Haseo's reputation as a ninja, especially in terms of combat strength, was certainly solid—but not quite prominent enough to provoke others into scheming or slandering him outright.
Though he had pulled off an unbelievable feat near the end of the last Great Ninja World War, that event had occurred a long time ago. People usually lose interest after just a few hours—who would still clearly remember something from over a decade back?
Plus, Haseo kept a very low profile in Konoha, interacting with only a handful of people. After the war, he had been hiding suspiciously underground, and no one knew exactly what he was up to.
Clearly, he was the type of ninja gradually fading from most people's memories.
If someone wanted to climb higher, they'd need backing from above and grassroots support from below—neither of which Haseo had. Overall, even though Haseo often argued with Danzo Shimura, the "conscience of Konoha," Danzo hadn't actually made any serious moves against him yet.
Everyone just stuck to verbal sparring without resorting to underhanded tricks. That was just life in peaceful Konoha… though maybe it also had something to do with the fact that Danzo hadn't gotten his hands truly dirty—yet.
All in all, Jonin Haseo served as a stabilizing cornerstone for Konoha—as long as he didn't intend to stir up trouble.
The problem, however, was that a new war had now begun. Unlike before, this time Haseo wasn't just catching the tail end—he was involved from start to finish. And now, he was far from being a rookie fresh out of training; his strength had grown significantly.
So unless something unexpected happened, Haseo would definitely become active again, earning new achievements that reignited other ninja's memories of him—and restoring his reputation brighter than ever.
This was exactly what The Third hoped to avoid.
For a ninja, combat ability and reputation were two sides of the same coin—they always went hand-in-hand. Thus, relying on Haseo's battle prowess while suppressing his fame was inherently contradictory.
But right then, news came of a major setback on the Eastern Front.
Of course, this was initially bad news—but also an opportunity The Third could exploit. Moreover, Haseo himself bore some responsibility for this incident, so spreading it wouldn't weigh heavily on anyone's conscience… Well, at least according to The Third, staying true to one's inner principles was always essential.
To many others, however, such internal integrity increasingly seemed like nothing more than hypocrisy.
As for The Third's arrangements, the person directly involved—Haseo himself—wasn't bothered at all. In fact, he welcomed it joyfully because the situation was particularly intriguing… Leaders needed foresight, but looking too far ahead wasn't necessarily always beneficial.
After all, plans could never keep pace with changes—especially in a ninja village.
Haseo knew what once seemed to be "the future." In that future, the Third Hokage's painstaking efforts to guide his disciples ended in failure—one left Konoha deeply disillusioned; another became obsessed with his best friend and the elusive "Child of the Prophecy"; the last turned into a thankless rogue who betrayed his own home.
In short, the Third Hokage's mentorship had completely failed.
But what about this world where Haseo now existed? He didn't know—after all, it was called the future precisely because it was unknown.
Yet the Third remained the Third. Therefore, he still decided to pave the way for his three students.
Such behavior probably stemmed from the Third's personal experiences—the Hokage had always placed great importance on cultivating successors, and as a child, he himself had been personally mentored by both the First and Second Hokage. Now that he had become the Third, naturally he wanted to pass on that same kind of guidance to his own disciples.
This was also why Haseo wasn't favored—he might have been outstanding, but ultimately, he was someone else's child. To the Third, the Sannin were his true children.
Coinciding with the setbacks on the Eastern Front, the Third even temporarily recalled his three disciples back to Konoha shortly after sending them to the battlefield, all so he could personally instruct and remind them how they should behave on the battlefield.
This was called ideological, operational, and objective alignment.
When it came to selecting the next Hokage candidate, even Danzo Shimura did not share the Third's stance. Therefore, some matters needed to be addressed directly—he trusted no approach more than doing it himself.
With the situation changing on the Eastern Front, Haseo remained temporarily in the village too, waiting for new units to be selected and assembled before being dispatched to the Front Line in batches.
At present, Konoha's war machine was merely warming up, so its operations appeared orderly and unhurried, though not particularly efficient or fast-reacting.
Certainly, it hadn't yet reached the point of pushing its full wartime potential to the limit.
Thus, Haseo, the highest-ranking commander at the frontlines, was actually able to remain detached within the village for three consecutive days, during which time communications indicated the unit out there was functioning normally.
The result even surprised Haseo himself—making him question whether his presence as commander had already become somewhat redundant. Considering he personally was viewed as a "disaster magnet" and a "trouble-prone individual," maybe everyone else would fare better if he simply stayed far away.
On the third day since returning to Konoha, Haseo arrived at Konoha's main gate early in the morning while the sky was just beginning to brighten.
Before long, he saw the trio returning from the Western Front—summoned back so suddenly by the Third, they were clearly still somewhat confused.
Jiraiya walked ahead, with Orochimaru and Tsunade trailing slightly behind. Specifically, Orochimaru was currently helping Tsunade walk—her left knee was bent unnaturally, her entire foot suspended above the ground, and visible sections of her left calf were wrapped tightly in bandages.
Tsunade had been injured—an outcome Haseo hadn't anticipated, yet upon reflection, seemed somehow "logical."
The reason Orochimaru was the one helping Tsunade move, rather than Jiraiya, mostly had to do with height coordination—Jiraiya was a burly man standing at 1.9 meters, while Tsunade was only 1.6, and Orochimaru himself barely cleared 1.7.
But none of that mattered to Haseo. As he walked forward to meet the trio, he reached behind him, pulled out both of his long blades, and dropped them into Jiraiya's arms. Then he stepped up beside Tsunade… and gently lifted her onto his back.
It wasn't often that Haseo—who normally lacked any sense of sentimentality—did something so… human.
"Hey, Haseo," Tsunade asked, "why would the Third suddenly call us back?"
