Although this mission was described as heading to the front lines, Hagoromo himself was traveling light.
To begin with, he didn't have much to bring.
First, he restocked on standard ninja tools—kunai, shuriken, and the like.
Second, he packed a bag of soldier pills. These things were absolute necessities—whether for training, travel, or life-and-death situations.
Third, he purchased a black cloak.
This wasn't for show. On the battlefield, being able to conceal one's hands was crucial. For shinobi, the first motion of most attacks was forming hand seals. If your hands were hidden, your opponent would have a much harder time reading your intent.
Fourth, he prepared a white mask.
This had nothing to do with ANBU. He had no intention of living an ANBU-style existence. He simply believed that, when necessary, a shinobi should hide their face. Hatake Kakashi was a prime example—even fellow villagers barely knew what he looked like.
One morning, a group of nearly forty people departed Konoha, heading toward the Sunagakure front.
By normal standards, this was a very large-scale movement. After all, most shinobi operations were carried out in four-man squads.
Because the group included physically weaker medical-nin, their travel speed wasn't particularly fast. It took nearly six days for them to reach the border of the Land of Fire.
"Kushina-sama, from this point onward, we need to raise our alert level," the ANBU captain said one evening as the group was setting up camp.
"Geographically speaking, we've entered a combat zone. From now on, we could encounter small Sand shinobi infiltration units at any time."
Kushina nodded without saying anything.
Don't let her usual carefree demeanor fool you—this wasn't someone ignorant of war. As a child, she had personally lived through the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools. She understood the cruelty of war all too well.
At this point, they were still about two hundred kilometers from their destination—the Konoha frontline headquarters located near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. They were also only about two hundred and fifty kilometers from the actual front lines.
Small Sand Village units could easily bypass Konoha's main defenses and infiltrate the Land of Fire for sabotage missions.
Logically, they should have pushed on toward headquarters immediately. However, due to the physical limitations of part of the team, they had no choice but to rest for the night.
That was why the ANBU had come to warn Kushina to stay vigilant.
As they drew closer to the combat zone, tension began to spread through most of the group.
But that "most" did not include Hagoromo.
Even he didn't quite understand why he displayed such an abnormal level of adaptability toward war.
Although he stood beside Kushina listening to the ANBU's warning, his expression remained unconcerned.
Kushina's tent was a special accommodation. As her disciple, Hagoromo benefited as well—at least he didn't have to squeeze in with the ANBU at night.
After the ANBU left the tent, Hagoromo pulled out a small scroll and began sketching and writing on it.
Kushina glanced over curiously.
"Is that an improvement to the Four Symbols Seal?" she asked.
Yes. Hagoromo's mind never rested.
At that moment, he was attempting to refine the Reaper Death Seal's derivative—specifically the Four Symbols Sealing jutsu.
"Yes," Hagoromo nodded. "The Four Symbols Seal is unquestionably one of the most powerful sealing jutsus in existence. But that's also the problem. It consumes too much chakra—and that's not even the worst part."
He continued, "Its biggest flaw is its area of effect. It's too wide. It's very easy to kill the user along with the target. I want to reduce the effective range."
It hadn't even been that long since Hagoromo started studying sealing jutsus—yet here he was, already trying to modify an S-rank forbidden jutsu.
Kushina's first instinct was to forbid it outright.
Developing or modifying ninjutsu was inherently dangerous, especially sealing jutsus—the most complex category of all. A single mistake could spell disaster not just for Hagoromo, but for everyone in the camp.
But after she carefully examined the scroll—its detailed logic, calculations, and structural adjustments—she hesitated.
As an Uzumaki, Kushina was an expert in sealing arts herself. From what she could see, Hagoromo's work contained no errors or oversights. He was moving along a correct—and potentially successful—path.
That made it hard for her to make a firm decision.
Seeing her hesitation, Hagoromo quickly added, "Don't worry, Kushina-sensei. I'm only doing theoretical analysis. I won't conduct any live tests without approval. I'm not that reckless."
That eased her mind somewhat.
Still, she said sternly, "I'll allow the research. But before you test any modified jutsu, you must get my permission—and I must be present. Otherwise, you are not allowed to experiment. Understood?"
"Understood. Completely," Hagoromo replied at once.
He knew better than to push his luck. After all, there was a saying in the shinobi world:
Cherish life. Stay away from lunatics obsessed with forbidden jutsu research.
As night deepened, the campfires went out. The medical-nin had already gone to sleep, and the ANBU left only a single squad on night watch.
Even without artificial light, Hagoromo stepped outside the tent, continuing his sealing calculations under the moonlight.
The moon was especially bright that night.
Time passed, and Kushina fell asleep.
Suddenly, Hagoromo's brush stopped.
His brow furrowed—not because he'd hit a theoretical bottleneck, but because he sensed something else entirely.
Someone was approaching the camp.
Enemies.
He hadn't expected hostile contact so soon after nightfall.
Since they were still within the Land of Fire, the camp hadn't been deliberately concealed. If enemies discovered it, that alone wouldn't be surprising.
Hagoromo stood up and returned the brush and scroll to his ninja pouch.
The ANBU on watch noticed his movement.
Without speaking, the ANBU flashed a series of hand signals.
"What is it?" Hagoromo asked softly. "Did something happen?"
One of Hagoromo's hands slipped out from beneath his cloak. His fingers moved rapidly in response:
"Six o'clock direction. Approximately four hundred meters out. Forested area. Four enemy targets detected."
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789