Minato's sudden appearance had given Hagoromo a literal translation of what it meant to be "surprised."
He was still feeling quite depressed—not because of any resentment toward Minato (after all, the man had come to help), but because he couldn't ignore the fact that the cooked duck had flown away.
And it was a big duck... actually, that sounds a bit weird. A tender duck?
As for Hagoromo's brief flash of persecution mania—the thought that he was under constant surveillance—it vanished as quickly as it came. The sheer irrationality of it debunked the possibility.
He was a "Root and Branch" member of the Third Hokage's faction, and he harbored no anti-shinobi, anti-humanity, or anti-Konoha tendencies. While he might not be the most "diligent" worker every single time, he had never messed up a mission. Konoha had no reason to waste resources monitoring him.
Besides, even if they wanted to monitor someone, would they really deploy a shinobi of Minato's caliber? Especially during a time when high-level combat power was so precious?
Internal strife was a luxury for peacetime—the legendary "too full for one's own good" scenario. Currently, external pressure outweighed everything. The proud Uchiha had to march to the front lines, and Danzo, who always wanted to "make a big headline," had to keep his schemes bottled up in his bladder.
As for the Flying Raijin mark on his body... fine, he'd keep it for now. It might save his life one day. Minato rarely messed things up; Hagoromo had simply been the victim of a one-in-a-million statistical anomaly this time.
"For you to pull out a move like that, the enemy must have been quite extraordinary..."
"Hagoromo, brief me on the situation here."
Once the chaotic emotions settled, Minato immediately cut to the heart of the matter.
"Did Lord Minato run into Kakashi earlier?" Hagoromo didn't answer immediately, instead asking a question of his own.
Otherwise, there was no explaining why Minato would fly directly to his side. It seemed Kakashi had moved incredibly fast.
"Yes. He is currently bringing the news back to Lord Orochimaru on the island. I heard the gist of it from him... I was already nearby, having run into Kakashi while searching the sea," Minato said.
Hagoromo wasn't the only one who suspected a mass withdrawal following a signal; Minato had the same thought, which is why he had been searching this specific stretch of ocean and encountered Kakashi so quickly.
"Earlier, Kakashi and I indeed tracked down a gathering of Mist shinobi. A rough visual estimate included..." Hagoromo listed the names of the ninjas he had identified.
"Essentially, the enemy's strength is at the Elite Jonin level or higher," Minato judged instantly upon hearing the names.
"Correct. That's why we didn't get too close and chose to retreat instead... However, for some reason, our tracks were exposed, leading to the pursuit. Considering the pursuer might be their strongest individual, I had Kakashi take the intel back while I stayed to hold the line."
Hagoromo continued, "My judgment was correct. The enemy who came after us was likely Yagura of the Mist."
As he spoke, he experimentally swung the weapon the enemy had left behind.
Minato's eyes shifted to the unique tool. A specialized weapon like that was as good as a fingerprint for confirming an owner's identity.
"This weapon... it does indeed belong to Yagura," Minato confirmed. If the opponent was someone of that caliber, he understood why Hagoromo had resorted to that specific "railgun" technique.
"That move of yours... Raien Shigekuni..." Minato looked like he wanted to say something, but the words died on his tongue.
In truth, he was simply disappointed that the jutsu already had a name.
To put it plainly: Minato was terrible at naming things.
This wouldn't be a problem usually—everyone has strengths and weaknesses—but he also had a compulsion to name everything. These two traits combined were a lethal combination.
Hagoromo should consider himself lucky he had named it himself. If Minato had been involved, the Railgun might have ended up being called something like the "Armstrong Spiral Accelerating Armstrong Cannon."
At this point, Minato realized his sudden entry had caused Hagoromo to miss a golden opportunity to eliminate a powerful foe. Unfortunately, once an opportunity is lost, it's gone.
After Minato arrived, Hagoromo's attack missed, and he ceased the electrical discharge to avoid friendly fire. In that window, Yagura had instantly merged into the seawater and vanished.
Hagoromo couldn't sense where he went, but he didn't expect a counter-attack. Yagura had likely fled for good. Minato's flashy entrance, combined with his iconic blonde hair, was enough to scare anyone off.
Under normal circumstances, a peak-condition Yagura might not mind testing his mettle against the famous "Yellow Flash." But now, because of that final attack, he had acknowledged Hagoromo as an equal in power. If you added the legendary Minato Namikaze to the mix, did he have a chance of winning? Not a snowball's chance in hell. So, he read the room and bailed.
"Lord Minato, what is our next move?" Hagoromo asked.
Even though Minato didn't have overall command of the operation, he was clearly the one who should be making the calls now.
In Minato's eyes, Hagoromo swung Yagura's weapon a few more times, decided it was too awkward to use, and—true to form—tossed it into the "ditch" (the ocean).
Minato's eyelid twitched involuntarily.
Congratulations, Hagoromo Kamishiro, on earning the title 'Discarder of Legendary Weapons.'
For Hagoromo, the philosophy was simple: kill the enemy if possible, brute-force them if necessary, but if they get away, don't lose sleep over it. Fundamentally, it wasn't a lack of drive, but a lack of a grand purpose.
End the warring era? Bring world peace? Honestly, he didn't think about that much. He felt those were "other people's missions." To him, being a shinobi was just like punching a clock at a 9-to-5 job.
This mindset would persist until certain life-changing events forced a shift.
Faced with Hagoromo's question, Minato felt conflicted. The fate of the Byakugan was practically a foregone conclusion; the mission was essentially over.
The Byakugan had been in the hands of a single ninja the whole time—a Mist scout named Ao. He was the one who had dealt the final blow to the Hyuga head house member and secured the prize before fleeing toward Kirigakure.
Minato thought for a moment and then said, "Hagoromo, return to the Land of Whirlpools. I'm going to scout ahead alone."
He decided to investigate further, but since the likelihood of further combat was slim, there was no need to take Hagoromo along. As for Minato himself, regardless of the enemy he encountered, he could always disengage at will.