Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 55: Unexpected Encounter with Team 7 

After leaving the Valley of the Fallen God, Hagoromo Gengetsu now found himself in an ordinary town.

Although the letters from the Fourth Raikage A stirred unrest in the shinobi world, for ordinary people who were not ninjas, life went on as usual. Just like this small town, which rarely saw ninjas and lived in peaceful tranquility.

However, today was different. Besides Hagoromo Gengetsu, there was another group of unexpected visitors donning Konoha forehead protectors.

"Are you okay, Sasuke? Should we rest here for a bit?" Sakura carefully supported Sasuke, who was wrapped in bandages, and asked with concern.

After Tsunade successfully became the Fifth Hokage, Team 7, now a three-member team due to Kakashi being assigned elsewhere, took on a B-rank mission in the Land of Tea. During the mission, they encountered Aoi Rokusho, a Leaf rogue ninja who had stolen the Sword of the Thunder God. Although they managed to defeat him, Sasuke was seriously injured.

With no knowledge of medical ninjutsu, Sakura could only perform basic first aid on Sasuke, intending to provide further treatment upon returning to the village. Exhausted and noticing Sasuke's fatigue as they passed through this town, Sakura made her suggestion.

Naruto, eager as always, raised his hand in agreement, "Yeah, Sasuke! You’re sweating bullets. We should rest here. Plus, I’m starving. Let’s grab something to eat!"

Sasuke's expression changed at Naruto's words. Seeing Naruto, who was also injured during the mission but now full of energy, and recalling that it was Naruto who played a major role in defeating Aoi Rokusho, while he...

An unexplainable anger surged within Sasuke. He coldly declared, "No! We’re going back to Konoha right now!"

With that, he pushed Sakura’s supporting arm away and, despite the pain, walked off with determination.

"Sasuke!!"

Sakura, full of worry, hurried to follow.

Seeing this, Naruto could only trail behind, scratching his head and asking, "Sasuke, don’t you want to eat something? How about I carry you?"

Though Naruto's intentions were kind, Sasuke, always prone to overthinking, clenched his fists and ignored him, striding ahead until he looked up and saw a man approaching.

"Danger!!!"

In that instant, Sasuke’s keen senses kicked in, and his Sharingan activated involuntarily, the two tomoe spinning rapidly.

He halted, staring intently at the approaching figure, a cold sweat forming on his brow.

"Sasuke, what’s..."

Sakura, confused by Sasuke's sudden stop, was about to ask when Sasuke abruptly pulled her behind him with such force that it caused her pain.

"Sakura!! Sasuke, you..."

Seeing this, Naruto stormed over in anger, ready to confront Sasuke.

But before he could say anything, he saw someone familiar out of the corner of his eye.

"It's you!!!"

Naruto, filled with excitement, pointed at the approaching figure.

What was his name again?

He couldn’t quite remember. But he did recall that not long ago, this guy had threatened Granny Tsunade and stolen the ninjutsu scroll.

"You thief! Finally, Naruto-sama has found you!"

Without waiting for a response, Naruto eagerly prepared to use his newly mastered Rasengan to teach the guy a lesson.

"Wait! Naruto!"

Though unsure who the man was, Sasuke, with his keen instincts, felt that the stranger was extremely dangerous.

He tried to stop the reckless Naruto.

Normally, Naruto wouldn’t be stopped.

But this time was different.

Just as Naruto was about to step forward, he stopped.

Not because Sasuke had managed to stop him.

But because...

Hagoromo Gengetsu had glanced at them.

Just one glance.

Yet it was enough to freeze Naruto in his tracks, his face turning pale as he trembled uncontrollably.

"What is... going on? Move! Why can’t I move!!!"

Inside, Naruto screamed, but his body wouldn’t respond.

It felt like he was back on his first mission outside the village, seeing Kakashi-sensei brutally cut down by two ninja, his mind blank with fear and helplessness.

He wanted to attack.

But just one look from Hagoromo Gengetsu had immobilized him.

"Why... wasn’t it like this before? Why now, one glance, and I’m like this!"

Naruto’s mind was filled with confusion, his heart sinking.

The same thoughts crossed Sakura and Sasuke's minds.

Sakura, completely unaware of what was happening, felt a pressure so intense it was hard to breathe.

Sasuke's sweat dripped more and more.

Struggling to stay on his feet, he glanced at the approaching Hagoromo Gengetsu.

He suddenly remembered encountering Zabuza and Orochimaru in the Land of Waves.

Back then, he had been paralyzed by their killing intent.

It was like a young wolf facing a seasoned wolf king, naturally suppressed.

But this was different.

No killing intent emanated from the stranger. The surrounding townspeople were still laughing and chatting, going about their business.

Yet, that casual glance brought a tremendous sense of disparity, as if an elephant was passing by ants, giving them an overwhelming sense of shock.

Hagoromo Gengetsu didn’t expect to run into Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura here.

Feeling nostalgic, he took a moment to look at the three protagonists.

Then, amidst their fear, worry, and disbelief, he walked past them without a second thought, as if nothing had happened.

Having revived in the 60th year of Konoha, Hagoromo Gengetsu placed increasing importance on the Reverse Mission System. He realized that Naruto, Sasuke, and their “classmates” would frequently appear in future system tasks, and it was crucial to ensure they were alive to complete these missions.

To avoid any issues with future tasks, Hagoromo Gengetsu decided not to harm the trio.

He had even asked the system whether reviving targets through Reanimation would allow for mission completion if they died. The answer was a resounding no, with the system mockingly pointing out that the dead couldn’t do missions.

Even though he completed his initial missions while technically “dead,” the system insisted he had always been “alive” in some sense.

This seemed like a bizarre conclusion to him, but he had grown accustomed to the system’s quirks.