"The surrounding area has been cleared. All preparations are complete."
Inside a low, inconspicuous building, Mei Terumī explained the situation to Hagoromo.
Everything was ready.
This location lay on the outskirts of Kirigakure—a place rarely visited even in normal times. Farther away stood a solitary, towering cylindrical structure.
That building was the agreed-upon negotiation site.
Every previous meeting between the peace faction and the war faction had taken place there.
"My scrolls are already inside?" Hagoromo nodded and asked calmly.
"They've been placed at the designated location and thoroughly concealed," Mei replied.
"The other side has already entered the venue. You may begin."
Besides Mei and Hagoromo, her three subordinates and two Kirigakure advisors were present. From this distance and angle, they could clearly observe the situation across the way.
Several leaders of the war faction had already entered the meeting hall.
And hidden within that hall—
Were Hagoromo's Four Symbols Seal scrolls.
The meeting had been arranged under the pretense of discussing Konoha's stance on the war, as well as intelligence regarding Yagura—topics that raised no suspicion. The former was a recurring, unresolved issue; the latter was information the war faction desperately wanted.
From Mei's personal standpoint, she felt little resistance toward what was about to happen.
If she were already Mizukage, she might regret losing capable shinobi like Yagura or the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. But for those entrenched, self-serving advisors who contributed nothing yet obstructed reform—
They were liabilities.
Removing such obstacles ahead of time would only make governance easier.
"I'm starting."
As Hagoromo spoke, his hands—hidden within his sleeves—came together. He began forming seals rapidly, the movements obscured by his clothing so that no one from Kirigakure could see the hand signs.
This was not blind obedience on Kirigakure's part.
No faction would ever truly trust a shinobi from Konoha.
But on the matter of eliminating the war faction, both sides shared the same conclusion.
The idea itself was not new—only previously unattainable.
Politics worked this way everywhere.
When one side had poison and the other had a gun, cooperation came naturally.
Their ideologies aligned, their advantages complemented each other—and so, they moved in unison.
The moment Hagoromo completed the final seal, everyone present witnessed a phenomenon they would never forget.
At the center of the distant building, a massive black sphere rapidly expanded outward.
From a single point, it swelled to an enormous size—then collapsed back into nothingness just as abruptly.
The Four Symbols Seal lasted only seconds.
For a moment, Mei almost believed her eyes were deceiving her.
But when she looked again—
The building appeared as if something had taken a brutal bite straight through its center.
Everything within the area swept by the seal had been completely erased, leaving behind only smooth, curved edges and a vast spherical void.
Total annihilation.
That was the defining feature of the Four Symbols Seal.
Once caught within it, death was absolute—there was no escape.
Two or three seconds later, a thunderous crash echoed.
The upper half of the building, having lost its support, collapsed under gravity.
Only then did Hagoromo exhale and speak four words:
"Mission complete."
The ease with which the war faction's leadership—an obstacle that had plagued the peace faction for years—had been erased left everyone stunned.
But what other outcome could there be?
Once they entered the sealing zone, escape was impossible.
As the Kirigakure shinobi finally processed what had happened—and recalled that Hagoromo still carried more than a dozen similar scrolls—
They instinctively took a few steps back.
As if distance itself could offer safety.
"White Yaksha-dono, we sincerely thank you for your cooperation," one of the advisors said politely, though his eyes flickered with something unreadable.
"With this, peace between Kirigakure and Konoha is all but assured. Once you return to Konoha, we can proceed with the next stage of formal negotiations."
"It's nothing," Hagoromo replied evenly.
"Peace is our shared goal."
But then—
His expression suddenly stiffened.
He snapped his feet together, turned sharply, extended his arms, and stomped the ground.
The abrupt, bizarre sequence of movements caused all nearby Kirigakure shinobi to retreat at once, forming a wide circle around him.
"What is he doing?"
"Some kind of Konoha taijutsu?"
"A new sealing technique?"
"Genjutsu?"
"A ritual?"
"Ao!" Mei shouted.
"Yes!"
Ao had already activated his Byakugan without needing further orders.
"There's nothing," he reported quickly.
"No technique is forming. His chakra is completely stable."
Because Hagoromo said nothing, no one could understand his actions.
And because of the lingering fear of the Four Symbols Seal, no one dared interfere.
For a full four minutes, Hagoromo continued stepping in that strange rhythm—
Walking the devil's footsteps.
Then, when the movement stopped—
Poof.
He vanished.
Any chance to question him was gone.
What he had just done became an unsolved mystery in Kirigakure's history.
"A clone…? When did he—"
All that remained was a sheet of white paper drifting gently to the ground.
After confirming there was no danger, Mei picked it up and read:
"The mission is complete. I have withdrawn in advance.
Friends of Kirigakure, please do not miss me.
Long live friendship! Long live peace! Long live great unity among the shinobi villages!
…(This pot, I'm not carrying.)"
Mei and the others stared at one another.
What… was that supposed to mean?
Once again, they were left completely baffled.
Their counterpart was a man who never followed any recognizable pattern.
But one thing was certain—
Hagoromo was already gone.
Even the Hyūga could not keep the Byakugan active around the clock—much less Ao.
The moment Hagoromo left his room to come here, he had used Shadow Clone Technique.
The clone carried out the operation.
The real body stayed behind.
Once everyone departed, the real Hagoromo moved.
He swiftly infiltrated the edge of Kirigakure's barrier.
The instant the Four Symbols Seal activated, he knew the mission had succeeded.
He violently breached the barrier—
And left Kirigakure without a second glance.
The clone's final task had been simple:
Buy time.
So it performed a full, incomprehensible "Gokuraku Jōdo" routine—an utterly baffling farewell performance for Kirigakure.
Four minutes.
More than enough time for Hagoromo to disappear beyond pursuit.
Although Hagoromo's arrival in Kirigakure had been secret, only known to a handful—
Too many "important figures" had just died.
To preserve unity, the blame would inevitably be placed on him.
An assassination charge was unavoidable.
So he chose to leave early.
Even now, with no concrete evidence, Kirigakure would likely still pin the responsibility on him.
But that didn't matter.
Let them blame him.
He was already safe.
And more importantly—
The mission was complete.
Peace between Kirigakure and Konoha was about to arrive.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
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