For the moment, Hagoromo ignored the injuries his teammates might have suffered, and he also ignored the Split Hound, which was thrashing in pain and fury. His gaze was locked firmly onto the figure emerging from the forest shadows.
This wasn't a mistake.
Almost instantly, Hagoromo realized that he knew who this was—perfectly.
Why would Sunagakure, at such a critical moment, send Pakura, a jōnin with large-scale destructive capability, away from the battlefield and into the Land of Rain?
The reason was simple: to hunt down a rogue ninja.
Previously, this missing-nin had defected from Sunagakure for no apparent reason, a mystery that had long troubled the village's upper echelon.
Now that intelligence placed him active within the Land of Rain, Sunagakure naturally dispatched pursuers—ideally to bring him back alive.
To capture a powerful rogue ninja, one needed a powerful hunter. And that hunter was Pakura.
Everyone understood that sending anyone below a certain level would be meaningless—nothing more than offering up lives for free.
But could Pakura truly complete such a mission?
Or rather—was Sunagakure's decision to send her even reasonable?
Hagoromo had serious doubts. Very serious doubts.
Hero of Sunagakure? Kekkei Genkai wielder? Pakura of Scorch Release?
She was strong—but her reputation was padded with praise. She was jōnin-level, not Kage-level.
Even combined, all her titles carried less weight than the name of the rogue ninja standing before them.
His name consisted of just one word.
Yet the world called him Sasori of the Red Sand.
Whether before or after his defection, Sasori of the Red Sand had always been his title. From beginning to end, Sunagakure had carried a strange sense of pride in him.
…Perhaps the Fourth Kazekage simply disliked Pakura and deliberately sent her after Sasori. The matchup was fundamentally uneven. Using Scorch Release against a puppeteer? Maybe the Kazekage had intended for her to die.
Leaving that aside—even based on Hagoromo's personal knowledge, he hadn't known Pakura existed at all until recently. Only through Konoha's intelligence network did he learn that Sunagakure possessed such a so-called "hero."
But Sasori?
Even with Hagoromo's incomplete understanding of Naruto history, he knew this charming and dangerous villain all too well.
Whether Pakura's "hero" strength was inflated or not was debatable—but Sasori was undisputed. The man who would later be known as the strongest Kazekage, the Third Kazekage, had been killed by Sasori at the age of fifteen, after which he defected from the village.
That truth remained unknown to the world—but the title genius puppeteer had followed Sasori since childhood.
If Sasori's true human form stood before him, Hagoromo might not recognize him immediately.
But the short, reptile-like figure with the massive tail standing there now left an unforgettable impression.
Hiruko, the puppet body—Sasori's most famous outer shell.
At this point in time, Hiruko wasn't yet clad in the Akatsuki's conspicuous black cloak with red clouds. Instead, it wore a tattered, unremarkable mantle.
The appearance was frankly awful—but knowing who was inside, Hagoromo dared not underestimate him.
After all, if one were to trace the spark that ignited the Third Great Ninja War, it was the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. A vanishing act so complete it was as if he'd eloped with someone.
Hagoromo knew the truth.
The one responsible was standing right in front of him.
What kind of twisted love-and-hate story existed between those two? Hagoromo didn't know—and even the most hardcore Naruto fan wouldn't either.
All he knew was this:
Sasori of the Red Sand was terrifyingly strong.
Though only a few years older than Hagoromo, Sasori was a genuine Kage-level shinobi.
Hagoromo had no idea why Sasori launched the ambush, and he wasn't interested in guessing.
Who knew? Maybe psychopaths like him simply felt the urge to kill a few passing ninja on a whim. No grudges, no reasons—try arguing with that.
As for why Hagoromo hadn't detected Sasori's ambush earlier, that was perfectly normal. His sensory method was unusual—distinct from chakra-based sensing—and while it had strengths, it also had weaknesses.
With Sasori hiding inside Hiruko, that kind of isolation made detection extremely difficult.
Even professional sensor-type ninja would struggle to detect a fully prepared ambush by someone of Sasori's caliber—let alone a half-trained sensor like Hagoromo.
So there was no regret over being ambushed.
The real problem was what to do next.
Hiruko advanced slowly, step by step, stopping roughly ten meters in front of Hagoromo.
Hagoromo stared directly into the puppet's eye slits. When he confirmed that Sasori had no intention of advancing further, he spoke.
"How about a deal? The road's wide. You go your way, we go ours. No interference—sound good?"
Sasori didn't respond verbally.
Instead, Hiruko emitted a harsh, rasping laugh.
The tail coiled around the Split Hound tightened, and the beast's howls grew even more frenzied.
Given its size and strength, the Split Hound could have broken free from something as "slender" as a puppet tail—but its current posture made it impossible to exert force. It could only remain bound.
From that laughter alone, it was clear Sasori had no interest in Hagoromo's proposal.
So much for a peaceful resolution.
True pacifists were rare. The squad had already used up all their luck encountering one earlier. Now they'd finally run into the real thing—a genuine monster.
"Your eyes tell me you know who I am," Hiruko tilted its head slightly as Sasori finally spoke in that grating voice.
If this were Sasori's youthful human form, the gesture might have been cute.
In this body?
It was only awkward and ugly.
Kurenai Yūhi supported Asuma as she moved to Hagoromo's side. Yamashiro Aoba stayed to the rear, ready to provide cover.
"Attack together?" Asuma asked. Even in his condition, his fighting instincts were sharp. The enemy had already struck first—avoidance no longer seemed possible.
Aoba prepared to advance as well.
Hagoromo immediately raised his right hand in a stopping gesture.
"I'll hold him here. You three leave first. Regroup at Rally Point B."
"Hold him? Alone?" Kurenai said. "This ninja looks… strong."
She had many words she wanted to use to describe the short, bizarre figure before them—but in the end, strong was all she could manage.
To make the situation absolutely clear, Hagoromo spoke plainly.
"He is strong. Extremely strong. And he's right—I do know who he is."
"If I'm not mistaken… he's Sasori of the Red Sand."
Of course he was strong.
Asuma froze.
Among the four Konoha ninja, aside from Hagoromo, Asuma was the one who best understood what those four words truly meant.
And that made it hard to believe.
"Which Sasori of the Red Sand?"
"..."
What kind of question was that?
Hagoromo didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his chest pocket and pulled out the intelligence map.
Holding the folded map between his index and middle fingers, he flicked his wrist. The map flew in an arc like a shuriken toward Yamashiro Aoba.
Aoba caught it effortlessly.
"Your mission now is to bring that intelligence back to Konoha."
Hagoromo's attitude said everything.
This was Sasori of the Red Sand.
Asuma said nothing more. If that was truly Sasori, then teamwork here meant one thing only—leave Hagoromo behind while the other three fled at full speed.
This had nothing to do with bravery or fear.
Staying would accomplish nothing. Hagoromo Squad's mission was intelligence—and intelligence outweighed the lives of every individual member.
Hagoromo formed hand seals.
B-rank Ninjutsu: Shadow Clone Technique.
The clone moved to the rear, the original stepped forward.
Hagoromo spoke calmly.
"Alright then… kid."
"Let's see if I can drag your real body out of its shell."
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789