"I feel like, back in Konoha right now, the news of my death has probably already spread, right? Someone like the Third Hokage should have definitely received that intel by now," Kamishiro said.
It was already evening.
In a room at a certain inn, Shizune was currently treating his injuries.
He wondered how Kushina would react to hearing such news. Would she strangle Jiraiya to death to avenge him?
Hagoromo indeed had no fatal wounds, but he genuinely had quite a lot of minor and moderate injuries. After all, he was a badass who had just brawled with a ten-thousand-man army.
These types of injuries were entirely external, which Shizune was more than capable of handling.
Inside the room, Tsunade had already reverted to her original appearance... It was her original appearance, right? At thirty-eight, there was no need to deliberately make herself look younger, right?
This is where the sheer stupidity of men truly shined. Hagoromo would rather blindly believe Tsunade was a mature older sister type than accept the harsh reality that she was fundamentally already an auntie.
Is this kind of self-deception really okay?
At the moment, Tsunade was standing by the window, staring outside without glancing back at Hagoromo even once.
It wasn't because a half-naked Hagoromo was an eyesore. As an older single woman, Tsunade wouldn't be embarrassed by Hagoromo's scrawny physique.
And doctors shouldn't shy away from their patients.
The main reason was that, although nothing was visible with his clothes on, underneath, Hagoromo was undoubtedly covered in blood. Tsunade really couldn't handle personally treating this kind of injury.
Even taking a single look was mentally triggering for her.
Responding to Hagoromo's question, Tsunade replied, "Since Jiraiya was willing to send you on a mission like that, it means he trusts your abilities. He won't assume you're dead that easily."
About that... Hagoromo didn't think so. After all, several thousand people had watched him take a direct hit from the Tsuchikage's Particle Style. Who knows, there might have been Konoha spies among them, and those spies might have already used special channels to rapidly relay the news of his death back to Konoha.
Hagoromo had technically died after completing his arduous and glorious mission. Some bastards might even think he died a worthy death.
They might even carve his name onto the Memorial Stone...
Of course, Tsunade's words also made sense. Since Hagoromo hadn't rejected a mission like this from the start, it meant he had a certain degree of confidence in escaping the battlefield.
First, he could fly, and fly very fast.
Second, as an absolute last resort, he could even use Reverse Summoning.
He just hadn't expected the Hidden Stone to actually mobilize 10,000 men. That had exceeded everyone's expectations.
And the method Hagoromo used to escape the battlefield was actually faking his death, then using a suspended animation technique to hide at the bottom of the lake.
Seemingly sensing Hagoromo's skepticism behind her, Tsunade continued, "Besides, don't you still have Minato's Flying Thunder God mark on your body? As long as the mark hasn't disappeared, he should know you aren't dead."
This surprised Hagoromo. He asked, "Tsunade-sama, but I heard that unless the caster actively removes it, that kind of mark stays on the body even after death?"
"Also, across a distance spanning several countries, Minato-senpai wouldn't be able to sense his mark anyway, right?"
"Otherwise, I feel like he would have come looking for me by now. At the very least, he would have checked on my situation."
"Besides..."
He said "besides," but unfortunately, Hagoromo never got to finish his sentence.
Because with a loud crack, Tsunade crushed the wooden windowsill into sawdust. Her face had likely contorted into a rather unfriendly expression.
Tsunade still had a bit of a princess temper. Hearing dissenting opinions easily made her irritable, especially when Hagoromo was listing off perfectly logical counterarguments point by point.
She had only said that to ease his unnecessary worrying. Couldn't he read the room?
"Tsunade-sama, what you said makes perfect sense!"
Hagoromo clearly caught on. He decided that as a young ninja, respecting the opinions of his seniors was very important.
It was just throwing away a little dignity, right? So be it.
Poor Shizune had been busy running in circles around Hagoromo, draining her chakra to treat him, and only finally got a few lines of dialogue at the very end.
After finishing the treatment and bandaging him up, Shizune finally said, "All done. With my skills and treatment methods, your injuries shouldn't be a problem anymore, but they'll probably leave scars."
Her voice carried a hint of regret.
Hagoromo, pulling his clothes back on, replied, "Thanks a lot, Shizune. I feel much better. As for scars... there won't be any."
"Ah? Why? Your injuries were treated way too late. Plus, I don't have Tsunade-sama's level of skill, and considering the sheer number of wounds on your body..."
"Because I have good skin," Hagoromo interrupted her with utter seriousness.
Shizune: "..."
It wasn't because his "skin was good"; it was simply because it was his skin, end of story. Once his injuries healed, a miraculous scar-removal effect would automatically kick in.
After Hagoromo got dressed and Shizune packed everything away—especially disposing of the bloody bandages—Tsunade finally turned around.
"Tsunade-sama, do I still need to pay the medical bill?" Hagoromo joked.
Despite his young age, Hagoromo was actually a little rich... a little millionaire. Considering he had executed quite a few high-rank missions (B-rank and above), and generally had absolutely nowhere to spend his money, he had built up quite the savings.
If you looked at mission volume to determine the highest-earning ninja, Jiraiya would undoubtedly take the crown, seeing as that man had done more than 100 S-rank missions. Hagoromo naturally couldn't compare to Jiraiya, but he could still be considered to have a modest fortune.
"Consider this one on the house."
Tsunade glanced at Hagoromo and added, "I'm not so destitute that I actually need to squeeze mission funds out of a junior."
Her gambling was probably just an attitude towards life.
After warning Hagoromo to get a good rest, she and Shizune left the room.
Perhaps feeling secure with a ninja as powerful as tsunade nearby, Hagoromo actually slept quite well that night.
However, he never expected that when he woke up the next morning, he would find out Tsunade-sama had completely scammed him.
Because the Tsunade-Shizune duo had completely vanished.
The note they left for him contained only a few words: Hotel bill is all on you!
What happened to "not squeezing mission funds out of a junior"?
By the way, this note was handed to Hagoromo directly by the innkeeper, who was glaring at him like a hawk, making it impossible for him to run even if he wanted to.
Left with no choice, he obediently coughed up the cash.
As for why Tsunade was in such a hurry to leave—was it because she owed too much debt, or was she afraid that spending too much time with Hagoromo would draw Konoha personnel? The answer was unknown.
But thinking about it, the latter was probably a better guess. After all, her departure from Konoha had been very decisive.
In that case, Hagoromo didn't need to waste effort trying to find her again. He had to respect her choice.
Moreover, after receiving treatment, his body was on the mend.
After thinking it over, staying in the Land of Hot Water had no further meaning for him... He might as well just head straight back to Konoha.
Almost immediately, Hagoromo left the Land of Hot Water and took a boat to the Land of Iron.
The Land of Iron was a permanent neutral country that had signed treaties with all the other nations. It was also the sole Land of Samurai, so they were not participating in the Third Great Ninja War.
In reality, pure samurai had no future. The reason the Land of Iron could maintain its neutrality was likely because it possessed a certain degree of combat power. Many samurai could manipulate chakra just like ninjas; the power systems of the two groups were fundamentally similar.
The climate in the Land of Iron was freezing cold. This sudden drop in temperature made Hagoromo, who had just come from the warm and balmy Land of Hot Water, feel quite uncomfortable. Therefore, he didn't linger in the Land of Iron and rushed straight toward Konoha.
He just hoped his gravestone hadn't been carved yet.
If someone really had already carved his gravestone, he was going to exact vengeance: he would beg Kushina-sensei to set the Third Hokage's beard on fire.
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