Sarutobi Toku stared at the severed arm and the pool of blood on the ground, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
"Honestly, what you did might not necessarily be punishable by death. So what's the point of being stubborn?"
Hajime's voice was gentle. "Just like my subordinate said—what if you're actually innocent?"
"How am I supposed to know you're innocent if you don't speak?"
"If you don't talk, I'll just kill you."
"Lord Third Hokage has granted Root the authority to act first and report later, you know."
As he spoke, Hajime's blade slowly moved between Tsuchiya Naoya's legs.
Naoya's body trembled violently. After a moment of tortured silence, he squeezed his eyes shut and croaked, "I… I'll talk."
"That's more like it!"
Hajime patted Naoya on the shoulder and let him go.
But the moment he was released, Naoya suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a senbon needle—shooting it straight toward Hajime's face.
Sarutobi Toku and the others gasped, but they were too far to intervene.
Hajime, however, reacted instantly. He raised his arm and blocked the senbon with ease.
"You're courting death."
With a backhanded slash, Hajime stabbed his blade through Naoya's shoulder, pinning him to the wall.
"Bugs," Hajime said coldly, "let your insects devour him."
"Start from the ears—make sure he hears himself being eaten alive."
Behind his mask, Aburame Shino twitched slightly at the order but still nodded. "Understood, Captain."
It was undeniably cruel. But given how suspicious Naoya looked, there was no reason to show mercy.
Aburame Shino stepped forward and released his kikaichū insects into Naoya's body. They began slowly gnawing away at both of his ears.
The physical pain was horrific—but even worse was the sound of the chewing.
Naoya's eyes widened in horror and agony. His still-intact right hand reached instinctively toward his ears, only for Hajime to casually pin it to the wall with a kunai.
Only then did Hajime, completely unhurried, remove the senbon still stuck in his arm.
Fortunately, it wasn't poisoned—the moment it was pulled out, the wound began to heal.
"I'll leave this to you guys."
"If he starts talking, Sarutobi, you record everything."
"If not—let the insects finish him off. After the ears, go for the nose. Then the eyes. Leave the mouth."
Tossing the senbon aside, Hajime turned and left the house.
He was, after all, a kind man—he couldn't bear to watch something so cruel happen right in front of him. Naturally, he needed to step away.
Moments later—
Inuzuka Ryo appeared before Hajime and handed him a small notebook. "Captain, he talked."
Hajime took the notebook, flipped through it, and chuckled lightly. "What a tragic little love story."
So cliché. So melodramatic.
Turns out, Tsuchiya Naoya had once been saved by a kunoichi from the Sky Ninja. After repeated contact, he fell in love with her. Being assigned to guard Konoha's Ninjutsu Archives, Naoya began abusing his position—stealing classified sealing techniques and forbidden jutsu scrolls to give to this Sky Ninja woman.
"Hayami Mari—not a bad name."
With a faint smile, Hajime turned and walked back into the house. Looking at the now almost noseless Naoya, he said coldly:
"Do you really think you can still protect Hayami Mari at this point?"
"The only thing you can do now is atone."
"Tell me—where's your next exchange going to take place?"
"And those classified scrolls you already handed over—do you have copies?"
Hajime knew very well: once a person's bottom line is broken, everything they once held sacred eventually collapses.
Tsuchiya Naoya's final defenses were shattered by Hajime's words. He lowered his head in despair and confessed everything he had previously kept hidden.
Yes, there were copies—hidden beneath the floorboards of his bedroom.
And yes, there was another deal coming up—in two days, by the lake near Konohagakure.
It was a scenic spot, often visited by villagers for leisure.
Naoya would meet Hayami Mari there every time he had leave. Not just to betray the village's secrets—but also to "preach the way and share the nectar."
Inuzuka Ryo quickly retrieved the secret scroll copies. Hajime flipped through them briefly, then handed them back to Ryo.
"Make four copies."
Ryo froze.
Sarutobi Toku and Aburame Shino also looked at Hajime.
Hajime looked back at them and asked, "Can any of you memorize all this?"
Ryo swallowed hard. "Um… Captain, isn't it kind of wrong for us to make unauthorized copies of the village's forbidden techniques?"
Hajime patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "If you don't take them, how am I supposed to take them?"
"If you don't take them, and I don't take them, then how is Lord Danzō supposed to take them?"
Ryo really wanted to ask—Does Lord Danzō really need to resort to this kind of method to get intel?
But on second thought… what Hajime said kind of made sense. So, he nodded in the end.
A teachable young man!
Hajime was quite satisfied. Then he turned to Aburame Shino.
"Bugs, since he confessed, give him a quick death."
"Wait!"
Sarutobi Toku quickly spoke up and said to Hajime, "Captain, since he's already confessed, shouldn't we turn him over to the ANBU for processing, and then report it to Lord Third Hokage?"
Hajime's eyes instantly sharpened, and he stared at Sarutobi Toku coldly.
"Looks like I need to emphasize this again."
"Lord Danzō's will is my will. My will is Lord Danzō's will. My current orders are Lord Danzō's orders."
"You can have your doubts—but keep them to yourself. No arguments allowed. That's a direct military order."
"Also, since this is your first time, I'll explain."
"No matter what the evidence says, using force on a fellow villager is never something to be publicized."
"Are you really suggesting we send him to ANBU—so that more people find out we tortured a fellow shinobi under Lord Third's name without concrete evidence?"
"You really want the Third Hokage to bear the weight of this darkness?"
Sarutobi Toku broke into a cold sweat, quickly bowing his head.
"Captain, I was wrong!"
Hajime said calmly, "We protect the village from the shadows—we must have the courage and resolve to bear the darkness."
"Make it clean."
With that, Hajime turned and left the house.
He was just too kind. He couldn't stand the sight of killing.
Outside, Hajime waited for less than five minutes before Sarutobi Toku and the others exited as well.
Aburame Shino reported, "The body has been disposed of."
Inuzuka Ryo followed up, "Other traces have been cleaned too."
Hajime nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Return to base."
...
Back at the Root base, they first copied one full set of the sealing technique documents. Only then did Hajime bring the original scrolls to Danzō's office for a full report.
The operation.
The interrogation.
The intelligence gained.
The secret jutsu scrolls.
Even the part about making four copies—Hajime reported it all in detail.
Danzō casually flipped through the secret techniques before glancing up.
"You interested in sealing techniques?"
Hajime replied with respectful sincerity, "Thanks to you, Lord Danzo, I was able to obtain the First Hokage's power. If it can help you in any way, I'm willing to give it my all."
I want to study sealing techniques—for you, Lord Danzō.
Danzō didn't comment on the explanation, but neither did he pursue the matter of secretly copying the scrolls. He simply said,
"Bring Hayami Mari back—alive."
Hajime immediately accepted the order.
"Understood!"
(End of Chapter)