.
For Nono, mastering the full technique would be ideal.
But even if she lacked the aptitude for the full version, just mastering the hypnosis part would greatly help in gathering intelligence.
It's worth noting—Hajime's hypnotic techniques weren't limited to the genjutsu found in the ninja world. He also had abilities that came from his previous status: Hypnosis Master.
And just like that, the night passed in the blink of an eye.
Nono gathered her energy and headed off to work. Hajime quietly slipped away.
However, he left a Wood Clone hidden in her house. It would stay for another two days to continue teaching her before being dispelled.
———
In the vast desert, behind a sand dune, Hajime poked his head up and observed a caravan in the distance.
It was a Sunagakure logistics unit.
Although shinobi had sealing scrolls to store and transport items, their capacity was still quite limited.
Of course—
Not all of Sunagakure's supplies came from within the village. A significant portion was purchased from the various oasis cities scattered across the Land of Wind.
And Sunagakure's supply route was essentially a network connecting these oases.
Hajime had been tailing this convoy for a whole day and had gained a deeper understanding of how Sunagakure operated.
An hour later, the convoy reached an oasis town.
After resting for two hours, the unit moved out again—now with even more members and goods.
But just as Hajime thought nothing unusual would happen—
The convoy suddenly split into two.
One part went east, the other north.
"So Sunagakure does have other plans!"
Hajime didn't hesitate. He created a Wood Clone.
His main body followed the group heading north; the clone continued east.
By evening—
Hajime had followed the convoy all the way to a city in the northeastern Land of Wind, less than 25 km from the border with the Land of Rain.
After a moment's thought, he infiltrated the city.
First, he needed to replenish his fresh water supply. Second, he wanted to observe the city and see if Sunagakure had stationed a large force there.
But after investigating, he discovered that Sunagakure had only stockpiled supplies here—no large military presence.
However, the supplies were very heavily guarded.
"Looks like Sunagakure really plans to launch an offensive into the Land of Rain from here. The only question is when—or rather, what are they waiting for?"
Hajime exited the town, glanced back once, then rushed toward the Land of Rain.
He returned at top speed to Konoha's forward base in the Land of Rain and reported to Danzo.
Inside the tent, Danzo pondered for a moment, then asked,
"'Alpha... What do you believe is Sunagakure's true goal?"
Hajime had already thought this through and replied directly,
"I believe their main target is still the Land of Rivers."
"Though Amegakure's entry into the Land of Rivers gives Sunagakure an excuse to intervene, a full-scale war with Amegakure would pit them against Hanzo's main forces. Win or lose, they'd be forced to fight us afterward as well."
"But if they split their forces and also invade the Land of Rain—fighting us and Iwagakure along the way—they could pressure Hanzo to pull forces out of the Land of Rivers."
"That would make it far easier for Sunagakure to seize the Land of Rivers, and they could preserve some of their strength to fight us later for control over it."
After thinking for a moment, Hajime added,
"Lord Danzo, I suspect Sunagakure may want Hanzo to take the Land of Rivers first."
Danzo raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"You mean… they're deliberately fueling Hanzo's ambition?"
Konoha had done something similar in the past.
Hajime nodded.
"Hanzo is currently acting like he's willing to abandon the Land of Rain at any moment, but once he seizes the Land of Rivers, he absolutely won't give up his homeland."
"So when faced with pressure from us, Iwagakure, and what appears to be a large northern push by Sunagakure, he'll have no choice but to redeploy his forces to defend the Land of Rain."
"And that would be Sunagakure's best opportunity to take the Land of Rivers."
Danzo nodded in response.
"Looks like we need to begin preparing for a campaign into the Land of Rivers."
(End of Chapter)
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