Previously, when Kushina and Hagoromo had "borrowed" jutsus from the Scroll of Seals, the Hokage had naturally questioned Hagoromo about what he had seen—and how many jutsus he had learned.
However, because Hagoromo had been sly enough to leave behind no written records, storing everything purely in his memory, there was no concrete evidence.
Otherwise, regardless of how Kushina had been punished, Hagoromo's sentence would never have been limited to mere house confinement.
So when faced with the Hokage's questioning, Hagoromo's answer had been simple:
He hadn't remembered anything.
He hadn't learned anything.
Of course, the Hokage didn't fully believe him.
But neither could he justify mobilizing the Interrogation Division((Canon: Konoha no Senmetsu, Gomu) over the matter. In truth, he didn't believe Hagoromo could have mastered much in such a short time anyway. If the boy had learned one jutsu—maybe two—then he would simply treat it as a small privilege granted to Kushina's disciple.
In that regard, the Hokage's judgment wasn't wrong.
The Scroll of Seals recorded only high-difficulty forbidden jutsus. Even someone like Hagoromo couldn't possibly master many of them in just over ten minutes.
What the Hokage failed to anticipate was Hagoromo's terrifying memory.
Even jutsus he didn't yet understand—he could memorize word for word, without a single mistake.
During his confinement in Konoha, Hagoromo had dared not expose any of this knowledge. He could only review the jutsus repeatedly in his mind.
But once he left the village, he finally began transcribing those memorized jutsus onto a scroll.
No one was monitoring him anymore.
Writing them down wasn't for immediate training—it was to prevent errors over time. Forgetting an entire jutsu would be one thing. But misremembering even a single detail and then training incorrectly?
That was how people died.
Naturally, Hagoromo remained extremely cautious.
The scroll was protected by a sealing formula keyed exclusively to his chakra. Anyone attempting to force it open would cause the scroll to self-destruct.
Of course, the strength of that seal was relative.
If someone like Kushina tried to open it, his little trick would be utterly meaningless.
But Kushina's sealing ability was among the very best in the shinobi world. If the scroll ever fell into the hands of a sealing master of her level, Hagoromo would simply have to accept his fate.
Due to chakra nature incompatibilities, some of the jutsus recorded on the scroll couldn't yet be trained.
And because of his limited chakra reserves, there were jutsus he couldn't currently use at all.
This didn't mean he couldn't cast them—it meant that after casting one, his chakra would be completely drained.
One shot per day.
Which was about as useful as Megumin's Explosion Magic.
......
The squad had been attacked the night before, and Hagoromo had experienced his first real battle.
The results were satisfactory—but the team's overall tension had risen sharply.
Until they reached Konoha's command headquarters, that tension could not relax.
"Stop!"
The ANBU captain at the front suddenly raised his hand.
The entire formation halted instantly. ANBU operatives automatically assumed defensive and alert positions.
On a large tree off to the front side of the path, a Leaf shinobi appeared.
They had entered the security perimeter of Konoha's command zone.
The ANBU didn't exchange verbal communication. They had their own methods of identification.
The captain tossed a scroll toward the Leaf shinobi.
Without hesitation, the man caught it, opened it, and carefully reviewed its contents. After closely examining Hagoromo's group, he finally signaled for them to proceed.
That scroll was the mission authorization document.
The Leaf shinobi began leading the way. Hagoromo's group followed behind.
Not only that—Hagoromo could sense numerous other Konoha shinobi moving alongside them through the surrounding forest.
"So it's true," Hagoromo thought quietly.
"Konoha really is short on medical-nin on the Sand front…"
The level of attention given to this medical team made that abundantly clear.
After advancing another thirty kilometers, the accompanying shinobi gradually dispersed, returning to their respective patrol zones.
The guide then led Hagoromo's group to the field hospital attached to the frontline headquarters.
Calling it a hospital was generous—it was really just a cluster of larger tents. From time to time, injured shinobi could be seen moving in and out.
The group halted at the entrance.
Kushina led the medical-nin inside.
About twenty minutes later, she emerged again, holding up the mission scroll.
"A-rank escort mission—completed," she declared.
"And flawlessly, at that."
Indeed, it had been flawless.
Both the escort force and the medical-nin arrived safely—
with the sole exception of Kamishiro Hagoromo, who had sustained injuries.
But those wounds were well within acceptable limits.
"Kushina-sama," an ANBU said carefully,
"Since the mission is complete, after a brief rest we should return to Konoha as soon as possible. Given your status, you shouldn't remain on the front lines for long."
Kushina's excitement was immediately doused by an ANBU who clearly didn't understand the concept of reading the room.
"What's the rush?" she snapped.
"Since we're here, we should at least meet Lady Tsunade first."
She showed absolutely no courtesy to the ANBU who had just poured cold water on her mood.
"But—"
The ANBU had his difficulties. If the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki suffered even the slightest harm, none of them could ever atone for it.
"Enough. We're seeing Lady Tsunade first."
Kushina had no intention of accommodating them.
She had finally escaped the village—why would she rush back?
At the very least, life here was far freer than in Konoha. No constant nagging from the Third Hokage.
The reason she had been allowed to come to the front lines wasn't just because Konoha was short-handed.
The real reason was simpler:
The Hokage had been driven to exhaustion.
Sending Kushina out was partly to let her blow off steam—and partly to give himself a break.
Of course, permission to leave Konoha came with conditions:
Once the mission was complete, she was supposed to return immediately.
Kushina understood perfectly well that returning right away would mean losing her excuse to pester the Third Hokage again—and being stuck in Konoha for a long time.
That "long time" could be a year.
Or three.
Or five.
Unless the war reached a point where tailed beasts were deployed, she might never again be allowed near the front lines.
That was the last thing Kushina wanted.
So ignoring the ANBU entirely, she led Hagoromo straight toward Tsunade's tent—a location she had already confirmed while at the field hospital.
The ANBU had no choice but to follow.
When Kushina became stubborn, even Konoha was helpless against her.
Stopping her would require force—
And that was something they were absolutely forbidden to use.
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