"So… Sasori of the Red Sand just left like that?"
Kurenai Yūhi asked in disbelief, her expression clearly saying I don't buy it.
"Of course he left. Otherwise, I wouldn't be standing here in one piece," Hagoromo replied calmly.
"Given that I deliberately moved toward the Konoha frontline, if Sasori didn't want to be surrounded by Konoha shinobi, withdrawing was the logical choice."
The three exchanged looks.
They clearly didn't believe him.
That was Sasori of the Red Sand, not some random nobody.
During the time Hagoromo was gone, Asuma had evidently given Kurenai and Yamashiro Aoba a thorough explanation of who Sasori was and what kind of shinobi he represented.
Only then did they fully grasp what kind of monster Hagoromo had supposedly escaped from.
Which was precisely why his casual explanation—"Yeah, I just got away"—felt completely unrealistic.
"I kept Sasori occupied while retreating toward the Konoha–Iwagakure frontline," Hagoromo continued.
"Once he entered the Land of Fire and realized where I was heading, he chose to disengage in order to avoid being encircled."
That was his entire summary of the extremely dangerous battle.
Too simple. Too blunt.
And frankly—completely unscientific.
Was Sasori really the kind of shinobi who feared being surrounded? Usually, he was the one surrounding others.
The more reasonable version would've been:
I stalled Sasori while retreating toward the frontline… and then I died.
That would've matched the obvious gap in strength.
Instead, Hagoromo returned alive—and barely injured.
That was the unbelievable part.
Still, Hagoromo clearly had no intention of elaborating further. Especially not on the details of the fight.
After all, he had used techniques that—according to his previous explanations—should theoretically still be sealed away at this point.
Likewise, he had no intention of telling his teammates that the long-missing Third Kazekage had in fact been killed by Sasori.
So although Hagoromo Squad withdrew under the pretense of delivering urgent intelligence to headquarters, the other three didn't actually know what that intelligence was.
At the moment, they were en route to the command center.
Yamashiro Aoba supported Asuma as they moved, which naturally limited the squad's speed.
Using summons for travel… unless it was an emergency, that was best avoided.
First, such a large target was far too conspicuous—and overly conspicuous shinobi tended to die young.
Second, Hagoromo's chakra reserves were limited and needed to be conserved.
For the sake of safety, Hagoromo deliberately avoided the shortest and fastest route.
That path would've required traveling along the Land of Fire's border, where Konoha, Amegakure, and Kusagakure forces overlapped. Encounters with enemy shinobi were highly likely—and with an injured teammate, further combat was unacceptable.
Instead, Hagoromo chose a V-shaped route.
They first moved deeper into the Land of Fire, entering an area fully under Konoha's control, before turning toward the command center.
This maximized the squad's safety.
Besides, while the intelligence was important, it wasn't immediately urgent.
Sasori had appeared along the border, but he had already withdrawn back into the Land of Rain.
That chaotic country was perfect for a missing-nin like him to hide in. Entering the Land of Fire would've been the exact opposite.
By common sense, Sasori posed no immediate threat to Konoha.
After more than a day of travel along the safe route, Hagoromo Squad finally reached Konoha's command center on the Iwagakure frontline.
At that point, the four split up.
Kurenai escorted Asuma directly to the medical unit—he needed treatment from professional medical-nin to deal with the injuries inflicted by a certain teammate's well-meaning kick.
Yamashiro Aoba went to submit the squad's mission report.
And Hagoromo—
Hagoromo went straight to Jiraiya.
Name reported. Face checked.
He was quickly ushered in to see the highest-ranking officer on the frontline.
Before the meeting, Hagoromo had already stated that he was reporting top-secret intelligence, so the only person present was Jiraiya himself.
Jiraiya sat behind a desk. Whether the room had always been empty or others had been dismissed because of Hagoromo's arrival was unclear.
The moment Hagoromo entered, his new equipment made Jiraiya pause.
…Why did this kid look like he'd turned himself into some kind of gourd-carrying warrior?
Still, that wasn't the important part.
What mattered was the "top-secret intelligence" Hagoromo claimed to possess. Jiraiya knew better than to think this was a joke—even if Hagoromo was young.
"Hagoromo, if I remember correctly, your squad's mission was to infiltrate the Land of Rain," Jiraiya said seriously.
"Is this about new movements from Hanzō?"
Given the situation, Jiraiya's first thought naturally went to Amegakure. Had Hanzō finally begun moving again?
Hagoromo shook his head.
He didn't beat around the bush.
"It's not about Amegakure. Our close-range reconnaissance confirmed that the Rain Village's outposts have indeed seen a significant reduction in manpower. That information is already being submitted in detail through official channels."
"But what I'm reporting is far more serious."
Jiraiya's expression sharpened.
"What did you find?"
"First, during our withdrawal from the Land of Rain, we encountered Pakura of Sunagakure."
"After a brief exchange, we were able to disengage due to special circumstances. At the time, we didn't know her objective—but that didn't last long."
"She didn't tell us herself. Rather, just before we left the Land of Rain, we encountered her mission target."
"S-rank missing-nin—Sasori of the Red Sand."
"Sasori?" Jiraiya reacted instantly.
"Are you certain?"
Sasori appearing near the Land of Fire's border was already major intelligence.
What Jiraiya didn't yet know—
Was that the real bombshell was still coming.
"We confirmed it was Sasori. The enemy attacked first. Given the disparity in strength, I prioritized evacuating my teammates and stayed behind to stall him alone."
"..."
Jiraiya fell silent.
He couldn't tell whether this was admirable self-sacrifice or reckless arrogance.
Hagoromo clearly knew who Sasori was—yet still chose to face him alone.
That alone earned Jiraiya's respect.
But Hagoromo wasn't saying this to show off.
"What follows was my personal encounter," he continued.
"So this part is necessarily one-sided."
"During the fight, Sasori revealed a very unusual puppet."
"Unusual?" Jiraiya frowned.
What could be unusual about a puppet—did Sasori finally start making monstrosities?
"It was a human puppet. And the identity of the corpse used to make it was extraordinary."
"It was the Third Kazekage."
"The strongest Kazekage. Long missing. His body was turned into a puppet."
"Based on Sasori's own words, it can be inferred that the Kazekage was killed by him—most likely shortly before Sasori defected from Sunagakure."
Jiraiya shot to his feet.
"The Third Kazekage… killed by Sasori?!"
This was no longer just major intelligence.
This was earth-shattering.
Hagoromo continued calmly,
"After a brief clash, once I escaped into the Land of Fire, Sasori likely grew wary of Konoha's response and withdrew."
"Based on his behavior, it's highly probable that he'll hide within the chaos of the Land of Rain."
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