Regarding the investigation task assigned by the Third Hokage, Hagoromo's behavior had long since gone beyond simple passive resistance. Calling it open defiance disguised as compliance would not have been an exaggeration.
In truth, he had actively interfered with the investigation, reducing the chances of Orochimaru's actions being exposed even further.
That said, Hagoromo couldn't revolve around this matter forever—and, in reality, Orochimaru didn't need him to.
As for remaining in Konoha, Orochimaru had already adopted a let-things-run-their-course attitude.
A shinobi who left the village without authorization was, by definition, a missing-nin. Yet from a certain point onward, Hagoromo himself began disappearing from Konoha from time to time.
Of course, by this stage, the number of high-level missions had dropped sharply from the peak of the war. Operations like infiltrating Kumogakure or tracking Hanzō were essentially gone.
Hagoromo's absences were nowhere near enough to classify him as a missing-nin. While he didn't submit detailed reports, he did provide the Hokage with brief explanations.
Shikkotsu Forest. Training.
Those few words were more than enough for the Hokage to understand what Hagoromo was doing.
As for the Third Hokage's attitude toward Hagoromo's actions—it was complicated, to say the least. His slackness regarding the investigation was met with a blind eye. There were already plenty of capable shinobi involved, and none of them had found anything—adding Hagoromo wouldn't change that.
High combat power didn't mean he was suited for meticulous investigative work.
In a sense, the Third Hokage also adopted an out of sight, out of mind approach toward Hagoromo.
After the Nine-Tails Incident, Hagoromo's change in attitude had not been concealed. The Hokage could sense it clearly—Hagoromo felt somewhat detached from Konoha's system.
This caused concern, but it wasn't the Hokage's priority.
Hagoromo was a one-man issue.
The Hokage had to worry about an entire village.
The ninja disappearance cases.
The instability surrounding the Uchiha Clan.
Those were the problems truly driving the Third Hokage to exhaustion.
So when it came to restraining Hagoromo, matters hadn't reached that point. At worst, Hagoromo simply didn't want to be involved in Konoha's internal messes—not blow the village up with an explosive tag.
The ones itching to detonate were the Uchiha.
The one planning to defect was Orochimaru.
Not Hagoromo.
And Konoha didn't even have proper solutions for the first two—how could it spare the attention to deal with Hagoromo?
Moreover, power itself was a form of mutual restraint. Overwhelming power was also overwhelming threat.
Someone like Hagoromo not causing trouble was already something to be thankful for.
The smart move was to avoid provoking him into action.
Still—
As long as the investigation continued, Orochimaru's activities would eventually be exposed.
The reason was simple.
At this point, Orochimaru no longer needed Konoha. In fact, Konoha had become an obstacle—a restraint on everything he wanted to do.
Leaving the village completely was his only path forward.
Not only did he stop hiding his forbidden research—he escalated it.
His demand for experimental subjects continued to rise.
During Hagoromo's fourth intermittent departure from Konoha, Orochimaru's whereabouts were finally discovered by ANBU.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, they reported directly to the Third Hokage—who personally mobilized.
The place where Hagoromo had first found Orochimaru…
The Third Hokage appeared there as well.
From the perspective of shock value, Orochimaru showed no reaction at all. He had long anticipated being discovered.
If Hagoromo could find this place, the Third Hokage certainly could.
Just as Hagoromo had appeared here without warning before, Orochimaru continued his work even as the Third Hokage arrived.
But while Orochimaru remained calm, the Third Hokage could not.
Among his three disciples, Orochimaru was the most talented. The Hokage could not comprehend why he would do such things.
What about the Will of Fire he was supposed to inherit?
The answer was painfully simple.
Because Orochimaru had talent.
With such ability, why shouldn't he be allowed to research freely?
Whether it was shock, hesitation, or an inability to bring himself to strike his own student—
The result was the same.
The Third Hokage did nothing.
He allowed Orochimaru to leave.
Once they passed each other, everything changed irrevocably.
No one had expected this outcome.
Not the ANBU.
Not Orochimaru.
Not even the Hokage himself.
Killing one's teacher was practically a tradition in this world. Orochimaru had already prepared himself for a fight to the death.
Could he defeat the Third Hokage?
He wasn't confident.
But he had to escape Konoha.
Orochimaru had no intention of dying there.
If his defection had occurred before the Fourth Hokage's death…
If the Fourth Hokage were still alive…
Then perhaps the Third Hokage's response would have been different.
But reality was no longer hypothetical.
Orochimaru even had time to bid a warm farewell to his underage female apprentice before officially fleeing the village.
Only then did ANBU begin their pursuit in earnest.
The Third Hokage had shown far too much leniency.
The main force of the pursuit wasn't the Third Hokage—whose psychological trauma was off the charts—but rather another of the Legendary Sannin who happened to be in Konoha after returning from the frontlines.
Jiraiya.
Mediocre people waver easily.
Brilliant shinobi, however, tend to adhere stubbornly to their own beliefs.
Orochimaru was like this.
So was Hagoromo.
And that was precisely why the Hokage favored people like Jiraiya—and Naruto.
Such individuals clung to their nindō. Whatever color they were dyed at the beginning was the color they would uphold to the end.
...
Once there was a peach forest stretching hundreds of paces along the riverbanks. In the wild grew strange serpents—one bite, and none could survive.
When Hagoromo returned to Konoha, that mismatched classical sentiment surfaced in his mind.
At the outskirts of the village, he sensed an ongoing fierce battle. With minimal thought, he understood what was happening.
Konoha was still a powerful village.
Even now, diminished as it was, a starved camel was still larger than a horse.
For Orochimaru, escaping Konoha unscathed was impossible—and indeed, he had already sustained significant injuries.
Behind him, Jiraiya and a group of ANBU pursued relentlessly, leaving him no time to treat his wounds properly.
From Hagoromo's vantage point, he could clearly see the standoff between the two Sannin—
And the persuasion Orochimaru dismissed as pointless.
Jiraiya's stance was simple:
No matter what, Orochimaru had to remain in Konoha.
Orochimaru's response was equally clear:
It's already the end of July—please stop pretending friendship will last forever.
The boat of friendship had long since capsized.
Or rather—it no longer needed to exist.
Jiraiya still wanted to keep rowing.
Even the most experienced helmsman couldn't manage that.
What Orochimaru needed wasn't a little boat.
He needed a proper ship.
In the end, neither Orochimaru nor Jiraiya was truly at fault.
Whether or not one invoked melodramatic excuses—
The one that was wrong was always the world.
With Jiraiya—an equal in strength—and ANBU encirclement, Orochimaru was indeed in danger.
"I'm sorry, Orochimaru," Jiraiya said grimly.
"No matter what, you're not getting away."
Jiraiya was injured as well, but far less so than Orochimaru. His confidence clearly came from sensing reinforcements.
Hagoromo had arrived.
"Is that so?" Orochimaru said softly, then laughed.
Jiraiya had misjudged the situation.
Naturally, he assumed Hagoromo would help intercept Orochimaru.
But would he?
Hagoromo did intercept—
By stepping between Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Come to think of it—
Hagoromo had never fought Jiraiya before.
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