"Was this caused by the White Yaksha's jutsu?"
The astonishment in the speaker's voice was impossible to conceal. A path of destruction on this scale simply didn't seem like something ninjutsu could achieve.
Following the Nine-Tails incident, two Konoha Anbu ninjas began investigating the battlefield where Hagoromo and Pain had clashed... Finding the location wasn't difficult. After all, the straight-line distance from Konoha wasn't far, and moreover, the trail of destruction extended all the way back to the village.
The Rashomon gate, fired by the super-massive Railgun, first shattered Pain's barrier. It then pierced through the physical space between the battlefield and Konoha, breached Konoha's outer perimeter barrier, caused more massive damage to the village than the Nine-Tails itself, and finally smashed two sections of the Hokage Rock, wedging itself in a grotesquely twisted shape right between the carved faces of the First and Second Hokage.
Beneath the Hokage Rock was, in fact, Konoha's ultimate civilian shelter. What finally stopped the Rashomon was Konoha's final defensive barrier.
During the Nine-Tails incident, the vast majority of Konoha's non-combatant population had been gathered there. Perhaps it was unfortunate that they had nearly suffered such a terrifying attack, but ultimately, they were fortunate not to have borne the brunt of it.
After all, at that distance, the Rashomon had lost its original momentum.
Otherwise, the consequences of Hagoromo's reckless, desperate final strike would have been unimaginable.
Three days had passed since the incident. Inside the Hokage's office building in Konoha.
Hagoromo had only just regained consciousness today... Or rather, it was already a miracle he could wake up at all within three days.
However, this three-day void had brought Hagoromo an immense, terrible problem.
The twin children Minato and Kushina left behind had been taken away from him.
At this moment, the Third Hokage, Danzo Shimura, the two Konoha Elders, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Hagoromo were all gathered together.
Jiraiya had returned from the frontlines immediately after the incident. Although the situation at the front was dire enough, the situation within Konoha took precedence.
The current Hagoromo had his right arm in a sling, and his entire body was wrapped in bandages. Only his right eye and a portion of his face were left exposed.
First Pain, then a sea of explosive tags—it was entirely natural for him to be in this condition.
If no one had been told beforehand, no one would have even recognized him.
"The enemy I fought had a pair of eyes with strange, concentric ripple patterns... According to his own words, it's called the Rinnegan."
Regarding what had happened to him that night, Hagoromo offered only this brief explanation for now. Perhaps he would provide a detailed account later, but not right now.
He had more important matters to attend to.
Yet, this piece of intelligence alone was enough to make certain people connect the dots to a specific individual... Someone in the room knew exactly whose eye sockets those Six Paths eyes resided in.
This intelligence left the Konoha higher-ups staring at each other in silence.
Given their positions, they had enough access to information to know what the Rinnegan was, and thus had a certain degree of understanding. But... was the Rinnegan Hagoromo spoke of that Rinnegan?
"I've explained what I needed to explain. Now, you should do what you need to do," Hagoromo stated.
"Do what?"
"All of Kushina Uzumaki's legacy. According to her final wishes, they belong to me. Third Hokage, you should return everything you took while I was unconscious."
Was it better for Kushina's "legacy" to be in the hands of Konoha or in the hands of Hagoromo? This consideration was completely outside of Hagoromo's scope of concern.
However, things were not that simple.
"Of the orphans left behind by the Fourth Hokage, one is the current Jinchuriki, and will therefore be placed under the Hokage's direct care. As for the other, she possesses obvious traits of the Uzumaki clan. Therefore, she will serve as a critical backup should issues arise with the Jinchuriki. With such a young Jinchuriki, no one can guarantee they will truly be able to withstand the power of the Tailed Beast..." Danzo Shimura rejected Hagoromo's demand in a completely emotionless tone.
From his standpoint, saying this was perfectly logical and reasonable. But it was only from his standpoint... or perhaps their standpoint. To the higher-ups, this was a matter of course.
After Hagoromo lost consciousness, the Jinchuriki had been taken by the Third Hokage for personal "safekeeping," while the other twin had fallen into the hands of Root.
Meeting the cyclops's single eye with his own, a dangerous impulse flashed through Hagoromo's gaze. Electrical arcs even began to crackle across his body again... The aftereffects of his rampage were still lingering, causing his ability to lose control along with his emotional fluctuations.
"Hagoromo, don't be impulsive..." Jiraiya attempted to calm the youth down.
