Hagoromo had always harbored complicated feelings when it came to the circumstances, experiences, and eventual fates of characters from the original story.
Trying to change their destinies?
Sorry—but there was a fundamental problem with that idea: Hagoromo didn't actually know how the plot unfolded.
Everything ahead of him was unfamiliar territory. If he didn't even know the path events would take, how was he supposed to interfere and change anything?
Take someone like Nohara Rin, a ninja he was relatively close to. Hagoromo knew that she might die in this war—but what could he do about it?
Nothing.
He knew the ending, but not the process that led to it. That, in itself, was a kind of torment. In a way, knowing only fragments of the truth was worse than knowing nothing at all.
At least for events like the Nine-Tails' attack, he had some vague recollection. Beyond that, what he didn't know… he simply didn't know.
Or take another key figure—Uchiha Obito. Hagoromo knew that Obito would eventually become one of the main antagonists of the ninja world. But what could he possibly do about it now? Obito's current personality showed not the slightest hint of that future.
What—kill him "just in case," without reason?
Impossible. And meaningless.
Who had ever seen a final boss who was nearly taken out by a hunter's beast trap?
Perhaps he should warn Rin or Minato to be extra careful during missions, lest they die from a single misstep.
But such reminders were unnecessary. On the battlefield, every ninja was already walking on thin ice, doing everything they could to avoid mistakes.
In war, Rin might die.
In war, many ninja might die.
In war, any ninja might die.
Hagoromo was a ninja too. He could die as well—there were no exceptions.
Death was the most common thing in war. If possible, Hagoromo naturally hoped that a girl like Rin could survive.
Maybe the course of events would change as time went on. Maybe it wouldn't. No one could say for certain.
As long as one remained within the ninja system, one had to obey the rules of that system. During wartime, every ninja had their own assigned mission. Hagoromo couldn't possibly stay by Rin's side to protect her at all times. Even Namikaze Minato, her team leader, couldn't do that—let alone Hagoromo, who wasn't even on the same front line.
Whether he liked it or not, there was something at work here that could only be called fate. In the face of that word, Hagoromo's status as a transmigrator was often meaningless. He wasn't a prophet. When facing the future, he was dealing with far more unknowns than certainties—no different from the original characters themselves.
And there was no way he could end the war by himself.
A ninja like Hagoromo was nothing more than a tiny component of the war machine. Even figures like the Legendary Sannin, Minato, or the Hokage were merely gears within that massive apparatus.
In terms of peak combat power, Hagoromo did have something of a "cheat," but it was nowhere near the level of crushing everything in his path. Compared to certain monstrously powerful figures in the original work, he was nothing special. In fact, next to them, he was practically an ordinary ninja.
He would never naïvely believe that having a slight advantage meant he could look down on everyone else. On the contrary—he was extremely cautious, and painfully aware of his own limitations.
This world wasn't simple.
Tailed beasts could wipe out the vast majority of ninja. A small handful of ninja could wipe out tailed beasts. When Hagoromo could personally face a tailed beast head-on and win, then he could think about other things.
And besides—who could guarantee that this world was exactly the same as the one depicted in the original story? What if there were even deeper, hidden truths beneath the surface?
Hagoromo was an optimistic person.
But often, those who appear the most optimistic are the ones who harbor a pessimist deep inside.
For example, right now—he was powerless to stop events that were about to unfold.
On the fifth day that the Konoha ninja army remained in the Land of Wind—the fourth day after Sunagakure's defeat—an envoy sent by the Kazekage arrived.
The purpose was obvious.
Peace talks.
Yes—Sunagakure was suing for peace, sincerely and wholeheartedly. Just as the Hokage had said, the war on this front had already ended.
Of course, to ensure that negotiations didn't remain empty words, both sides urgently dispatched their first negotiation teams. These preliminary talks didn't involve the Hokage himself—and likewise, the Kazekage did not appear personally.
Only after the basic terms were settled would a formal meeting between the two Kage take place.
However, until a peace treaty was officially signed, Konoha's ninja forces would not withdraw from the Land of Wind. This was the victor's leverage—an unspoken threat backed by military presence. For Sunagakure, this peace agreement carried the unmistakable flavor of a coerced pact under siege.
None of this, however, was what Hagoromo cared about. Such high-level negotiations had nothing to do with him.
At this point, Tsunade had already fulfilled her promise.
She had persevered through her duties in this Great Ninja War. Although direct forces under the Hokage's command had joined later on, the fighting on this front had ended nonetheless—and Konoha was the victor.
And now, the last Senju still active on the battlefield was about to leave Konoha.
In fact, ever since the fighting ended that day, Tsunade had been handling work handovers. That alone was a clear sign of her impending departure. Now that Sunagakure had sued for peace, it was time for her to go.
The Third Hokage had undoubtedly opposed and tried to persuade her. During the Great Ninja War, Konoha desperately needed the Slug Princess.
But Tsunade's resolve was firm.
Once she had made her decision—both as his disciple and as the granddaughter of the First Hokage—even the Third Hokage could not force her to stay.
Tsunade acted decisively. She chose to leave early that very morning. And due to her personal wishes, as well as certain other reasons, no one came to see her off.
No one—
Except Hagoromo.
"Has Lady Tsunade decided where she'll go after leaving the battlefield?" Hagoromo asked. "Right now, aside from the Land of Fire, every direction is enemy territory. Given your identity, it would be best to be cautious."
Tsunade was undoubtedly powerful, but there was an old saying: two fists can't beat four hands. Even the Sannin were not invincible.
Although they hadn't spent much time together, Hagoromo genuinely liked Tsunade's personality.
"You don't need to worry about me," Tsunade said with a smile. "My disguise skills are the best in the entire ninja world. As long as I want to hide, no one will recognize me."
When the moment truly came to leave Konoha, did Tsunade feel reluctant?
Of course she did.
In truth, the ninja world was vast—but she had nowhere to go.
To put it nicely, she would be traveling the world from now on.
To put it bluntly—
She was already homeless.
Ever since the deaths of her younger brother and her lover, she had lost everything she relied on. She had lost her home.
As for Konoha—though she felt reluctant to leave, it was no longer a place worth clinging to.
◇ 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