After briefly explaining what had happened over the past few days, Nohara Rin took her leave for the time being.
At this point, Hagoromo had no choice but to accept the fact that he had essentially become the White Fang. Honestly, there wasn't much he couldn't accept about it—at least no one was calling him that copy-ninja with the exploding mask.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that after Rin left, Kakashi still chose to remain.
That struck Hagoromo as rather strange.
There was hardly any connection between the two of them. Forget about being close—they weren't even familiar. From beginning to end, the number of words they'd exchanged probably hadn't exceeded ten sentences.
Was Kakashi staying behind to keep watch over him? That seemed unnecessary.
"Um…"
At that moment, Kakashi finally spoke.
The way he hesitated made him seem… awkward. Almost embarrassed.
Granted, Kakashi wore a mask year-round, but the emotion in his eyes was unmistakable.
Hey, hey—don't look like that. That expression makes it seem like this story is about to veer off into some strange emotional direction.
As it turned out, Hagoromo was overthinking things.
Kakashi had legitimate business.
"Hagoromo—"
"Just call me Hagoromo," Hagoromo said quickly. He really didn't have the tolerance for overly formal honorifics.
"…Hagoromo. There's a ninjutsu I want to show you."
Before Hagoromo could even respond, Kakashi had already begun forming hand seals.
It was clear that Kakashi wasn't seeking guidance. Rather, as a ninja, he felt that if he could use a jutsu, he ought to show it to its original creator.
The moment Hagoromo saw the hand seals, he understood exactly why Kakashi had stayed.
Ox → Rabbit → Monkey
Lightning flared to life in Kakashi's hand.
Raikiri.
A jutsu that had originally been Kakashi's sole creation. Though he could now use it earlier than in canon history, the title of "original creator" had rather pitifully slipped away.
Once the demonstration was over, Kakashi immediately dispelled the jutsu. Using high-level ninjutsu inside a medical camp was hardly appropriate.
Besides, Raikiri consumed an enormous amount of chakra—it wasn't something to maintain longer than necessary.
"I'm sorry," Kakashi said, his voice still tinged with discomfort. "Somehow, I just… knew how to use your jutsu. It's like the concept was already in my head…"
In his mind, this bordered on theft.
Stealing ninjutsu was still stealing.
But to Hagoromo, this didn't matter at all. In fact, Kakashi mastering the jutsu was the best possible outcome. When Hagoromo had first used it in front of Kakashi, he'd already intended to return it to him.
Raikiri had always been Kakashi's jutsu.
That said, at Kakashi's current stage, his control over it was far from perfect. Due to his body's limited resistance to intense Lightning Release, there was a strict limit to how many times he could use it in a given period.
This was an extremely dangerous jutsu.
In terms of power, it was undeniably lethal—Hagoromo's battlefield "testing" had proven that anyone stabbed by it died on the spot. But at the same time, it posed severe risks to the user as well.
Hagoromo himself was able to use it without restriction because of his unique constitution, which rendered him largely immune to lightning-based damage.
Kakashi, however, was different.
"Uh… sorry…" Kakashi added when Hagoromo didn't respond right away, assuming he had angered him.
"Huh? It's fine," Hagoromo said quickly. "Kakashi, just treat that jutsu as your own. You can use it freely—and if you ever want to teach it to someone else in the future, that's fine too."
He could use the jutsu himself—that was all that mattered. What Kakashi chose to do with it was entirely up to him.
Hagoromo had no intention of claiming credit as its developer. Even without him, Kakashi would have created the jutsu sooner or later.
"…What?"
Now it was Kakashi's turn to be completely at a loss.
He genuinely couldn't understand Hagoromo's reaction. Someone else had learned his original ninjutsu, yet Hagoromo wasn't the least bit upset? Shouldn't he have gotten angry first, then demanded an equally valuable jutsu in exchange?
"In any case," Hagoromo continued, "you said the idea was already in your head. Even if you'd never seen this jutsu before, you would've developed it eventually. So there's really no need to worry."
Kakashi: "..."
After Hagoromo explained himself repeatedly and made it abundantly clear that he truly didn't mind, Kakashi finally left—still wearing a puzzled expression.
Wasn't Hagoromo being too friendly?
Before this, Kakashi had never thought of him as a particularly kind person. Yet Hagoromo had even pointed out the weaknesses of Raikiri—its straight-line charge, its risks, its limitations…
Once Kakashi was gone, Hagoromo was finally alone in the medical tent.
After lying down for three straight days, his body felt stiff and uncomfortable. Naturally, he decided to take a walk.
He grabbed the oversized white patient's robe hanging at the foot of the bed, slipped it on, put on the sandals beneath the bed, and headed outside.
Calling it a "ward" was generous—it was really just a small tent.
It was noon. The light outside was bright, and everywhere he looked, medical-nin in white uniforms hurried back and forth.
The traces of the war from three days ago hadn't yet been cleared away. The medical-nin were doing everything they could to save those who still had a chance to survive.
The scene from that night unfolded vividly before Hagoromo's eyes.
The terrain had been heavily damaged. Tents that should have been pitched on level ground now leaned at awkward angles. Every so often, he could see dried blood that had seeped deep into the soil.
Fortunately, the bodies of both allied and enemy ninja had already been collected. Otherwise, the sights would have been far more horrific.
He wandered aimlessly, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings, until he found himself standing in front of a familiar tent.
This was Tsunade's command tent.
Given its size and prominence, it was almost miraculous that it hadn't been destroyed during the battle.
Logically speaking, such an obvious target should have been taken out in the very first wave.
Hearing no movement inside, Hagoromo grew curious and pulled open the tent flap. He'd assumed it would be empty—but he was wrong.
It should be noted that since Hagoromo was still recovering from his injuries, his sensory abilities were currently shut down. Even under normal circumstances, he wouldn't keep them active twenty-four hours a day.
Tsunade sat inside, frowning as she reviewed a stack of documents.
"Lady Tsunade?" Hagoromo said.
Strange—if Tsunade was here, why wasn't there a single guard outside?
"Hagoromo? You're awake." Tsunade glanced up at him briefly. "Sit down. Once I finish this, I have something to discuss with you."
After giving that instruction, she immediately lowered her head and returned to work.
A hardworking Tsunade was a rare sight.
If this were several years in the future—even after becoming Hokage—she would never again show this level of dedication to paperwork.
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