But it was unnecessary. The current Hagoromo was incredibly calm.
"Perhaps there are times when I need to calm down, but this is not one of them. Right now, I am calmer than I have ever been in my entire life..."
"To me, taking back what is mine through a more direct method is not an impossibility... But that is not what Kushina wanted to happen."
For Hagoromo, forcibly taking back the orphans of the Fourth and Kushina through direct confrontation was absolutely possible. Especially for the him of today, Konoha was no longer his home.
However, he couldn't do that.
Because that was not the situation Minato and Kushina had hoped for. Among the things Hagoromo had promised Kushina, taking her orphans away from Konoha was absolutely not one of them. If Hagoromo came into conflict with Konoha, it would mean betraying Kushina's will.
The crux of the dilemma lay here: Kushina wanted to entrust her children to Hagoromo's care, but she also didn't want him to break away from Konoha's framework. The contradiction now was that if Hagoromo remained in Konoha, he couldn't get close to Minato and Kushina's orphans. Under such conflicting circumstances, it was very difficult for Hagoromo to find a choice that satisfied both conditions.
Doing whatever he pleased was what Hagoromo wanted to do, and what he could do. Subjectively speaking, no one could stop him anymore... except for the final restraint Kushina had placed upon him.
Minato and Kushina wanted their children to live in Konoha as the children of heroes. It was incredibly difficult for Hagoromo to violate Kushina's final expectation.
But the more he acted like this, the less likely even the Third Hokage was to hand the Jinchuriki over to him. Although, based on closeness and relationships, Hagoromo was the most suitable candidate, his current psychological state was far too dangerous.
No one would hand over the safekeeping of a nuclear weapon to a madman, let alone someone who was simultaneously intensely rational and completely insane.
The current Hagoromo was paranoid to the point of madness, yet capable of rationally clamping down on his own emotions... To be honest, this kind of person was far more dangerous than a simple lunatic. Because he could rampage at any moment, and once he lost control, his rational side would instantly convert into an immense, calculated destructive force.
An unimaginable destructive force.
Hagoromo's psychological state was overly dangerous. He harbored the intent to directly clash with Konoha... He didn't need to confess this himself; everyone present could see it.
Therefore, even Jiraiya, who leaned most toward Hagoromo emotionally, didn't believe the young Jinchuriki should be entrusted to his care.
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Direct conflict was Hagoromo's last resort. Before that, he had another way to resolve the issue.
"I will personally reverse Konoha's current disadvantage on the battlefield, but the condition is that Kushina and Minato's orphans are returned to me."
The death of the Fourth Hokage and the casualties Konoha suffered from the Nine-Tails' rampage were a massive blow to a village currently engaged in war—not just in terms of combat strength, but even more so in morale.
The Yellow Flash, the man who terrified the ninja world and made enemies tremble at his name, was dead! To the Hidden Cloud, was there any better news than this?
None whatsoever. And so, an all-out counter-offensive had begun.
"Hagoromo, no matter what you say, in your current condition..."
In his current condition, appearing on the battlefield would just be serving himself up on a silver platter. Let alone reversing any disadvantage, he couldn't even engage in combat.
"How I do it is my business. Whether you accept or not is yours. If you accept, I will fulfill the agreed-upon terms. This is already the greatest concession I can make as a Konoha ninja..."
Hagoromo had said all he intended to say. At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
He would let these people discuss the matter of the Rinnegan and the war among themselves... He tried twice before finally managing to stand up, then opened the door and walked out.
Outside the door stood Kurenai Yuhi.
"Hagoromo, the bodies of the Fourth and his wife have been prepared..."
This was the task Hagoromo had entrusted to her.
"Thank you for your trouble. Come with me... My mobility is a bit restricted right now, so there's something else I need your help with."
Hagoromo and Kurenai arrived at the room where the bodies of the Fourth Hokage couple lay in state. Although a large number of Anbu stood guard, they didn't obstruct Hagoromo's movements.
As of now, Hagoromo was already Konoha's premier master of sealing jutsu. The higher-ups forbade him from contacting the Jinchuriki, but they placed no obstacles on his handling of the couple's remains.
To prevent anyone with ulterior motives from utilizing Kushina's body, Hagoromo was going to personally apply a seal to her.
"Kurenai, lend me your hand."
Borrowing Kurenai's right hand to weave the signs, Hagoromo used the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
All the subsequent work would be handled by Hagoromo and his clone. Kurenai only needed to stand by and watch.
