"You needn't be this cautious, Nara. I'm just getting my feet back under me, not actually learning to walk for the first time like a toddler… Stretching your arms around me like that looks like you're trying to keep your son from falling," Haseo said as he leaned against the wall in Konoha Hospital's corridor, slowly regaining his rhythm with each step while speaking to Nagisa Nara beside him.
What's the big deal about walking? Even if Haseo did trip a few times and face-planted a couple of times, who'd care?
And Haseo's description was way off. The "son" was too big, the "father" too small. Nobody would believe they were related by blood. As awkward as that remark was, it did make Nagisa step back a bit.
Nagisa arrived at the village five days after Haseo had returned to Konoha. When he thought he was carrying critical intelligence and rushed straight here to report directly to the Third Hokage, reality hit him with a surprising twist—he'd come all this way for nothing. The Hokage already knew far more than what he brought with him.
Later on, Nagisa learned that Haseo had actually returned to the village before him and had been seriously injured during a fierce battle.
"Is this really the legendary ninja everyone's talking about? He seems kinda young and small though. Can Haseo really have achieved such feats?"
"It must be him. Right now… he's just injured. But apparently, he wasn't well-known in the village before. This mission truly made him rise to fame and stand out."
The whispers surrounding him reached Haseo's ears. He snorted softly, muttering to himself—do they even understand anything? If I had two acres of land in Konoha, could I really have earned the seals of six nations? (a reference to Su Qin, a legendary strategist who united six warring states)
"After fighting that hard, it definitely counts as making a splash."
As soon as Haseo stepped into the hospital hallway, Medical Ninja always gathered around him like he was some rare specimen on display. Among Medical Ninja especially, the phrase "the guy who singlehandedly chased down a hundred enemies" was most popular when referring to him.
From Cloud's perspective, the results of the Frostfield Battle should have been completely classified. But for Leaf, it was the opposite; the battle had given an incredible boost to morale. So the higher-ups quietly allowed the news to circulate freely.
Sure, some details of the fight and Haseo being the victor were kept secret… But for Medical Ninja? It wasn't hard to piece it together. Besides, in the world of ninja, "somewhat classified" usually meant no secrecy at all.
Letting this kind of information spread might not necessarily be good for Haseo's safety, but there were certainly many benefits involved. For instance, when Haseo received treatment, since the medics had heard what he'd done, quite a few of them willingly devoted themselves fully to healing him, doing everything possible to keep him alive. Secondly, similar to the above, he gained significant status and respect.
Reputation's a tricky thing for ninja—it cuts both ways, and then some. That is, of course, unless you're one of those cheating powerhouses who don't play by the rules anyway.
In short, considering the feats Haseo had recently accomplished, even running into one or two admirers wouldn't be that surprising… Well, okay, maybe it still sounds a little wishful. Dream on. He's kidding himself if he thinks that'll ever happen.
Medical Ninjas praised Haseo for his battles in defense of Konoha, but those commendations felt somewhat irrelevant to him at the time—his actual fights hadn't had much to do with the village's glory or interests. He found it hard to accept such unrelated praise.
"This isn't really the place to have this conversation. Let's go for a walk."
Saying this, Haseo walked down the corridor, then descended the stairs and finally sat on a bench outside… Just from that slight movement, he was already breaking into a light sweat.
Looks like the nutritional meals still weren't enough.
"You've heard about Chichio's decision, right?" After catching his breath, Haseo asked Nagisa Nara.
"Yeah, she told me… Still, I feel it's somewhat a pity." Nagisa was quite rational by nature; in the team, he practically served as deputy captain, even though a four-man squad probably didn't really need such a position.
Of course, Chichio needed to inform Nagisa about her decision to retire.
"There's nothing pitiful about it, Nagisa… Isn't a white *mumu* (a traditional bridal kimono symbolizing purity) more beautiful than a ninja uniform? Letting her grow old peacefully, isn't that better than dying on the battlefield? In the future, if she doesn't choose to forget, maybe she'll tell her descendants about us… What more could you ask for?"
Nagisa probably felt reluctant about losing the team's chemistry, yet Haseo appeared much more open-minded.
After some thought, Nagisa spoke again, "Could this be related to Renjiro's incident?"
Chichio's reasons for choosing a quiet life weren't complicated at all, yet Nagisa couldn't help overthinking them—he even suspected possible spies deeply embedded within their unit.
Nagisa wasn't someone who lacked emotional understanding or insight. The only reason he said this was likely because Chichio explained her departure in greater detail to Haseo than she did to him.
"Do you think Chichio is someone so fragile?" Haseo countered.
Haseo never hesitated to assume the worst when judging others' intentions—but likewise, when looking at people optimistically, he also extended maximum goodwill and tolerance toward them.
Nagisa shook his head. Nagisa had known Chichio longer than Haseo had, so he understood what kind of person she was. It was precisely because he knew her well that he struggled to accept her sudden withdrawal.
