The morning sun barely pierced the canopy of the deep woods as the squad sprinted across the forest floor. Leaves scattered beneath their sandals, chakra-enhanced leaps sending them tree to tree in a blur of motion.
Ahead, Kiba led the way with Akamaru sniffing the path, tracking Sasuke's scent. Shikamaru followed with his brows furrowed, already thinking ten steps ahead. Choji lumbered beside him, serious for once. Neji and Naruto flanked either side.
And at the rear, tall and silent, Hajime ran without strain, halberd on his back, his long strides effortless even as the forest blurred past.
They hadn't stopped running since leaving Konoha.
The urgency was written on every face. Sasuke was being taken, by Orochimaru's forces, and they were the only ones close enough to bring him back.
As they moved, Ino occasionally glanced at Hajime from the corner of her eye.
She didn't say anything.
But her gaze lingered.
It wasn't just the sheer size of him, though Hajime towered over them all, his physique sculpted like a statue, but the stillness. The self-control. He didn't fidget, didn't pant, didn't stumble. Even while sprinting, he moved with exact precision. She caught herself watching the way his muscles tensed beneath his shirt with each leap, then quickly forced her eyes away.
Focus. Mission first.
Shikamaru called out as they reached a narrow glade, "We'll rest for five min"
The ground exploded.
A sudden quake rocked the trees as earth chakra surged from below, and in a flash, the entire team was surrounded by stone.
An Earth Dome.
Circular walls shot upward, sealing them in.
Naruto jumped back, startled. "What the—!?"
"We're trapped!" Choji yelled.
Outside the dome, heavy footsteps echoed. A deep voice rumbled through the wall. "You're not going anywhere. Lord Orochimaru's orders."
From inside, chakra pressed against the walls, reinforcing it from the outside. The walls didn't just stand, they pulsed with hostile energy.
"It's Jirobo," Neji said sharply. "He's funneling his chakra into the walls to reinforce them."
"Choji," Shikamaru turned, "You're the strongest, think you can punch through"
"No need," Hajime's voice cut in smoothly.
Everyone turned to look at him.
He stepped forward slowly, gaze steady, shoulders relaxed, halberd now in his hand. The sheer presence of it made the others instinctively tense.
Ino's mouth parted slightly. Even she hadn't seen him draw the weapon before.
Shikamaru frowned. "You sure?"
Hajime stepped closer to the dome, his psychic senses reaching out.
He could feel it. The energy being funneled into the earth wall. The chakra connection extending from a single point outside. Like a root from a tree. One being.
"Got you," he murmured.
He planted his feet, shifting into a stance. One hand gripped the halberd near its base, the other higher up the shaft. His body coiled.
A ripple ran across his muscles.
The veins in his forearm bulged.
The others could feel it, like the air had thickened.
Neji's eyes narrowed. "His chakra… it's dense."
Naruto blinked. "Wait, what's he doing"
With a deep breath, Hajime swung.
A single, horizontal slash.
The blade carved through the air with a howl. It wasn't just strength, it was precision, will, and an unnatural force behind the swing, the kind that could split tanks in two.
The halberd struck the dome's interior wall, right where Jirobo's chakra anchor connected.
And the result was apocalyptic.
The stone didn't just crack.
It detonated.
With a sound like thunder, the entire side of the dome exploded outward in a shockwave of pulverized earth and compressed chakra backlash. Trees beyond snapped like matchsticks. Dust blew in all directions.
And Jirobo
He had been standing directly behind the dome.
When Hajime's halberd came through… it cleaved straight through the earth, through the anchor point, and through him.
For a second, his body held.
Then it burst, a shockwave of shredded muscle and torn flesh flung outward like red mist.
There was no scream.
Just silence.
Then the wind howled.
The teenagers stared, stunned.
Neji's Byakugan was active, but even he was speechless.
Choji swallowed hard. "He… he didn't even use a jutsu…"
Ino stared with wide eyes. "What kind of strength is that…?"
Naruto's jaw was open. "That's not… that's not normal…"
Shikamaru finally found his voice. "You cut through chakra-reinforced earth… and the user… in one swing?"
Hajime didn't answer at first.
He just stepped forward through the collapsing rubble, his halberd still humming with residual energy. He looked down at the spot where Jirobo had once stood, nothing remained but scorched earth and splattered red.
Then he turned back to the group, calm as always.
"We move."
That was all.
No arrogance. No boasting.
Just the cold efficiency of a warrior who had fought monsters far beyond this world's understanding.
Shikamaru blinked, then nodded quickly. "Right. Regroup, and move. We're catching up to Sasuke."
As they leapt through the wreckage and back into the forest path, none of them said a word for several moments.
The mission continued.
But now, they understood something else:
Hajime wasn't just strong.
He was something else entirely.
End of Chapter 52 – Swing of Judgment