Even though he had already filled his stomach with several broad-spectrum antidotes, Hagoromo still suppressed his breathing to the lowest possible level as he entered the mist-filled valley.
There was never any harm in being cautious. At the same time, he heightened his awareness of his own body—if he sensed even the slightest abnormality, he would not stubbornly force his way deeper in his current condition.
Fortunately, the antidotes worked.
After all, these were drugs personally developed by Tsunade to counter the poisons of Chiyo of Sunagakure. In terms of detoxification power, they were extremely reliable.
When Hagoromo quietly caught up again, even though he had already formed a hypothesis, what he saw still shocked him.
Through the dense fog, two figures were faintly visible.
The Kirigakure shinobi who should have been leading the way suddenly stepped aside, positioning himself behind Pakura—
And in that instant, he used the most classic assassin technique of all:
A backstab.
The entire kunai plunged straight into Pakura's back.
Such a crude attack could barely be called a "trick." Yet Pakura—an elite jōnin and the Hero of Sunagakure—didn't dodge at all. She was struck cleanly.
No matter what, when facing a shinobi from another village, she could never have fully let down her guard.
Which meant there was only one explanation.
Mental paralysis? Physical paralysis?
Is that the effect of the poisonous mist?
Hagoromo instantly understood.
The poison had taken effect.
Kirigakure never intended to kill Pakura outright with the gas—that would have been difficult. They only needed to rob her of her ability to react.
Hagoromo didn't rush forward. Since poison and an assassination strike had already been used, there were almost certainly further ambushes hidden in terrain like this valley.
And sure enough—
As Pakura staggered and fell forward, the second wave came.
A dense rain of shuriken flew down from both sides of the valley, striking her back again and again. Unable to respond, she was hit by every single one.
At this moment, Pakura's first regret was probably not choosing mission attire with stronger defensive capabilities.
If there were ever a perfect illustration of being "turned into a pincushion," this was it.
"Wh… why…?"
Collapsed on the ground, Pakura's eyes were filled with confusion, disbelief, resentment, and fury.
This script was nothing like what she had been told.
Had a single moment of carelessness truly brought her to her end here?
"Hatred between villages can never truly disappear," the Kirigakure shinobi said coldly.
"At best, it can only be temporarily suppressed—until it erupts again."
"But even suppressing that hatred comes at a price."
"And you, Pakura of Sunagakure, are that price. You are the bargaining chip to settle relations between our two villages."
"Your death will be the first step toward peace."
"A 'hero' exists precisely for this reason, doesn't she? So go quietly."
The mockery in his voice was unmistakable—especially when he spoke the word hero.
Pakura's consciousness was already fading. She may not have heard every word clearly, but the meaning was unmistakable.
To achieve peace with Kirigakure, she had been sold out by the Kazekage and her own village.
So this was the final sacrifice of a so-called hero?
What an absurdly ironic way to die—an insult to herself, her village, and the very word hero.
"The only pity," the shinobi continued,
"is that we can't announce that you died in the Land of Water. Soon enough, the world will hear that Pakura of the Scorch Release died on the Iwagakure battlefield instead."
Hagoromo heard every word.
He had already pieced together the situation. Exchanging one's own top-tier combatant for peace between villages—
It wasn't necessarily wrong from a Kage's perspective.
But it was hardly a good solution.
Of course, this was only Hagoromo's personal view. A Kage had far more to weigh. And thinking about Pakura's fate inevitably led to another question—
Would Konoha and the Hokage do the same?
Hagoromo didn't know.
In truth—
They would.
Someday, Konoha would hand Hyūga Hizashi over to Kumogakure.
The circumstances would be different, but the essence would be the same. For the sake of peace and the village's greater good, sacrificing one or two shinobi was deemed acceptable.
Why not?
Still—
At this moment, Hagoromo believed Pakura was worth saving.
A shinobi of her caliber shouldn't fall so easily.
After she collapsed, three more Kirigakure shinobi emerged from hiding. A four-man squad—one jōnin and three chūnin—had successfully killed the famous Pakura.
She had been defeated not by enemy strength—
But by betrayal.
Hagoromo's senses confirmed it. There were only four enemies present.
In a fair fight, Pakura could probably have handled all four on her own. They knew this, which was why they had resorted to ambush.
If one counted Kirigakure's high-level combatants, the list was pitifully short.
Konoha had the Sannin, the Uchiha, the Hyūga, the Yellow Flash, and elites from multiple clans. Kirigakure?
Very few.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen weren't even in the village right now. Sending this squad was enough—after all, Pakura had been delivered straight to them by the Kazekage himself.
Killing her didn't require much effort.
After a brief calculation, Hagoromo made his decision.
He would take them out.
With Pakura already down as planned, the four Kirigakure shinobi relaxed slightly. Not completely—but enough.
Hagoromo was roughly thirty meters away. Once he committed, he began moving in silence.
True silence while moving at high speed was impossible. "Soundless assassination" wasn't magic. No matter what, movement produced noise—
But Hagoromo could reduce it to the bare minimum.
As he advanced, his hands formed seals.
First—
Shadow Clone Technique.
An identical clone appeared beside him. Then Hagoromo and his clone split apart in a V-shaped formation, abandoning a frontal approach and flanking from both sides of the valley.
"Who's there?!"
"Be careful—there's someone besides Pakura!"
The enemy jōnin reacted instantly. The moment Hagoromo used a technique, his presence was exposed. Someone sneaking this way could only be an enemy.
But since Hagoromo had already begun, discovery no longer mattered.
The distance had been calculated.
Next—
The same genjutsu as before.
Demonic Illusion: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique.
Their vision was stolen instantly.
"Genjutsu! Everyone, be careful!"
The four enemies reacted quickly, forming a swastika-style defensive formation—back to back, covering all directions. Blind, they relied on positioning to prevent friendly fire and guard against attacks from any side.
A sound tactic.
Unfortunately—
They had clustered together.
Hagoromo and his clone sprinted along the valley's left and right sides, each extending an arm toward the enemy.
Lightning flared.
The valley was barely over twenty meters wide.
And one man—one technique—was enough to fill it.
Clone and original activated Chidori Senbon Spear simultaneously. Brilliant white blades of lightning stretched into a single line, forming a high-speed, parallel sweep that covered the entire width of the valley.
The blinded enemies couldn't respond.
Because of differences in height and posture, each felt it at a different level—but the sensation was the same.
A sudden chill.
Or a sudden heat.
Then—
Nothing.
Whether they were cut at the waist, chest, or neck—
A body severed in two could not survive.
After the strike, the clone moved to confirm the kills and keep watch, while Hagoromo himself approached Pakura.
He crouched down and pressed two fingers to her neck.
"…Is there still a chance?"
"Let's hope a hero doesn't become a heroic spirit."
No matter what—
A living hero of Sunagakure was far more valuable than a dead one.
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