If Nagisa had personally experienced that battle alongside Haseo, everything would have made sense. Without having gone through it, though… no words were needed.
"The Operations Division of the village… They still call it the Operations Division. They've assigned me a new mission already."
"What kind of mission?"
"To mentor newly graduated Genin straight out of the Academy."
"…Not bad. Only a ninja the Hokage truly trusts would get such a task… The Third Hokage always valued nurturing young ninja greatly. After this war, he certainly won't treat these Genin as disposable tools, but rather see them as Konoha's future."
And, of course, as future candidates for brainwashing.
"Yeah, this was a pretty good mission. But... it's a shame about our squad."
"Nara, look ahead. We did great—we only lost one member until the end of the war, and even that wasn't one of ours. How many squads in Konoha can say they ended up like us?"
"...You're right, Captain."
Nagisa used to call Haseo by his name directly, but now he referred to him as "Captain."
Chichio's departure would definitely set off a chain of consequences. A squad only had four members—losing one as a spy, another leaving, and a third seriously injured and on medical leave meant there was no longer any point in keeping the squad together.
The First Great Ninja War had ended, and with it, Haseo Squad ceased to exist. To be precise, the squad had originally been established by Sansho, so its disbandment was nothing unusual or hard to accept.
There was something which, theoretically, should be good news—but Haseo didn't feel that way. Despite being currently injured and barely maintaining the combat effectiveness of an invalid, after the Frost Plains Battle, he was definitely going to be promoted to jonin.
He wouldn't remain a genin for much longer.
Rewards should follow achievements, and punishments should follow failures—otherwise, how would the system work?
If someone like Haseo, whose battlefield accomplishments were undeniable, weren't promoted, wouldn't that mean even more extraordinary actions would be needed for promotion? Wouldn't that suggest that in mighty Konoha, a ninja needed to single-handedly defeat at least five Tailed Beasts before being acknowledged as a jonin? Could other ninjas really be expected to make sense of that?
And what about those ninja who think defeating Orochimaru would already be impressive enough?
If the Third Hokage couldn't handle rewards and punishments properly, then maybe it would be better to hand the title over to that Uchiha guy from the Uchiha district [symbolizing political influence].
Therefore, Haseo had no choice but to accept the upcoming promotion—and all its related honors. There could be no question of politely declining personal gains when national interests were involved. Individual interests inevitably yielded to collective ones.
That Haseo would become a jonin was already a done deal. However, what surprised him was that on the same day later in the evening when he met with Nara, the Third Hokage actually paid him a hospital visit.
Well, perhaps "surprise" wasn't the right word. Even if merely for show, the Third Hokage needed to check in on Haseo—and besides, it wasn't just about appearances.
The Third Hokage had something important to tell him.
After the routine small talk and pleasantries, the Third Hokage got straight to the point: "Haseo, regarding the incident where your squad was ambushed by Kumo ninja, the village has officially lodged a serious protest with them. I've also ordered a large force of Konoha ninja to conduct a feint maneuver toward the southern border of the Land of Fire, giving the appearance that we might swiftly sever Kumo's supply lines. However… I must tell you, this will remain just a feint maneuver."
At this moment, Konoha absolutely couldn't risk reigniting a war with Kumo.
"To this day, Kumo has completely denied involvement in the ambush against your squad."
Haseo chuckled. "I figured they'd just claim it was a misunderstanding or collateral damage. Refusing to admit anything at all... that's pretty thuggish. But the good news is, I don't have to take responsibility for the Jinchuriki's death either. Since they insist nothing happened, this works out just fine."
"Konoha is currently pursuing peace agreements with Iwagakure and Sunagakure. Iwagakure just lost their Tsuchikage, while Sunagakure has long been weak and powerless, so progress has been made on both fronts. However, if Konoha were to reignite war with our former 'allies' in Kumo at a time like this, nobody could predict what would happen across the entire Ninja World next...
We cannot afford such consequences."
The Hokage ignored Haseo's sarcasm and focused solely on the matter at hand.
A leader who immediately grabs a weapon and retaliates the moment their subordinates are wronged isn't a Hokage—they're just a gangster.
Civilized people have their own difficulties... Although Haseo had just insulted Kumo as thugs, they're still civilized thugs, which means you still need to play by the rules with them.
Haseo understood the Third Hokage's difficult position and could accept the current outcome. However, things wouldn't simply fade away like that. If external compensation couldn't be obtained, then internally, the Hokage needed to compensate Haseo—at the very least. Otherwise, where was the fairness?
And this time, Haseo wasn't holding back—he was going straight to the Third Hokage asking for serious compensation.
P.S. We really need your subscription support—we're just a little short!
We're also trying to hit under 300 monthly votes and less than 30,000 Qidian coins in donations.
We could still use more recommendation tickets as well!
I'm so swamped lately that I don't even have time to catch the League of Legends World Finals anymore.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>