"That piece of trash—usually he's all timid and servile. At least he used to look alive. Why does he look completely dead now?"
"Who? Oh—that famous Chūnin Yoshida?"
"Maybe he finally figured it out. Ashamed of his own uselessness and planning to end it himself?"
"No way. He's way too afraid of dying."
"Probably because of what's been happening lately. We're gathering ninja now—he'll probably be part of the operation."
"That actually makes sense. Still, just thinking about fighting alongside someone like him makes me feel like I'm about to be cursed with bad luck."
"Stop talking nonsense. With our strength, we'll definitely crush Kumogakure. After that, it'll be Konoha. In the end, we'll win the entire Shinobi World War."
"But someone like him, facing Kumogakure… yeah, he's dead for sure."
"Yeah. Dead for sure."
As Hagoromo walked along the streets, conversations like these flowed endlessly into his ears. He himself didn't particularly care—but it made Yoshida's situation feel even more pitiful.
Any ninja who knew Yoshida reacted to the idea of him going to war with undisguised schadenfreude.
To call it schadenfreude was being generous.
Many viewed him as a disgrace to Iwagakure—harboring open malice, eagerly and unapologetically wishing for Yoshida to die as soon as possible.
Because of that, for the past few days, Hagoromo had maintained an expression of utter despair—lifeless, resigned, as if already halfway to the grave—in order to perfectly match Yoshida's personality.
He had been in Iwagakure for a full week now.
To avoid exposure, he maintained absolute imitation, never relaxing for even a moment.
Yet even someone as optimistic as Hagoromo felt enormous psychological pressure from living inside the enemy's core territory.
"Never relaxing" meant exactly that—not for a single second.
In the past, he'd always felt a vague distaste toward the idea of being a spy.
Now, after experiencing it firsthand, that feeling turned into admiration.
He had only lasted a few days.
Real spies operated under enemy noses for years—maybe their entire lives—never knowing whether they'd remain hidden forever or be exposed the very next moment.
Constant vigilance. Constant tension.
This line of work was all about thrill.
Heart-pounding thrill.
All in all, Hagoromo concluded that he wasn't particularly suited for espionage.
Still, things progressed as hoped.
Yoshida would indeed be participating in the upcoming operation.
The detailed plan and exact timing of Iwagakure's invasion of Kumogakure hadn't reached someone as low-ranking as Yoshida yet. However, based on Hagoromo's observations—the tense atmosphere, the visible preparations, the subtle signs everywhere—
The operation was imminent.
Within three days at most.
The smell of war was already in the air.
As for how many ninja would participate, Hagoromo still couldn't be certain. He had been told five thousand, but he couldn't verify it.
Normally, estimating troop numbers wouldn't require stealing documents—just surveying supply stockpiles would be enough.
But Hagoromo didn't dare.
Someone with Yoshida's personality would never hang around such places. If he showed up near supply depots looking curious, suspicion would be inevitable.
This was a man terrified of death—why would he care about war preparations?
Besides, such matters weren't something a ninja of his rank should concern himself with.
His "proper role" was to obediently fight—and die—for Iwagakure.
Although earlier conversations showed Stone ninja speaking with confidence, no one—from the Tsuchikage himself, to the decision-makers, to frontline commanders, down to the lowest-ranked ninja—underestimated Kumogakure's strength.
Even optimism had limits.
Iwagakure fully acknowledged that Kumogakure was their equal in direct combat. If Konoha weren't tying down most of Kumo's forces and mobility, Iwa would never have chosen this moment to launch an invasion of the Land of Lightning.
While running battle simulations in his head and refining strategies, Hagoromo suddenly noticed two people approaching from the opposite direction.
That startled him—
No, it startled Yoshida, who immediately shrank to the side of the road.
Most Iwagakure ninja shared rough, rugged features—hard to distinguish unless you knew them well.
But one of the two was unmistakable.
Even before this mission, Hagoromo knew exactly who he was.
One of them was Kitsuchi—an elite jōnin of Iwagakure, and the son of the current Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of the Two Scales.
According to intelligence reports, Kitsuchi was extraordinarily powerful and highly likely to be one of the operational commanders of this invasion.
The two passed by Hagoromo without paying him any attention.
But fragments of their conversation reached his ears clearly.
"Kitsuchi-sama, shouldn't you be checking the readiness of the participating forces—or the supply stockpiles? Where are you headed right now?"
"Haha, leave that kind of work to you. My daughter was just born—I want to spend some time with her before the war."
"Oh… your daughter…"
"Her name's Kurotsuchi. The old man named her himself."
"..."
So what was the key takeaway from that exchange?
Was it that Kurotsuchi might have been born prematurely?
…No.
The key point was this:
Kitsuchi truly was one of the war's main commanders—and preparations were already in their final phase.
Once they disappeared into the distance, Hagoromo continued on his way.
All ninja ordered to participate in the campaign had three days to complete registration.
Today was the final day.
And Yoshida—true to character—would definitely wait until the last possible moment.
Hagoromo's judgment proved correct.
The war was about to begin.
Early the next morning, he received an emergency assembly signal.
When all the ninja had gathered, even Hagoromo was momentarily stunned.
Five thousand?
This looked like double that, at least.
No wonder Yoshida had been drafted.
Was Iwagakure planning to mobilize everything?
At that moment, Hagoromo briefly wondered whether sending this intelligence back to Konoha—and redirecting the joint operation into a sudden strike against an emptied Iwagakure—would be more meaningful.
Unfortunately, even if the information reached Konoha now, it would be far too late.
By the time Konoha mobilized and invaded the Land of Earth, the opportunity would already be gone.
Besides—
He had no means of transmitting the information that quickly.
Large-scale operations couldn't be perfectly concealed, but Iwagakure's counterintelligence efforts had been especially tight these past few days.
While Hagoromo's thoughts raced, Iwagakure's army—nearly ten thousand strong—began to move.
They marched out of the village.
Advancing toward the Land of Lightning.
Walking toward the battlefield.
Marching toward victory—
Or toward death.
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