"According to our intelligence, the situation has already become very serious, so we can only entrust this mission to you."
The Third and Fourth Hokage were both present, but Hagoromo could only respond to the mission they handed him with silence.
The current situation was very simple, easily explained in three words:
Hanzo was dead.
The leader of the Hidden Rain, Hanzo of the Salamander, known as a Demigod, had died. Konoha had received this intelligence in a very timely manner. The reason, process, time, and who dealt the killing blow—was it illness or assassination?—these details were currently unclear, but the source of the intelligence was solid.
The death of a ninja of Hanzo's caliber was naturally a good thing for Konoha, but the underlying problems were equally significant.
Up to this point, Konoha's war with the Hidden Cloud hadn't ended. Simultaneously, due to the change in leadership, the Hidden Rain's relationship with Konoha might shift, creating the risk of war reigniting between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
A Hidden Rain without Hanzo wasn't to be feared, but the key lay in whether this change would trigger a chain reaction. For instance, if war resumed between Konoha and the Hidden Rain, would the Hidden Stone—which had tacitly agreed to a ceasefire with Konoha—take the opportunity to counterattack?
No one could say for sure what moves the enemies would make.
After a period of silence, Hagoromo spoke up: "Given the Hidden Rain's closed-off, isolationist state, how did Konoha learn of this news? Moreover, that's Hanzo. No one can kill him... more accurately, no one can easily kill him."
Of course, there were people who could kill Hanzo, and not a small number of them either. But language serves a stance, so Hagoromo said no one could kill him.
Recalling his joint operation with Danzo a year ago, it was highly likely Hanzo died as an act of retaliation.
"Indeed, a ninja of Hanzo's level wouldn't die easily. The intelligence we received isn't precise, but it's exactly because the information is so ambiguous that we need someone to infiltrate the Hidden Rain to confirm what actually happened and whether there will be any shifts between Konoha and the Hidden Rain moving forward... Under the current circumstances, you are the most suitable candidate," the Third Hokage stated.
This was indeed an extremely grave situation, but Hagoromo's response was clearly not what the Third Hokage expected—or rather, it was a response Hagoromo had already repeated many times.
"Although the mission is very important and highly urgent... Third Hokage, I cannot accept this mission."
The Third Hokage was silent at first, then said, "Hagoromo, you've refused to execute missions nearly twenty consecutive times. You should understand that for a ninja, this is highly inappropriate behavior."
In reality, even if Hagoromo executed missions one by one with extremely high efficiency and frequency, he couldn't possibly complete twenty missions in such a timeframe. After all, under these circumstances, only high-difficulty missions would be assigned to him...
But that was how the situation worked. The more he remained idle and refused missions, the more the next mission would seek him out. He would refuse again, making his attitude seem highly problematic.
Guarding Kushina was just his baseline state; it didn't mean he had grounds to refuse executing other missions.
"I can execute this mission, but the timeframe must wait until after Kushina gives birth, which is in about a month and a half. If the mission can wait for me, that's best. If it can't wait... then I still have to refuse. You will have to entrust the mission to another ninja, Third Hokage."
"Hagoromo, once you complete this mission and return, you will have plenty of time for Kushina's situation. Right now, the situation in the Hidden Rain is more pressing..."
"To me, Kushina's situation is more important right now. I think the Hokage can generally understand my personality. Compared to my duties as a ninja, what I need to fulfill more right now are my duties as a disciple." Hagoromo directly interrupted the Third Hokage, making his stance clear.
In truth, he wanted to say that ninja duties meant nothing to him, and Hanzo's life or death had absolutely zero to do with him. But saying such things to the Hokage's face would be a bit unwise.
This wasn't a clash of egos, nor was Hagoromo trying to be rebellious. It was simply that his sense of priorities and urgency did not align with the Hokage's.
"Third Hokage, Fourth Hokage, this is my decision. Whether there are new missions or punishments, everything must wait until a month and a half from now." After saying this, Hagoromo turned and left.
Leaving behind a heavy silence.
A moment later, Minato spoke up: "Third Hokage, please try to understand. To Hagoromo, Kushina is probably his only remaining family, which is why his attitude is like this..."
To Hagoromo, receiving news about Hanzo at this specific point in time was clearly irrational. If he let his slightly paranoid thought process take over, he even felt this was bait meant to lure him away from Konoha.
An infiltration and investigation mission with such a clear objective could take three days to finish, or it could yield zero clues after three months. If he left Konoha during this period, he had a premonition he would miss something critical.
Hagoromo didn't know Minato had explained things on his behalf, nor did he know what ultimately became of the Hidden Rain mission. But for the next half a month, he continued to guard Kushina without incident.
It was now the height of summer.
In the evenings, Hagoromo would periodically inspect the jutsu formulas he had laid down, just to ensure the entire sealing barrier hadn't been subtly tampered with, rendering it ineffective.
On this particular day, after confirming there were no issues, he prepared to head back and rest. However, upon returning, he found Minato's three bodyguards standing at the entrance to the cabin.
Genma Shiranui was from Hagoromo's graduating class, the one among the three he was most familiar with, and also one of the ninjas Might Duy had sacrificed his life to save. He had been a Genin at the time, but likely spurred on by gratitude for Duy saving him, he had worked diligently and ultimately earned the position of bodyguard to the dazzling Fourth Hokage.
This was undoubtedly an extremely important role, an affirmation of a ninja's will.
Then there was Raido Namiashi. Hagoromo's knowledge of him came from descriptions by his former teammate, Aoba Yamashiro. After Hagoromo's squad disbanded, Aoba basically operated alongside Raido, so Hagoromo knew the latter was an assassination expert proficient in swordsmanship.
Finally, Iwashi Tatami. Hagoromo wasn't clear on his background, but since he could become a bodyguard to the Fourth Hokage, he must possess some exceptional qualities.
However, these three were, after all, ninjas of the younger generation. While they had become bodyguards to the Fourth Hokage, their combat prowess wasn't particularly outstanding. Being a ninja still required talent. Among the younger generation, they couldn't compare to Shisui Uchiha, Hagoromo, or even the now-quiet Kakashi.
In a one-on-one fight, Hagoromo could instantly kill them. Even in a one-on-three, they wouldn't last more than a few seconds.
They couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as Minato's original bodyguard trio of Hagoromo, Choza Akimichi, and Shibi Aburame. After all, the latter were all Jonin, elite Jonin at that. The current three were merely Chunin.
However, everything would change because of these three individuals.
Because after becoming the Fourth's bodyguards, the three of them could activate the Flying Thunder God when working together.
There was nothing inherently suspicious about the bodyguards standing watch at the door. Hagoromo walked back toward the cabin as usual. Through his sensory abilities, he knew Kushina and Minato were both inside, and a large number of Anbu were on alert in the surrounding area.
Human thought has inertia. All along, Hagoromo believed the enemy he needed to face was solely the ideologically remolded Obito.
But that was not the case.
As a precaution against emergencies, the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God formulas weren't just placed inside Kushina's room; specially marked Flying Thunder God kunai were also positioned outside the cabin.
So, as Hagoromo stepped lightly past them, the three bodyguards suddenly wove hand signs in unison.
The Flying Thunder God formula hidden within the special kunai flared to life instantly.
The essence of Space-Time Ninjutsu lies in its swiftness. The six-pointed star-shaped linear pattern spreading across the ground left Hagoromo with no time to react before he vanished from the spot via instantaneous teleportation.
At this point, there was still one month left until Kushina's due date. This was supposed to be a day like any other.
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