The White Snake Sage was one of the greatest intelligence brokers in the shinobi world.
While it didn't necessarily know everything about current affairs, when it came to ancient secrets and buried history, there was almost nothing it didn't know.
According to certain vague records preserved in Shikkotsu Forest, the White Snake Sage had already existed during the era of the Divine Tree itself.
In other words—
It had read the world's history cover to cover.
So the question was:
Would a white snake that had quietly lived for so many centuries really die today?
The answer was no.
Hagoromo needed it alive. Very much alive.
Because once this thing died, the information he sought might be lost forever. So instead of "beating the White Snake Sage into submission," the smarter option was to apply overwhelming intimidation from the very beginning.
To subdue the snake without battle—that was the optimal strategy.
And so—
The White Snake Sage surrendered very quickly.
After Hagoromo casually fired two long-range attacks.
…So much for "without battle."
Even a millennium-old boss like the White Snake Sage had no choice but to yield before a humanoid self-propelled artillery unit
—which, disturbingly enough, was a completely accurate description.
After all, it had lived a long time—
But it didn't want to die.
Once that was settled, everything else became simple.
After asking what Hagoromo wanted to know, the White Snake Sage answered directly, without the slightest intent to deceive.
Not because it feared retaliation afterward—
But because there was no reason to lie.
If Hagoromo wanted that information, then so be it. The information itself was incomplete anyway. And even if he somehow pieced everything together and still tried to meddle further—
That would simply be him courting death.
With the answers he wanted in hand, Hagoromo left Ryūchi Cave in high spirits.
The White Snake Sage personally "saw him off," sending him away like one would escort a plague god—
Or perhaps a grim reaper.
As for how long it would take the Sage to recover from the psychological trauma of this encounter…
Only heaven knew.
Maybe it should really stew Manda and nourish itself a bit.
Shikkotsu Forest.
Ryūchi Cave.
Mount Myōboku.
These three places were independent of one another, yet deeply interconnected.
And now, there was only one final link of information Hagoromo still needed.
Which raised a simple question:
When would Jiraiya return to Konoha?
Probably not too long.
Jiraiya had always been tracking Orochimaru, and Orochimaru had recently returned to Konoha and remained active in its vicinity for quite some time.
Given Jiraiya's investigative ability, he was bound to notice.
And once he did—
That would be when he returned.
A middle-aged man's persistence was not to be underestimated.
And as everyone knew, what this world called "bonds" was written as kizuna—
But read as bromance.
In short, Hagoromo was already looking forward to Jiraiya's return for "novel research."
This time, he definitely wouldn't sabotage him again.
Maybe he'd even help with the research.
After Hagoromo returned from Ryūchi Cave to Konoha, he was immediately summoned by the Hokage.
There really was no one else in the village who received this level of "special treatment."
After all, no one else caused trouble at his scale.
Killing a tailed beast was an extremely serious matter. Depending on circumstances, such an act could even affect the balance of the entire world.
That wasn't an exaggeration.
A village's stance toward tailed beasts often reflected its fundamental policy. Hagoromo's actions could easily be interpreted by other villages as being carried out under the Third Hokage's instruction.
In a sense—
The Third Hokage was once again taking the blame for White Yaksha.
"I'll set aside your leaving the mission to go to Shikkotsu Forest for now…"
Every time the Hokage saw Hagoromo, his headache worsened.
If any other ninja behaved like this, they'd be skinned alive by disciplinary action.
For Hagoromo, this was barely a drizzle.
"Why are you so fixated on killing tailed beasts—a completely meaningless act? As far as I know, this is already the second time."
"The Three-Tails could be called an accident. But the Seven-Tails…"
"What exactly are you planning this time?"
That single word—again—contained endless bitterness.
The Three-Tails incident couldn't have been hidden from the major villages. The Hokage hadn't raised it before because he believed it truly might have been "on a whim."
But now?
With the Seven-Tails added—
"On a whim" was no longer sufficient.
At this rate, Hagoromo might be planning a full series:
The Tailed Beast Massacre Collection.
Facing the Hokage's questioning, Hagoromo answered seriously:
"Just like I told Kakashi, I'm trying to find a way to permanently kill tailed beasts."
"The Three-Tails and Seven-Tails were merely two experiments."
"You…"
From the Hokage's personal standpoint, a world without tailed beasts would be better.
Without them, there would be far fewer people attempting to exploit their power. The number of large-scale conspiracies in the world could drop by more than sixty percent—especially the most catastrophic ones.
And the Hokage could guess Hagoromo's motivation.
He still hadn't let go of the past.
Hagoromo's idea wasn't wrong.
But the Hokage couldn't support it.
And he absolutely couldn't endorse it.
"But—"
"No matter what your 'but' is," Hagoromo interrupted calmly,
"isn't this something worth trying?"
"…Have you found such a method yet?"
"I'm still experimenting."
Hokage: "..."
Is this something you can experiment with repeatedly?!
Was the world not chaotic enough already?!
"No matter what," the Hokage said firmly,
"from now on, you are forbidden from acting against jinchūriki or tailed beasts with clear village ownership."
"That would affect inter-village relations. The war has only just ended—I won't allow your actions to trigger something irreversible."
The message was clear, if subtly phrased:
Absolutely no touching the Five Great Nations' tailed beasts.
As for the rest…
The Hokage held no illusions about completely restraining Hagoromo.
"I understand," Hagoromo replied.
Did he really?
After Hagoromo left, the Hokage's headache only grew worse.
Had that actually gotten through to him?
Letting Hagoromo go to Takigakure really had been a mistake.
He should've stayed home and watched the kids.
And as if to answer that expectation—
Hagoromo actually did go home to watch the kids.
"Hagoromo, watch closely. I'm about to show you my training results!"
Future, Haku, and Kimimaro sat in a neat row. Hagoromo stood to the side.
At the center, Naruto looked extremely proud.
To demonstrate his Wind Release progress, he'd even selected a broad leaf—about the size of a palm—from some unknown tree.
Naruto sandwiched the leaf between his hands.
"Watch carefully!"
Hagoromo sighed.
This kid was still a little noisy.
But when Naruto closed his palms and then opened them—
The leaf had been cleanly split down the middle.
That was unmistakably Wind Release.
"Very good," Hagoromo nodded with satisfaction.
During the days Hagoromo was away, Naruto hadn't slacked off. He'd made real progress.
That deserved praise.
Some people, regardless of talent, didn't need to be pushed to improve.
That was rare—and valuable.
"Th-then… does that mean you'll teach me ninjutsu now?" Naruto asked eagerly.
The others couldn't bear to look.
Of course it wouldn't be that simple.
Hagoromo beckoned to Haku.
"Haku. Ice wall."
"Understood, Lord Hagoromo."
After standing, Haku created an ice wall two meters tall, three meters wide, and ten centimeters thick.
Naruto stared at the frost-covered wall, utterly confused.
Hagoromo explained calmly:
"Keep cutting."
"When you can slice through this wall in a single attempt, I'll teach you ninjutsu."
Naruto:
"...Huh???"
As Haku returned to his seat, he shook his head.
Really—
Why not just honestly join our chakra-concentration training loop?
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