Hagoromo sat in silence, lost in thought, while Tsunade worked away with a ferocity rarely seen.
Personnel loss statistics, resource damage reports, future strategic planning, and preparations for the Third Hokage's arrival—as the supreme commander of this front, everything required her seal of approval. It took a considerable amount of time before she finally set her brush aside.
"Hagoromo, is your injury truly alright?"
"Thank you for your concern, Tsunade-sama. I feel much better," Hagoromo replied with a smile. To prove his point, he rotated his arm in wide circles to show his range of motion was back to normal.
"Of course you feel fine. Your injuries were treated by other medical ninjas personally... under my direct supervision," Tsunade said coldly. If he felt "alright," it was because the treatment had been immediate and expert; otherwise, he wouldn't be hopping around like this.
Hagoromo's smile faltered. It wasn't that his "illness" was mild, but that the "medicine" was exceptional.
However, he caught the phrasing—personally supervised? So she didn't actually lay a hand on him?
Tsunade's particular psychological weaknesses weren't part of Hagoromo's current knowledge base. He had arrived looking like a blood-soaked rag; the fact that she even looked at him twice was a miracle. Expecting her to perform the surgery herself was asking for the moon.
"Kushina asked me to look after you before she left. But the reality is the Third is arriving soon, and my command will likely be handed over. Given your current condition, you probably won't make it for the final confrontation with the Sand—which is a shame, because your combat power would have been a great asset."
The news Kakashi had shared was confirmed: Sarutobi was indeed coming.
Hagoromo opened his mouth to protest his fitness for duty, but Tsunade didn't give him the chance. "Don't bother denying it. I saw everything that night. If your attack hadn't incapacitated the Shukaku, I don't know how things would have ended. Then you got Kushina off the battlefield. To be frank, you were the greatest contributor to that fight."
Tsunade paused, locking eyes with him. "That technique... I'm certain it was your original creation. Knowing you developed Chidori, your talent for Ninjutsu development no longer surprises me. But I have one question: is a technique of that magnitude something you can use freely?"
Her expression was dead serious. She had naturally categorized the Railgun as a Ninjutsu—hardly surprising given that in this world, if a move was powerful, it was labeled a "Jutsu."
Hagoromo remained composed. He had prepared his "bullsh—"... er, his reasonable explanation long ago to ensure it sounded convincing to the higher-ups.
He shook his head decisively. "It's impossible."
Tsunade said nothing, her face inviting him to elaborate.
"Since I started learning Ninjutsu, I discovered my affinity for Lightning is extreme. I can utilize its destructive power while the risks to my body are almost negligible. Beyond that, my body has a unique trait."
"What trait?"
"I can take the chakra I produce daily, convert it into Lightning Release chakra, and... store it."
Normally, if a ninja's chakra capacity is 100, they can't produce a 101st unit. But Hagoromo was implying that while he maintains a capacity of 100, he can manufacture extra units, convert them, and "bank" them as pure electricity.
He didn't explain how he stored it, and he banked on the fact that Tsunade wouldn't ask for the schematics.
To anyone else, this would sound like a blatant lie because it defied the laws of chakra. But Tsunade was different. Her subconscious immediately drew a parallel. Isn't this exactly like my Strength of a Hundred Seal (Byakugou)?
Sure enough, Hagoromo's next words hit the mark.
"Releasing a move of that scale essentially drained every drop of Lightning chakra I've been accumulating since I became a ninja. I can fire it again, sure—but I'll need another three or four years to recharge."
It was a perfectly balanced lie. If he said he could spam "The Railgun," it would be too terrifying. By hiding his ultimate trump card behind a "long cooldown," he lowered his threat profile while explaining his power. Besides, how often does a ninja actually find themselves face-to-face with a Tailed Beast?
Tsunade looked both disappointed and relieved. If a kid Hagoromo's age could slap around Tailed Beasts at will, she'd feel like she'd wasted her entire life.
"Furthermore," Hagoromo added, extending his hand. A tiny, weak spark danced between his thumb and middle finger. "Once my stored Lightning chakra is released, it becomes... difficult to detect. I can't explain why the nature changes."
To a sensor, this spark would emit zero chakra fluctuations. Hagoromo didn't know it, but even in the original series, people sometimes mistook batteries for Lightning Release. To most ninjas, if it went crackle-pop, it was Lightning Release, period.
Tsunade had one more lingering doubt. "I understand all that. But that night, I also saw you use a technique similar to the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release."
Man, your eyesight is too good for a dark night... Hagoromo suppressed the urge to snark. "That wasn't Magnet Release. It was just another application of Lightning. I don't have Wind nature, and I certainly don't have a Kekkei Genkai."
"We have to look at the relationship between electricity and magnetism," he began, fully adopting the persona of a physics expert. "I don't know the principle behind Magnet Release, but fundamentally, anything Magnet Release can do, high-intensity Lightning can mimic. There's a phenomenon called Electromagnetic Induction..."
He started rambling about magnetic flux and cutting field lines, completely disregarding whether a woman from a feudal ninja world could grasp Victorian-era physics.
Predictably, Tsunade was lost. Their foundational educations were light-years apart. If he had talked about hand signs and elemental mixing, she would have understood instantly. But as soon as he mentioned "Experimenting with Induction Loops," he might as well have been speaking Martian.