Hagoromo felt he needed to personally write the character utter submission.
Having lived two lifetimes, he was completely, thoroughly convinced.
From the moment the Third Raikage charged alone into enemy ranks until now, he hadn't uttered a single word. There was no roar, no declaration—only killing. Killing. And more killing.
This was a true war machine.
The way the Raikage used Lightning Release was entirely different from Hagoromo's own approach. It was another extreme—an extreme Hagoromo simply could not reach.
It was immensely instructive.
…Though only as a reference. Hagoromo knew full well that he could never replicate this method. It likely had everything to do with the Raikage's abnormal physical constitution.
The scale of the war wasn't fifteen thousand, as Hagoromo had estimated.
It was 10,001.
One man versus ten thousand—and somehow, the battle was balanced.
That shattered Hagoromo's expectations. Only now did he truly understand how much he had underestimated shinobi.
So this was what "ninja" could mean.
By now, Iwagakure's army had been engaged with the Third Raikage for a full day and night.
No one had kept an exact count, but the number of Stone ninja killed by him had already surpassed four digits.
Though he was periodically subjected to concentrated attacks, the damage Iwagakure managed to inflict on him was negligible.
Judging from the intensity of his Lightning Release, the Raikage was still brimming with stamina—showing no signs of fatigue.
From Hagoromo's perspective, Iwagakure's commanders were being stubborn to the point of idiocy.
No matter how strong the enemy was, he was still just one man.
At this point, they should have split their forces—leave part of the army to contain the Raikage while the rest continued the advance toward Kumogakure. After all, what was the real objective of this campaign?
No matter how you looked at it, having ten thousand ninja pinned down by a single person was absurd.
…But that was only Hagoromo's outsider logic.
What he didn't understand was what killing the Raikage on the spot meant to battle-hardened Stone ninja.
And even if they did split up—how?
Leave too few behind, and they'd fail to restrain the Third Raikage.
Send too few forward, and they'd be slaughtered by Kumogakure's defenses.
Either way, it would only increase meaningless casualties.
Thus, the Stone command reached a single conclusion:
No matter the cost, the Third Raikage must die first.
Stone ninja did not fear sacrifice.
Whatever the price, they would eliminate him.
Their formation shifted completely.
Like an enormous Eight Trigrams Array, layers upon layers of ninja sealed the battlefield, trapping the Third Raikage at the very center.
Within that inner circle, the only one capable of exchanging blows with him—however briefly—was the man Hagoromo had noticed earlier.
Kitsuchi.
Of course, the Raikage's dominance was also partially due to chakra affinity.
Iwagakure fielded an overwhelming number of Earth Release users—many of whom were naturally suppressed by Lightning Release.
Regardless of how long the Raikage could hold out, surrounded like this, his end was likely inevitable.
Still—
The courage to face ten thousand enemies alone?
That was the resolve of a true man.
"One against a thousand" was nothing.
The Third Raikage seemed determined to take on ten thousand.
Perhaps the moment he chose to stand alone and block the enemy advance—
He had already accepted death.
Hagoromo didn't have the luxury of contemplating a hero's psychology.
No matter how much he respected the Raikage—
He was still the enemy.
Still the mission target.
And so, there was something Hagoromo had to do.
"…It's about time."
He took a deep breath.
He could no longer allow Iwagakure to waste precious time here.
If his judgment was correct, then during the time the Raikage had bought with his life, Kumogakure would already be reorganizing its forces and constructing a layered defensive counterattack.
The longer this stalemate dragged on, the worse it became for Iwagakure.
After a full day and night, Kumo's preparations were likely complete—enough to bog Iwa's lightning strike down into a quagmire.
Mutual destruction would be most beneficial to Konoha.
And by now, the Raikage had already inflicted crippling losses on the Stone army.
Pushing aside the ninja in front of him with rough motions, Hagoromo began moving forward.
One step.
Then another.