At this point, Jiraiya finally spoke up. They hadn't known beforehand that Haseo was already in the village, so when they realized they'd been recalled too, they originally assumed something serious must've happened for Konoha to mobilize its top fighters.
"It probably isn't anything big. Most likely the Third just got some sudden urge to give you two a character-building session," Haseo replied.
He carried Tsunade on his back, while Jiraiya carried his swords. It made perfect sense—and somehow, it all felt strangely harmonious.
Jiraiya: "..."
He figured Haseo was just talking out of his ass like always. Yet in a way, Haseo's explanation was spot-on.
At that moment, Haseo secretly cast a glance toward Orochimaru. The latter noticed his gaze, gave an almost imperceptible nod, then subtly formed several coded hand signs.
Indeed, why was Tsunade injured?
Because her chakra reserves were completely drained, leaving no energy for combat on the battlefield.
And why had she used up her chakra like that?
That was a good question.
Because someone, even from thousands of miles away, could still burden her.
Haseo was a crippled ninja who failed to overpower the Third Mizukage and ended up severely wounded—it was about time he seriously considered how to retire gracefully. Otherwise, he'd just be burning through Konoha's rations.
"So next, are we heading directly to the Third Hokage?" Haseo asked the others.
"No, since you put it that way, the situation clearly isn't urgent. I think we should go home separately to rest briefly first, then gather at the Third's place later," Orochimaru responded, prompting nods from the other two.
Haseo started to wonder whether Orochimaru actually meant everything he said or if he had started developing something called emotional intelligence inside.
Unbelievable. He hadn't grown scales yet, but he was already growing a conscience.
Thus, after entering Konoha, the three went their separate ways.
Poor Jiraiya still had to stop by Haseo's place first... Could it be that Haseo intended to return his own weapons to him? Of course not—it was simply to deliver a package.
...
On the morning roads, there weren't many pedestrians, but someone did spot the unusual sight of an unfamiliar young man carrying the granddaughter of the First Hokage through alleyways—compared to Tsunade, whose name was well known throughout Konoha and whose face everyone recognized, Haseo's face was naturally unrecognizable.
His appearance was even more obscure than his name.
Luckily, whenever passersby greeted Tsunade, she politely responded; otherwise, Haseo would surely have been mistaken for a kidnapper and dealt with on the spot.
Walking toward Tsunade's house, Haseo slightly veered off the path. As they went, the road became less crowded until finally only the two of them remained. Yet at this moment, Haseo didn't know how to start speaking—he, someone usually so talkative, found himself speechless for once.
"Thanks"?
That word felt far too feeble and distant to truly express gratitude toward Tsunade.
Now, Haseo could truly feel Tsunade's weight—but not in a physical sense, rather, in an emotional way.
Tsunade's arms were wrapped around Haseo's neck, and with just a glance downward, she could see the overly dramatic wound on his chest through the gap in his collar.
"Haseo," Tsunade said, "It wasn't until now that I finally understood just how terrifying war can be... Just think about it—how was it possible that during the last great war, I could still be so energetic and lively?"
Tsunade wasn't trying to kindly offer Haseo a conversation topic to relieve the awkwardness; she was simply voicing her reflections.
War was terrifying precisely because it could so suddenly—and effortlessly—rip away what people held dearest.
"That's normal—ignorance breeds fearlessness. Back then during the previous war, your age played a role, so you didn't think much about it."
It's like many people who dared to play with snakes as children but later grew afraid of them—those slimy, scaly creatures with no legs.
During the last war when Tsunade had been carried by Haseo, she had even tried breaking his neck back then. Now? She had become such a quiet girl.
"Cough, talking is fine, but please don't get hands-on out here in public."
Tsunade: "..."
Haseo always knew how to interrupt someone else's deep emotions like that—Tsunade had simply placed her hand gently over his clothes, right above the wound.
Well, it was a way to change the subject, and Haseo succeeded.
"Your leg wound..."
"It's nothing serious—I'm just letting it heal slowly since I don't want any scars ruining my looks."
Tsunade clearly wasn't eager to go into details about her injuries. Moreover, regardless of whether beauty mattered or not, scars weren't something tied to her recovery speed—she simply hadn't had the strength to treat herself back then, nor had she had time for treatment from others after being urgently recalled.
Tsunade's chakra exhaustion still hadn't fully recovered yet.
"Anyway, I'm a medical ninja. Don't worry about my condition—it's normal for ninjas to get injured. Rather… aside from your wounds, what's wrong with your right arm? There's no external injury, but it feels weak. Could something be wrong?"
As she was being carried, Tsunade sensed Haseo's right arm felt unstable, so she asked again.
"It definitely has nothing to do with kinjutsu. Earlier, I just tried a new ninjutsu…it's a perfectly ordinary jutsu, but it requires precise control and careful balance of chakra, which put too much strain on my hand nerves while using it.
No treatment is even needed. If I wanted to accelerate recovery, a few strong breaths in the Shikkotsu Forest would be more than enough.
Even Haseo wouldn't create a technique instantly labeled as Kinjutsu—that would truly mean he'd had enough of life.
[Chakra… harmonization?]
Tsunade chose to trust Haseo's explanation, even though she admitted she still didn't understand the strange term he had just blurted out.
I'll explain it someday if the time comes… We're here now.
A little further ahead lay Sansho's courtyard, so Haseo came to a stop and carefully helped Tsunade down.
Everything looked exactly the same as always. Yet from behind the low fence, one could see a rather young unfamiliar woman busily working in the yard. She must be the helper Tsunade had hired to take care of her otouto.
In the end, though, Haseo never crossed the threshold into the courtyard.
Though Haseo himself showed no emotion, to Tsunade—who stood there with one hand resting against the wall—his retreating figure still looked oddly lonely.
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