"So, you really intend to execute the mission as a 'one-man squad'? You don't need the assistance of teammates?" Orochimaru's hoarse voice sounded behind Hagoromo, his gaze holding a trace of peculiar strangeness as he looked at the boy.
Insisting on undertaking such a dangerous mission alone... for many ninjas, operating "solo" often wasn't an issue of hidden concerns regarding combat strength, but rather a psychological fear. For them, having companions by their side completely changed their state of mind.
But Hagoromo clearly wasn't like that.
"Yes, I've already made my decision. There's no need for you to keep confirming it, Orochimaru-sama." He stared straight ahead, speaking without even turning his head.
The two of them were currently standing on a barren cliff about ten meters above the sea. In Hagoromo's line of sight were the ebbing and flowing tides, and reefs that were sometimes exposed and sometimes submerged.
Further out was the horizon where the water met the sky. And far beyond that line, beyond the reach of sight, lay the Land of Water.
Several days had passed since their previous raid against the Hidden Mist. Once the war machine restarted, the tempo might fluctuate between fast and slow, but it would not stop until a final conclusion was reached.
Therefore, even though they had just fought a battle, Konoha's new operational plans were already underway.
Judging by the results and the cost of their own casualties, Konoha's previous military action could be considered highly successful. They destroyed a massive stockpile of supplies meant for large-scale enemy operations, wiped out a stronghold, inflicted 600 to 800 enemy casualties while keeping their own under 200, and annihilated high-end enemy combatants like Fuguki Suikazan and others.
Following this operation, Orochimaru decided to press the advantage, launching further strikes against the enemy's intelligence and logistics networks to secure a systemic advantage for Konoha in the upcoming battles.
The specific mission arrangement was to dispatch a select group of ninjas to conduct infiltration operations into the Land of Water.
The objectives included the acquisition, consolidation, and transmission of Hidden Mist combat intel; reconnaissance, infiltration, and sabotage of enemy operations; and, while prioritizing stealth and safety, selectively annihilating small pockets of enemy forces.
To highly summarize Orochimaru-sama's operational philosophy, it could be boiled down to a few words: behind-enemy-lines armed work... ahem, behind-enemy-lines ninja squads.
Ninjas executing such missions naturally needed to be bold yet meticulous, highly skilled, adept at disguise and role-playing, and masters of one-hit kills, tactical demolition, and running away at top speed.
The operations were still conducted in squads. Depending on the specific task breakdowns and the individual circumstances of the ninjas, the participating teams consisted of four-man, three-man, or two-man cells.
A two-man cell was practically the absolute minimum, yet Hagoromo requested to operate entirely solo.
"You are quite confident in your own abilities..." Orochimaru seemed to sigh.
It was a pure exclamation, carrying neither praise nor disparagement.
But Hagoromo shook his head. Making this decision was naturally related to his assessment of his own strength, but that wasn't the most important factor. The most important thing was that many things were simply more convenient to do alone.
While he couldn't call himself an omnipotent all-rounder, his overall capabilities were indeed quite balanced. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu—though the latter was slightly weaker, he understood them all. In terms of sealing jutsu and barrier ninjutsu, thanks to Kushina holding nothing back in her teachings, he could practically be classified among Konoha's top tier. Not to mention, he had a sharp mind and unique ways of thinking... and most crucially, he was exceptionally good at running away.
In enemy territory, that last point was of utmost importance.
Conversely, while bringing teammates along had certain benefits, it basically wouldn't enhance Hagoromo's combat effectiveness at all. In fact, it would restrict him... To put it simply, if no Konoha personnel were following him, he could fire his "cannon" whenever he wanted.
But if he had Konoha companions, to avoid contradicting his previous statements and to prevent his instant-cast Super Electromagnetic Cannon from drawing unwanted attention and suspicion from certain individuals, he would be forced to seal away that devastating technique.
To dare make such a decision, the mindset that "the individual supersedes the team" was vital.
There were times when Hagoromo genuinely believed this. One ninja surpassing an entire squad of ninjas was nothing strange.
There was a joke that said Naruto was a story about teamwork. But based on Hagoromo's hazy memories, all he remembered was that the end of the story was just a squad of cheat-code users fighting another massive cheat-code user—one had to admit his memory and summarization were quite accurate.
Team 7 teaming up to fight Kaguya wasn't called teamwork; if Team 10 had teamed up and killed the final boss, that would be called teamwork.
No matter how nicely you phrased it, the reality was simply this: individual strength overwhelmed everything. If one person could accomplish a task alone, why add a second?
"This has nothing to do with confidence; it's simply more convenient for me to operate alone... I am very confident in my disguises. Adding teammates would only increase my burden and the probability of exposure," Hagoromo said.
He was a master of disguise in another sense, having been self-taught since childhood... In a way, wasn't his very existence in Konoha a disguise?
However, this statement—which practically screamed "teammates are just dead weight to me"—not only failed to disgust Orochimaru or make him think the boy was overestimating himself, but on the contrary, he highly appreciated the sentiment.
Uncle Snake was ultimately different from other Konoha ninjas. He had always maintained his own unique thought process, untainted by the poison of the Will of Fire.
Due to his outstanding personal abilities, when leading teams on many missions, he too felt his teammates were burdens. If he could accomplish something by himself, why use four people to do it? Especially when they did it so inefficiently.
"Since that is the case, be careful out there. The mission begins in three days," Orochimaru cautioned. "On a mission like this, make sure you don't die in the Land of Water... That is my personal expectation."
There were still certain things about Hagoromo that Orochimaru hadn't figured out yet.
Why were his cells so ordinary? Even if they had a much stronger adaptability to Lightning Style compared to an average person, they didn't exceed the realm of normal. They were still leagues behind the Raikage's level, so why was he immune to the negative side effects of Lightning Style?
Orochimaru had seen Hagoromo unleash that Lightning Style which surpassed the limits of a ninja. He originally thought the boy's cells possessed a special resistance, but the results proved the opposite, leaving him utterly baffled.
His research direction was clearly wrong. To study Hagoromo's abilities, studying ordinary cells would yield no results; at the very least, he should be studying his brain cells.
That was something extremely difficult to explain through matter or physics. Manifested esper abilities were clearly outside Orochimaru's field of expertise.
"Understood..." Hagoromo said. He basically understood Orochimaru's implication. In short, his so-called "expectation" definitely wasn't the care of a superior for a subordinate.
It probably meant that even if Hagoromo was going to die, he had to die in the Land of Fire, at least leaving behind his corpse as research material.
...
Three days later, at night.
Beneath the cloak of night, a white figure swam through the seawater.
Then, a comically massive Katsuyu made landfall on the shore, slowly sliding forward. Only after it crossed the coast and reached the dense inland forest did Hagoromo emerge from inside Katsuyu's body.
Because the wound on his waist hadn't fully healed yet, and for the sake of greater stealth, he had executed this particular armed infiltration.
The Land of Water... he had silently infiltrated it.
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