After several meetings between the Third Hokage and Konoha's high command—and with Mito Uzumaki's support—the decision to establish a new village ninja organization named Kagenami was officially made. As soon as Haseo returned to Konoha from Shikkotsu Forest, he was summoned by the Third Hokage immediately.
Haseo originally thought that the Third Hokage wanted to question him about leaving his post during the scenic restoration project. After all, he had disappeared for quite some time—long enough for the Third Hokage to sign a ceasefire agreement and return home... To others, Haseo's actions might have seemed too similar to embezzlement and fleeing.
Even along the way during his escape, he'd taken the Third's young apprentice with him... Well, actually, Haseo hadn't expected his earlier proposal to be accepted so quickly.
"Haseo," the Third said, "Regarding what you mentioned before, after discussion among the village leadership, we've already reached a decision... Konoha acknowledges your insightful judgment.
Furthermore, I've already communicated with Mito-dono, and I understand every detail of everything that happened. So in the future, there's no need to go through such a roundabout process anymore—got it?"
Haseo nodded in understanding. He thought to himself that this sort of move—going straight over everyone's heads to the top—was something that only needed to happen once.
Seeing Haseo nodding, the Third Hokage continued, "Considering the hidden true purpose of 'Kagenami,' for now, aside from you, it will temporarily consist solely of shinobi from the Uzumaki clan.
Of course, if you spot someone you think is worth recruiting, under the premise of ensuring their reliability, you may bring them in as well—but you must proceed with extreme caution.
It's still in its planning stages, and development won't proceed too quickly for some time, so we can select members carefully and thoroughly.
Everything... should take its time. After the war commemoration festival in the village, I'll send you to the Land of Whirlpools."
This plan was clearly not something that could be rushed—nor was it meant to be. Too hasty actions could not only risk exposing the core purpose of the organization but also create the impression that they wished for Mito Uzumaki's death.
In short, an essential objective of establishing Kagenami was essentially to take over from Mito in containing the Nine-Tails. If she were still alive, obviously there would be no urgency—since she could control it herself.
Haseo fully understood the Hokage's meaning and felt already satisfied that things had advanced this smoothly, considering how extensive the implications were.
Generally speaking, since everything Haseo proposed aligned naturally with the situation, the decision-making process proceeded relatively smoothly.
Moreover, although the Third Hokage didn't explicitly state it, both he and Mito implicitly placed the responsibility of Kagenami, along with the Nine-Tails containment plan, into Haseo's hands. Therefore, from this moment onward, Haseo was no longer simply another ordinary ninja—he had become an important figure within Konoha itself.
So, this respected figure immediately brought some important news—whose implications were still unclear—to the Third Hokage. "Hokage-sama, since Nagare has already been decided upon and considering we still have plenty of time ahead, there's really no need to rush into many things.
But there is something rather urgent I must report to you—Orochimaru has gone to Ryuchi Cave, one of the Three Secret Regions."
Third Hokage: "..."
The news came too suddenly. Wasn't he just discussing village reforms a moment ago?
Whether it was his imagination or not, the Third Hokage always felt that this aging ninja—somehow looking even smaller than before—had a way of bringing him both surprises...
and shocks.
Then, Haseo gave Hiruzen a detailed account of how he and Orochimaru had left the Valley of the End. As for his specific experiences inside Ryuchi Cave, however, he opted for a simplified version—"streamlining" details and skimming over more serious matters. He simply said they had suddenly split up, gotten lost, and after failing to find each other again, he had used Retrograde Summoning to escape.
Incidents like Katsuyu eating a snake or an encounter with the White Scales Great Snake—these 'trivial details' weren't worth mentioning to the Village Headman anymore. After all, judging from the current expression on this elder's face, he was already burdened enough.
"Ryuchi Cave... I understand. It must be similar to when Jiraiya discovered the prophecy boy—this is a kind of serendipitous fate. This is Orochimaru's own matter; you don't need to feel guilty or overly concerned."
In fact, the Third Hokage even tried consoling Haseo.
