No matter how vast or how insignificant a world may be, it is extremely difficult for one person to influence it.
Yet the opposite is remarkably easy.
The reason Might Duy's death struck Hagoromo so deeply was because it carried a powerful sense of reality. From life to death, Duy felt like someone who truly existed—not some abstract "character" or distant symbol.
Over more than a decade of experience, there had been very few people who gave Hagoromo this feeling. That long stretch of time had created a kind of dislocation within him, a sense of separation from the world. At times, even he himself felt unreal—let alone others.
Because of that, even something as momentous as assassinating the Raikage hadn't affected him as deeply as most Konoha shinobi who knew the truth might imagine.
On the Konoha front lines, the information Hagoromo brought back from this mission was ranked at the very highest priority.
There were two pieces of intelligence, both extremely significant.
Pakura's Capture
First was Pakura.
After being captured, perhaps because the way Sunagakure had treated her—their so-called "hero"—was simply too cruel, Pakura no longer felt any obligation to protect Suna's secrets.
When questioned by Konoha, she cooperated fully, answering everything truthfully.
Her original mission had been to serve as an envoy to Kirigakure: to express Sunagakure's goodwill, deliver a letter from the Kazekage, and negotiate peace.
That letter had been on her person and was now in Konoha's possession. Its contents matched her testimony.
But the truth behind it was far darker.
Peace was indeed the goal—but the condition for that peace was Pakura herself.
Only if the "Hero of Sunagakure" died would peace between the two villages be possible.
This was Kirigakure's demand.
And the Kazekage had agreed without hesitation.
After a thorough interrogation, Pakura's fate was no longer something Hagoromo had any authority over.
Even Orochimaru could not decide it.
Pakura was a famous shinobi of an allied village. Her final disposition—execution, imprisonment, control, or even release—would be decided by the Hokage himself.
She would soon be sent to Konoha.
What awaited her afterward, no one knew—not Pakura, not Hagoromo.
Before that, however, her injuries needed proper medical treatment.
Hagoromo's emergency "care" had been crude at best. Electric shock, cauterization—it was closer to forcefully jump-starting a dying body than actual healing.
It was a miracle she had survived at all. Without professional medical ninjutsu, she wouldn't last many more days.
Might Duy's Final Battle
The second piece of information was Might Duy's death, along with the annihilation of the remaining five members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
From the cold, rational perspective of the command staff, this was good news.
One genin had traded his life for Kirigakure's most infamous elite unit.
From a strategic standpoint, it was an exchange far beyond favorable.
Losing Might Duy was not an unbearable loss for Konoha, while the destruction of the Seven Swordsmen drastically reduced the threat Kirigakure posed at the highest level of combat power.
Still, Konoha was not entirely heartless.
For various reasons, Duy's deeds would not be aggressively publicized—but in matters such as the handling of his remains, he was treated as a hero of immense merit.
Some of that recognition would naturally extend to Might Guy.
And gradually, Duy's story began to spread.
The fact that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen no longer existed was not concealed.
Thus, regardless of whether people had known Duy before, regardless of how they had once viewed him, from that day onward only one feeling remained—
Respect.
Unfortunately, most people admired only the result—Duy perishing together with the Seven Swordsmen.
That, however, was not true understanding.
Duy's purpose had never been killing enemies.
It had always been protecting Guy and his comrades.
As one of only two eyewitnesses—and the only one from Konoha—Hagoromo gave Orochimaru a detailed report of the incident.
He told the truth in full, including his own actions that did not strictly align with shinobi doctrine.
Fortunately, his superior was Orochimaru.
Orochimaru did not question his motives, nor did he impose punishment.
In fact, after submitting his report, Hagoromo simply left—without consequence.
Because Orochimaru cared about only two things:
First, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were gone—an advantage for Konoha's future operations.
Second, the power of the Eight Gates needed to be reassessed.
If some one-eyed silver-haired shinobi ever claimed he could die together with Orochimaru, Orochimaru would likely laugh it off.
But if a green-clad, bowl-cut shinobi said the same thing?
That would require serious consideration.
Had Hagoromo reported to Danzō Shimura instead, he might have been executed on the spot for crimes such as "unauthorized intelligence disclosure" or "betrayal of the village."
Burned alive.
After all, he was openly aligned with the Hokage's faction—his death would mean nothing.
In that sense, Orochimaru was a good shinobi.
He cared only about what mattered to him.
In the days following Duy's death, Hagoromo received no new missions.
Uncharacteristically, he grew quiet.
He spent most of his time standing on the sea cliff, gazing out over the ocean.
He was there now.
The sea wind stirred his white hair—and his thoughts.
Unnoticed, Might Guy had arrived behind him.
"Hagoromo… thank you," Guy said.
What he was thanking him for was obvious: bringing Duy's body back.
Only now did he finally have the chance to say it.
Hagoromo came back to himself and turned around, studying Guy.
Guy looked exhausted, but otherwise unharmed.
"This was something I should have done," Hagoromo replied.
"If anything, I should be the one apologizing. If I had arrived earlier, maybe things wouldn't have ended like this."
The words were logically correct—but meaningless.
If Duy had not opened the Eight Gates, Hagoromo could have flown over the area ten times without sensing anything.
If Hagoromo could sense him, it meant the Eight Gates were already open.
An unsolvable contradiction.
Guy shook his head.
He accepted the gratitude, but not the apology.
Hagoromo bore no responsibility for Duy's death.
Guy said nothing more. He simply followed Hagoromo's gaze, staring out at the distant sea.
For someone like Guy—so easily moved by small things, so quick to shout about youth and passion—true tragedy left him unable to cry at all.
At least, never in front of others.
He had not shed a single tear over Duy's death.
Not even when he first saw his father's body.
Hagoromo had been there.
Guy had only remained silent.
For him, Duy's death was the fulfillment of his resolve—death in the right place, at the right time.
There was no need to wail.
"Guy."
Guy turned back at Hagoromo's voice.
"Your old man… was incredibly cool at the end."
Guy's expression finally stirred.
After a brief silence, he nodded.
"Yeah. Even though I didn't see it myself… I believe that too."
The final Might Duy—
Must have been cool beyond words.
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