The Second Hokage, known throughout the ninja world for his insight in judging people, had once told his successor—Hiruzen Sarutobi—the Third Hokage—a piece of deeply meaningful advice:
"Seek no counsel from Danzo for internal affairs, nor seek counsel from Koharu for external ones."
Well, truthfully, the Second had died rather suddenly and hadn't really had time to pass along such wisdom. Haseo could personally vouch for that. Now though, he somewhat regretted not dragging the Second out of the flames back then and forcing him to say more before dying.
The recent setbacks on Konoha's Eastern Front were still kept confidential from most other ninja and civilians within the village… To put it bluntly, one could call it "losing the majority of all forces." However, in terms of actual casualties, Konoha had only lost about sixty or seventy ninja.
After all, the scale of the Eastern Front at its inception had never been very large.
In the context of a Great Ninja War, brutally speaking, losing sixty or seventy men wasn't much at all. So the Hokage truly meant what he said—they hadn't reached a point where anyone needed to take the blame just yet.
In fact, there was no one who could even be held responsible. Although the Third Hokage certainly had his flaws—something Haseo often resented silently—the man still wouldn't stoop to twisting right and wrong entirely. Could he possibly place all the blame onto Haseo, an officer who'd actually been on the front lines?
Not exactly convenient. Not convenient at all, actually.
Even so, the Third Hokage didn't intend to replace Haseo because of this incident. Although reinforcing troop strength on the Eastern Front now seemed absolutely certain, in terms of command authority, the Third decided to entrust it to Haseo once again.
Talent was rare. Most ninja were just muscle—only a few had the skills to lead squads or battalions. And anything beyond that? Well, that was a whole different story.
Taking on such a commanding role, Haseo was somewhat young. In truth, he also lacked experience in leading large-scale operations. Yet the Third still believed in him. First, Haseo's personal abilities as a ninja made him fit for such a position. Second, he always had his own thoughts and ideas, which frequently weren't just shallow cleverness.
Even though Haseo wasn't what you'd call clever, perhaps his trait was better described as mature wisdom. After all, he was someone who lived two lifetimes. At the very least, his theoretical knowledge remained extremely profound—even if he'd only mastered war from books.
Most ninja couldn't even formulate theoretical strategies, which made Haseo's knowledge all the more valuable.
Moreover, continuing to employ Haseo in this role reflected a certain political strategy often employed by rulers—"use fault rather than merit."
Because of Mist's actions, despite the Third Hokage not wanting to fight a multi-front war, current circumstances forced him into a singular choice—one that required Konoha to confront Mist head-on.
Mist had chosen war, so Konoha must answer with war. Otherwise, the Hokage would no longer deserve the title, nor would Konoha remain among the Five Great Ninja Villages.
"The direction and fundamental principles have already been decided. Now the issue lies in the specific details... Haseo, how many ninja do you think we should dispatch to the Eastern Front to resist Mist?"
Eventually, the Third Hokage passed this question over to Haseo.
Again with this question at a time like this? Just assign the 5,000 shinobi directly, already!
Haseo couldn't help but think they'd be better off sending five thousand shinobi straight out there—strike back blow for blow first, then have Konoha retaliate into the Land of Water without hesitation, launching a devastating assault on Kirigakure before considering anything else.
Not for any other reason, but to demonstrate Konoha's strength and audacity. That kind of unyielding resolve—to shatter like jade rather than survive like pottery—would surely intimidate the other villages eyeing them hungrily.
But all of that was just Haseo's imagination. This kind of approach clearly didn't match the current leadership style of the Third Hokage or the upper echelons of Konoha… They needed to proceed cautiously, step by step.
Who knew when the Third Hokage would once again display the fearless charge he had shown during the last Great Ninja War?
So nobody had the guts to actually voice the idea that no fewer than ten thousand shinobi would be required to destroy Kirigakure.
Even now, Haseo had to play along with the Third's conservative approach and propose a number everyone could reasonably accept:
"Let's deploy one thousand shinobi to the Eastern Front first," he said. "That number alone should be sufficient for Konoha to stabilize the current situation. As for what comes next, it'll depend on how Kirigakure responds… The number deployed to the Eastern Front should fluctuate as necessary based on developments.
After all, Konoha's original strategy was always 'offense in the west, defense in the east.' Since the Eastern Front was meant to be defensive by nature, some passivity was expected… But regardless, we absolutely need a minimum of one thousand shinobi right now. Otherwise, we won't even be able to hold the front lines steady."
Haseo was basically repeating his earlier opinion from before departing to the Eastern Front. He had always planned to lead a unit of a thousand shinobi on this mission anyway… And truthfully, if the Third had assigned those troops to him from the start, none of these complications would've arisen.
After Haseo proposed this figure, the Third Hokage exchanged glances with the two Elders before silently nodding in agreement. Indeed, this number was both reasonable and necessary—one that Konoha could confidently commit to.
