Even though he was heading to the front lines, Hagoromo traveled light. He didn't have much to bring in the first place, but he made sure to cover the essentials.
First, he restocked his ninja tools, including kunai, shuriken, and the like. Second, he packed a bag of Military Rations Pills—the indispensable medicine for travel, survival, and combat.
Third, he purchased a long black cloak. This wasn't a fashion choice to look "cool"; on the battlefield, concealing one's hands is vital for a ninja. Since the first action of almost any attack is forming hand seals, hiding your hands means hiding your intent.
Fourth, he prepared a plain white mask. This had nothing to do with the Anbu; rather, he felt that a ninja should hide their face when necessary. Kakashi was the gold standard for this—half the village didn't even know what his face looked like.
One early morning, the group of nearly forty people departed from Konoha, heading toward the Sand Village front. For standard ninja movement, forty people was a massive formation, considering most operations were carried out by four-man squads.
Because of the physically weaker medical ninjas, the team moved slowly. It took nearly six days to reach the border of the Land of Fire.
"Lady Kushina, we need to heighten our alert level. We have officially entered the combat zone. From here on, we could encounter small groups of Sand scouts at any time."
That evening, as the team busied themselves with setting up camp, the Anbu leader approached Kushina to deliver the warning. Kushina nodded silently. People often mistook her boisterous personality for ignorance of war, but she had personally witnessed the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools. She knew exactly how cruel war could be.
They were currently 200 kilometers away from the frontline headquarters located on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, and only about 250 kilometers from the actual heat of battle. It was entirely possible for small Sand units to bypass Konoha's defenses and infiltrate the Land of Fire.
Ideally, they would push through to the headquarters, but due to the stamina issues of the medical staff, they had to rest here for the night.
As they drew closer to the conflict zone, tension gripped most of the group. However, Hagoromo was not among them. Even he didn't quite understand why he showed such an unusual adaptability to the atmosphere of war. While he stood by Kushina's side listening to the Anbu's report, his expression remained entirely indifferent.
Kushina's tent was a perk of her status, and as her disciple, Hagoromo got to share it, sparing him from squeezing in with the sixteen Anbu. After the Anbu leader left, Hagoromo pulled out a small scroll and began sketching and writing.
Kushina glanced over curiously. "Is that... a modification of the Reverse Four Symbols Seal?"
Indeed, Hagoromo's mind never stayed idle. He was trying to improve the S-rank forbidden technique.
"Yes," Hagoromo nodded. "The Reverse Four Symbols Seal is undoubtedly one of the most powerful sealing techniques, but its issue is that it's too powerful. The chakra consumption is one thing, but the biggest flaw is the area of effect—it's so wide it's likely to kill the user along with the target. I'm trying to see if I can narrow the focus."
It hadn't been long since Hagoromo started learning sealing arts, yet here he was, trying to rewrite an S-rank forbidden jutsu. Kushina's first instinct was to forbid it. Developing or improving jutsus is inherently dangerous, let alone the most complex branch of them all. One mistake could wipe out the entire camp.
However, when she looked at his detailed logic and the way he proposed the modifications, she hesitated. As an Uzumaki, Kushina was an expert; she couldn't find a single error or oversight in the work he had already done. He was clearly on a correct, successful path.
Seeing her hesitation, Hagoromo quickly added, "Don't worry, Kushina-sensei. I'm just theorizing. I won't perform any random experiments. I'm not that suicidal."
Kushina relaxed slightly but remained stern. "I'll allow the research, but you must obtain my permission before any test of a modified formula. I must be present. Understood?"
"Understood. Absolutely."
As night deepened, the campfires were extinguished. The medical ninjas slept, and only one squad of Anbu remained on watch. Hagoromo, however, stepped out of the tent, continuing his deductions under the bright moonlight.
Time passed. Kushina had fallen asleep.
Suddenly, the brush in Hagoromo's hand stopped. His brow furrowed—not because of a mathematical hurdle, but because he sensed someone approaching the camp.
Enemies. And they had arrived just as night fell.
Since they were still technically within the Land of Fire, the camp wasn't heavily concealed. It wasn't surprising that enemies had tracked them. Hagoromo stood up, tucking his brush and scroll back into his tool pouch.
The Anbu ninja on duty noticed his movement. Without speaking, he flashed a series of hand signals:
"What is it? Did you find something?"
Hagoromo's hand emerged from his cloak, quickly flashing back a signal:
"Six o'clock direction. Four enemy targets detected in the woods, 400 meters out."
Combat Initialized: You have detected the enemy before the Anbu guards. Your sensory advantage is your biggest edge right now.