"Nakamura, you know, I now possess the power of the First Hokage himself. From this moment on, I am the one Lord Danzo values the most—his most trusted right-hand man."
"That means, from now on, my orders are the second-highest authority in Root. Aside from Lord Danzo himself, no one outranks me!"
"And once Lord Danzo becomes the Fourth Hokage, I'll be the new leader of Root!"
…
As Hajime Hoshita walked ahead, he kept chattering non-stop.
Nakamura followed behind, his eyelids twitching furiously.
Arrogant.
Far too arrogant!
Also, wasn't he supposed to be following me?
Why is he walking in front and I'm trailing behind like his lackey?
Suddenly, Hajime stopped and turned around, glaring coldly at Nakamura. "What? You're not answering. Are you saying what I just said was wrong?"
"Don't tell me you don't want Lord Danzo to become the Fourth Hokage?"
Nakamura opened his mouth, but no words came out.
How the hell am I supposed to answer that?!
Hajime raised a brow. "Nakamura… are you saying you want to die?"
Boom!
A powerful surge of chakra burst out from Hajime's body, surrounding him in a faint azure glow.
A gust of wind whipped through the hallway, forcing Nakamura to take a step back.
"S-So strong! That chakra…"
"Is this really… the power of the First Hokage? Unbelievable!"
Facing such immense pressure, Nakamura finally bowed his head. "Y-Yes! I understand!"
Hajime retracted his chakra and smiled in satisfaction. "Good."
—A short while later—
With Nakamura in tow, Hajime finally stood before Danzo.
This Danzo was still in his prime—handsome in a stern, mature kind of way—but the ever-present gloominess around him slightly spoiled his image.
"Lord Danzo!"
Hajime bowed deeply, respectful and humble—a stark contrast from the arrogance he'd just shown Nakamura.
Danzo stared him down. "That chakra just now… it was yours?"
Hajime answered obediently, "Yes, Lord Danzo."
"I've acquired a portion of the First Hokage's power. My chakra has increased dramatically."
"However, the power of Wood Release has not yet awakened. It may be due to an insufficient amount of First Hokage cells."
"Therefore, I humbly request permission to undergo another transplant."
Danzo frowned, somewhat disappointed.
Still, that didn't mean Hajime was a failure. The chakra he'd just felt earlier had genuinely surprised him.
Another Hashirama cell transplant, though…
Danzo hesitated.
The First Hokage's cells were simply too powerful.
Continuing with another transplant—Danzo couldn't guarantee whether Hajime would be able to withstand it.
Konoha's research on Hashirama's cells was still extremely limited.
Seeing the hesitation on Danzo's face, Hajime quickly spoke up:
"Please rest assured, Lord Danzo. I already possess the First Hokage's cells—I can definitely handle another transplant."
"Besides, even if I still can't awaken Wood Release, my chakra and regeneration abilities will increase even further."
"With that power, I will undoubtedly become the sharpest blade in your hand!"
Danzo's expression finally relaxed. "Very well. In that case, we'll proceed with another operation."
"And one more thing…"
"From now on, your codename will be—'Alpha'!"
…
Danzo left to retrieve the Hashirama cells.
Hajime turned to Nakamura and said, "Did you see that? Being given the codename 'Alpha' means I'm now the top operative in Root."
This time, Nakamura nodded sincerely.
Possessing part of the First Hokage's power, and even being able to sway Lord Danzo's decisions—Hajime Hoshita truly wasn't the same as before.
Though Hajime himself hadn't expected to get a cool codename.
Not that it mattered—he was more than happy to make full use of it.
In the ninja world, seniority meant little.
Strength was the only foundation of everything.
Strength…
Hajime began assessing his current abilities.
After fusing with Hashirama's cells, his chakra and regenerative capabilities had increased tremendously—but his overall combat power hadn't improved as much.
After all, he still didn't have Wood Release.