Closing in on the battlefield's center—
On the Third Raikage.
There were always ninja around who recognized Yoshida.
So seeing "Yoshida" walking toward the center of the battlefield left them dumbfounded.
This guy hadn't pissed himself and fled—fine.
But now he was actually advancing into the killing zone?
Were their eyes broken?
Or had Yoshida finally snapped and chosen suicide?
Even jōnin were dying to a single finger from the Raikage—what chance did Yoshida have?
Hagoromo hadn't yet released the Transformation Technique, but he no longer bothered controlling his expression.
Gone was the usual cowardly look—his face was now solemn.
In this chaos, he wasn't afraid of exposure.
Even if he exposed himself, it wouldn't matter.
The closer he moved to the center, the stronger the surrounding ninja became.
Amid the confusion, his Transformation Technique quietly dispersed.
No one noticed.
He still wore Iwagakure's standard mission uniform, his face hidden behind a white mask. There was no gourd on his back—that would've been far too conspicuous.
Now, Hagoromo stood at the innermost ring.
One ninja stood directly in front of him.
Beyond that—
A circular clearing.
And beyond that—
The Raikage.
He was right there.
The ninja ahead of him stood tense, ready to charge at any moment.
Hagoromo reached out and patted the man's shoulder—boldly, openly.
He spoke quickly and clearly.
"I'm from ANBU. I have a forbidden technique that might be able to pierce the Raikage's defense.
Please stay still for now and help block my presence."
"…!"
"Understood!"
"Good. When you receive my signal, dodge to the right!"
The man didn't doubt him at all.
Because Hagoromo was a "comrade."
And because Lightning Release was already flaring around him—
That aura of destruction was enough to convince anyone of the jutsu's power.
Maybe it really could break the Raikage's defense.
After all, the Third Raikage was effectively a target.
No one could damage him—but that didn't mean it was impossible.
If Ōnoki had been here, the Raikage wouldn't be so invincible.
A single hit from Dust Release would've been enough.
At that moment, the Raikage was engaged with over twenty Stone ninja.
He noticed the Lightning Release flaring thirty meters away—but paid it little attention.
At that distance, Lightning Release techniques rarely reached full power.
More importantly—
He had absolute confidence in his defense.
Hagoromo held his shot, waiting until the Raikage was perfectly locked in.
Then—
BOOM.
The Stone ninja shielding him exploded like an overripe melon—blood and gore spraying everywhere.
Hagoromo had lied.
There was no signal.
The blood mist obscured vision, but through it—
An orange-gold beam pierced straight through the Raikage's left chest—
And the heart within.
The Lightning Release: passed cleanly through his body.
No explosion.
Could flesh truly be this durable?
Then—
The Raikage's attack halted.
His Lightning Release Chakra Mode was still active—
But behind him—
BOOM.
Another Stone ninja exploded.
A rain of blood fell over the battlefield.
Lightning arcs danced along Hagoromo's outstretched arm.
Though only one trajectory was visible, Hagoromo hadn't taken chances.
Unable to accurately judge the Raikage's defense, he had fired a triple-shot Lightning Release:—
All at the same point.
No physical body could withstand that.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Hagoromo's white hair was stained red as he walked forward slowly.
No Stone ninja moved.
The Third Raikage—
Was still alive.
He turned toward Hagoromo, blood pouring from a thumb-thick hole in his chest, the wound charred black.
Then—
He stepped forward.
"Careful!"
A Stone ninja actually shouted a warning to Hagoromo.
The Raikage reached him and drew back his fist.
Hagoromo didn't dodge.
The punch dispersed his hair—
But stopped less than five centimeters from his face.
The Lightning Release extinguished completely.
Hagoromo calmly pulled out a scroll.
Right in front of the Stone ninja—
He sealed the Raikage's body.
When he withdrew the scroll, the battlefield was still frozen.
Even Kitsuchi stood motionless.
Not a sound.
Just then—
What had actually happened?
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