Hagoromo's final treatment of the Seven-Tails could clearly be described as finishing off an already critically injured opponent.
And his stated reason?
To prevent it from suddenly going berserk again.
That explanation was… questionable.
Anyone with half a brain could see that his goal had been killing, not merely incapacitating. Even so, what could Takigakure do about it?
They could question where basic trust between people had gone—but they couldn't accuse Hagoromo of killing the tailed beast.
Faced with such blatant "poaching," Takigakure was powerless to object. Everyone knew that the law of the shinobi world was survival of the fittest. No amount of pretty rhetoric could change that truth, and no one truly defied it.
If one insisted that Hagoromo was bullying the weak—
That wasn't entirely accurate.
But he was using overwhelming force to suppress others. He genuinely had the ability to defeat the entire village without issue. This was no longer the era where he had to hide within Iwagakure and fake his death to escape.
Of course, Hagoromo wasn't cruel enough to massacre a village. After all, he was still somewhat in the wrong. If Takigakure truly rushed him en masse, his response would simply have been to withdraw swiftly with Kakashi and Yamato—not to start a war.
The reality was simple:
Takigakure couldn't beat him.
They couldn't stop him.
So they made the only rational choice—
They forgave him.
To at least leave behind some hope, Hagoromo made them a promise:
If the tailed beast revived, he would personally return to provide "after-sales service."
After all, Konoha had accepted a hefty mission fee. This was a legitimate business transaction, and business demanded integrity.
That attitude eased Takigakure's resentment considerably. At the very least, the tailed beast crisis had been resolved—for now.
The idea was beautiful.
Reality, however, was cruel.
Years passed.
Village Head Shibuki grew old and died.
A younger leader eventually took office.
And still—
The tailed beast did not revive.
Thus, before his death, the old village head made a grand vow, swearing with utmost resolve that after death he would become a stone bridge, enduring five hundred years of wind, five hundred years of sun, and five hundred years of rain—
All so that the Seven-Tails might one day cross over him.
Of course, that was a story for another time.
Once the Seven-Tails incident was resolved, Hagoromo and his team departed Takigakure.
From start to finish, they hadn't even stayed a full day.
Yet the grotesquely unbalanced battle that occurred in that short span not only left Takigakure dumbfounded, but also gave Kakashi and Yamato a far deeper understanding of Hagoromo's strength.
Back when Kakashi was making a name for himself as a prodigy on the battlefield, Hagoromo had still been playing in the dirt at the Ninja Academy.
Now—
They stood on entirely different tiers.
This proved a simple, brutal, and very real truth:
Whales always win—especially hardworking whales.
In the past, Hagoromo had always dealt with such enemies through long-range bombardment. But this time, he hadn't used his trump cards at all.
That meant he was confident he could utterly dominate a tailed beast without revealing his true bottom line.
In fact, the "Invincible Wind-Fire Wheel" was far more visually impressive than the Lightning Release technique, combining both power and area of effect—
Unless Hagoromo fired another Rashōmon, of course.
Still, questions remained.
"Hagoromo," Kakashi said, "why did you kill the tailed beast? With your judgment and ability, you should've known that the conditions for sealing were already fully met before the final blow."
Hagoromo's earlier explanation had clearly been an excuse for Takigakure. Kakashi didn't believe it—and couldn't believe it.
There had to be another reason.
The three were now on their way back to Konoha. Unlike the hurried journey out, the return was relaxed, so they didn't bother flying.
"Honestly, it was just convenient," Hagoromo replied casually.
"Don't you think tailed beasts are anomalies in this world? Violent, absurdly destructive—and worst of all, immortal."
"Power alone isn't the issue. It's the fact that they don't die."
"So I wanted to try killing them a few more times, just to see if it's actually possible."
Half truth. Half nonsense.
In short: Since I'm free anyway, might as well patch a world-level bug.
Kakashi: "..."
How was he supposed to respond?
No matter how you looked at it, Hagoromo had merely increased Konoha's workload. Tailed beasts couldn't truly die—this was a known conclusion. Eventually, someone would have to repeat the sealing process all over again.
Hagoromo noticed Kakashi's reaction, but didn't care. He wasn't expecting understanding.
But just after saying that, Hagoromo suddenly stopped.
"You two return to Konoha first and report to the Third Hokage," he said.
"I'll temporarily split from the team and return later on my own."
"…Wait," Kakashi said.
"What are you planning to do this time?"
Why did that 'again' slip out so naturally?
Under normal circumstances, abandoning the team during a mission was strictly forbidden. And based on past experience, whenever Hagoromo acted alone, it usually meant trouble.
Kakashi couldn't stop him—but he had to know why.
"Tell the Hokage I'm heading back to Shikkotsu Forest," Hagoromo said.
"He'll understand."
That explanation made sense. Hagoromo frequently traveled between Konoha and Shikkotsu Forest.
If that was true, there was little reason to be suspicious.
Without waiting for a response, Hagoromo decisively left the team.
Kakashi could only sigh and spread his hands helplessly.
"So… what now, Kakashi-senpai?" Yamato asked.
"What else?" Kakashi replied.
"We go back to Konoha."
As for tailing Hagoromo?
First, he wasn't suspicious enough to warrant it.
Second—even if he were, there was no guarantee they could keep up.
That guy loved pulling reverse summoning stunts.
Unconventional ninja who loved acting independently were annoying enough.
An unconventional ninja who was also insanely strong?
Even worse.
After the two left—still feeling vaguely miserable—Hagoromo reappeared at the same spot a short while later.
Reverse summoning could be done anywhere. He simply didn't want them to see the process.
Because he wasn't going to Shikkotsu Forest at all.
Under the current circumstances—
He was going to Ryūchi Cave.
Taking out Orochimaru's blood sample, he smeared some onto his palm, formed seals, and vanished.
"…It's a bit dark," Hagoromo muttered.
The summoning went smoothly. He arrived in an unfamiliar space.
Darkness was expected.
After all, Ryūchi Cave was still a cave—limited lighting was only natural.
Yet despite being a cave, the ceiling was visible above, and the space itself was enormous. There was no sense of confinement—only a chilling coldness.
That made sense too.
This was essentially a snake den.
In a place where serpents lived, humans weren't meant to feel comfortable.
"The problem is… how do I find the White Snake Sage? One wrong step, and I'll probably get lost."
Hagoromo stood in a central chamber, with countless tunnels branching off in all directions. The scale of the underground space was obvious.
Finding a specific individual here would be anything but easy.
Even Orochimaru had only encountered the White Snake Sage by accident.
Looks like Sage Mode's sensory abilities would be necessary after all.
What Hagoromo didn't know—
At the exact moment he appeared, somewhere deep within Ryūchi Cave, a pair of massive, cold vertical pupils snapped open.
Hagoromo had spent ten years stirring trouble and a lifetime courting death. Wherever he went, he made enemies—or at the very least, people who disliked him.
In Ryūchi Cave, though—
It was less about enemies.
More about enemy snakes.
And this one was particularly arrogant and self-assured, already viewing Hagoromo as a meal delivered straight to its mouth.
Unfortunately for it, the snake never watched the news.
It had no idea that Hagoromo had just killed something several tiers above itself.
This wasn't its fault—it was simply a tragedy caused by poor information flow.
Challenging Hagoromo was no different from challenging Bear Grylls in the wild.
It served only one purpose:
To prove—once again—that he stood at the top of the food chain.
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