The towering, highly distinctive architectural style could only be described as aggressively vertical—as if every structure were perpetually prepared to stab the heavens in the face.
Standing atop the giant bird, Hagoromo blinked hard.
"So this is Lōran ( Tsuchigumo clan territory )… No wonder rumors say a Divine Tree once grew here. Even their man-made buildings grow straight upward."
He sighed inwardly. Regardless of whether Kushina's "inside information" was reliable, Lōran ( Tsuchigumo clan territory )'s style was undeniably exotic.
Descending from the air, Hagoromo quickly closed the distance to the city.
For a nation, Lōran ( Tsuchigumo clan territory )'s total land area was surprisingly small. Compared to expanding outward, this country clearly preferred—perhaps even specialized in—extreme vertical development.
But as he drew closer, Hagoromo noticed something was wrong.
This city was far from peaceful.
Smoke and firelight rose across the skyline.
Many of the tower-like structures had been severed halfway up, and collapsed buildings littered the streets.
The city was silent.
Dead silent.
No movement. No people.
Empty.
What happened here?
Wasn't this nation supposed to still have tens of thousands of citizens?
As for the battlefield-like devastation—there was no doubt about it. This place had become a battlefield.
The traces were unmistakable: large-scale destructive ninjutsu.
If one side of this battle was Minato's team, then the real question was—
Who were they fighting?
Judging from the scene, neither side seemed to have held an overwhelming advantage. If anything, it looked evenly matched.
Which meant the enemy was strong.
Hagoromo dispelled his summoning and landed on the ground. Just as he was about to follow the battlefield traces in search of Minato's group, a visible chakra fluctuation surged from within one of the towers.
"There!"
No need to search anymore.
He turned and rushed toward the tallest tower.
Along the way, the ground was littered with puppet wreckage.
So many of them that Hagoromo briefly wondered if Sasori of the Red Sand had come here.
A reunion after all these years?
The thought was… oddly exciting.
But he quickly dismissed it.
These puppets were numerous, but their construction style clearly wasn't Sasori's.
Entering the tower, Hagoromo immediately sensed that the source of the chakra disturbance was underground. He moved swiftly down the spiral staircase hugging the tower's inner wall.
The deeper he went, the more intense the signs of battle became.
To guard against a sudden ambush, iron sand drifted behind him, loosely dispersed and ready to react.
As it turned out, he was being overly cautious.
Even when he encountered intact, upright puppets, they were long since disconnected from their controllers—harmless husks.
At last, Hagoromo reached the bottom.
The moment he stepped off the staircase and rounded the corner—
Before he could even survey the surroundings—
He heard a voice that froze him in place.
"Hey, Hagoromo!"
A woman's voice—cheerful, unfamiliar—called out his name.
…Someone here knew him?
A trap?
Hagoromo reacted instantly, snapping into full combat readiness.
Ahead of him lay a massive vertical shaft. At its center stood a circular pillar-like platform, suspended upright in midair.
There was no sound now. No chakra fluctuation.
The platform stood isolated, yet the space between it and the shaft walls was completely dry.
For a brief instant, Hagoromo saw white light flare—then vanish.
In that fleeting moment, he thought he saw human silhouettes within the glow.
When his vision cleared, the scene became obvious.
Five people stood on the platform.
Minato's team—
And an unfamiliar red-haired girl.
"…An illusion?"
"Or a trick of the eyes?"
He could only assume so. Disappearing instantly from a place like that should be impossible.
After all, not everyone could do what Minato did—shout "Check this out—Flying Thunder God!" and warp wherever they pleased.
Walking toward the edge, Hagoromo called out:
"Minato-senpai, are you all alright?"
"Hagoromo?" Minato replied in surprise. "We're fine. But why are you here?"
"Mission support."
As he spoke, iron sand surged behind him, forming a flowing bridge that connected the shaft wall to the central platform.
Hagoromo crossed it calmly.
"You're late," Kakashi said, hands clasped behind his head. "The mission's already finished."
Hagoromo ignored him.
There was something far more important.
The girl before him had crimson hair similar to Kushina's. She looked about sixteen or seventeen, dressed in an avant-garde, almost futuristic style. In her hand was a short blade bearing the Leaf Village insignia, though Hagoromo didn't dwell on it.
His gaze lingered.
Too much.
Which immediately made her tense, fingers tightening around her weapon.
"…And you are?" Hagoromo asked directly.
"This is Queen Sāra of Lōran ( Tsuchigumo clan territory )," Minato said, stepping in. He clearly didn't understand why Hagoromo had fixated on her so suddenly.
"Then… Sāra," Hagoromo said slowly, "do you know me?"
She frowned, thinking.
"Your name… Hagoromo? Yes, that sounds familiar. I think I've heard it somewhere…"
Her expression was uncertain, as if the memory were wrapped in fog.
"Earlier, for certain reasons, I used a Memory Erasure Technique on everyone here," Minato explained. "All memories related to those events were removed. Your name… I may have mentioned it to Her Majesty before. That's probably why she still has a faint impression."
"..."
That was… unsettling.
"Why?" Hagoromo asked. "Why erase everyone's memories?"
"It wasn't sealing—it was erasure," Minato replied. "And the reason for doing so was erased as well. At this point, I know no more than you do."
"All I remember is this: our mission was to investigate the Dragon Vein, protect the queen, defeat a puppeteer who attempted to misuse the Dragon Vein, and finally seal it completely."
"Can the memories be restored?"
"Unfortunately, no. Unlike sealing, erasure is irreversible."
Hagoromo was at a loss.
Was this going to remain an unsolved mystery?
Why had the queen called his name with such warmth?
Even if she'd heard of him, that kind of emotion didn't make sense toward someone she'd never met.
There had to be a reason.
Then why erase the memories in the first place?
"Kakashi," Hagoromo asked, "did you hear anyone call my name earlier?"
Kakashi shook his head.
"I barely remember anything. My head just hurts—like someone punched me really hard. You sure you weren't hallucinating?"
You're the one who got hallucination-punched.
Hagoromo was absolutely certain.
He had heard it clearly.
"Hey, Hagoromo."
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