Haseo thought to himself: My mind's perfectly at ease—I'm not feeling guilty at all. After all, the possibility of Orochimaru facing danger inside Ryuchi Cave was practically non-existent.
The Third Hokage turned around. He didn't want to keep standing here with Haseo any longer—it was just too mentally taxing. A ninja who overthinks is not a reliable ninja.
At this moment, even the Third Hokage's retreating figure appeared lonely... Sarutobi Hiruzen mused silently: Now his disciples have suddenly been "divided up." One plays with snakes, another with toads—who would inherit his bo staff techniques?
Tsu… Tsunade, perhaps? Not quite suitable. For starters, she scratches and fidgets a lot, so it doesn't look very elegant. Plus, she already has Katsuyu.
So this is how it ends? After raising these disciples with so much effort, their master ended up without a successor. Someone clearly swooped in and stole the show.
Ah, the pain! It pierces my very soul!
The Third Hokage took a few steps forward before suddenly realizing—he had no reason to be walking away at all. Wasn't this still his own office? So he waved his hand dismissively, indicating he was done talking, and that Haseo could leave now.
Haseo, unaware of the Third Hokage's tangled emotions, left feeling somewhat confused.
...
Soon afterward, Jonin Haseo began noticing changes in his status and position. Just a couple days later, in preparation for the upcoming peaceful era, the village's upper echelon started holding meetings frequently—and some of these gatherings actually required Haseo's attendance.
Even though he was now just a paper tiger—a commander with no troops—paper tigers still held weight around here.
During the first meeting, Haseo encountered a certain individual with a cold, indifferent expression.
When this man saw Haseo, his already unpleasant expression turned even colder. No extra explanations were needed — just hearing the other's name made it clear why he wore such a grim face...
He was Danzo Shimura.
"Haseo," Danzo said, "lately you've been jumping around rather high."
As Danzo spoke, his tone seemed completely devoid of emotion. But take note: This wasn't meant as sarcasm or criticism toward Haseo at all — quite the opposite, it was praise, a kind of rare appreciation: someone whose abilities truly lived up to their reputation.
Because if translated into Konoha dialect, his sentence would read:
Wow, you can really dance.
Haseo smiled slightly and accepted Danzo's "praise" before replying, "Lord Danzo, one crucial principle for maintaining an organization long-term is 'fairness.' What I've given on the battlefield, I've received within the village. I think everything's perfectly reasonable, and has absolutely nothing to do with dancing high or low.
Surely others aren't going to resent me simply because they themselves can't jump very high?"
Haseo's reply carried more friendliness, essentially implying: Why don't you go defeat a couple jinchuriki too, then we can talk further?
The issue regarding the Frostfield Battle still hadn't been settled between Konoha and Kumo. Though allies, Haseo had suffered an ambush from them during their encounter. Had he died on the spot, that would have been fine — no proof, no problem. But now that he was alive, things couldn't be ignored anymore.
Yet predictably, regardless of how much arguing occurred afterward, Konoha wouldn't be able to obtain justice for him from Kumo. If so, then the Hokage must offer Haseo corresponding status and compensation within the village itself.
That was only fair.
Haseo wasn't engaging Danzo head-to-head, nor was he trying to provoke him (though effectively, he had done so anyway). He was simply laying out the facts and reasoning things through. Even if Danzo became Hokage, would he really be foolish enough to ignore justice and fair reward, pleasing enemies while hurting allies?
Well, actually, maybe he really could do exactly that. In Danzo's view, it was natural and expected for a ninja to sacrifice himself for the village.
Like some code monkey who clocks exactly eight hours a day — expecting a bonus from the boss? Have you gone completely bald spouting nonsense like that?
In the future, Danzo would become incredibly powerful, but right now, he was still just a junior. So after Haseo ran his mouth off like that, Lord Danzo was instantly left speechless.
He just wasn't articulate enough, which easily put him at a disadvantage.
Therefore, he stopped speaking altogether, simply flicked his sleeve and turned to walk into the meeting room.
At this moment, all Haseo needed to do was smile — just keep smiling sweetly.
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