Ignoring the dying struggles of the Root ninja before him, Hagoromo had always believed in acting rather than running his mouth.
Before, he had needed to keep a low profile, but now someone had come right up to him and picked on him.
Even a clay figurine had some temper.
In the next instant, Hagoromo brought the azure Rasengan in his hand, ringed by a golden halo, crashing down on the Root ninja's head.
The instant the Rasengan touched the Root ninja's head, it was like a grinder tearing through rotten meat.
Blood and white brain matter splattered everywhere, and then the ground of the alley shook as if a small earthquake had struck.
Centered on the spot where Hagoromo had landed, the ground within several meters was reduced to powder!
In the circular crater formed by the Rasengan, Hagoromo rubbed his wrist and looked at the Root ninja, who had died before he could even scream.
He nodded in satisfaction. Not bad.
The enemy had felt no pain, and his own clothes had not been stained with any filth.
It was just that... he still had to take this headless corpse to the Hokage Building.
With that thought, Hagoromo reached out and grabbed the headless Root ninja by the shoulder, then pulled hard.
As if pulling up a scallion, he lifted the headless Root ninja straight out.
"Your mouth may have been foul, but it's time for you to be useful one last time."
With that, Hagoromo leaped into the air and sped toward the Hokage Building.
Hagoromo jumped across rooftops all the way there, stopping in front of the Hokage Building without alerting anyone.
"Halt!"
Two Anbu Ninjas dressed in Anbu uniforms and wearing cat masks used the Body Flicker Technique to appear a short distance from Hagoromo.
They watched Hagoromo warily. After all, he was carrying a headless corpse.
If Hagoromo had not been wearing a Konoha Chunin uniform, they probably would have attacked the moment he appeared.
Hagoromo released the Root ninja's corpse and raised both hands to show he meant no harm.
After all, at least ten people were already aiming at him from the shadows.
"Sorry for the trouble, but please inform Lord Hokage that Sawada Hagoromo, a Chunin and the homeroom teacher of first-year class one at the Ninja Academy, requests an audience."
The two Anbu Ninjas, who had still been on guard, froze at his words. After a long moment, one of them spoke.
"Wait here."
The Anbu who had spoken gestured to the other, then leaped away and vanished from Hagoromo's sight.
Only then did Hagoromo lower his hands and stand there waiting.
Before long, Hagoromo noticed that the Hokage Building, where only the floor containing the Hokage's office had been lit, suddenly lit up throughout.
Soon after, Hiruzen Sarutobi strode out of the building, wearing his ceremonial robe and Hokage hat.
Several ninjas followed behind him.
Hagoromo was not surprised. He waited until Hiruzen Sarutobi was almost in front of him.
Only then did he bow and say, "Lord Third, I'm terribly sorry to disturb you so late."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze first fell on the headless corpse beside Hagoromo. When he saw its unmistakable clothing,
his pupils instantly contracted.
After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke.
"Take it away and do everything possible to extract information."
"Yes, Lord Third!"
A middle-aged man wearing glasses, one of those following Hiruzen Sarutobi, immediately answered.
He then walked over to Hagoromo's side, crouched down and took out a blank scroll. He spread it open, then immediately formed Hand Seals.
"Seal!"
In an instant, lines of tadpole-like script spread out from the scroll.
They wrapped around the headless corpse, and a puff of smoke appeared the next second.
Hagoromo only glanced at it. It was the most basic storage Sealing Jutsu.
Of course, it could only store inanimate objects, and its space was not very large.
It was generally used to seal and store supplies or corpses.
After all, there were ways to extract information from ninjas even after they died.
The most useful part, however, was the brain.
Once the sealing formula was complete, the previously blank scroll was covered in sealing characters, with a huge "seal" character in the center.
"Lord Third, I'll head back first!"
Once the sealing was complete, the middle-aged man turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi and spoke.
Only after Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded did the middle-aged man take the other ninjas back into the Hokage Building.
Seeing the Anbu still standing guard beside Hagoromo, Hiruzen Sarutobi waved him away.
The Anbu standing in front of Hagoromo immediately vanished.
But Hagoromo could still sense that many people around him remained on guard against him.
"Hagoromo, come with me."
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke to Hagoromo with a warm smile.
"All right, Lord Third."
Hagoromo could only nod in response, then followed Hiruzen Sarutobi into the Hokage Building.
Inside the building, he looked around. It was just like the first time he became a ninja and came to the Hokage's office to see the Third.
It was still exactly the same.
The Third walked ahead and looked back to see Hagoromo like this.
He asked with a smile, "Well? It's still the same as when you graduated, isn't it?"
"Yes, Lord Third. It all feels like it happened yesterday."
There was a touch of nostalgia in Hagoromo's voice. Back then, he had been facing graduation, and knowing how cruel the Shinobi World was, he had naturally been left with a deep impression.
The timing had been unfortunate. The Fourth had died not long before he graduated.
"That's only natural. At least you're still a spirited young man."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took out his pipe and lit it, his words carrying a pointed meaning.
Hagoromo smiled faintly. He naturally knew what Hiruzen Sarutobi meant.
After all, a qualified ninja would not kill a ninja who appeared to be from the same village without a word, right there in the village.
"Lord Third, that person appeared and immediately said something about Lord Danzo summoning me."
"As a ninja of the village, I only know Lord Third. I've never heard of any Danzo."
"I just asked if he was some rat from the sewers. Who would have thought that when he heard me say that,"
"he would fly into a rage out of humiliation and attack me? I had no choice but to fight back."
Those words greatly reassured Hiruzen Sarutobi, even though the last part was more or less fabricated.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that Hagoromo was telling him something.
In Konoha, Hagoromo recognized only Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, as his leader.
"We'll talk about that later. What I'd like to know is how the person who attacked you received the injuries on his body."
With that, Hiruzen Sarutobi fixed an intent gaze on Hagoromo.
After all, how could Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had personally promoted Minato Namikaze, fail to recognize those injuries?
They were so familiar that when Hiruzen Sarutobi had first seen them just now,
he thought Minato Namikaze was still alive and had killed the man himself, but could not show himself,
so he had Hagoromo bring the body over.
That was why he wanted to see what Hagoromo would say.