The snow and wind were heavy, but they couldn't cut off Hagoromo's vision. He could see Kakashi's figure running ahead of him—sometimes far, sometimes near.
It was as if some force were driving his steps... and that force certainly existed. It could be summarized in two words: The Mission.
If one were to analyze Kakashi's deeper psychology, they would understand the absolute weight those two words held for him.
Hagoromo and Kakashi were currently in pursuit of Zabuza and Mei Terumi. Earlier, the two Mist shinobi had seemingly received a signal to withdraw, abruptly retreating from their respective battles. Combined with the fact that Hagoromo had been pinned down by a direct Tailed Beast Bomb blast from the Jinchuriki, they had been unable to monitor the enemies' movements, leading to this reactive situation.
The enemy wouldn't be careless enough to leave obvious trails. As for subtle ones, the current weather would mask them in an instant. Neither Hagoromo nor Kakashi possessed long-range reconnaissance techniques.
Thus, their current direction was based purely on a calculated probability.
If that signal truly meant "withdraw," the most likely destination for the enemy was the Land of Water. The Land of Water was an island nation surrounded by sea, located to the northeast of the former Land of Whirlpools. Therefore, the duo was racing in that direction.
Though Kakashi appeared calm on the surface, one could sense a different undertone to his aura. The reason wasn't hard to guess: a clear withdrawal signal likely meant the enemy had successfully secured the Byakugan. If so, Konoha's operation was already a failure.
Every shinobi involved in this mission would share that failure, Kakashi included.
As for Hagoromo, while he wasn't obsessed with the success rates of high-level missions, if they failed here, it would technically be his first major loss.
"By the way..." Kakashi spoke suddenly, his voice carrying a hint of concern. He didn't turn back, and his pace didn't falter for a second. "What happened to the Executioner's Blade?"
His concern wasn't because it was a rare weapon, but because it had been lost while under his watch. Driven by his sense of responsibility, he wanted to recover it if possible.
"I snapped it into several pieces. It's useless now, isn't it?" Hagoromo replied. What use was a broken blade, anyway? Unless there was a shinobi out there specialized in "Kitchen Knife Style."
Though the Kubikiribocho was broken, it possessed a unique way of restoring itself—but Hagoromo wasn't privy to that specific detail. In fact, even Kakashi didn't know, though something felt off to him.
"Since it's one of the Seven Ninja Swords, it feels like it shouldn't have been destroyed so easily..."
Kakashi's thought process was simple: the blade must have a special property. If it were just a sharp hunk of metal, it wouldn't be legendary.
Hagoromo felt a bit helpless. How could he say "so easily"? He had put a massive amount of force into that break; his knee was still bruised and swollen from the impact.
"And," Kakashi continued, "I remember you holding half of it in your hand earlier."
Hagoromo's hands were currently empty.
"Well... in the heat of the moment, I just tossed it into a ditch."
During the clash with Mei Terumi, Hagoromo had indeed discarded the remains of the sword. As for where exactly it landed, he hadn't bothered to remember.
"If you want to find it, go back to that village."
"Though that village is currently a lake."
That answer... What else could Kakashi say? He focused back on the mission.
They quickly traversed the island, but found no trace of the enemy along the way.
"Should we turn back and continue searching the island, or...?" Kakashi trailed off, his eyes turning toward the sea ahead.
The ocean was restless, the waves far more violent than when they had arrived two days ago. Combined with the snow, visibility was poor.
"Keep going forward," Hagoromo said. He had no concrete evidence for this judgment, only a gut feeling that the enemy had already fled to the sea.
Kakashi didn't object. Even if he had reservations, he kept them to himself.
And so, two days after their arrival, the two returned to the open water.
In truth, Hagoromo's intuition was even darker: he felt the mission was already functionally over. Even if they caught up to Mei and Zabuza, would they actually be carrying the Byakugan? Unlikely. Even if they killed every Mist shinobi they found, the eye was probably already gone.
Driven by this thought, Hagoromo took the lead, abandoning a wide-range search in favor of a straight-line sprint toward the Land of Water.
Soon, they crossed the boundary of the designated search area. Suddenly, Hagoromo raised his right hand, signaling Kakashi to stop.
"What is it?" Kakashi asked. He had noticed nothing unusual.
"Can you smell it? The scent of blood..."
Kakashi took a deep breath through his nose but smelled nothing. In this low-temperature environment, a shinobi's sense of smell was naturally dampened.
But Hagoromo's tone was certain. He began moving in a circle around the area.
"Found it."
Hagoromo pointed to a patch of water. The seawater held a faint, barely perceptible tinge of crimson. If one wasn't looking specifically for it, it was invisible.
With the prompt, Kakashi realized what it was: bloodstains.
Looking at Hagoromo, Kakashi found it somewhat incredible. At that moment, the thought crossed his mind that he really ought to start raising some ninken.
Hagoromo leaned down, touching the water with his palm and rubbing his fingers together. He could feel the slight viscosity of blood.
"If I remember correctly, Konoha scouts were supposed to be stationed near this position. It's clear... one of our people was taken out. Not long ago."
The likelihood that the blood belonged to a Konoha shinobi was high.
"After them!"
From a directional standpoint, their judgment had been correct. Unfortunately, they were one step too late. The enemy had somehow found a way to quietly breach Konoha's surveillance network.
The situation was no longer under Konoha's control.