To Hagoromo, he wasn't sure if it was just an illusion, but he felt that being Minato's bodyguard was an incredibly exhausting job.
Because in order to keep up with the "Yellow Flash's" godlike speed and elusive movements, he had to keep his eyes and ears open in all directions, and constantly make high-frequency, high-speed movements.
The main issue was that just as he finally managed to catch up to Minato's side, the next instant, Minato would vanish again... Hagoromo felt thoroughly mentally exhausted. Was he acting as a bodyguard, or chasing a girl?
If Minato Namikaze's gender were female, the difficulty level of conquering him would absolutely be maxed out; absolutely no one would even be able to touch the hem of his skirt.
And so, Hagoromo became the youth who chased the wind.
Furthermore, he now knew that his feeling of this being "incredibly exhausting" was not an illusion; it genuinely was incredibly exhausting. More accurately, this feeling was called a major pain in the ass.
The esteemed Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, charged into a cluster of enemies, instantly killed three or five of them, and then instantly flew away again, leaving behind a group of completely bewildered enemies.
And a completely bewildered Hagoromo.
Because Hagoromo had just arrived exactly when Minato left.
As a result, he was surrounded by a bunch of Hidden Stone ninjas... Uh, why did it feel like the future Fourth Hokage wasn't acting very honorably?
Hagoromo had already made up his mind. During his tenure as Minato's bodyguard, if the Third Hokage didn't give him a raise and add a field operation allowance, he would resign.
Absolutely resign.
"Capture the White Yaksha alive!"
Wait... Was Hagoromo hearing things, or did a Hidden Stone ninja actually just yell that? But in this kind of battle, what did "capture alive" even mean? What kind of twisted play was this?
However, comparing the two, if the Hidden Stone ninjas had to choose, they naturally preferred dealing with Hagoromo over Minato. Even though Hagoromo in his Chidori Current state was very fast, his movements at least had a traceable trajectory, unlike Minato, who pulled a missing-persons act at the drop of a hat.
That Konoha ninja was the "White Yaksha," Jonin Kamishiro Hagoromo, although he was only a Chunin at the time.
Therefore, within the Hidden Stone, Hagoromo had already been confirmed as the chief culprit who assassinated the Third Raikage and brutally murdered the Hidden Stone commander, Kitsuchi, son of the Third Tsuchikage.
Although Hagoromo had never deliberately committed atrocities on the battlefield, in the eyes of the Hidden Stone, Captain Kitsuchi's state of death was truly not a pretty sight. First, he was struck directly by an S-rank Lightning Style, and then he was fully hit by an ultra-scale Fire Style. His remains looked like they had been stir-fried first, and then charcoal-grilled...
One could imagine the Third Tsuchikage's mood at the time. Even his initial belief that he had instantly killed Hagoromo wasn't enough to calm him down.
But later, when intelligence arrived that Hagoromo was still alive and operating in the Hidden Mist, Onoki knew he had been played. One could imagine his mood after that.
Unfortunately for the Hidden Stone, neither the matter with the Raikage nor the incident with Kitsuchi were worth publicizing, because from beginning to end, all the damage was done by just that one Konoha ninja.
So the intelligence regarding the Raikage incident was classified within the Hidden Stone; not many people actually knew the full details. However, this didn't prevent the Tsuchikage from issuing a targeted order: if they encountered the Konoha ninja Hagoromo during the war, the entire Hidden Stone force must act with a single mind to prioritize killing him.
This was truly not good news for Hagoromo, but accomplishing the mission the Tsuchikage had assigned was likely impossible for the people currently in front of him.
Regardless of whether someone actually yelled about capturing him alive, Hagoromo charged directly at the layers of enemies in front of him.
Faced with a mass of lightning charging straight at them like an arrow, the immediate reaction of the ninjas directly in front was to instinctively choose to defend.
Several Hidden Stone ninjas jointly used Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall, raising an earthen wall horizontally to block Hagoromo's path.
However, it had to be said that this was not a very good choice. If the Earth-Style Wall managed to block Hagoromo, that was fine, but if it couldn't, it would have the opposite effect.
While the Earth-Style Wall provided defense, it also blocked the Hidden Stone ninjas' own line of sight, making them unable to respond to Hagoromo's attack in time.
If they couldn't even see him, how could they react promptly?
As he closed in on the Hidden Stone ninjas' defensive perimeter, Hagoromo changed his longitudinal thrust into a lateral movement. His right hand gripped his left wrist, and a ten-meter-long blade abruptly unsheathed.
And it was the electrical kind.
The Chidori Sharp Spear first sliced directly into the Earth-Style Wall. Then, following Hagoromo's rapid movement, the Earth-Style Wall's defense was instantly sliced open without any hindrance... along with the Hidden Stone ninjas behind it who couldn't dodge in time.
After slashing from one end to the other, Hagoromo didn't even look at the results of his attack. Instead, he immediately turned around, preparing to deal with the enemies on his flanks and rear.
But when he turned around, he found that the enemies on his flanks had already thoroughly blackened and were flailing wildly... Hagoromo had no prejudice against bug-users, but this scene truly tested one's senses. Humanoid shapes covered in pitch-black, constantly squirming bugs really looked quite... something.
Hagoromo shifted his gaze. As for the rear, it was much more brutal.
Rumor has it there is a palm technique that descends from the heavens, called... Partial Multi-Size Jutsu.
Choza Akimichi's massive hand slammed viciously down onto the enemies from above, emitting a loud BOOM.
And that wasn't all. After his left palm smashed the enemies into the ground, his right hand immediately formed a fist and smashed hard onto the back of his left hand.
Was he worried he wouldn't crush them to death with just one slap?
Hagoromo's eye twitched. That second punch was redundant. The first slap was enough to ensure the enemies couldn't be any deader, buddy.
As for the psychological area of the flattened Hidden Stone ninjas right now... well, it was definitely much larger than Choza's palm print.
The individual strikes from the three of them couldn't completely dismantle all the surrounding enemies, but they didn't linger in combat. Rationally speaking, these three wouldn't become immersed in slaughter due to the battlefield's influence; from beginning to end, they never forgot their mission.
Therefore...
Minato, Minato, where the hell did you go?
After locating Minato's trail, the three of them disengaged and retreated immediately, executing a hit-and-run.
The Hidden Stone ninjas who had been observing the movements of these three finally understood. These three Konoha ninjas never left Minato's vicinity; they must be the Yellow Flash's bodyguards.
Mud covers your pant legs, sweat drenches your back, I don't know who you are, but I know who you're doing it for.
It could be a psychological factor, or it could genuinely be due to supply issues causing the Hidden Stone ninjas to lack stamina from not eating. Regardless, during the engagement, Hagoromo genuinely felt that the enemy's combat power was somewhat weaker compared to before, and they lacked that indomitable, stubborn resilience.
After staying active with Minato for a while, a loud whistle blew from the rear of the Konoha assault force, signaling the end of this offensive.
Minato's squad naturally stayed behind to cover the retreat. After all, as long as Minato himself stood there, even if he did absolutely nothing, it would greatly delay the Hidden Stone's pursuit.
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