Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 88: What Kind of Person is Hagoromo Gengetsu

“Dr. Souke!!”

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Ino quickly turned around, her eyes brightening with surprise as she greeted "Souke" with enthusiasm.

Although Sakura wasn't as excited as Ino, she also expressed her goodwill towards the doctor who had once taught her.

“Sorry to interrupt your conversation,” “Souke” said sincerely. “But I’m very interested in learning more about Hagoromo Gengetsu.”

Hagoromo Gengetsu was curious about how ordinary people perceived him, rather than how those in high positions viewed him.

Sakura, though unsure why Dr. Souke was interested in Hagoromo, stuck to her view and said, “Hagoromo Gengetsu must be a villain like Orochimaru. Otherwise, why would the Hokage and everyone else be so wary of him?”

Ino, immediately shifting focus from the handsome doctor, quickly countered, “Being wary is due to his strength, but that doesn’t mean Hagoromo Gengetsu is a villain. One must judge a person based on their entire life’s actions.”

“Forcing the surrender of forbidden techniques? Kidnapping Sasuke?” Sakura interjected suddenly.

Ino faltered but then shook her head, “These actions are of different natures; besides, a few actions don’t represent the whole person.”

Before Sakura could further argue, Ino adopted a mysterious expression and said, “You won’t believe this! Because of Hagoromo Gengetsu's appearance in the ninja world, I specifically found a book in our clan’s archives detailing his life.”

“Cough, as you know, the Yamanaka clan has been around since the Warring States period, and as experts in information gathering, we have access to many secrets of the ninja world.”

“The Yamanaka clan’s reputation is well-known,” Hagoromo acknowledged. Although not as prominent as the top clans from the Warring States period, the combined strength of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and their ally, the Sarutobi clan, had significant influence.

Sakura, from an ordinary family, could only express envy.

“So,” Ino snapped her fingers dramatically, revealing the truth, “The real Hagoromo Gengetsu in the historical records is completely different from the image we have.”

“Sakura, remember those knight novels and comics we read as kids?”

Don’t doubt that the ninja world had no knights; this world could even casually reference English.

Sakura felt embarrassed as she remembered those childhood fantasies of a dashing knight on a white horse expressing love to her. She quickly dismissed the memory, feeling as if she were being judged on the spot.

However, Ino’s next words overwhelmed her embarrassment.

“Actually, during the Warring States period, Hagoromo Gengetsu’s deeds were very much like those of knights and heroes in novels.”

“What???” Sakura exclaimed, incredulous. “Hagoromo Gengetsu? A knight? A hero?”

She couldn’t reconcile this with the imposing figure of Hagoromo Gengetsu she had encountered; someone who made Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and the Hokage wary, and who caused tremors throughout the ninja world with his second life.

Hagoromo Gengetsu raised an eyebrow at this description.

Then, he and Sakura listened as Ino recounted his past.

“In the 132nd year of the Fire Country, in the village of Fuyuu, a ninja terrorized the villagers, killing twenty-three, abducting fourteen women, and torturing ten to death. No one dared to resist. Hagoromo Gengetsu encountered him, and in anger, killed him.”

In Hagoromo’s memory, at the age of fourteen, he had left the Hagoromo clan and traveled through the ninja world. When passing through a village named Fuyuu, he discovered that the village’s only ninja had caused great suffering. Without hesitation, Hagoromo dispatched the ninja, an act that, while minor to him, was unforgettable for the villagers and eventually recorded by the Yamanaka clan.

“In the 133rd year of the Fire Country, in Bai Liang Town, a Kaguya clan ninja with the Dead Bone Pulse bloodline went berserk and slaughtered 3,125 people. Hagoromo Gengetsu encountered him, fought fiercely, and eventually defeated him while severely wounded.”

Hagoromo recalled this Kaguya ninja, whose intense malice and high-level Dead Bone Pulse techniques made the battle arduous. He had barely survived, driven by the sight of the suffering.

“In the 135th year of the Fire Country, during a severe famine, the lord of Ishikawa Castle refused to open the granaries. The people outside were resorting to cannibalism. Hagoromo Gengetsu, enraged, killed the lord, opened the granaries, and saved countless lives.”

That year, Hagoromo realized the true meaning of famine. Enraged by the lord’s inhumanity, he took drastic action, which earned him both enemies and praise.

“In the 136th year of the Fire Country, he killed three ninjas who practiced forbidden techniques using human organs.”

“In the 137th year of the Fire Country, he killed twelve nobles who hunted humans as sport.”

Listening to Ino’s account of Hagoromo Gengetsu’s past, Sakura went from disbelief to shock to silence, her face reflecting a complex mix of emotions.

Hagoromo remained silent for a long time.

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