Hagoromo had already done some homework on Kumogakure's A–B duo.
Throughout history, once a shinobi officially became the Raikage, he would take the name "A". Long before that, he would select another shinobi from within Kumogakure to serve as his partner—or brother—who would take the name "B."
As for who the Third Raikage's "B" had been, Hagoromo didn't know. Given the course of the war, that person might very well have died before the Raikage himself.
As for the current A–B duo—
"A" was the son of the Third Raikage.
From that alone, it was clear that since he already bore the name "A" and stood as part of this duo, he had effectively been designated as the Fourth Raikage's successor.
Considering how the Third Raikage had died—standing alone, ready to sacrifice himself to block Iwagakure—this designation had likely been made long ago.
As for "B"—
He was known as Killer B.
The name itself wasn't the important part.
His identity was.
He was the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.
And according to Konoha's intelligence, he was a Jinchūriki capable of perfectly controlling his tailed beast's power.
That was absurdly dangerous.
The future Fourth Raikage had the strength to dominate Kumogakure's shinobi, and his partner was a perfect Jinchūriki.
This combination was not just difficult to deal with—
It was outright troublesome.
Jiraiya's warning had been more than justified.
"Jinchūriki are the highest-priority targets," Minato said as the squad advanced at high speed, issuing orders as they moved.
"As for A—considering he'll likely become the Fourth Raikage, we should avoid killing him if possible."
The moment he said that, the others froze for a split second.
Then Hagoromo understood.
Minato was already thinking about ending the war.
If peace talks were to happen, Kumogakure needed someone who could make decisions.
Right now, that person was almost certainly A.
Based on what Konoha knew of Kumo's internal structure, he might even be the only viable option.
So he needed to live.
Of course, sparing A had both advantages and disadvantages.
On the downside, he was a Kage-level combatant—a massive threat on the battlefield. Keeping him alive also meant unifying Kumogakure's will, making them even harder to fight.
Right now, the disadvantages were immediate.
The benefits were distant.
But this was the kind of calculation meant for people like Minato and the Third Hokage.
Not Hagoromo.
His job was simply to follow orders.
And in any case, Minato's words weren't an absolute command—just a priority.
What to do in the end would depend on how the battle unfolded.
If necessary, the future Fourth Raikage could still be killed.
At the very least, breaking a few limbs was perfectly acceptable.
As for Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki—
A Jinchūriki who could remain rational and control a tailed beast's power was a super-class battlefield threat.
He was the top target for Minato's squad.
If someone like that wasn't killed—
Then who should be?
"Something's off."
As the distance closed, Aburame Shibi suddenly spoke again.
"Minato, there are indeed two enemies… but one of them has very ordinary chakra."
"For a normal shinobi, it's respectable—but compared to the other, it's far weaker. That doesn't match the intelligence saying A and B are evenly matched."
Minato didn't slow down.
He paused briefly, then said,
"Whether it's the A–B duo or not, one of them is undeniably a high-level threat. That alone makes them our target. We proceed as planned."
Shibi's sensing was extremely reliable.
If there really was a powerful presence—
Then it needed to be eliminated.
It was early morning.
The weather was clear, and sunlight filtered through the forest canopy.
Guided by Shibi's sensing, Minato's squad soon located the two enemies.
"Confirmed targets?" Minato asked with a hand signal, even though the figures were already in sight.
Shibi nodded without hesitation.
Then there was no reason to delay.
Enemy or not—
They had to strike.
"Who's there?"
A young female voice called out, sharp with vigilance.
As her words fell, Minato and Akimichi Chōza stepped out from the trees.
Given Minato's reputation—someone who could make Konoha children cry from inspiration, and children from other villages cry from terror—the moment he appeared, the two enemies recognized him.
"It's the Yellow Flash of the Leaf… What do we do? Retreat?" one of them asked.
She was young, but her reaction was correct.
She didn't panic, even when facing someone utterly unbeatable.
"It's already too late," the other replied calmly.
"If you turn your back on a shinobi like that, you'll only be killed from behind. If death is inevitable, it's better to face it head-on."
Every village had cowards.
And every village had warriors unafraid of the strong.
For such young kunoichi to speak like this—
That was Kumogakure.
"If possible, I don't want to kill you," Minato said.
"But this is the battlefield. And you are Kumogakure shinobi."
His gaze fell on their forehead protectors.
Those symbols defined their identity—
And sealed their fate.
There was regret in his voice.
Even without sympathy, the two could tell his words were sincere.
This wasn't hypocrisy.
What Minato regretted was simple:
One of the two looked about the same age as Hagoromo.
The other was even younger.
And yet—
They were about to die.
That was war.
No matter how unwilling, some things had to be done.
Konoha had no prior intelligence on these two, so Minato didn't recognize them. But if his teammate had identified one of them as a major threat—
Then she had to be eliminated.
In truth, one of them was named Nii Yugito.
She was the threat.
Because she was Kumogakure's new Two-Tails Jinchūriki.
This was her first appearance on the battlefield as a Jinchūriki, which was why Konoha had no intelligence on her yet.
And her very first mission—
Had her run into Namikaze Minato.
Talk about winning the worst possible lottery.
The blonde kunoichi beside her was Samui, currently only a chūnin.
Minato's words were effectively the order to attack.
Yet despite Minato and Chōza standing at the front—
The first strike came from Hagoromo, hidden within the forest.
From Shibi's perspective, he saw Hagoromo reach back with his left hand.
Lightning flashed.
And suddenly, a fully metal bow appeared in his grasp.
Not metaphorically metal—
The bow itself, even the string, was iron.
Then Hagoromo's right hand moved.
A metal arrow appeared.
Morning dew danced on the leaves, occasionally dampening Hagoromo's hair.
Now, he intended to let the sunlight-drenched forest—
Change its shape.
He drew the bow.
Aimed straight at Yugito's head.
Lightning erupted along the arrow.
In the next instant—
The thunderous bolt was already before Yugito's eyes, filling her pupils as it expanded rapidly.
This—
Was what it meant to be an arrow loosed from the string.
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