What Yakushi Kabuto said did make some sense, but one's understanding of certain matters was not actually tied to one's background. Only after "seeing" could one "understand." That was what people meant by seeing is believing.
Ever since Hagoromo successfully invaded Kumogakure years ago while half-crippled, he had already been publicly recognized as a first-rate shinobi of the shinobi world. But as for exactly how "first-rate" he was, no one had a concrete idea. Most shinobi of the "same level" probably believed that whether they could defeat him or not would only be known after fighting him once.
In theory, that viewpoint was not wrong. But reality was not like that. Most people had failed to correctly estimate Hagoromo's strength. Even Yakushi Kabuto had been the same before, until he saw Hagoromo and the Edo Tensei First Hokage beating each other up…
That was truly like gods fighting. Damn it, if you were this fierce, why did you not explain it clearly beforehand?
Without enough understanding of Impure World Reincarnation, one might think that since a single First Hokage could fight Hagoromo evenly, then Lord Orochimaru, who had the "Mark 1234" series, should have a considerable advantage against Hagoromo if he used those as armor.
But that was not the case.
For example…
Once the First Hokage unleashed his full power, Orochimaru could no longer control him. The puppet completely broke free of control, so naturally, he could no longer count as Uncle Snake's combat power.
Correspondingly, when Orochimaru controlled the Four Kage, the First Hokage absolutely could not display that earlier level of combat power.
That was where the matter contradicted itself.
So using Hagoromo for some roundabout experiment was fine. But if Orochimaru truly went head-to-head with Hagoromo, Uncle Snake would only do that if he had eaten too much and had nothing better to do…
Because Hagoromo had spent a long time outside watching other people's performances, no matter how fast he hurried back, by the time he returned to Konoha, the village's affairs had already calmed down.
Even the matter with Root had mostly been resolved. At this moment, his clone was reporting the matter to Tsunade.
The group's current location was on a rooftop outside the Rashōmon barrier. Beside Tsunade were several Anbu guards. Jiraiya and Team Six were currently on their way back.
"So this matter really was planned by the Third Hokage? In other words, Root has already been fully controlled?"
No matter who became Hokage, they would definitely find Danzō an eyesore. But the price paid to solve this problem…
Was it worth it?
When Tsunade spoke, she habitually bit her thumbnail. This meant she was conflicted and thinking deeply…
Please try your best to ignore her age here.
From the current situation, things had become somewhat clear. This series of actions by the Third Hokage had obviously been planned long ago, and from the looks of it, Hagoromo seemed to be the only person who knew.
"It can't be called complete control. It can only be said that we roughly achieved the Third Hokage's expected goal. After all, my control method is rather low-end. But to be honest, this is all I can do. As for how to reintegrate Root into the Hokage system, that will be something Lady Tsunade needs to handle," Hagoromo said.
At present, Hagoromo's so-called "control" over Root simply referred to cursed seals. Comparatively speaking, Danzō had been squatting in Root for so many years, so it was impossible to seize everything from him through such a forceful method alone. That was why Hagoromo said it was only basic control.
This was like helping Tsunade swallow Root into her stomach. As for how to digest and absorb it, he really could not help much.
Or rather, continuing to deal with Root's problems from this point on would be extremely complicated, and he simply could not be bothered to get involved.
After Hagoromo explained the matter, Tsunade also somewhat understood why the Third Hokage had insisted on facing Orochimaru himself.
"Since the matter has been completed, you can undo this sealing technique."
The Third Hokage had not hesitated to place himself in mortal danger in order to solve both the external threat of Orochimaru and the internal threat of Danzō at the same time. Although the current situation was subtle, he had truly done it.
In reality, Orochimaru had always maintained secret cooperation with Danzō. Within the Third Hokage's arrangement, the possibility of Danzō betraying them at the critical moment was not absent. But he still held a basic trust toward Danzō, and then…
Resolutely and decisively pit-trapped him.
It had to be said that this was for Tsunade's sake.
The sealed barrier Hagoromo had constructed through Rashōmon was extremely stubborn. If one wanted to undo it, only he himself could do it. But unexpectedly, in response to Tsunade's demand, he shook his head.
"That is impossible…"
Hagoromo gave a negative answer. It was not because he stubbornly wanted to follow the Third Hokage's prior arrangement, but because he genuinely could not do it.
"My shadow clone is already about to disappear. With the remaining chakra on this side, it can no longer do anything."
That was the truth. Counting all the Root shinobi, there were several hundred of them. It should be said that Hagoromo's clone being able to persist until completing this work was already a miracle. Undoing a powerful barrier like the Rashōmon sealing barrier was impossible unless his main body was here.
Tsunade gritted her teeth. So she really could not force it?
Konoha's Barrier Team was also useless. So many people could not undo a barrier set up by one person?
Tsunade was just about to ask where Hagoromo's main body was when an unexpected incident suddenly occurred. The Hagoromo clone in front of her pounced toward her like a little thug about to grope her chest.
With Hagoromo's speed, plus the suddenness of the event, Tsunade had no time to make any effective response.
Then the chest-grabbing…
Naturally did not happen.
Instead, Hagoromo threw Tsunade off the rooftop.
During her fall, she immediately wanted to roar and ask what the hell this guy was doing now. But then she saw Hagoromo's clone and those Anbu shinobi swallowed by a black arc-shaped curtain.
Hagoromo was far too familiar with this chakra reaction. That was why he had reacted ahead of time almost by instinct.
Someone had used the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.
It was probably Danzō.
Tsunade adjusted her posture in midair and barely landed on the ground without looking too pathetic. But when she raised her eyes again, her face instantly turned livid.
The Rashōmon barrier had been destroyed in an unexpected way. But along with it, most of the rooftop and even the upper half of the building had disappeared…
Sure enough, as long as someone was a shinobi, it seemed there was no one who did not install a self-destruct skill on themselves.
Almost at the same time his clone disappeared, Hagoromo's main body, who was moving toward Konoha, also stopped. In the instant the Shadow Clone Technique was released, a massive amount of information had already fed back to him.
His own brain being invaded by himself left Hagoromo slightly caught off guard.
But was this unexpected? Or was it within expectations?
To be honest, even Hagoromo himself could not say clearly.
In any case, speaking directly, he felt that Orochimaru probably had not died yet. He decided to surround and intercept Uncle Snake, who might already be half-crippled.
For Hagoromo, the closer Orochimaru was to Konoha, the easier he would be to find. Otherwise, he would disappear like a stone sinking into the sea.
Before that, however, he still had other preparations to make. After all, he was going to deal with the problem inside Naruto, so all of this required one prerequisite…
First, Hagoromo had to fish Naruto out.
Without that guy, even finding Uncle Snake would be useless.
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