Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 126: Hotaru

Hagoromo Gengetsu stared at the suddenly pale En no Gyoja, shaking his head slightly.

This old man had been digging his own grave from the start.

Claiming that he was destined to die alone, with the Tsuchigumo clan either dead or fled, and that only he knew the forbidden technique.

Someone else might have believed him.

Or perhaps been delayed enough for Hotaru and Tonbee to escape successfully.

But Hagoromo Gengetsu wouldn't make such a mistake.

The absence of Sasuke by his side was the best proof.

"Who exactly are you?" En no Gyoja, realizing all his plans had been seen through, no longer appeared weak.

Though his old eyes remained cloudy, their sharpness returned as he straightened up, rekindling the aura that once destroyed an entire town with a single move.

Hotaru's existence had always been a secret to the outside world.

The only ones aware of her true identity were En no Gyoja, Tonbee, and the branch of the Tsuchigumo clan in the Tsuchigomo Village.

En no Gyoja was worried that someone from his side had betrayed the information.

Facing En no Gyoja, who had transformed from a sickly cat to a ferocious old tiger, Hagoromo Gengetsu remained calm.

"I told you, I'm just a scholar."

"Why can't people in today's ninja world believe what others say?"

Hagoromo Gengetsu thought the world was still too dark.

"Not talking, huh? Even if it costs me my life, I won't let your plot succeed!"

As if he hadn't heard, En no Gyoja, with a look of resolve, declared solemnly to Hagoromo Gengetsu.

Though he didn't possess the "Fury of Heaven" forbidden technique, he had mastered the Tsuchigumo clan's word-binding technique.

En no Gyoja was about to make his move.

Hagoromo Gengetsu glanced at him.

Instantly!

En no Gyoja stood frozen, unable to move.

"Now, we just have to wait for Sasuke's actions."

Sasuke wasn't as unpredictable as Naruto.

Hagoromo Gengetsu simply waited quietly.

"Tonbee, where are we going?" Hotaru, who hadn't fully grasped the situation, asked, eyes squinting in confusion as the scenery flew by.

Tonbee replied while running swiftly, "Lady Hotaru, we're heading to the Tsuchigomo Village."

"Another enemy?" Hotaru's voice was tinged with melancholy.

She had experienced such situations multiple times since childhood, and each time had ended peacefully.

But this time, something was off!

Suddenly realizing something, Hotaru's expression changed, "Where's Grandpa? Didn't he come with us?"

Tonbee's face darkened but quickly returned to normal, "Don't worry, Lady Hotaru. En no Gyoja will join us after dealing with the enemy."

"But... Grandpa doesn't have the forbidden technique this time!" Hotaru, remembering that the "Fury of Heaven" technique was now with her, grew anxious, "Tonbee, let's go back! I want to help Grandpa!"

Tonbee refused, "Sorry, Lady Hotaru. En no Gyoja ordered me to take you away."

With that, he quickened his pace despite his fatigue.

As En no Gyoja's descendant, Hotaru had inherited the "Fury of Heaven" technique but hadn't yet learned how to use it. Returning now would be futile and would extinguish the Tsuchigumo clan's last hope.

Tonbee knew what needed to be done.

"We're here!" He exclaimed with joy, seeing the cave tunnel ahead and motioning Hotaru to enter.

Suddenly,

The sound of crackling lightning filled the air.

Looking ahead, Tonbee saw a strange young man blocking the tunnel.

"I've found you."

Sasuke glanced at Hotaru and Tonbee, hands on his hips, and said coldly, "Will you come with me willingly, or shall I make you?"

"Lady Hotaru, please wait here."

Tonbee set Hotaru down and, despite her worried expression, charged at Sasuke with determination, wielding his shuriken, "For the glory of the Tsuchigumo clan! I must defeat you!"

One minute later.

"Tonbee!"

Hotaru, in tears, watched as Sasuke, holding the unconscious Tonbee, approached and picked her up effortlessly, then swiftly regrouped with Hagoromo Gengetsu.

"Lord Hagoromo."

Soon, Sasuke returned to Hagoromo Gengetsu, setting the two down.

"Grandpa!"

Hotaru, the first to wake, rushed to the motionless En no Gyoja, shaking him and calling out, but he didn't respond.

"Don't worry, your grandfather is just under a genjutsu."

As Hotaru heard this, she felt a blur, and when she opened her eyes again, she was beside the masked man who had just spoken.

"We're here only to study the forbidden technique. We won't harm you," Hagoromo Gengetsu continued.

"Really?" Hotaru's eyes were filled with hope.

Hagoromo Gengetsu nodded, "Just cooperate with us, and everything will be fine."

Understanding her situation, Hotaru quickly nodded.

For some reason, she trusted the man before her.

Perhaps she hadn't seen the usual greed and ruthlessness in him that she'd seen in other attackers.

With the situation under control, Hagoromo Gengetsu decided not to awaken En no Gyoja and Tonbee, instead taking Hotaru to a clearing.

As Hotaru stood nervously, worried and embarrassed, Hagoromo Gengetsu slightly pulled down her top, revealing part of her back.

Though young, with long brown curly hair and green eyes, Hotaru was undoubtedly a pretty girl.

But at this moment,

Her supposedly smooth and alluring back was marred by bulging, worm-like veins.

At the center, where there should have been flesh, was embedded a pitch-black bead.

The bead, deeply embedded in her body, surrounded by the veins, looked like an unsightly blemish on an otherwise beautiful canvas, giving a sense of discomfort.

This was the vessel for releasing the "Fury of Heaven" technique.

It was said that the longer the "Fury of Heaven" technique stored energy, the greater its destructive range, once destroying a town with a radius of several kilometers in an instant.

Such immense power couldn't be stored by the Tsuchigumo clan's ninjas alone.

The key lay in the black bead.

When the technique was activated, the bead would absorb natural energy from the surroundings.

Once enough energy was stored or the caster released it, the bead would explode with natural energy, annihilating everything around it.

Although it was a one-time use,

Its ability to harness natural energy without harming the user was worth Hagoromo Gengetsu's trip.

Hagoromo Gengetsu placed his hand on the black bead on Hotaru's back.