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Chapter 150 - Chapter 148: Graduation Exam

"Renjiro, I occasionally find you a bit strange, but I never imagined you'd be *this* strange... Oh, come to think of it, the name Renjiro must also be fake." Haseo stood on a thick horizontal branch and said this to the newly reappeared Renjiro.

Renjiro looked almost exactly the same as when he'd just left—except for the two long swords at his waist, slight shifts in his expression and aura, and the company of several companions. In fact, he still wore Konoha's forehead protector wrapped around his head.

The reputation Haseo had quickly gained after his first kill against Men Zuomen, how Renjiro had shown particular concern over his strength and new ninjutsu, and even recently the rumors circulating about him being the killer of Amegakure's leader... now it all seemed to make sense.

Danzo Shimura, how many black marks will be pinned on your head? How many people owe you an apology?

"Captain, there was no other choice. We definitely needed to move along the scouting jutsu pattern I laid out on our return, so… the opportunity was simply too good to pass up," Renjiro explained.

"Too good to pass up… everyone can make pretty speeches. But the truth is, the burden of being a spy was simply too hard to bear, so you just found yourself a convenient chance to return to your original village," Haseo shot back without hesitation, directly piercing through the facade.

He always cut straight to the core of things.

Renjiro fell silent. He couldn't deny it because it was the truth. Regardless of anything else, choosing to set such a trap meant one obvious purpose—to enable his return to Kumo afterward.

"You don't seem the least bit alarmed or surprised by what's happening?" He dropped the previous subject and instead asked this.

"There's nothing surprising about it. Even if Chichio suddenly claimed to be a spy from Mist, I wouldn't find it strange," Haseo replied. However, before he could finish speaking, Chichio herself spoke up from the side.

"I really am."

"..."

"..."

Everyone froze.

"Well, I was just making a point..."

In the short time since she spoke, Chichio already looked slightly off. She was beginning to act "like Haseo."

Not that there was anything unusual about it. At this point, Chichio realized things weren't looking good for them, so she imitated Haseo's style with a remark—unfunny to everyone else but oddly satisfying to herself.

Just look at everyone's expressions—even Haseo's face was priceless.

"Cough," Haseo lightly cleared his throat, pretending nothing had happened, then continued, "I'm not surprised that a spy has turned traitor, only that you've gone to such extremes. For someone like me—a nobody—you're really going all out here."

"Our people believe you were worth this kind of attention," B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki beside Renjiro, responded.

Haseo shook his head… At least it turned out to be Kumo. Could've been worse.

But why would Kumo place spies around Haseo—an unknown outsider—and why go to such great lengths to eliminate him now?

The root of everything lay in the fact that, back then during his mission negotiating with Kumo, someone had told a Kumo ninja that he was the kind of ninja who could become someone like the Second Hokage.

This statement might have been dismissed lightly by Kumo, or it could have been seized upon tightly. Judging by the present outcome, it was clearly the latter.

So, all that was happening before his eyes was nothing more than a graduation exam arranged by Sansho for Haseo. Although even Sansho-sensei probably couldn't have guessed that this exam would escalate to such a scale.

Winning this battle meant Haseo could officially graduate.

The only pity wasn't about how big the exam turned out to be, but rather that it arrived slightly too late… If it had come a month sooner, that would've been perfect.

"Captain, actually… you can return to Kumo with me. To Konoha, you're merely an outsider. There's no reason for you to fight to the death for Konoha," Renjiro continued.

Estimating the timeline, if Renjiro had already been in Konoha before Haseo arrived, then he must have become a spy for Kumo at an even younger age. He'd spent far more time in Konoha than he ever did in Kumo, so why would his allegiance still firmly lie with Kumo instead of Konoha?

Such questions didn't need answering.

"If you truly wanted to recruit me, this wouldn't be the current situation we're in. Moreover… you're simply not worth trusting, Renjiro. Once you become a spy, nobody will ever trust you completely again for the rest of your life. I have no desire to end up in such a pitiful state.

As for what you said regarding fighting for Konoha's sake—you seem to have misunderstood something… What happens to Konoha, or even the world itself, is actually quite irrelevant to me.

Someone like me—normal through and through—just doesn't think that deeply about things. Even if there were a choice laid before me—preserving the world or destroying it, passing on the fire or extinguishing it—the motivation behind my decision wouldn't stem from my attitude toward the world itself... Everything would hinge entirely on whether I still want to hear another 'Ashen-One' again.

Get it?"

"No." Renjiro shook his head. Honestly, no one with half a brain could make sense of what Haseo had just said. "Also, Captain, my name isn't really Renjiro. In Kumo, my official code name is 'Cloud.'"

Haseo also shook his head. Whatever this man called himself now no longer had anything to do with him.

"Everyone from Kumo, give me a few seconds to say my final words."

At this moment, Haseo understood why he felt so calm—he'd always known deep down that this was bound to happen sooner or later.

Then Haseo said softly to Katsuyu, "Katsuyu, it seems like I'll need to retrieve the chakra I've stored with you for so long."

"But Lord Haseo, your body's capacity…"

"Now is not the time to worry about that anymore, Katsuyu."

"...I understand, Lord Haseo. Please be careful; among the enemies, there are two individuals whose chakra reserves feel unusually immense—and somewhat familiar."

"They must be Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, probably."

"As Haseo spoke, he recognized one of the Jinchuriki, but hadn't expected another to be present as well.

Truthfully, he couldn't tell whether this showed too much respect—or far too little. To call it respect meant Kumo considered two Jinchuriki necessary to deal with him. But calling it disrespect wasn't unreasonable either—normally a ninja village wouldn't deploy Jinchuriki against an enemy known for extreme power.

'That seems correct, Master Haseo,' said Katsuyu.

How had it come to this? They had only been tailing the Second Mizukage—how had everything spiraled so suddenly into conflict? Why fight at all? And how?

Haseo didn't need answers to those questions. He simply needed to fight.

Can Deidara defeat the most brooding Uchiha Sasuke?

Of course he can.

Can Might Guy defeat Madara of the Six Paths?

Of course he can.

Then, can Haseo take on both the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, plus dozens of elite Kumo ninja?

Of course he can.

Nothing in this world is unbeatable. You just have to be willing to give everything for it."

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