Before this, his strength had placed him among the elite of the Chūnin level—specializing in Wind Release and kenjutsu.
Additionally, he'd previously only possessed a single chakra nature: Wind.
But that might no longer be the case. With Hashirama's cells now in his body, even if he couldn't use Wood Release, he should at least gain access to Earth, Water, and Yang Release.
Wind Release…
The first thing that came to Hajime's mind was the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
But that jutsu, without Sage Mode, was a double-edged sword—harming the user nearly as much as the enemy.
Still, with the regeneration provided by Hashirama's cells, that drawback could be mitigated.
First, though, he needed to learn the Rasengan.
Speaking of which, Minato Namikaze should still be a brat who hasn't even graduated from the Academy yet, right?
Having just awakened his past life's memories, Hajime's thoughts began to drift. He'd intended to plan out his next steps, but now his mind was spinning in all directions.
Minato was still a kid, and the Legendary Sannin hadn't yet made their names known.
Especially Tsunade—she wasn't a "granny" yet… he wondered how fierce she was at this age.
Danzo returned quickly, arriving in less than half an hour with another Root operative in tow. The latter was carrying a metal briefcase.
Soon after, Hajime was hooked up to an IV drip containing a fluid extracted from Hashirama's cells.
Yes—this was ninja-world science: crude and direct.
And almost immediately, Hajime began to regret it.
Because it hurt like hell!
Sure, he had the "Immortality" status… but that didn't mean he couldn't feel pain.
Veins bulged across his forehead, his teeth clenched so tightly they cracked, blood seeping out between them.
But Hajime gritted his way through the pain without letting out a single scream.
Crack!
His teeth shattered.
Yet, thanks to the astonishing regenerative power of Hashirama's cells, new teeth quickly grew back in their place.
Just as Hajime had predicted, though the process was excruciating, his Immortal body adapted well to the transplant. This second infusion didn't trigger much of a rejection response.
Danzo, who had been watching closely, revealed a rare look of satisfaction in his eyes.
Root now had a powerful trump card.
No—he had a trump card. A razor-sharp blade.
Becoming Hokage was out of the question now, but from the shadows, he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As the situation in Konoha stabilized, Danzo's ambition grew increasingly out of control.
He was no longer content with Root being just a training division of the Anbu.
Half an hour flew by.
The infusion was complete.
The pain gradually faded, and Hajime could feel the overwhelming surge of power within him.
His cells were teeming with vitality. With just a single thought, he could draw out a tremendous amount of chakra.
"Roughly 50% of my cells are now Hashirama's…"
Hajime's heart was filled with excitement.
While chakra alone didn't determine true strength—
Without a vast chakra reserve, one could never hope to reach Kage-level, Super-Kage, or even higher stages.
Unfortunately, Hajime could also sense that his body had reached its limit.
This crude and forceful method of transplantation… if done again, would undoubtedly cause total collapse.
Pulling the needle from his arm, Hajime stood and respectfully bowed toward Danzo.
"Lord Danzo, I request access to the First Hokage's secret techniques for training in Wood Release."
Danzo raised a brow. "So, it seems you haven't awakened Wood Release naturally."
"There's no problem with giving you the secret techniques."
"I won't disappoint you, Lord Danzo," Hajime declared.
"Once I master those techniques, I'll become the sharpest blade in your hand—cutting down every obstacle in your path!"
He raised his head, eyes burning with fanatic devotion.
"Lord Danzo, you are the one most suited to become Hokage."
Nakamura and the other Root ninja nearby turned to look at Hajime in shock.
Was he… suggesting a plan to assassinate the Third Hokage? A coup d'état?
How could he say that out loud? Was he insane?
Behind his mask, cold sweat poured down Nakamura's back.
"This guy… did the experiment mess up his mind?"
He'd thought Hajime was just a little more arrogant after obtaining Hashirama's power—but never imagined this…
(End of Chapter)