Although he couldn't tell which side the attack had come from, Hagoromo immediately leapt backward.
Three more kunai struck the corpses he had been using as shields. The sharp smell of gunpowder and the flash of light told him instantly—these were no ordinary kunai.
They were modified kunai.
Attached to the rings at the ends of the kunai were thin wires, each tied to a paper talisman inscribed with a jutsu formula.
These were known as explosive tags.
All things considered, explosive tags were extremely practical ninja tools, possessing considerable power. In fact, they could rival ordinary B-rank offensive ninjutsu. If someone was caught in the blast, even survival would mean severe injuries.
Of course—
That assumed they actually got hit.
Disregarding even the bodies of one's own comrades—this was simply the nature of warfare between shinobi.
Boom!
A deafening explosion followed. A rain of blood splattered around Hagoromo, staining his clothes, but he paid it no mind.
The shockwave hurled his body into the air. As he traced a short parabolic arc and emerged from the smoke and dust, three Sand shinobi charged simultaneously toward him in midair.
Did he really look like a defenseless target?
The Chidori in his hand condensed into a blade of light. Hagoromo forcibly twisted his body midair, borrowing the explosive force to spin at high speed—
Together with the Chidori Spear, he transformed into a blazing, lightning-wreathed top!
Chidori Shadow Leaf Dance!
The three Sand shinobi had barely leapt off the ground before they were cleanly sliced apart in midair, split in two without resistance.
The Sand shinobi who had attacked earlier did not pursue. He coldly watched his comrades fall. Once the attack ended, Hagoromo tucked his body and landed swiftly, pushing off with his legs to retreat again. He regrouped with nearby Konoha shinobi and faced that enemy directly.
Setting aside the ambush with kunai and explosive tags—
The shinobi in front of him was an opponent worth taking seriously.
Without time to tally his kills, Hagoromo gritted his teeth and yanked several shuriken out of his arm and leg.
The explosive tags hadn't caused him direct damage, but the blast had thrown him into the air—and while airborne, it was nearly impossible to dodge every projectile.
He had avoided fatal injuries, but he'd still taken multiple hits.
He quickly pulled several glass vials from his ninja pouch and swallowed a handful of pills in rapid succession.
In addition to blood-restoring pills(canon: "soldier pills")and hemostatic pills(blood-clotting pills), the most important were antidotes. After being struck multiple times, there was no guarantee the enemy's weapons weren't poisoned.
Thanks to Granny Chiyo's influence, carrying antidotes had become standard practice among Konoha shinobi.
Next, he pulled out another bottle and swallowed a Soldier Pill.
Chakra was Hagoromo's weak point. Though he had taken down nearly ten enemies in a single charge, his chakra reserves were already more than half depleted. He urgently needed to recover.
The Sand shinobi approached him once more.
From beginning to end, the two hadn't exchanged a single word—and in truth, they never would. Until one of them fell, there was nothing to say.
It wasn't because of some universal rule about "talking too much leads to death."
There simply was no need for conversation.
They bore no personal grudge against one another, but in this moment, there was only one outcome—kill or be killed.
Hagoromo narrowed his eyes, clearly seeing the savage, murderous light flickering in his opponent's gaze.
Then—
He charged.
Unexpectedly, the Sand shinobi suddenly swung his arm and hurled his long sword straight at Hagoromo.
It was an unanticipated move. Throwing kunai was common, but flinging a long weapon like that was rare.
Still, it remained within Hagoromo's reaction speed.
He stopped abruptly, twisting his head and upper body to the right, dodging the blade with ease.
But that wasn't the real problem.
The real issue came next.
A moment ago, the enemy had been holding a sword. Now that it was gone—
What did that leave in his hands?
Nothing.
And when a shinobi's hands were empty, that was when they were busiest—because they were free to form hand seals.
Wind Release: Wind Cutter jutsu!( Wind Release: Gale Palm )
A blade of wind slashed toward Hagoromo, aiming to cut him clean in two.
To evade the thrown sword, Hagoromo's body was twisted into an awkward posture.
Could he still dodge this ninjutsu in time?
He could.
If he couldn't, this story would end right here.
His right leg hooked clumsily in front of his left—
And, quite miraculously, he tripped over himself.
From a posture standpoint, it wasn't pretty at all.
Alright, no need to preserve his image—
It was a full-on faceplant.
But it worked.
He avoided the attack.
Though his sprawled position made him look defenseless, that was far from the truth.
Just as the enemy prepared to rush in and finish him off, Hagoromo lifted his head. The fall had knocked his mask loose, exposing his face.
Not that it mattered—the enemy wouldn't spare him just because he looked good.
What mattered was that his mouth was free.
(If anyone's thoughts went astray, please go stand in the corner and reflect.)
He had already prepared his counterattack during the fall.
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!
A roaring stream of fire surged forward along the ground, transforming into a blazing fire dragon that charged straight at the enemy.
Yes—Hagoromo could use Fire Release.
If that hadn't been mentioned before, consider this official confirmation.
He had no expectation of killing his opponent with this jutsu. He merely wanted to buy a bit of time—
Enough time to get back on his feet.
The suppression effect was obvious. Hagoromo even had the leisure to retrieve his fallen mask.
As expected, however, the jutsu's killing power fell short.
After assessing its strength, the Sand shinobi immediately abandoned offense and switched to defense.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
He slammed both hands onto the ground. The earth liquefied into mud, which surged upward and solidified into a towering earthen wall.
In terms of elemental relationships:
Wind counters Lightning, Lightning counters Earth, Fire counters Wind.
They countered one another.
The problem was that the quality of their jutsus was not equal.
Hagoromo's Lightning Release—
Was top-tier.
He flicked out two shuriken, sending them arcing in wide curves toward the enemy hiding behind the wall.
At the same time, he charged forward again.
Hagoromo had realized something crucial—he could no longer afford to drag this fight out. He had to end it quickly.
Trying to conserve chakra would only waste more of it in the end.
Chidori Current—fully unleashed!
In an instant, Hagoromo's speed surged to the absolute limit his body could reach.
The shrill scream of crackling lightning echoed across the battlefield.
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