Sansho's words left Haseo immersed in thought for a long time. There was a simple truth that he had long refused to acknowledge—the fact that, as an outsider who didn't belong in this world, his only option was to change himself and adapt to it, rather than expect the entire world to revolve around him.
But how could that ever work?
His refusal to alter himself for the sake of fitting in fully exposed a conservative streak in Haseo's nature, but now he realized that mindset might be flawed. At the very least, perhaps it was time for him to embrace some youthful energy.
"Lord Sansho, the enemies are from Iwagakure. Their current mission involves standard infiltration and sabotage—harassing our rear areas, destroying supplies, targeted covert movements, and so on. There are no special objectives involved," Uchiha Kagami quickly reported after interrogating the prisoners. He uncovered no intelligence of real significance. In a sense, this was good news—it suggested that Iwagakure currently harbored no extraordinary designs on the Land of Fire.
No one asked what had happened to those four captured enemies because everyone already knew their fate.
"Iwagakure has grown especially active since both Konoha and Kumo suffered recent setbacks," Sansho remarked upon hearing Uchiha's report. Truth be told, Iwa's aggression was only natural in wartime. As their strength waned, their enemies grew stronger and bolder. With both Konoha and Kumo having lost their leaders, naturally their old enemy Iwa would seize the opportunity to gain battlefield advantages.
"Lately, most of our frontline clashes are with Iwagakure—we're starting to lose ground tactically and strategically," Mitokado Homura said, concern clearly visible on his face regarding the current war situation.
"That's exactly why we're here—to cut down our enemies as much as we can and deal with any hidden dangers at our backs," Sansho replied.
In the heart of the continent, the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire had begun a full strategic withdrawal, taking a defensive stance after repelling Kumo's invasion. Kumo, originally targeting both Iwagakure and Konoha, had lost its Raikage and had no choice but to follow Konoha's example by retreating. Meanwhile, Mist—an isolated village across the sea—focused on countering Kumo and more distant threats. Fortunately for Konoha, Mist had so far shown little interest in launching major offensives against it during the Great Ninja World War—a massive conflict engulfing nearly every ninja village across the continent.
Add in all the smaller ninja villages caught between these powers, and the whole world fell into chaos—that's how so many people like Haseo ended up losing everything to war.
Discussions about global strategy naturally didn't include Haseo, and after recent events, he had little desire to speak anyway. He wasn't sleepy either, so he re-lit the campfire, hoping to dry his soaked clothes before dawn arrived.
A faint light pierced through the night as the younger ninja approached the fire and took a seat beside it. He removed the headgear atop his head and casually tossed it into the flames, revealing naturally his striking white hair in the darkness.
Noticing Haseo's surprised glance, he explained, "It's stained with blood and can't be used anymore. Otherwise, it'd easily be discovered by enemy scouts."
He didn't realize that his explanation had completely missed the point of Haseo's surprise.
"Eh, well then, thanks for helping out earlier. I haven't properly asked yet… How should I address you?" Haseo turned to ask, seemingly just out of politeness.
"Hatake."
"Your given name?"
"Sakumo Hatake."
"...I see."
"What?"
"Nothing." Of course, Haseo couldn't say that he now understood why this kid was so good at cutting people down already at his age.
Still... So-called geniuses indeed tend to stand out at such a young age. There was a saying for this, right?
Yes—"rise to the top."
"There's one thing I'm curious about—how exactly did you manage movements like that at your age?" Perhaps trying to cover his own reaction, Haseo continued asking.
The taijutsu and sword techniques that Sakumo Hatake had displayed earlier were clearly practical combat skills earned only after countless life-and-death battles. Yet how could someone his age possibly have such experience?
Hatake seemed slightly uncomfortable with the praise. Somewhat bashfully, he scratched the back of his head and thought seriously before replying, "Nothing special really. Just kept practicing until I got it."
"..."
Take back what I said earlier—he clearly has no sense of modesty. Listen to him: "Just kept practicing until I got it." Was that even something a normal person would say?
"But then, how come you suddenly mastered Water Release Ninjutsu? And not just any kind—one of the B-rank Advanced Elemental Techniques? Didn't you just awaken your chakra recently?" Hatake countered instead.
Haseo opened his mouth ready to answer, but realized he couldn't really explain it. Thinking carefully, he finally replied somewhat awkwardly, "I guess I just practiced until I got it too."
This answer made Hatake clap his hands together, then look at Haseo as if to say, "See? Isn't that exactly what I meant?"
But were they really the same? Whether becoming a ninja or learning water techniques, everything Haseo had came directly from the Second Hokage. These were nurture-based gains, fundamentally different from someone like Hatake Sakumo who was simply born gifted.
"Maybe I'll get elemental techniques down quickly too, if I practice enough," the kid added, clearly not appreciating his own fortune.
Haseo glanced at him briefly, barely shaking his head almost imperceptibly. Youth will always be youth; Hatake hadn't yet become the legendary White Fang of Konoha later on, and already he wanted more than he deserved.
He really wanted to ask what purpose Hatake had in learning elemental techniques—was there even one? Could even the grandest ninjutsu stop the White Fang's death-dealing blade?
As worries filled the older ones and ignorance remained with the young, night passed swiftly. With dawn arriving, the rested ninja squad set off again.
However, the exhaustion weighing on Haseo's body showed no sign of fading. His chakra had been steadily draining since yesterday, especially after he'd unleashed a B-rank Water Release technique. Even now, his reserves hadn't recovered much, yet he clenched his teeth and pressed on with the group.
Their current mission wasn't one of combat, but rather a more significant diplomatic and political assignment. For this reason, the ninja squad avoided contacting Konoha's frontline forces when crossing the border, deliberately choosing a secret route where neither allies nor enemies would be encountered.
"So this is… the Land of Rice Fields?" As they left the Land of Fire, the surroundings became increasingly familiar to Haseo—understandably so, given how long he'd lived there. Their current path was extremely close, nearly identical, to the one he had taken after meeting the Second Hokage.
"Everything looks kind of familiar, right? We intentionally bypassed the shortest southern route through the Land of Iron so we could pass through here. From now on, you'll be leading the way… You've handled the Second Hokage's remains, but you didn't disturb the enemy corpses, did you? I hope they're still there." Sansho said to Haseo as the forest ahead thickened.
"Finding them will provide us with the strongest leverage in negotiations with Kumo."
Haseo still remembered this road—at least vaguely. As long as he could find that scorched tree, everything would fall back into place.
Thus, he once again took the lead at the front of the group.
P.S.
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