As mentioned before, Hagoromo possessed his own views on life and death. No matter how much regret he felt, no matter how much his heart ached, the dead were the dead. Any attempt to resurrect them was a desecration of Kushina and Minato.
What kind of resolve does a ninja need to calmly embrace death? Hagoromo didn't know, but it was certainly immense... Therefore, returning from the dead sounded wonderful, but that kind of thing was something Hagoromo would, at most, relegate to the realm of imagination.
Hagoromo himself was an "heretic" in this regard, so he wouldn't subject Kushina to such a thing. He had made his choice. Perhaps it was right, perhaps it was wrong.
To him, the most regrettable thing had already happened, so he would never feel regret again.
Just as Hagoromo himself had said, he was extremely rational. Even though he harbored immense negative emotions toward certain aspects of Konoha right now, he would temporarily suppress them.
For the time being, he wouldn't make any major moves.
Everyone has their own life to live. No matter what, revenge would never be Hagoromo's entire existence—it would merely be an extremely important part of it.
As for exactly what he would do moving forward, he already had his own ideas.
Life or death could be decided in a single battle, but true revenge? It was never that simple.
Since some wildlife protection association was obsessed with getting their hands on nationally protected, top-tier animals, Hagoromo would just have to slaughter those rare beasts right in front of them, one by one.
One after another.
This was the very meaning behind the existence of his new eyes.
Only after that would he pursue other endeavors.
But right now, Kushina's final wishes were the most critical matter.
His new eyes had awakened, but it wasn't enough. Hagoromo still needed to find a way to utilize this power instantaneously at will.
Konoha ultimately agreed to a portion of Hagoromo's demands, treating it as an exchange.
The Fourth's orphans were temporarily placed in Jiraiya's custody. This was a relatively neutral arrangement. If they had remained in Root's hands... Danzo Shimura would never earn anyone's trust.
The names of Kushina and Minato's orphans: the boy's name came from the protagonist of Jiraiya's novel, chosen by Minato—Naruto.
The girl's name came from Kushina's final act of naming—Mirai. These two children were both Kushina's future.
As for their surname, Hagoromo would bestow it upon them later: Uzumaki.
The seventh day after the Nine-Tails incident was the funeral for Minato and Kushina, yet Hagoromo, as their disciple, did not attend.
Early that morning, with a massive scroll slung across his back, he left Konoha alone. Just as he had stated, he was going to take back what was his.
How to reverse Konoha's disadvantage? It was a very simple problem: just make the Hidden Cloud experience the exact same thing Konoha did...
Perhaps it was madness, perhaps it was a suicide mission, but next, the White Yaksha was going to invade the Hidden Cloud.
In his current state, successfully assassinating the new generation's Raikage had a very low probability of success. But liberating a Tailed Beast was something he absolutely had to achieve.
--------------------------------------------------
"...That refreshing breeze of Ihatov, the blue sky that appears cold even in summer, the city of Morioka adorned with beautiful forests, the outskirts with meadows shimmering with verdant brilliance... Then, I will search for familiar landscapes while recalling the tranquil Ihatov of that year..."
This quote is an interpretation of a work by the Japanese Author and Poet Kenji Miyazawa.
The quote is essentially a nostalgic remembrance of a homeland. The speaker is recalling a place called Ihatov, which in Kenji Miyazawa's works is an idealized version of rural Iwate Prefecture in Japan.
Breaking it down:
"That refreshing breeze of Ihatov"
The speaker remembers the clean, invigorating wind of their homeland. It's meant to evoke freshness, purity, and comfort.
"the blue sky that appears cold even in summer"
Even during summer, the sky has a crisp, cool quality. This creates an image of a northern, less oppressive climate and contributes to the feeling of tranquility.
"the city of Morioka adorned with beautiful forests"
Morioka is a real city in Iwate. The city is remembered as being surrounded by lush forests, emphasizing natural beauty.
"the outskirts with meadows shimmering with verdant brilliance"
The countryside around the city is covered in vibrant green fields and grasslands. "Verdant brilliance" is poetic language for rich, living greenery.
"Then, I will search for familiar landscapes while recalling the tranquil Ihatov of that year..."
The speaker plans to revisit places that remind them of the past, trying to reconnect with memories of a peaceful time in their life.
Which actually quite beautifully fits in hagoromo's situation.
______________
Read 50 chapters ahead on patreon!
P(a)treon.com/GoatMama