"Lord Danzō, Amegakure shinobi have appeared ahead to receive us."
Sarutobi Asuma reported calmly. After advancing a considerable distance into the Land of Rain, Rain ninja finally made contact.
At this moment, the group of seven was already close to Amegakure Village.
The formation was clear and deliberate:
Front: Hagoromo and Asuma
Rear: Yamanaka Aoba and Yūhi Kurenai
Center: Shimura Danzō and his two escorts
Upon hearing Asuma's report, Danzō's single exposed eye shifted slightly, immediately spotting the Rain shinobi who had already begun interacting with Hagoromo at the front.
He gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Asuma understood at once.
The formation did not change, and the group continued forward.
Shimura Danzō's facial features were unmistakable.
The upper-right half of his face was almost completely wrapped in white bandages, leaving only one eye exposed.
Hagoromo had more than enough reason to suspect that behind those bandages, inside the concealed eye socket, there was already a Sharingan—one that once belonged to an Uchiha.
Why would someone begin "modifying" their own body like this?
Because a shinobi like Danzō understood the limits of a non–kekkei genkai ninja better than anyone.
External enhancements were, without question, the simplest, most direct, and most effective way to break those limits.
To put it bluntly:
In this world, if a shinobi doesn't cheat a little, they hit their ceiling very fast.
If Danzō truly had come to pursue peace with Amegakure, then his restraint made sense.
He had brought only two escorts, not an army.
Through earlier introductions, Hagoromo learned their names:
Yamanaka Renmoku
Aburame Santō
Anyone chosen to personally guard Danzō would, without exception, be elite jōnin.
Beyond that, Hagoromo didn't know their deeper capabilities—but their clan affiliations alone said enough.
One was from the Yamanaka Clan, masters of mind techniques.
The other was from the Aburame Clan, specialists in kikaichū.
Their combat styles were easy to imagine.
Originally, Danzō had intended to enter the Land of Rain with just his three-man unit.
Hagoromo's squad joining the mission had been unexpected.
This adjustment was likely proposed by Jiraiya, then approved by the Third Hokage.
Calling it "monitoring Danzō" would be excessive—but it certainly served to prevent him from conducting undisclosed operations beyond Konoha's awareness.
Light creates shadow.
And Root, under Danzō's will, existed precisely within Konoha's shadow.
In truth, they were very good at being dark.
When Root decided to act, they never hesitated—
whether the target was an enemy… or an ally.
Of course, even if they wanted to shake off this "escort," they couldn't simply eliminate Hagoromo's team.
After all, the Hokage's son was among them.
So instead, they chose a subtler method:
Genjutsu or mental interference.
Just after leaving the Land of Fire, Hagoromo was suddenly attacked from behind.
Without any warning, while leading the group forward, a burst of violent electric sparks exploded across his head.
Crack—snap—bang!
It looked as if his brain were about to detonate.
The sudden incident caused the entire squad to halt instantly, going into full alert.
Danzō and his men knew exactly what had happened.
Hagoromo's team, however, believed they were under attack by Amegakure.
The assault Hagoromo suffered was indeed mental in nature—
but it did not come from the Rain ninja.
That left only two possibilities:
A specialized genjutsu, potentially tied to the Sharingan
Or a Yamanaka Clan mind-invasion technique
So where did the attack originate?
The answer was obvious.
Shimura Danzō.
Would it work?
On anyone else, yes.
But unfortunately for them, their first target had been Hagoromo.
Why?
Because he was the squad leader.
Because he was the strongest.
And so—
They failed.
First, Hagoromo possessed exceptional mental defenses.
Genjutsu was one thing—it operated through chakra flow.
But direct mental intrusion was another matter entirely, and that was where Hagoromo was most resistant.
He had thoroughly developed his Electromagnetic Barrier, granting it exceptional effectiveness against mental and psychic interference—far beyond its original design.
More importantly, to prevent any leakage of the information stored in his mind, Hagoromo had personally requested multiple cranial seals from Uzumaki Kushina.
All of them were Uzumaki sealing techniques, far beyond what standard methods could unravel.
These precautions were non-negotiable.
First, there were things in his mind that absolutely could not be exposed.
Second, any successful mental intrusion would disrupt his computational focus—
and once that happened, his combat ability would collapse entirely.
So of course, he had prepared.
Danzō's method of attack had brushed directly against Hagoromo's bottom line.
Stabbing him twice would have been preferable.
But this?
This was an attempt to eat his brain.
A corpse trying to devour his mind.
Electric arcs began flickering across Hagoromo's body—not chakra-based Lightning Release, but something deeper.
LV5 electromagnetic discharge.
For a brief instant, a terrifying question crossed his mind:
Should I counterattack?
Could I kill all three of them?
As his emotions stirred, a faint aura of destruction began to leak from him.
But Hagoromo did not lose control.
If he truly struck back, the situation would spiral beyond recovery.
Even under ideal conditions—if he killed Danzō and his two escorts—only two paths remained:
Immediately abandon Konoha forever, or
Kill Asuma, Kurenai, and Aoba as well, if he wished to return
…All of that crossed his mind in less than a heartbeat.
Too much thinking.
The real question was simple:
Would Danzō persist?
He did not.
The moment Hagoromo's resistance became undeniable, confusion filled the faces of his three teammates.
No enemy?
Then who was Hagoromo reacting to?
Yamanaka Renmoku and Aburame Santō both moved to step forward—
But before the situation could escalate, Danzō raised a hand, stopping them.
"As expected of an Uzumaki's disciple," Danzō said calmly.
"Young shinobi truly cannot be judged by common sense."
"Continue leading the way."
An Electromagnetic Barrier was far beyond Danzō's understanding.
But he could tell that Hagoromo was protected by layered Uzumaki seals, powerful enough to prevent mental intrusion entirely.
The meaning of his words was clear:
Let's pretend nothing just happened.
And he would not attempt to control Hagoromo's squad again.
Hagoromo considered it briefly.
Yes.
That was, indeed, the most appropriate outcome.
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