"Well then, we'll proceed with the arrangements immediately," Homura Mitokado stated while rising to his feet alongside Koharu Utatane. "Time is critical in warfare. Gathering a thousand shinobi within the village itself, along with organizing logistical support for them, is no small task at all… We'll need some time."
Although the two of them had been vocal in their discussions just now, once the decision was made, they were surprisingly cooperative and efficient. As Konoha's advisors, they truly possessed strong execution abilities—they weren't just sitting around collecting paychecks.
Enjoying pointing out problems didn't mean they were actually foolish, nor did staying away from the battlefield for so long mean they had completely forgotten how war worked.
Once the two of them left, only the Third Hokage and Haseo remained in the office.
The room fell silent for a moment before the Third finally broke the stillness: "Haseo, what are your thoughts about the position of Hokage?"
When it came to the Hokage, there were naturally all sorts of opinions and attitudes. But Haseo already knew exactly what he should say at a moment like this. "Personally, I have no interest in that position. I'm neither willing to put effort into it nor do I actually possess the conditions or abilities required to become the Hokage."
He responded almost immediately—with such decisiveness alone being enough to show this was probably Haseo's genuine opinion—that he truly had no aspirations for the Hokage seat.
The main reason was that he didn't want to get dragged into unnecessary trouble over something he barely cared about—it would've been way too much of a pain.
The Third Hokage simply nodded, then lit his pipe… In theory, someone like Haseo—a rising young prodigy—was about ten years younger than the Third and his generation, almost exactly one generation apart. Everything seemed perfectly aligned. The Third should've encouraged some of his ambitions.
However, the Hokage did not.
Clearly, the Third Hokage valued certain aspects of succession very highly. As long as the Hokage himself remained untainted, Konoha could remain untainted too. Therefore… he hoped the next Hokage would come from "noble roots" and be personally mentored and cultivated by himself.
But Haseo gave the Third Hokage a headache. He believed Haseo genuinely wasn't interested in the position of Hokage since he normally always acted like that, so there was no problem on that front. However… Haseo seemed to exert too much influence over Tsunade.
The Third still remembered how Haseo had once scared him with words like "holding onto grandchildren," but was that really just a joke?
"Although the defeat on the Eastern Front remains confidential for now, the sacrifices of so many ninja cannot be hidden indefinitely. The intelligence will inevitably become public eventually...
I hope we can steer things carefully. The village will promote your victory over the Third Mizukage, while also criticizing the overall failure on the Eastern Front, maintaining as neutral a stance as possible… Do you understand what I mean?" The Hokage seemed to have pondered deeply before finally speaking this way.
"I understand completely. I don't care about certain matters, so I'll just follow the Hokage's suggestion. It'll save me a lot of trouble. Besides, due to the Nine-Tails matter, I'm more suited to play a supporting role, which I personally prefer anyway, because this job is easier and the pay is better."
What didn't Haseo understand? This was just paving the way for the Third's student to become the next Hokage… And Haseo himself was in the way. If he could be removed in such a manner, Haseo himself would indeed welcome it wholeheartedly.
For the Hokage to discuss such matters with him was undoubtedly a good thing.
The implication behind the Hokage's words was also quite clear. What did he mean by "neutral"? Simply put, publicly praising Haseo's personal strength as "invincible," while simultaneously downplaying his capabilities and charisma as a leader, commander, and leader overall.
That way, public sentiment wouldn't turn harshly against him, and even some people might keep praising him—after all, he defeated a Mizukage, something not many could pull off.
But amid their admiration, everyone would feel regretful about something.
Regretful about what?
What need does Konoha have for leadership skills like that anyway?
Naturally, Haseo was the intended successor to the Hokage.
Haseo 'appreciated' the Third Hokage's strategy—or whatever you want to call it. Sure, the Village Headman had his own agenda, but at least he 'protected' Haseo enough to keep things from falling apart. Not bad, really... I mean, Haseo still had work to do for Konoha, right?
Now the next successor handpicked by the Third Hokage was obviously going to be one of his three apprentices. Haseo didn't want to get dragged into any conflicts because of his popularity, so tarnishing his own reputation a little wouldn't be a big deal.
Besides, he maintained a balanced image—half bright, half dark. Excellent combat ability combined with mediocre leadership skills? Wasn't that the perfect subordinate?
Within just a few minutes, Haseo had reached a shady political deal with the Third Hokage.
Next up, the Hokage's disciples were about to steal the show during the war... Jiraiya and the others were top-notch ninja to begin with, so who wouldn't be happy about that?
Were those three really cut out to be Hokage? Well, the Third sure thought so—parents always love their own kids, after all! As for whether the current Sannin were qualified for the Hokage position—if you had to pick between "qualified" and "unqualified," the answer would lean toward yes.
A lot of warning signs hadn't even shown up yet.
Especially Orochimaru—the snake among them.
P.S.: Locked myself out by accident and had to call a locksmith—that sucked. Thirty seconds of picking cost me more than three hours of typing on this keyboard.
Total rip-off! My heart is breaking; I'm in pain beyond words. Maybe I should start learning lock-picking now? Is it too late?
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