To be honest, Hagoromo really wanted to exchange blows with Jiraiya. It wasn't that he wanted a fight to the death, but at this stage, Hagoromo very much wanted to witness Jiraiya's Sage Mode.
Whether he was the Pervy Sage or the Toad Sage, the current Jiraiya was the only active Senjutsu user.
Speaking of which, what Hagoromo needed wasn't so much Senjutsu, but rather a "lump-sum withdrawal after installment deposits" service. It wasn't the nonsense he previously made up about accumulating Lightning Style, but a genuine installment deposit and lump-sum withdrawal... However, witnessing Mount Myoboku's Senjutsu would definitely provide excellent reference value.
Sensing natural energy, extracting natural energy, fusing natural energy—every step of Senjutsu was far from simple. It took Jiraiya decades of continuous training to complete this mode. How long would Hagoromo need?
If Hagoromo were to face Jiraiya using Chidori Current: Phase Three, this high-speed Nintaijutsu would highly likely force the other party to use Senjutsu to counter it.
Although Senjutsu required extracting natural energy before use, making it seem rather cumbersome, Hagoromo wasn't in a hurry. He could just let the other party take their time extracting it...
Unfortunately, Hagoromo couldn't do that. Let alone directly attacking Jiraiya, even if Hagoromo obviously interfered with Jiraiya's snake-catching efforts, it would be a very troublesome matter. It wasn't that he couldn't explain himself, but the key was whether anyone would actually believe his explanation.
"I accidentally fought Jiraiya and let Orochimaru go"—even if the Third Hokage believed this excuse, would Danzo Shimura and the Konoha counselors believe it?
Currently, the people pursuing Orochimaru fell into three categories.
First was Jiraiya: He had no intention of killing Orochimaru and only wanted to bring him back to Konoha.
Second were the Anbu ninjas: Their orders were to prioritize capturing Orochimaru, but they were authorized to use lethal force if necessary.
Third was Root (hidden among the Anbu): Their orders were to go straight for the snake venom and pesticide. To prevent certain collusions and dirty little secrets from being exposed, they had to avoid Orochimaru being captured alive, so they were looking for an opportunity to silence him.
Of course, relying on their individual combat capabilities, they couldn't achieve this. Therefore, they had to rely on Jiraiya to inflict damage and exhaust Orochimaru first, before finding an opening to deal the killing blow.
But Hagoromo's appearance was clearly outside everyone's expectations.
"Uh, can anyone explain to me what exactly is going on here? Why are you two fighting?" Since he couldn't intervene directly, Hagoromo naturally chose to play dumb.
Orochimaru was meant to leave, and he had to leave. Hagoromo had uses for him. If Orochimaru was brought back to Konoha, even if he didn't die, he would probably be placed under strict surveillance. At that time, if Hagoromo wanted to contact him, whatever he did would be exposed to everyone's eyes.
Therefore, Hagoromo's current actions, no matter how you looked at it, carried the vibe of someone who just couldn't be comfortable without stirring the pot... Even if he did nothing, wasn't Orochimaru fully capable of escaping? He was just being a busybody.
In short, while questioning Jiraiya and the Anbu, Hagoromo used a hand hidden behind his back to gesture at Orochimaru:
Please, continue your spontaneous trip...
"Actually, did I just return from Shikkotsu Forest only to catch the Sannin going through a messy divorce?" He used a completely peace-making tone, as if asking why they were fighting when they should be heading home happily together.
"Hagoromo, I'll keep it brief. Orochimaru is behind the recent Konoha ninja disappearances. Now that the Third Hokage has discovered this, he is trying to flee Konoha... Anyway, we must detain him no matter what," Jiraiya said sternly. His left shoulder was stained with blood, caused by his clash with Orochimaru.
Yet no matter how heartbroken and furious he was, the truth was that as of this moment, the "Sannin" had officially come to an end. Tsunade's departure was merely a departure, but Orochimaru's leaving was an indisputable defection.
From this point forward, Konoha's most famous and intimidating team had disintegrated and turned into mutual enemies.
"So you're saying that from this moment on, Lord Orochimaru is no longer a 'Lord', but an enemy?" Hagoromo asked rhetorically.
"The mission requires capturing him alive," Jiraiya quickly added. Talk about being bros for life—he sensed a certain possibility in Hagoromo's tone and immediately gave a warning.
"If we act together, the chances of capturing Orochimaru will be adequately guaranteed."
This wasn't Jiraiya belittling himself; it was just that most of the time, capturing a ninja alive was far more difficult than killing one.
"No need for all that trouble. Leave this to me."
Almost as soon as Hagoromo's voice faded, his body was covered in bright white lightning markings, resembling glowing wine flowing through leylines in the pitch-black night.
Then, turning to face Orochimaru, he prepared to strike.
"A Lightning Style Nintaijutsu? Is this the move you used against the Rinnegan?" Orochimaru asked, feigning serious curiosity.
However, given their apparent stances, Hagoromo no longer needed to answer his question.
In an instant, Hagoromo vanished from his spot, immediately reappearing right before Orochimaru's eyes.
No matter how fast he was, Hagoromo's technique could still be categorized under the concept of "speed." Fundamentally, Chidori Current: Phase Three could not be compared to the Flying Thunder God, which altered spatial coordinates.
But fast was fast. The only ones present who could fully track his movements were Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
However, tracking is one thing, reacting is another, defending is yet another, and counterattacking is something else entirely. Facing such high-speed taijutsu, Hagoromo's target, Orochimaru, couldn't mount an appropriate response.
A kick carrying thunderous force directly struck Orochimaru's torso. Immediately, his body became like an artillery shell shot from a cannon, carrying unparalleled speed and self-destructive momentum as he was sent flying far into the distance!
This process happened so fast that even Hagoromo couldn't manage to appropriately dub in a "Yeehaw" as he launched him.
Did Orochimaru just get kicked to death? For some reason, the Anbu ninjas present naturally harbored this suspicion.
Although both were related to the Yamata no Orochi, Orochimaru had modified himself voluntarily. He wasn't the mythical beast Orochi, after all; taking a kick like that had to be agonizing.
Jiraiya's reaction, however, was to swiftly chase after him in that direction.
Heaven knows where Hagoromo's kick had sent Orochimaru flying? Although the chances of someone getting back up after taking a kick like that were slim, what if? Wouldn't that mean Hagoromo had essentially given Orochimaru a free ride on his escape route?
As soon as Jiraiya moved, everyone else followed suit. The group pursued the direction Orochimaru was kicked at top speed...
The first to arrive was the instigator, Hagoromo. But what he saw was merely a shattered mud clone smashed against a large tree.
"Uncle Jiraiya, you've been fooled. You chased all this way just for an Earth Clone..."
His tone of bitter disappointment and sorrow over their failure made his blatant act of shifting the blame actually seem somewhat credible.
Right after all the Konoha ninjas left the original spot, Orochimaru's figure reappeared. He glanced in the direction "he" had been kicked before swiftly departing.
Honestly, if it weren't for you, Hagoromo, would they have fallen for it?
When Anbu deployed, why couldn't they bring along a Hyuga?