For Hagoromo, he wasn't sure whether it was just his imagination, but being Minato's bodyguard felt extremely exhausting.
To keep up with the Yellow Flash's godlike speed and unpredictable movements, he had to watch in all directions at once, listen to everything around him, and maintain constant high-frequency, high-speed movement.
The worst part was that just when he finally managed to reach Minato's side—
—the next instant, Minato would vanish again.
Hagoromo felt utterly drained.
Was he serving as a bodyguard… or chasing after a girl?
If Namikaze Minato were female, his capture difficulty would absolutely be MAX. No one would ever even get close.
Thus, Hagoromo became a boy chasing the wind.
And now he was certain—this wasn't an illusion.
This was genuinely exhausting.
More precisely, it was painfully exhausting.
The Yellow Flash charged straight into a cluster of enemies, instantly killing three to five of them—
—and then disappeared again.
Leaving behind a group of completely dumbfounded Iwagakure shinobi.
And one equally dumbfounded Hagoromo.
Because by the time Minato vanished—
Hagoromo had just arrived.
And so, he found himself surrounded by Iwa shinobi.
…Wasn't the future Fourth Hokage being a little unethical here?
Hagoromo had already made up his mind.
If the Third Hokage didn't give him a raise, didn't add combat bonuses or hazard pay during this bodyguard assignment—
He would quit.
Absolutely quit.
"Capture White Yaksha alive!"
…Wait.
Did his ears just glitch, or did an Iwa shinobi really shout that?
In the middle of a battlefield, capture alive?
What kind of twisted play was that supposed to be?
Still, if the Iwa shinobi had to choose between targets, they would obviously rather deal with Hagoromo than Minato.
Even in his Chidori Current state, Hagoromo's movements—while fast—were at least traceable.
Minato, on the other hand, specialized in spontaneous disappearances.
By now, Iwagakure's intelligence network had finally figured something out.
They had identified the Konoha spy who had infiltrated Iwa ranks during their earlier clash with Kumogakure.
It was Konoha's White Yaksha.
Jōnin Shiraishi Hagoromo.
Back then, he had still been a chūnin.
As far as Iwagakure was concerned, Hagoromo had already been officially labeled as the culprit behind:
The assassination of the Third Raikage
And the brutal killing of an Iwa commander—Huangtu, son of the Third Tsuchikage
Hagoromo had never deliberately committed atrocities on the battlefield.
But from Iwagakure's perspective, Huangtu (Third Tsuchikage's son)'s death had indeed been… ugly.
First, he was struck head-on by an S-rank Lightning Release.
Then, he was engulfed by an extremely large-scale Fire Release.
His remains had looked less like a body and more like something that had been stir-fried first—
—and then charcoal-grilled.
One could imagine the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki's mood at the time.
Even believing that Hagoromo had already been killed did little to calm his fury.
Later, when intelligence arrived stating that Hagoromo was still alive and active around Kirigakure—
Ōnoki realized he had been played.
His mood afterward was… self-explanatory.
Unfortunately for Iwagakure, neither the Raikage incident nor Huangtu (Third Tsuchikage's son)'s death were things they could openly publicize.
After all, from start to finish, it had been the work of a single Konoha shinobi.
Thus, the Third Raikage incident was classified at the highest level within Iwa. Only a minority knew the full truth.
That didn't stop Ōnoki from issuing a clear order:
If Shiraishi Hagoromo is encountered on the battlefield, all Iwagakure shinobi are to prioritize killing him.
For Hagoromo, that was definitely not good news.
But the Tsuchikage's orders were not something the group in front of him could realistically carry out.
Regardless of whether anyone had actually shouted about capturing him alive, Hagoromo charged straight toward the layers of enemies before him.
Facing the bolt of lightning rushing toward them like an arrow, the Iwa shinobi's first instinct was to defend.
Several of them combined their efforts to raise Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall, a thick barrier stretching across Hagoromo's path.
Objectively speaking, this was a poor choice.
If Earth-Style Wall could stop Hagoromo, it would be fine.
If it couldn't—
—it would work against them.
The wall blocked their own line of sight, preventing them from responding properly to Hagoromo's attack.
After all, if you couldn't see—
How could you react in time?
As he closed in on the Iwa defensive line, Hagoromo shifted from a forward thrust to lateral movement. His right hand grabbed his left wrist—
—and a ten-meter blade erupted into existence.
A blade of lightning.
Chidori Sharp Spear.
The spear pierced straight into the Earth-Style Wall, and as Hagoromo moved at high speed, the wall was sliced apart without the slightest resistance—
—along with the Iwa shinobi behind it who failed to dodge in time.
After cutting through the line from beginning to end, Hagoromo didn't even look back to assess the damage.
He immediately turned, preparing to deal with enemies to his sides and rear.
But when he looked—
The enemies on both flanks had already been completely "blackened."
Hagoromo didn't have any prejudice against insect techniques, but this scene was genuinely hard on the eyes.
Human-shaped figures completely covered in writhing black insects—
It was… a lot.
He shifted his gaze again.
The situation behind him was far more violent.
There was a legendary technique said to descend from the heavens—
Partial Expansion Jutsu.
A massive palm slammed down from above with a thunderous boom.
That wasn't all.
After smashing the enemy into the ground with his left hand, Akimichi Chōza followed up by clenching his right fist and hammering it straight onto the back of his left hand.
Was he worried the first hit hadn't killed them?
Hagoromo's eye twitched.
That second strike was completely unnecessary.
The first slap alone guaranteed there was nothing left to kill.
As for the psychological impact area of the Iwa shinobi who had just been flattened—
It was probably much larger than Chōza's palm print.
The three of them, each with a single decisive strike, did not completely eliminate the surrounding enemies.
But they didn't linger.
None of them were the type to lose themselves in slaughter due to battlefield adrenaline. From beginning to end, they never forgot their mission.
Which meant—
Minato.
Minato.
Where exactly had he gone this time?
Once they located Minato's position, the three immediately disengaged and withdrew.
Strike once—then leave.
The Iwa shinobi observing their movements finally understood something.
These three Konoha ninja never strayed far from Minato.
They were the Yellow Flash's guards.
Mud clung to trouser legs. Sweat soaked through backs.
I don't know who you are,
But I know who you're doing this for.
Whether due to psychological factors—or simply because of supply shortages—
Perhaps Iwa shinobi hadn't eaten properly.
Whatever the reason, Hagoromo could clearly feel that their combat effectiveness was weaker than before.
Their stubborn, head-on ferocity was gone.
After accompanying Minato through several engagements, a sharp, piercing whistle rang out from the rear of Konoha's forces.
The signal—
This assault was over.
Minato's squad naturally remained behind as the final unit to withdraw.
After all, as long as Minato stood there—
Even if he did absolutely nothing—
He alone was enough to severely slow Iwagakure's pursuit.
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