Hagoromo paused for a moment, then went to collect a portion of food. After all, the battle had lasted from morning until night. He hadn't eaten anything in between, and he had expended a great deal of stamina. At this point, hunger was only natural.
After getting his meal, Hagoromo returned and sat down on a horizontal wooden log opposite Kakashi. Between the two of them burned a single campfire.
Silence hung in the air.
They truly didn't share many common topics. Kakashi's personality at this stage was rigid and serious, his entire focus devoted to missions. Hagoromo, on the other hand, was far more free-spirited. Many of the things he did were motivated simply by curiosity or amusement. Did he really care how the Great Ninja War would ultimately turn out?
Not particularly.
Unexpectedly, Kakashi was the one who spoke first.
"How can the negative effects of Lightning Release be eliminated?"
The question came out of nowhere, but Hagoromo immediately knew it was directed at him. Judging from this, Kakashi must have suffered badly today from repeatedly using Chidori.
The power of the jutsu was undeniable—but after using it, the backlash was anything but pleasant.
"There's no way to completely avoid it," Hagoromo replied calmly. "The more powerful a jutsu is, the greater the risks that come with it. Every ninja understands that. Chidori… a Lightning Release jutsu of that level increases the user's movement speed and grants terrifying piercing power, but it also places extreme stress on the body."
"I don't know your exact limits, but objectively speaking, for most ninja, it absolutely shouldn't be used more than three times a day. Exceed that, and people can die."
"The only thing a ninja can do is gradually adapt to the negative effects of Lightning Release and slowly increase their resistance. Completely eliminating those side effects is impossible."
Hagoromo spoke bluntly. Kakashi clearly wanted to avoid Chidori's drawbacks, but that kind of wishful thinking simply wouldn't work. Hagoromo had warned him about this before—perhaps Kakashi hadn't fully taken it to heart, or perhaps today's situation had left him with no choice. Either way, Kakashi had obviously used Chidori two or three times today.
Given Kakashi's age, that was already extremely dangerous.
Kakashi seemed about to ask something else, but Hagoromo spoke first, anticipating his question.
"Don't compare yourself to me. My body is… special. When it comes to the negative effects of Lightning Release—or lightning and electricity in general—I'm basically immune. That's something I was born with, not something achieved through training. To put it simply, you can think of it as something like a kekkei genkai. It's not something others can learn."
Yes—Hagoromo was special, and only he truly understood how.
As long as it wasn't direct physical contact, Lightning Release jutsus essentially couldn't harm him. For example, if Kakashi stabbed him with Chidori, it would still punch a hole through his body. But if Kakashi used something like Chidori Senbon or a ranged Lightning Release jutsu, Hagoromo would be mostly fine. Even a massive, high-level jutsu like Lightning Release: Kirin—a jutsu on the level of an S-rank—was something he could endure head-on with little damage.
That was something Kakashi could never do.
"Kekkei…" Kakashi murmured.
He didn't fully understand the deeper implications, but he grasped Hagoromo's meaning. Ignoring the backlash of Lightning Release, forming hand seals instantly—or even using Chidori without seals—these were traits unique to Hagoromo.
Using a kekkei genkai as an analogy wasn't entirely accurate, but it was enough to convey just how abnormal he was. Anything beyond that, Hagoromo had no intention—or ability—to explain.
"There's also one more thing you should pay attention to," Hagoromo continued, steering the topic away from himself and back to the jutsu. "You still haven't mastered Chidori. Your control over Lightning Release chakra isn't precise enough yet."
"In my view, you waste quite a bit of chakra when using it. When I use the jutsu, I don't maintain such a high output of Lightning Release chakra. It's completely unnecessary."
"For single-target lethality, keeping it at A-rank is already more than enough. There's no need to forcibly push it to S-rank just to chase maximum power. Fundamentally, whether it's A or S, the result for the enemy is the same—get hit once and they're dead. There's no reason to waste chakra."
"Of course," Hagoromo added, "my combat style is different from yours. This is just my personal habit—take it as a reference."
In truth, Hagoromo was someone who loved overwhelming power and flashy jutsu. Unfortunately, his chakra reserves weren't bottomless. When he could save chakra, he had no choice but to do so.
After hearing this, Kakashi fell silent. Perhaps Hagoromo's words had sparked some deeper reflection.
"What are you two talking about?"
As they were speaking, Rin finally finished her work and walked over.
The number of medical ninja was still critically low. Even someone as young as Rin—who had nonetheless received a complete and systematic education in medical ninjutsu—was being treated as a full-fledged adult ninja. The workload assigned to her was overwhelming, and she only now had a chance to rest.
"Rin, here—this is for you."
Instead of answering her question, Hagoromo handed her another portion of food. He had deliberately picked up an extra one earlier, anticipating that a medical ninja like Rin wouldn't have had time to eat.
"Thanks, Hagoromo. You really saved me," Rin said as she accepted the food. Then she asked, "Have you two already eaten?"
"We have," Hagoromo replied. "By the way, I meant to ask earlier—why didn't Minato-senpai bring Obito over here?"
No wonder being around Rin felt a little strange. That familiar noisy presence was missing.
"Because he'd be useless here," Kakashi said coldly.
"Obito is recovering on the Iwagakure front," Rin quickly added, clearly trying to smooth things over. Since Obito was injured, coming here wouldn't have helped anyway. This time, Minato's team was operating with just the three of them—and even then, they'd been separated during the earlier fighting.
"Injured fighting the enemy?" Hagoromo asked, surprised. Obito didn't strike him as the type to fight as aggressively as Kakashi. What kind of serious injury could he have suffered?
"If only it were that," Kakashi said dryly. "He got his thigh caught in a large beast trap—the kind ordinary hunters use to capture giant animals. The bite force was so strong that it'll take two months to fully heal."
Was that schadenfreude… or just sarcasm?
"A beast trap…" Hagoromo looked up at the sky, speechless.
That kind of injury really did suit Obito's style all too well.
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