Considering the sheer level of hostility directed at him and the fact that certain parties aren't in a position to strike personally, one doesn't need hard evidence to guess who placed the bounty on Hagoromo.
Who blew up whose home base?
And who was forced into a peace treaty with whom?
It only takes a moment's thought to connect the dots.
Aoba Yamashiro's sensory jutsu continued, his "vision" following the three ninjas' memories back to a hidden exchange point. Sounds, images, perspectives—the feedback from the jutsu was so vivid it was as if Aoba had experienced it himself.
He watched the three Fuma ninjas accept the mission to infiltrate the Land of Fire and assassinate Leaf shinobi. Then, the manager of the exchange specifically handed the masked leader another bounty flyer.
The leader looked it over before passing it to the very ninja currently held captive by Hagoromo's squad.
Through the captive's eyes, Aoba read the information on the flyer and began to recite it aloud:
Name: White Yaksha, Hagoromo Kamishiro (Suspected)
Affiliation: Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire
Age: 12–15 years old
Gender: Suspected Male
Physical Features: White hair and mask, height between 150–155 cm
Jutsu Characteristics: Seal-less high-level Lightning Style, Summoning Jutsu
Estimated Strength: Special Jonin or above
Bounty: 5 million Ryo for death, 10 million Ryo for the corpse.
The rest of the captive's memories involved their journey to the border—nothing of further value. Aoba pulled his hand away, ending the mentally taxing jutsu.
"There's even a drawing of you," Aoba added. "No face, but every other detail matches."
The intel at the exchange wasn't exactly "detailed"—there was no photo, so bounty hunters would have to rely on specific traits to confirm his identity—but it wasn't vague either. The name, age, height, and jutsu were all spot-on.
While some traits weren't unique, how many ninjas in the world can pull off instant, seal-less high-level Lightning Style? How many are that young? Narrow it down to the Hidden Leaf, and Hagoromo's identity was basically a flashing neon sign.
It was clear the intel came from the Hidden Sand, based on Hagoromo's "performance" on that front.
Hagoromo realized that his use of the Chidori Current had been the giveaway. He'd been a bit too careless with his seal-less techniques; they were rare enough to make even Minato Namikaze double-take.
As for the bounty—5 million for the kill and 10 million for the body—the logic was simple. Many young prodigies didn't reach their level through natural growth alone. To gain power beyond their years, ninjas often used harmful medications, hormones, or stimulants. Not to mention those who underwent horrific physical modifications.
A ninja's corpse could reveal the secrets of the medicines they consumed. To the person who posted the bounty, a brat with Hagoromo's power must be using something special. If they could extract the secret behind seal-less Lightning Style from his remains, the value would be astronomical.
Hence, his corpse was worth double his life.
All of this was logically sound within the world of shinobi intel, but there was one glaring point of contention...
"Wait a second," Hagoromo cut in, his voice sounding a bit frantic. "I can ignore the bounty and the high price on my head for a moment, but what the hell does 'Suspected Male' mean?!"
Kurenai Yuhi and Aoba Yamashiro remained silent, but they turned to look at Hagoromo's overly fair complexion with a very specific, synchronized gaze.
That look basically says: "Aren't you a 'Suspected Male' anyway?"
"It's just my skin! It's a gift, okay? You think I chose this? I can't exactly return it!" Hagoromo screamed internally, though he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.
However, Asuma Sarutobi—son of the Hokage and heir to the Will of Fire—was a man who valued the truth. Using a tone that sounded like a weary 30-year veteran smoker who had been married and divorced twice, he spoke with an air of "worldly wisdom" that was annoyingly convincing:
"What does 'Suspected Male' mean? The meaning is quite clear..."
"Suspected Male... basically means 'Suspected Female.'"
Hagoromo was left speechless. There wasn't a single flaw in that logic.
He quickly decided to pivot to something more productive. He didn't actually care about the bounty; in a World War where the danger level was already at 10,000, a personal bounty only added about 10 points to the total.
His main takeaway was that the Fourth Kazekage was incredibly petty. I just blew up your home base once, is it really worth holding a grudge like this? (This was a classic case of "easy for him to say," considering no one was likely to blow up Hagoromo's home base anytime soon).
"Ahem. This bounty is my problem, let's not dwell on it. Let's talk about the mission."
The three young ninjas sharpened their focus. The reconnaissance had to continue. Following Hagoromo's lead, the squad rested for several hours to recover their chakra and treat their wounds. Under the cover of the midnight mist and the pitch-black sky, they began their cautious infiltration into the Land of Rain.
The rain was cold, the night was dark, and the danger was palpable.
As for the prisoner? Well, the four Leaf ninjas still had consciences. They didn't do anything inhumane like turning him into emergency rations; they mercifully slit his throat while he was still under the Genjutsu.
The captive died silently, without pain.