"Lord Danzo, Hidden Rain ninjas have arrived ahead to receive us."
Asuma reported to Danzo. After penetrating a certain distance into the Land of Rain, the Rain ninjas finally appeared.
The group of seven was now nearing the Hidden Rain Village.
Hagoromo's squad consisted of four, while Danzo had brought only two subordinates. In their formation, Hagoromo and Asuma led the way, with Aoba and Kurenai bringing up the rear. Positioned securely in the middle were Shimura Danzo and his companions.
Hearing Asuma's report, Danzo's single exposed eye flickered toward the front. He noted the Rain ninjas already making contact with Hagoromo.
He gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
Asuma understood the signal immediately: the team was to continue advancing.
Shimura Danzo had distinct facial features; the upper-right half of his face was almost entirely wrapped in white bandages.
Hagoromo had every reason to suspect that the hidden socket already housed a Sharingan stolen from some unfortunate Uchiha.
Why start modding one's own body? Likely because a ninja like Danzo understood the limits of those born without a Bloodline Limit.
Installing external hardware was undoubtedly the simplest, most feasible, and effective way to break through those limits.
To put it bluntly, if a ninja doesn't use cheats, they hit their ceiling pretty quickly.
Perhaps Danzo truly had come to achieve peace between the Leaf and the Rain, as he had only brought two guards. Through earlier introductions, Hagoromo learned their names: Yamanaka Kohinata and Aburame Yamadou.
Ninjas like these were bound to be high-level Jonin; otherwise, Danzo wouldn't have brought them. However, detailed intelligence on their specific abilities remained unknown to Hagoromo.
Still, based on their surnames, he could easily imagine how they fought.
As for Danzo's original plan, he had likely intended to enter the Rain with just his two men. The addition of Squad Hagoromo was an unexpected development.
This move probably stemmed from Jiraiya's suggestion, eventually gaining the Hokage's approval.
Calling it monitoring Danzo might be a bit much, but the intent was definitely to prevent Danzo from taking secretive actions without the Leaf's knowledge.
The Rain ninjas began leading the way at the front. Hagoromo followed them with extreme caution.
He had to be careful. They were here for peace talks, but Hanzo was the type who could change his mind on a whim. What if this was a lead-up to an ambush?
What surprised Hagoromo was that a man as gloomy as Danzo seemed completely unconcerned. He walked with bold confidence.
Hagoromo glanced back at Danzo's weathered, expressionless face, remembering what had happened just moments ago.
Danzo's side was certainly aware of the mission details, including the fact that a new squad would be joining them.
As for Hagoromo himself, Danzo surely remembered him because of the major intelligence he had brought back earlier.
Anyone looking at Hagoromo's file would conclude the kid was a talented troublemaker. If Hagoromo didn't belong to the Third Hokage's side, Danzo probably would have friendly invited him to defect to Root.
Danzo's trio had first arrived at the Stone front, stayed briefly, and were introduced to Hagoromo's squad by Jiraiya. Once the groups merged, they headed straight for the Land of Rain.
But things weren't that simple.
It was impossible for Danzo not to know the true purpose of Hagoromo's squad. Even if it wasn't full surveillance, it certainly wasn't a favor.
Where there is light, there is shadow. Danzo and his Root represented the darkness hidden within the Leaf—and they were indeed very dark.
They never hesitated to strike when necessary, whether against enemies or their own comrades.
Of course, to shake off the monitoring, they couldn't actually kill Hagoromo's squad. After all, the Hokage's son was standing right there.
So, they took a more refined approach: Genjutsu or mental manipulation.
Just as they left the Land of Fire, Hagoromo was hit by a sudden attack from behind. While leading the way, a burst of electrical sparks suddenly erupted from his head without warning!
The crackling was so intense it looked as if his brain was about to explode!
The sudden turn of events caused the squad to halt instantly, entering a state of high alert. Danzo's group knew exactly what was happening, but the rest of Hagoromo's squad assumed they were under attack by the Rain!
Hagoromo had indeed suffered a mental assault, but it hadn't come from the Rain.
It was either a specialized Genjutsu—possibly from a Sharingan—or a mental intrusion secret technique from the Yamanaka clan!
The source was clear: Danzo.
Did it work? On anyone else, it would have. But unfortunately for them, their primary target was Hagoromo—the squad leader and the strongest member.
They failed.
First, Hagoromo possessed his own mental defenses. Genjutsu was secondary, as it worked on chakra, but he was essentially immune to most forms of mental intrusion.
He had developed his Electromagnetic Shield to a deep level, providing excellent defense against mental attacks—superior even to the original version.
Even not counting that, he had asked Kushina to place multiple seals on his brain. These were all Uzumaki secret techniques, far beyond the reach of standard breaking methods.
This was a precaution for Hagoromo.
There were things in his head that absolutely could not be leaked.
Secondly, a mental intrusion would compromise his calculation speed, weakening his combat power or even rendering his abilities unusable.
He had prepared his defenses well in advance.
Danzo's choice of attack had touched a nerve. Hagoromo wouldn't have cared as much if he'd been stabbed, but this...
The zombies wanted to eat his brains!!
He didn't fully understand Danzo's motive, but electricity began to flicker across his body.
These weren't sparks from a Lightning Style jutsu; they were the raw discharge of his Level 5 ability.
Should he counter-attack? Could he take out Danzo's trio right here?
As his emotions surged, a destructive aura began to radiate from him.
But Hagoromo didn't lose his reason. If he started a fight, things would get complicated. Even in the best-case scenario where he killed Danzo's group, he'd either have to leave the Leaf immediately or kill Asuma and the others to keep them quiet.
He was overthinking it for a moment.
Besides, he didn't know if Danzo would persist.
He didn't. Danzo gave up.
When Hagoromo's hostile stance became unmistakable, the other three members of his squad were left baffled. No enemies? Then who is Hagoromo targeting?
The Aburame and Yamanaka ninjas prepared to step forward, but Danzo raised a hand to stop them at the brink of a clash.
"As expected of Uzumaki's disciple. Truly, young ninjas cannot be measured by common logic... Continue leading the way."
Something like an Electromagnetic Shield was beyond Danzo's understanding, but he guessed Hagoromo had complex Uzumaki seals protecting him from mental intrusion.
His meaning was clear: act as if nothing happened.
He wouldn't try to control Hagoromo's squad again.
Act as if nothing happened? Hagoromo thought about it. That was probably the most appropriate way to handle this.
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