Biwa Juzo had officially bitten the dust.
One battle, one result. Hagoromo couldn't guarantee things would go this smoothly a second time, but the truth was, once an enemy fell into the paralysis range of the Chidori Current, their fate was basically sealed.
Compared to a year ago, his Chidori Current was far more effective.
If there was a turning point in this fight, it was that Juzo shouldn't have chased the fumbled Kakashi. He should have kept his focus entirely on Hagoromo.
If Juzo had been a Sand ninja, he probably wouldn't have been so relaxed around Hagoromo. Unfortunately, the fame of the White Yaksha didn't carry the same weight in every village.
Besides, being attacked from both front and back is something most ninjas simply can't handle.
What was the Sand's strategy for dealing with an Uchiha? Wasn't it a two-on-one sandwich with a back-stab?
As for the fallen Biwa Juzo, what was his final thought?
"To think that the great me would die at the hands of twins like these..."
Well, they might as well have been twins!
Both had white hair, both used Lightning Style, and both were masked.
Hagoromo handed the Kubikiribocho to Kakashi and began searching the body.
He was a bit worried now. If the guy really had been carrying the Byakugan, did that "human honeycomb" iron sand attack accidentally puncture the eyeball?
Would the Hyuga clan make him pay for it?
The real priority was ensuring the Byakugan didn't stay in the hands of anyone outside the Hyuga. Whether it was brought back to Konoha or destroyed on the spot didn't make much difference.
They weren't like certain relatives who had a twisted hobby of collecting eyes.
After tossing aside various junk, Hagoromo actually found it!
A transparent glass container filled with green liquid, with a white object floating inside.
The mission was finished just like that? Hagoromo looked closer, then curled his lip and tossed the item to Kakashi.
Of course it wasn't that simple.
"The Byakugan?" Kakashi asked, skipping the inspection and going straight to Hagoromo.
Hagoromo replied:
"Byakugan?"
"Keep it for yourself if you want to play ping-pong."
It was a fake, plain as day. Even Hagoromo could tell—it was just a small wooden ball painted white. It wasn't even a disguise; it was an insult.
If you don't play ping-pong, you could always use it for prayer beads.
The items on the body were few, and the intel revealed was even less. Regarding their mission... it was practically zero.
Leaving Juzo's corpse behind, the two continued their advance toward the Land of Whirlpools.
Hagoromo didn't spare a thought for the dead enemy, and Kakashi cared even less.
Regrettably, even though they had cleanly eliminated a Jonin, their mission had to continue.
The squad's objective was the Byakugan. Until they secured the prize, no matter what they achieved, the mission remained incomplete in the eyes of a ninja.
Even if they killed the Third Mizukage, the mission wouldn't end without that eye.
Konoha estimated that to get the Byakugan off the island, the Mist ninjas would likely split up to break the blockade. This would scatter Konoha's focus, as everyone except the actual carrier was a decoy.
If they moved as a group, their combat power would be higher, but they'd be easily spotted by Konoha's detection net and surrounded.
Simply put, the Mist was trying to avoid getting wiped out in one go.
Judging by the fact that Hagoromo's team only ran into one enemy, and that enemy was a Seven Swordsman carrying a ping-pong ball, Konoha's theory was likely correct.
Juzo was clearly one of the faster ninjas. He had already left the island and reached the outer sea. A bit further and he would have been at the very edge of Konoha's blockade.
For a ninja of his caliber, if he had dived into the detection net and avoided the Hyuga clusters, he probably could have broken through.
He could have then caused chaos on the outside, potentially collapsing the entire blockade and allowing the rest of the Mist ninjas to escape.
The ideal was beautiful, but the reality was skeletal. He had the misfortune of running into the twins.
Afterward, Hagoromo and Kakashi continued searching their assigned sector of the sea, but found no new enemies for the time being.
"The first phase of the mission is done. No more enemies on the water. Next, we head inland—searching the ruins of the old Land of Whirlpools."
At the shoreline, Hagoromo crouched down and drew a simplified map in the sand with a small stick.
Each ninja team was responsible for a fan-shaped sector. It was widest at the outer sea and narrowed as they moved inward. However, once they entered the complex terrain of the island, the teams would essentially begin free search and hunting.
"Our squad is among the fastest. Once we head inland, I'm not sure if Konoha or the Mist has the upper hand in raw numbers. We need to be extra careful."
Hagoromo gave the warning.
The situation on the island was currently unknown. If Minato was inland and happened to find the enemy before they split up, he might have wiped them all out by himself.
Hagoromo had no memory of a Byakugan retrieval plot from the original story, so he didn't know if Konoha succeeded or failed. His presence was a variable; it was quite possible that in the original timeline, Kakashi hadn't even been on this mission.
Everything was still filled with uncertainty.
The island's terrain was complex—not just forests and mountains, but abandoned cities and ninja villages.
After the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, the remaining buildings provided perfect cover for ninjas. This could easily turn into a long-term operation.
Minato acting with extreme efficiency was the ideal scenario, but it was also possible he hadn't found a single enemy yet.
So Hagoromo gave his two reminders: watch out for enemies, and prepare for a long fight.
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