Minato's sudden appearance gave Hagoromo a very concrete lesson in what constituted a surprise.
So at the moment, his mood was rather complicated. It wasn't that he resented Minato's arrival—after all, Minato had come to help—but that didn't change the fact that a perfectly cooked duck had flown away right before his eyes.
A very big duck, at that.
…No, that metaphor felt awkward. A tender duck, maybe?
As for Hagoromo briefly suspecting that he might be under surveillance—borderline paranoia, really—the thought vanished almost the instant it appeared. The idea was simply too unreasonable.
He was a model, orthodox supporter of the Third Hokage's faction. He had no anti-ninja, anti-establishment, or anti-Konoha tendencies whatsoever. While he wouldn't claim to be exceptionally diligent on missions, he had never caused any serious trouble either. There was no reason for Konoha to keep tabs on him.
Besides, even if the village were monitoring someone, was it really necessary to send someone of Minato's caliber?
Especially during a time when top-tier combat power was so precious?
Struggles over ideology only happened in times of peace. In wartime, external pressure crushed everything else. Even the proud Uchiha were forced onto the battlefield, where survival depended entirely on strength. And even Danzō—who was always itching to stir up trouble—had to swallow his schemes and keep quiet.
As for the Flying Thunder God seal on Hagoromo's body… well, he might as well keep it for now. It could save his life someday. Minato rarely caused problems—Hagoromo had simply been unlucky enough to run into one of those one-in-ten-thousand edge cases.
"To force you to use a technique like that," Minato said thoughtfully,
"your opponent must have been quite extraordinary."
"Hagoromo, explain the situation here."
Once his momentary emotional surge settled, Minato immediately began asking about what had happened.
"Minato-senpai, you ran into Kakashi earlier, didn't you?" Hagoromo asked instead of answering directly.
Otherwise, there was no explanation for why Minato had warped straight to his position.
That meant Kakashi had moved fast.
"Yes. He's already delivering the report to Orochimaru-sama on the island," Minato replied. "I heard the general outline from him. I wasn't far from this area to begin with—and I ran into him over the sea."
Like Hagoromo, Minato had suspected that Kirigakure might withdraw en masse after receiving a signal. That was why he had been searching this stretch of ocean—and why he encountered Kakashi so quickly.
Earlier, Hagoromo and Kakashi had indeed tracked down a concentrated group of Kirigakure ninja. Hagoromo listed the names he had identified.
Upon hearing them, Minato immediately reached a conclusion.
"Nearly all of them are elite jōnin-level or above."
"Exactly," Hagoromo nodded. "So we didn't get too close and chose to withdraw immediately. But for some reason, our trail was exposed. That led to pursuit. I suspected the one chasing us would be the strongest among them, so I had Kakashi return with the intel while I stayed behind."
He continued, "It turns out that judgment was correct. The one who caught up to me was most likely Yagura of Kirigakure."
As he spoke, Hagoromo casually swung the weapon Yagura had left behind.
Minato's gaze settled on the distinctive ninja tool. Unique weapons like this were often enough to confirm their owner's identity.
"…Yes. This should be Yagura's," Minato said. If it really had been him, then Hagoromo using that technique made sense.
"About that move of yours—Lightning Garden: Heavy Kingdom…"
Minato hesitated, then stopped himself.
What he actually felt was regret.
The regret of arriving too late to name it himself.
Because Minato Namikaze was, unfortunately, terrible at naming techniques.
That alone wouldn't be a problem—everyone had their weak points—but Minato also had an intense urge to name everything.
Those two traits together were lethal.
Thankfully, Hagoromo had named it himself. Otherwise, Minato might have ended up calling an Lightning Release: something like:
"Super Armstrong Spiral Accelerated Super Armstrong Cannon."
At this point, Minato also realized that his dramatic arrival had, in fact, caused Hagoromo to miss a perfect opportunity to eliminate a powerful enemy.
A lost chance was a lost chance.
By the time Minato arrived, Hagoromo's attack had deviated, the Lightning Release had been cut off to prevent friendly fire, and Yagura had already merged into the sea and vanished.
Hagoromo couldn't sense him afterward, but there was no reason to think Yagura would return. He had likely fled outright.
Minato's flashy entrance—and his unmistakable blond hair—were more than enough to scare him off.
Under normal circumstances, a fully prepared Yagura might have welcomed a clash with the legendary Yellow Flash. But after that final exchange, he had already acknowledged Hagoromo as his equal. Adding Namikaze Minato on top of that?
There was no path to victory.
So Yagura chose survival.
"Minato-senpai," Hagoromo asked, "what should we do now?"
Although Minato didn't hold overall command authority, it was obvious that the decision should be his.
From Minato's perspective, Hagoromo casually fiddled with Yagura's weapon again, then apparently decided it was awkward to use—
And tossed it straight into a ditch.
Minato's eyelid twitched.
Congratulations to Konoha chūnin Kamishiro Hagoromo,
newly awarded the title: Destroyer of Ninja Tools.
For Hagoromo, however, things were simple. If he could kill an enemy, he would. If he could kill them decisively, even better. If he couldn't—he wouldn't force it. An enemy escaping wasn't something he found particularly regrettable.
It wasn't a lack of motivation.
It was a lack of grand purpose.
End the era of war? Achieve peace?
He'd never really thought about it. That felt like someone else's responsibility. For him, being a ninja was no different from clocking in for work.
That outlook wouldn't change—
Not until certain events reshaped him.
Minato hesitated briefly, then spoke.
"Hagoromo, return to the Land of Whirlpools. I'll move ahead alone and take a look."
The Byakugan situation was already clear enough. This mission could effectively end here.
The Byakugan had remained in the hands of a single Kirigakure ninja all along—a sensor named Ao. He had dealt the final blow to the Hyūga main branch ninja, claimed the dōjutsu, and retreated back to Kirigakure with it.
Minato still intended to scout ahead once more, but there was little chance of further combat. There was no need to bring Hagoromo along.
As for Minato himself—no matter what enemy he encountered, he could always disengage at will.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789