These shinobi who had been born in "Root," raised in "Root," fought for Danzō, and would eventually die for him could each be classified as the capable type. But in reality, most of them did not have minds as sharp as Pakura, the "hero" betrayed by her original village. She could see the situation more clearly.
Since Hagoromo had come here, it meant Root's upper structure was about to undergo a fundamental change. If the matter of transforming Root into part of the Hokage system was being handled entirely by the White Yaksha, then it could basically be considered set in stone.
Pakura understood Hagoromo fairly well. Although some people here held hostile attitudes, to be frank, she felt that even if everyone present attacked together, they still would not be Hagoromo's match.
In that case, wouldn't accepting the Hokage's reorganization be better?
Although Pakura had stayed in Root all these years, she clearly had no psychological burden about "switching households." After all, she had not originally been from Konoha. Joining Konoha had been a halfway conversion, and one with compulsory and coercive elements at that.
As for Pakura "defecting on the battlefield," most of the shinobi present actually did not develop any feeling of "betrayal."
Toward their leader, Danzō, rather than saying they were "loyal," it would be better to say they were "numb." Think about it: from childhood, they had been subjected to harsh education in killing, and had even been required to kill companions who had trained alongside them the entire time. Under those circumstances, could one really expect Root's shinobi to be genuinely "wholeheartedly convinced" by Danzō?
Not necessarily.
Although Root possessed greater obedience and operational efficiency, the way they had grown up determined that in some areas, they differed far too much from the Hokage's "Will of Fire."
Most of Danzō's subordinates, rather than being shinobi, were more like puppets.
That said, it could not be claimed that there was not a single diehard loyalist among them. No matter what, such people would always appear. However, Pakura's sudden action incidentally dispelled Hagoromo's plan to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys. Since even a former foreign-village shinobi knew how to read the room, Konoha's shinobi could probably manage it too. So that was that. There was no need to make things too bloody.
"Hero Big Sister, don't get worked up. Leave this matter to me."
When Hagoromo said this, he had already withdrawn the hand pressing on his sword hilt. At this moment, he really no longer intended to draw his blade.
Pakura was also an older unmarried woman, and Hagoromo used this form of address merely to show that they were familiar with each other. But Pakura felt extremely awkward about it.
This was mockery, right? It had to be mockery, right? She had not been a hero for many years, and she had already joined the camp of the hero's enemies. Calling her that now—wasn't he just asking for trouble?
To think that she, Pakura, had kindly helped control the situation, only for the other party to turn around and poke at her sore spot. Did he not know that everyone had a point that could not be touched?
Fine. Hagoromo had indeed only said it carelessly without thinking too much. He had not expected to actually provoke her… But Hagoromo truly did not need Pakura's help.
Just as Root's assassination unit was considering whether or not to swarm him all at once, Hagoromo had already formed seals with both hands and completed them in an instant.
Immediately afterward, ring-shaped patterns spread outward from Hagoromo as their center, rippling like waves. Then everyone, including Pakura, was bound in place.
"Sorry. With this kind of group binding, picking you out alone would be too troublesome, so please wait patiently for a moment."
Pakura: "…"
Damn it. She was feeling a little despair. Weren't they supposed to be friendly forces?
In short, one passenger lost her dream.
The cursed binding before them had been triggered by Hagoromo, but it had not been set by him. He had merely used a technique to activate the seals Danzō had placed.
Almost every Root shinobi carried three layers of seals, or rather, bindings.
The first was the Tongue Root Eradication Seal. It placed a cursed seal on the tongue to bind subordinates, preventing them from speaking secrets related to Danzō himself and the Root organization.
The second was the Self-Cursing Binding Seal, used to immobilize Root shinobi when necessary. This was the cursed binding technique Hagoromo had just triggered.
The third was called the Mind Essence Prison Seal. In terms of function, this cursed seal was similar to the Hyūga clan's "Caged Bird." Once activated, it would give the target unbearable headaches, completely stripping them of the ability to resist. Danzō used this as a final measure to guarantee his absolute control over Root and prevent rebellion.
And now, what Hagoromo intended to seize was precisely the control authority over the third cursed seal. That way, Danzō would never again be able to control his beloved life root… Of course, Hagoromo and the Third had never been stupid enough to think of directly removing all these cursed seals.
Even if they were to be removed, it would not be now. That required a gradual process.
Triggering the Self-Cursing Binding Seal was to restrict all the shinobi's movements, thereby making it easier to seize control of the Mind Essence Prison Seal. However, compared with the earlier one-step group restraint, the latter was undoubtedly much more complicated. Hagoromo had to handle them one by one. In other words, if he stayed here the whole time, by the time he finished, the daylilies outside would already be cold.
So after confirming there were no problems, Hagoromo decided to leave a clone behind to handle the sealing work, while his main body would take other action… After confirming that the mission entrusted to him by the Third Hokage had no issues, Hagoromo was now going to do his own business.
As a praiseworthy guide and surrendering party, naturally, Hagoromo would not really make Pakura "wait a little" as he had said. On the contrary, he changed her cursed seal first and restored her ability to move. This way, this older sister could truly help Hagoromo… Her wish had been fulfilled. Truly worth congratulating.
First the assassination unit, then all of Root. The clone Hagoromo had many things to do, but his main body had already swiftly left the underground space.
After Hagoromo returned to the surface, he discovered that Konoha's chaos had already calmed to a certain degree. At the very least, those large summoned beasts should have disappeared.
Presumably, Jiraiya had dealt with them.
Although the situation inside could not be seen clearly, the Rashōmon sealing barrier Hagoromo had set up still existed. At this moment, Hagoromo's first destination was naturally the exam venue. However, halfway there, he encountered Tsunade.
Since Tsunade was here, had her battle with Chiyo ended? What had the result been?
At this moment, Tsunade was trying to treat an injured Konoha shinobi, but her face was deathly pale… Her hemophobia made it impossible for her to take any effective action at all, let alone continue the treatment.
Tsunade still could not bear the sight of blood, including during Kimimaro's previous matter. That sort of work had all been handled for her by Katō Shizune. When Shizune was not present, Tsunade could do nothing on her own.
Hagoromo quickly walked up to Tsunade. He reached out with both hands and held her right hand, but even with Hagoromo's help, she still could not stop trembling.
"Hagoromo, how is the situation on the Third's side?" Tsunade still did not forget to pay attention to the battle over there.
Because of the existence of the Rashōmon barrier, no one outside could see what exactly was happening inside. Tsunade had always thought that Hagoromo was also over there fighting Orochimaru, which was why she asked this question.
Hagoromo shook his head. Naturally, he did not know what was happening over there.
What mattered most was the present. He gripped Tsunade's hand with greater force, then leaned close to her ear.
Hagoromo's voice was not loud, and would not let a third person hear what he said. But every word sounded exceptionally clear to Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade, the Third asked me to tell you… regardless of the outcome of his battle with Orochimaru, from this moment onward, you are the Fifth Hokage."
Hagoromo's words made Tsunade's trembling hand pause slightly, then it continued.
One second. Two seconds. Five seconds. Twenty seconds. Thirty seconds.
Then, Hagoromo could clearly feel her completely calm down.
Although Tsunade's face was still pale, the trembling had stopped.
Fear was not invincible. There were many things that could overcome it, and responsibility was only one of them. But for Tsunade, it was the most necessary and meaningful one.
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