If you analyze Hagoromo's behavioral patterns from a traditional shinobi standpoint, you'll find them riddled with illogical choices. For instance, in a crisis like this, the "correct" move would be to defer to the mission commander, Minato Namikaze, for a final decision.
But he didn't.
This brings up a fundamental question: What exactly is Kamishiro Hagoromo trying to achieve?
In this hard-won second life, what is his goal? If this were anyone else—someone with more ambition or drive—they would have already shouted a slogan like, "I'm the man who will become the Strongest!"
Yet, Hagoromo remains silent on that front.
Is it a lack of motivation? Not exactly. When it comes to things that genuinely interest him, Hagoromo is incredibly proactive. However, most of the time—no matter how important the occasion—he's content being an average ninja who does just enough to earn a passing grade.
To put it simply, his current way of life is remarkably similar to the Hatake Kakashi of several years in the future. minus his dead-fish eye.
But there's a key difference: Kakashi is lazy in his Daily life but hyper-vigilant on the clock. Hagoromo, conversely, remains in a state of indescribable Attitude even mid-mission.
Unless, of course, the mission itself piques his interest.
Take right now. He rejected Hizashi Hyuga's suggestion to wait for Minato, citing an urgent crisis. But was it really that urgent?
Of course not. He just really wanted to field-test his new Forbidden Jutsu.
For high-difficulty ninjutsu or sealing arts, theory is meaningless without data. Practice is the only standard for truth, after all.
Since mastering the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing, Hagoromo had been itching for an excuse to use it. Now, a golden opportunity had practically gift-wrapped itself and landed at his feet.
From this incident, a Behavioral Pattern regarding Hagoromo emerges: The more interested and proactive he becomes, the more likely he is about to do something incredibly reckless.
This situation was a prime example. To catch all the enemies in one net with the Reverse Four Symbols, he had brazenly strolled right over their heads and used a provocative method to flush them out.
Could he guarantee the enemies wouldn't catch on? Could he be sure they wouldn't realize they were exposed and launch a pre-emptive strike?
He couldn't.
Hell, he wasn't even 100% sure the jutsu would fire correctly. Hagoromo's behavioral pattern can be summed up in a single sentence: He is a shinobi who acts purely out of interest.
He was, by nature, a man of whims. Sometimes he would take a high-risk route to solve a problem that had a perfectly safe solution; other times, in the middle of a genuine catastrophe, he'd produce a shockingly stable answer.
What Hagoromo chooses to do depends entirely on the "Will of fate" and his "Courting-Death Index" for that particular day.
Once the four enemies burst from the ground, they landed right in the heart of Hizashi Hyuga's technique range.
Because they had coordinated beforehand, Hizashi unleashed four consecutive Vacuum Palms before the enemies could even find their footing. His aim was perfect, punting all four toward the central scroll.
Despite being their first time working together, the synchronization was flawless. As the enemies flew, Hagoromo's hand seals clicked into place.
The four ninjas were airborne but not lethally wounded. Hizashi had followed the plan to the letter—he prioritized positioning over kill-shots. He wasn't arrogant enough to assume he could one-tap any ninja with a single palm without knowing their strength, so he trusted Hagoromo's scheme.
The enemies hit the ground and immediately prepared to counter-attack. Any ninja assigned to an infiltration mission of this caliber was an elite; they weren't rookies who would freeze up after a surprise hit.
The experienced squad leader made two correct tactical decisions in a split second:
Launch an immediate counter-strike against the two Konoha ninjas.
Signal the other squads that they were compromised, triggering the "emergency plan" to abandon stealth and charge the two Kages at full speed.
Their logic was sound. Their reactions were fast. But they were already too late.
All the squad leader could see was the final seal in Hagoromo's hands and that blank, white mask with its hollow eye-holes. Whatever expression Hagoromo was wearing underneath, no one would ever know.
The leader and his three subordinates didn't need orders. They hit the sand and lunged toward the two Konoha ninjas with terrifying speed. They wanted to show these two that failing to follow up on a surprise attack was their final mistake.
However, just as they exerted full force—just as they felt they were about to close the gap—the world went black.
And that was the end of that.
With the scroll as the epicenter, a sphere of absolute darkness erupted. It expanded with a speed that defied time and distance, forming a black orb two hundred meters in diameter. It held its shape for two seconds, then vanished without a sound.
It was as if the black sphere had been a hallucination—if not for the fact that every single thing within that radius, living or dead, had been utterly annihilated.
The sixteen Amegakure ninjas were gone. Deleted from existence.
Hagoromo looked at the results of the Reverse Four Symbols Seal and nodded, satisfied. Meanwhile, Hizashi Hyuga was secretly thanking his lucky stars. That black curtain was something even the Byakugan couldn't see through, and it had expanded right to the tips of his toes. He was profoundly glad he'd suppressed his urge to chase the enemies down, or he'd be part of the vacuum right now.
The power was undeniable, but the chakra cost was equally massive. Hagoromo was officially running on fumes; he couldn't even manage a basic Summoning Jutsu at this point.
Right on cue, Minato's scheduled telepathic link arrived.
"Hizashi/Hagoromo Team, why have you disappeared from the sky?"
"Team Hizashi discovered sixteen Rain infiltrators in the Forbidden Zone," Hagoromo reported. "We descended to neutralize the threat. Targets have been eliminated... However, we are currently unable to resume aerial surveillance."
Before he could even finish the sentence, two figures appeared beside him.
In this emergency, Minato had used the Flying Raijin to teleport himself and Inoichi (his signal tower) directly to the scene.
Hagoromo felt a momentary pang of dread. He honestly had no idea when Minato had managed to slap a Flying Raijin marker on him.
But from Minato's perspective, it was just good sense. Hagoromo might have only been through two wars, and they hadn't spent much time together, but Minato was a genius at reading people. He knew Hagoromo was capable and talented—but more importantly, he knew the kid was a "Highly Unstable Element."
In short: you have to keep a short leash on the wildcard.
Looking at the massive, perfectly spherical crater in the desert, Minato quickly pieced together what had happened. Kushina had likely bragged to him more than once that her student could pull off a Forbidden-rank Sealing Jutsu.
Minato felt a headache coming on, but he asked the question he already knew the answer to anyway:
"Are there any survivors for questioning?"
"...Naturally, no."
Hagoromo's answer was exactly what he expected.
"What was the enemy's deployment? Were there only these sixteen?" Minato pressed.
"No survivors. How should I know?"
Minato stared at him. Was that... a hint of attitude?
Fine. It was a stupid question. But seriously, this kid... how could he look so smug while standing next to a crater he just used to delete the only witnesses?
------------------------------------------------------------
If you liked the chapter, drop power stones to push the story forward!
Drop some reviews! We are just 2 reviews away from getting an rating!