Given the current situation, what was the most appropriate solution?
Should he bring out that move?
If he fired it now—before the Jinchūriki completed full tailed-beast transformation—he might be able to end this in one shot.
But that attack…
The one he had been stockpiling for over a year—
It was meant for the Third Raikage.
Even if there were no witnesses here, using that technique would inevitably leave traces. And once it was used, the secret would no longer be a secret.
Yet if he didn't go all out, could he really deal with a transforming Jinchūriki?
This wasn't like last time—
Uzumaki Kushina wasn't here to suppress the tailed beast for him.
As Hagoromo hesitated, he suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine.
A damp, cold sensation.
How to describe it…
If he had to name an animal—
A snake.
Hagoromo spun around—
Then immediately relaxed.
Because help had arrived.
And not just any help.
Someone with their own background music.
Orochimaru… you're finally here.
Do you know how many times I silently sang "A Thousand Years, Waiting Just for This Moment" already?
At last, a hero had arrived—
…Ahem.
Correction.
Nothing was wrong anymore.
With a figure of this level present, Hagoromo no longer needed to agonize over the Jinchūriki.
This was now a matter for Sannin-class shinobi.
He swiftly disengaged and retreated to the side of the man who had appeared so suddenly—
Orochimaru.
Because of the newcomer's presence, Rōshi's tailed-beast transformation halted unnaturally midway. He neither fled nor attacked immediately, choosing instead to observe the situation.
"A Jinchūriki, hm?" Orochimaru's hoarse yet strangely magnetic voice echoed.
"So that overwhelming chakra was coming from this."
His pale face and snake-like slit pupils gleamed with unmistakable excitement.
Men, as creatures, tended to enjoy stimulating things.
And Jinchūriki—dangerous as they were—did not worry Orochimaru in the slightest.
On the contrary, they thrilled him.
The mad scientist in him was practically screaming.
He absolutely wanted to capture this tailed beast and raise it like a pet.
"Orochimaru-sama," Hagoromo said quickly,
"Four-Tails Jinchūriki of Iwagakure—Rōshi."
"Iwagakure… So it's the Four-Tails. That explains it."
The scorched terrain surrounding them hadn't escaped Orochimaru's notice. With that information, everything made sense.
"You were fighting a Jinchūriki alone?" Orochimaru asked casually, finally turning his gaze toward Hagoromo.
"Your name?"
"Konoha chūnin—Kamishiro Hagoromo."
Orochimaru's eyes snapped fully onto him.
The excitement in that gaze far exceeded even what he'd shown toward the Jinchūriki.
"So you're Kamishiro Hagoromo."
"That Lightning Release just now… those techniques…"
"Chūnin, you say?"
"Heh."
"Hagoromo… Hagoromo…"
"A very interesting name. Extremely interesting."
This reaction—
Was bad.
Hagoromo's mind raced.
Wait… I'm not already on his experimental watchlist, am I?
Thinking about it, he was a rather unusual specimen.
A civilian-born ninja who, at this age, possessed such power.
Especially Lightning Release techniques that clearly exceeded what the human body should be able to withstand—yet he himself suffered no backlash at all.
That alone challenged the fundamental principle of "the greater the power, the greater the risk."
And then there was the rank.
Since when could a chūnin go head-to-head with a Jinchūriki?
Orochimaru had even fixated on his name.
That was a first.
"Hagoromo" was the name of the Sage of Six Paths before he became a monk. But in the modern shinobi world, where the Sage was treated more like myth than history, few truly understood the man who founded ninshū and ended an age of chaos.
Did the Sage of Six Paths truly exist?
Most shinobi either didn't know—or dismissed the idea outright.
But people like Orochimaru and Jiraiya had a foundational understanding of that history.
At the very least, Orochimaru knew the Sage's true name:
Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
"Hagoromo" wasn't common—but it wasn't unheard of either.
However, a shinobi named Hagoromo who possessed strength that defied conventional explanation?
That naturally piqued Orochimaru's interest.
As for how Orochimaru's tongue was moving at that moment—
Let's leave that to the imagination.
Hagoromo wisely ignored the topic and redirected the conversation.
"Orochimaru-sama, shall we deal with the Jinchūriki together? Iwagakure's purpose for infiltrating this area is still unclear."
The situation at hand was far more urgent.
"No need," Orochimaru replied calmly.
"I'll handle him."
"Aren't you operating as a two-man team? Your partner's condition isn't looking very good."
He pointed in a certain direction.
The implication was clear:
You messed up? That's fine. Uncle's got you covered.
"Understood!"
Hagoromo didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately withdrew to go rescue Kakashi.
As for what Orochimaru intended to do with the Jinchūriki…
That was probably the kind of research best done without witnesses.
Some experiments were simply not meant to be observed.
Carefully skirting past Rōshi, Hagoromo retreated. The Jinchūriki made no attempt to stop him.
The Four-Tails was now Orochimaru's problem.
Once he'd put sufficient distance between himself and the enemy, Hagoromo sprinted in the direction Orochimaru had indicated.
Please let Kakashi be alive, he prayed silently.
Third Hokage, watch over him.
They hadn't been far apart to begin with.
Hagoromo soon reached the original battlefield where Kakashi had fought—but no one was there anymore.
No blood.
No corpses.
Hagoromo exhaled in relief.
The signs of combat hadn't been erased, making the direction of movement obvious. He followed the trail without hesitation.
As for Kakashi—
Things were, in fact, not going well.
He was engaged in an extremely dangerous fight.
One versus two.
A classic case of being double-teamed—male and female, no less.
How the tables had turned.
Fortunately—or perhaps deliberately—the second opponent had merely observed, seemingly letting the eyebrow-less youth gain experience. Only when he failed to break through did she finally decide to act.
Kakashi was on the verge of being killed—
When his friend Hagoromo finally logged back in.
Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you?
The eyebrow-less youth—
Momochi Zabuza.
And the kunoichi who had just entered the fight—
Terumī Mei.
The moment she moved, she struck like a violent storm.
In an instant, the kunai in her hand was about to pierce Kakashi's throat—
When—
The sharp chirping of Lightning Release rang out.
A lightning-wrapped palm expanded rapidly in Mei's vision—
Smack!
It slapped squarely into her face.
Pain.
Numbness.
A violent jolt.
Even for a kunoichi, this was an experience she had never endured before.
The force in the blow was tremendous.
Her neck strained backward—
Then her waist, thighs, and feet followed.
Her body was sent flying—
Boom!
Her head was slammed brutally into a wall.
Like a smashed watermelon.
Such cruelty toward a beautiful woman.
Yet when Hagoromo withdrew his hand—
What lay before him was nothing more than a wooden post.
"A substitution…" he said calmly.
"Interesting."
"At my current speed, there are very few opponents capable of successfully using the Substitution Technique in the middle of an exchange with me."
He turned toward a certain direction.
"In fact—"
"You're the first."
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