"I'm freezing to death!! Damn it!"
A certain someone's pig-like screams echoed from time to time.
Hagoromo's courtyard wasn't very large, but it originally contained a shallow ornamental pond. In theory, it should've been stocked with a few goldfish—but Hagoromo had never cared for such things, so it had always been dry.
Now, however, it had been repurposed.
First, it was dug two meters deeper.
Second, it was filled with water.
Third—and most importantly—Haku, the human icebox, had added a special ingredient.
It was already winter to begin with, and with Haku's contribution, the water was so cold it pierced straight to the bone. Falling in was absolutely not a pleasant experience.
Naruto knew this very well.
Because he kept falling in.
He genuinely couldn't keep his footing on the water.
In the short term, Hagoromo had no intention of teaching Naruto actual ninjutsu.
What he planned to teach him consisted of three things:
First—chakra control.
Second—taijutsu fundamentals.
Third—an introduction to chakra nature transformation.
Ninjutsu training was deliberately pushed to the back.
Foundations mattered more than techniques.
Compared to ordinary ninja, someone like Naruto didn't actually require extremely fine chakra control. Wasting chakra during techniques simply wasn't an issue for him.
Just consider the "original" Naruto's clone efficiency and Rasengan utilization—it was honestly tragic.
That said, even without precision, control itself was indispensable.
So Hagoromo adopted Konoha's most traditional teaching method—
Punishment-based training.
Failure came with consequences.
Painful ones.
This worked especially well for someone as thick-skinned as Naruto.
As for taijutsu—
Put simply, a ninja with weak taijutsu could never become a reliable veteran.
Naruto did have problems here.
Likely due to his loud, impulsive personality, his movements tended to be sloppy—too wide, too open. Constant correction was required.
Finally, chakra nature transformation.
This was something best introduced early.
Not only for practicality and the future, but also for inheritance.
No matter what, Hagoromo fully intended to pass the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan on to Naruto.
The technique itself had tremendous development potential.
If Naruto could truly master chakra nature transformation, who knew—
A Lightning Release: Rasengan or even a Lightning Release: Rasenshuriken might appear.
Lightning Release was notoriously difficult to shape and control, which was precisely why Storm Release—a Lightning–Water composite—was so meaningful.
Using conductive water to guide lightning gave it direction, precision, and enhanced power.
Compressing lightning directly into a spherical form was extremely difficult—
But no one could deny Naruto's potential.
After all, he was Number One in unpredictability.
If Naruto ever mastered all five chakra natures like Hagoromo—
He might very well invent something like:
Ninja Art: Five Nature Release – Dango Family Technique.
Just imagining it—
Its destructive power would far exceed S-rank… landing squarely in C-rank.
(Clannad-rank.)
Anyone who witnessed it—
Well.
Its power would be enough to make those who heard of it grieve, and those who saw it weep.
Since that day, Naruto had been using the excuse of "learning ninjutsu" to visit Hagoromo frequently.
To be fair—
He was actually learning.
But today, all four children were training on their own.
Hagoromo wasn't present.
He had been back in Konoha for over a month.
It was time for real actions to begin.
What Hagoromo hadn't expected—
Was that this very night, he would meet someone who absolutely should not have appeared in Konoha.
When the small-area barrier suddenly formed, Hagoromo's instinctive reaction was resistance.
But he stopped.
Because he understood immediately.
The Uchiha situation was a nest of monsters and demons.
The Sharingan attracted all kinds of interested parties back to this village.
"Why return to Konoha…"
"…Orochimaru?"
Jiraiya was scouring the world in search of him.
For Orochimaru to sneak back into Konoha at a time like this—
That was practically courting death.
"First," Orochimaru replied calmly,
"there's something here that interests me."
At his core, Orochimaru acted solely on his curiosity.
That was the fundamental reason he had returned.
And that curiosity was now clearly aimed at the Uchiha.
"Second, although I'm not a doctor anymore, I received an… interesting request for surgery."
The wording was vague enough that Hagoromo couldn't immediately judge its meaning.
In truth, it was simply an old collaborator within Konoha asking him to complete a long-promised body modification.
"Third—this is an order from the organization."
Organization.
Hagoromo's eyes remained calm.
"An organization, huh… Wearing that outfit invites death," he said evenly.
"Do you know what absolute defeat means?"
Standing before him dressed like that was an extremely poor decision.
"Heh. As expected, you don't like this outfit," Orochimaru chuckled.
Absolute defeat had only one definition—
Total death.
Without any visible movement, Orochimaru had already changed back into ordinary clothing.
"That place merely contains something I'm interested in. As for 'joining' or 'cooperation'—those last only until my interest ends."
Hagoromo nodded.
If that hadn't been the case, Orochimaru would already be dead.
Submission was not the right word—
But Orochimaru would never allow anyone else to dictate his will.
"We are very interested in the Uchiha matter," Orochimaru continued.
Mid-sentence, he gave Hagoromo a strange look before going on.
"But for various reasons… some people find it inconvenient to come here. So the task fell to me."
The organization had never truly trusted Orochimaru.
Surveillance was routine.
But since he dared to speak like this, it meant he had confirmed he wasn't currently being monitored.
"What do you want?" Hagoromo asked.
"And why appear before me? No matter how you look at it, Konoha isn't a safe place for you."
Orochimaru was unreadable.
And so was Hagoromo.
No one could guarantee that Hagoromo wouldn't strike him down on the spot.
"Nothing special," Orochimaru replied.
"We simply want to watch this clan be destroyed. Some people don't want too many Uchiha left in this world."
"As for appearing before you—I just hope you won't interfere."
"Helping or saving the Uchiha… you don't really have a reason to do that, do you?"
"There aren't many things in Konoha that can threaten me," Orochimaru added lightly.
"As long as I'm not discovered."
More importantly—
He had insiders.
Orochimaru had judged correctly.
Hagoromo truly had no reason to help the Uchiha.
Hagoromo neither agreed nor denied.
Instead, he changed the subject.
"Your appearance is convenient," he said.
"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you."
"I've discovered a ninja in Konoha who can use Wood Release."
"That would be one of my old experimental subjects," Orochimaru replied.
"The only one who survived."
"So you've already found a way to transplant Wood Release cells," Hagoromo said.
"Then this becomes simple. I need you to help me with something."
No matter how low the probability—
Once possibility existed, it existed.
Hagoromo explained his request in detail.
"This won't be difficult," Orochimaru said after listening.
"But I can't guarantee success."
He didn't know what Hagoromo ultimately intended.
But he didn't mind lending a hand.
Hagoromo's actions were always interesting.
Watching them unfold carried no loss—
And might even prove enlightening.
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