At that moment, Hagoromo had been utterly exhausted. Surrounded by people he trusted implicitly, he had dropped his guard completely. Thus, when the sudden strike landed, he didn't stand a chance—he blacked out instantly.
Hagoromo had no idea what happened next. When he was "ambushed," his collection of pets—the little dogs, the rhinos, the birds—nearly went berserk. Seeing their master attacked, the summoned beasts immediately turned on Minato, Kushina, and the Hyuga ninja.
Because these were the beasts Hagoromo had worked so hard to capture, the trio couldn't bring themselves to use lethal force. They were stuck in a defensive stalemate until Minato, ever the master of the quick exit, grabbed everyone (including the unconscious Hagoromo) and teleported them away.
The summons might have rampaged for a while longer, but as long as their contract link with Hagoromo remained intact, they would eventually calm down. Exactly when that would happen? Minato didn't stick around to find out.
They were finally out of that dangerous place.
"Where am I?"
When Hagoromo finally opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a real bed.
His head throbbed with a dull ache, and his thoughts felt sluggish, but it didn't take long to realize he was no longer in that desolate, yellow-hued dimension.
"You're awake, Hagoromo," said a soft voice. Rin Nohara, who had been watching over him, leaned in. She waved a hand in front of his eyes, checking to see if his consciousness had truly returned.
"Rin? Why are you here? And where is 'here'?" Hagoromo recognized her immediately, but his obsession with his current coordinates remained.
Rin was acting as his caretaker—he was, after all, a high-priority casualty. Not far away, near the window, Kakashi Hatake sat on a stool. He seemed to be staring blankly at the scenery outside, or perhaps he was lost in the book in his lap.
At his young age, Kakashi hadn't yet discovered the "artistic" charms of Icha Icha Paradise. In fact, Jiraiya hadn't even written it yet. From Hagoromo's reclined angle, he could just make out the title of the book:
The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.
It was a classic, albeit obscure, novel. Hagoromo recognized the title, but in his current state, he didn't care much for literary analysis. He wasn't exactly looking for reading material.
"This is the Ninja Hospital at the Konoha-Sand Frontline Command Center... exactly where you were before," Rin explained. "Minato-sensei brought you back three days ago. You've been in a coma. They said it was due to extreme blood loss and chakra exhaustion..."
There was a slight, unnatural hitch in Rin's voice that Hagoromo, in his haze, failed to notice. Some people just aren't built for lying.
"I'm back here? Wait, where's Kushina-sensei?" Hagoromo asked.
He tried to sit up, but his head spun. As the sheets slid down, he realized he was shirtless—though it didn't matter much. He was wrapped in so many bandages that he looked like a budget mummy.
He noticed Kakashi's eyes flicker away from his book for a split second, glancing toward the bed before turning a page.
"Minato-sensei took Kushina-sensei back to the village the same day," Rin said.
Hagoromo nodded. That made sense. After the crisis they'd just survived, Konoha high command would have to be insane to let her stay on the front lines. Even if Kushina had protested, Minato wouldn't have sided with her on this one.
In truth, Kushina had been surprisingly cooperative. She knew where the line was drawn. She understood the weight of her status as a Jinchūriki.
Knowing she was safe brought Hagoromo some peace of mind, but he wasn't exactly easy to fool.
"Exhaustion and blood loss, huh? Then why do I specifically remember Kushina-sensei punching my lights out?"
The last memory he had before the darkness was a red-haired woman's fist growing larger and larger until it occupied his entire field of vision. This wasn't a coma; it was a concussion.
Rin laughed awkwardly and offered a silent apology to Kushina in her head. She had tried to follow the script Kushina gave her, but Hagoromo remembered the "perpetrator" with terrifying clarity. He probably even remembered the exact angle of the punch.
After a moment, Hagoromo accepted the reality. From Kushina's perspective, he probably deserved it. Instead of prioritizing his life and her safety, he had stayed in a hostile environment to "go shopping" for Tailed-Beast-tier pets.
Rin began to catch him up on what had happened since the battle. She detailed the shifts at the command center and the rumors swirling through the camp.
"Did you know?" Rin said, her face lighting up with a mix of excitement and mystery. "People outside have started calling you 'The White Yaksha' (Shiroyasha)."
"Huh?" Hagoromo stared at her, completely bewildered.
The White Yaksha? Why does that sound so familiar? And what kind of edgy title is that?
"They say... a ninja with hair as white as snow, drenched in the blood of his enemies, galloping through the battlefield like a demon of the night... a Yaksha."