The world kept moving forward ceaselessly—guruguru... Hmm, was that the right sound?
Haseo, now stationed in the Land of Hot Springs, had maintained ties with Konoha—whether willingly or not—primarily through information exchanges.
The war itself hadn't seen any major shifts yet, but things were gradually turning bloodier.
Worth mentioning is that despite the balance among the Great Ninja Villages remaining intact during the conflict, Minato Namikaze, as Haseo knew, had indeed risen during this war just as he originally should have. He was beginning to intimidate enemies from all directions.
Yet for some unknown reason, even though Minato possessed great strength, there seemed to be a lack of imposing pressure about him. It wasn't that he lacked power—it's just that something always felt off.
One factor was his different circumstances; another was that without comparison, there's no sense of loss.
Exactly! Minato Namikaze wasn't the sole pillar on the Konoha battlefield—there was still Sakumo Hatake above him at the Northern Front.
Besides, the enemy had already witnessed the most shocking event imaginable. No matter how fast Minato teleported across the battlefield, he couldn't recreate that same shocking impact anymore… After all, their imagination had already expanded dramatically since the early stages of the war.
If Haseo could create a [Unstoppable Force] effect on the battlefield, then Minato, whose current power was far inferior to Haseo's, definitely couldn't replicate such a feat. Fear is a psychological thing—it only stuck to certain targets. And right now, there was only one person who truly inspired terror in the enemy's heart.
Therefore, although Minato received enormous attention, he remained merely an emerging young talent.
Unless he could mirror what Haseo had accomplished.
After the Third Raikage died on the battlefield and failed to participate in that war due to severe injuries, the Fourth A naturally succeeded to become the Fourth Raikage. Therefore, if Minato could take out the Fourth Raikage as decisively as Haseo did, he'd be the surefire pick for the Fifth Hokage.
Sakumo Hatake and Jiraiya definitely wouldn't compete for this position—they'd actually support Minato instead. As for Orochimaru… His service contract with Konoha had a time limit.
But could Minato pull this off? It was like comparing a knife fighter against a war machine. Was battle really determined simply by visible strength?
Further still, even if Minato successfully killed the Fourth Raikage on the battlefield, the impact of such an act could never even hold a candle to what had happened before. First, Haseo had saved Konoha during its time of crisis—in contrast, even if Minato achieved similar merit, it would only be adding icing on the cake. Second, as mentioned earlier, when something already happened once, repeating it can never recreate the same initial impact or influence.
If the appearance of the Fourth Raikage was quite natural, then what occurred on Sunagakure's side must've exceeded Haseo's expectations… The Fourth Kazekage? Wasn't that Sasori of the Red Sand? That didn't seem to fit at all.
They say necessity makes men grow up faster. Sunagakure was poor, so there had always been a tradition of young Kazekages—there was something off about this logic—but Sasori becoming Kazekage truly struck Haseo as extremely strange.
When Haseo saw this intel report, he felt as if his entire perception had been overturned—something he couldn't even begin to describe. This was the first time his intelligence ability had failed so seriously. The "world line" seemed to be deviating significantly... As expected, it was all because of Sakumo Hatake.
The root cause lay in the fact that during both the Second and Third Great Ninja World Wars, Konoha's White Fang never appeared on the battlefield against Sunagakure.
So it was this man who triggered major shifts in Sunagakure's political landscape. His blade wasn't fast enough nor long enough—those meant to die by his hand survived instead… Such actions would inevitably invite blame; honestly, calling him Konoha's White Fang sounds pretty ridiculous now.
Serves him right for having so much of his salary docked… Consider it punishment—no need to pay those debts back at all.
"You really care about this information that much? Isn't what happened in Suna quite reasonable?"
In the afternoon, Tsunade finally returned home empty-handed. She was giving Uzumaki Yayoi a checkup at the moment. Seeing how Haseo kept staring blankly at the intel report on the table, she couldn't resist speaking up like this.
What had occurred in Sunagakure—the installation of a new Kazekage—was certainly significant news, yet not urgent enough… Otherwise, instead of Uzumaki Yayoi just happening to bring it along, the village would've sent the news through official ninja channels much faster.
"Sasori of the Red Sand definitely possesses the qualifications to become the next Kazekage, given his lineage and talent. After all, he is Chiyo's grandson… When calculating overall achievements over the years, there may be no one in Sunagakure whose accomplishments surpass Chiyo's—not even the Third Kazekage himself.
Back when the Third Kazekage was still a child, Chiyo was already extensively deploying poisons across battlefields. Therefore, her accomplishments—and her reputation—naturally cast a legacy upon her grandson.
Moreover, Sasori himself also carries the reputation of being a prodigy, always highly anticipated within Sunagakure.
Therefore, the Third Kazekage's choice should be perfectly fine. Sasori indeed seems a suitable successor.
Yet from another perspective, it's understandable why Rasa, a powerful Jonin, would feel discontented. Although Sasori holds the title of genius, he's relatively young, and his military accomplishments don't suffice to overshadow someone like Rasa.
If Rasa harbors ambitions, then his resentment over being subordinate to a younger man might lead him toward rebellion… After all, he possesses sand-based techniques similar to those of the Third Kazekage, which might have made him believe he deserved the position."
Tsunade tossed off her thoughts on what was going on in Sunagakure. She thought the causal relationships and logical progressions were quite clear-cut, nothing particularly worth worrying about—everything fell well within reason.
"And besides, isn't there also a woman mixed up in all this? Maybe there's even some love triangle drama behind it all."
After thoroughly analyzing things rationally, Tsunade then proceeded with uniquely feminine romantic interpretations and emotional scenario-making, just like how any nosy neighborhood auntie would start thinking.
But you better not utter those forbidden four words—Haseo would drop dead the moment he hears them.
"Could a ninja, as a combat unit, really trigger major issues just because women are fighting over him in love…?"
Haseo stopped himself mid-sentence because he suddenly remembered that there was indeed a case in this world where someone—a lovesick doormat whose lover had died—wanted to destroy the entire world. Oh right, it wasn't called "destroying the world"—it was more like "recreating a new world where she existed." Thinking about it that way, the person sounded less like a crazy lunatic and more like a simple romantic.
"Long hair, narrow mind. Anyway, things aren't as simple as you imagine."
Haseo silently thought, You damn woman, what do you know? Do you know how the Third Kazekage originally died? Do you know who should've been Gaara's mother? Do you know how Gaara died—and how he came back to life? Do you know what Chiyo's final fate was?
Of course, Tsunade didn't know any of that now.
Though ignorant of those facts, she clearly understood one thing—that what Haseo had just said was damn rude.
She frowned slightly, turned her head back, and wore a nearly expressionless face. Then she stretched out a finger and gave the table a light tap:
"What's wrong with being a woman? And what exactly do you mean by 'long hair, narrow mind'?"
"Uh… nothing really. I'm just gonna take a sip of water… let's drop it for now."
Haseo lowered his head quietly and continued sipping his soup.
"Sasori of the Red Sand" used his own personal experiences from two diametrically opposed world lines to illustrate an important point: family environment significantly influences a person's development.
Therefore, Haseo decided to compromise and practice love and tolerance within family life. Shouldn't that be the right approach? It wasn't like he was scared of his wife or something—he was still a decent guy at heart.
At the same time, he still maintained his own dignity and pride. Even if Tsunade got angry, he fiercely refused to apologize in front of others.
Yayoi secretly glanced at Haseo, wearing a half-smile she dared not fully show…
Well, she was only a patient—knowing nothing else.
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