Those born into the Uzumaki clan with orthodox upbringing usually displayed abilities in Sealing Technique, and there were basically only two scenarios—some had strong sealing skills, while others possessed extremely powerful ones.
Sealing Technique could even be considered a hidden "Kekkei Genkai" of the Uzumaki clan, an innate talent implanted within each individual. The only thing holding that back was education.
Once trained properly, Uzumaki members showed incredible sealing talent; and without that... well, they could always fall back on making those chakra orbs.
So even the younger generations of the Uzumaki could set up a barrier in an orderly fashion. More importantly, the Uzumaki clan wasn't in the desperate state it would later face—when finding even a few surviving members seemed impossible.
The Uzumaki bloodline hadn't yet weakened, and even if problems arose during the construction of their underground hideout, they could smile and face them head-on—either by collectively brainstorming solutions or seeking guidance from giants like Mito Uzumaki.
As for issues even Mito Uzumaki couldn't solve… Well, such situations simply didn't exist. After all, Haseo's requirements for the barrier weren't extreme—it just needed highly advanced enemy-identification and surveillance capabilities, strong protective functions, and standard concealment properties. It would be sufficient as long as it could handle over ninety percent of common situations. Nobody expected such a barrier to hold up against someone like the Sage of Six Paths.
Still, this was his own personal project, so everyone remained committed to maintaining quality standards during construction, even if it cost extra time. According to plan, they intended to complete the basic barrier framework within two months, allowing primary functions to go online, then spend another three months refining and adjusting details until everything was thoroughly covered.
At this rate, approximately five months later, the Kagenami base would become one of Konoha's most heavily fortified locations.
This meticulous effort put into constructing their base bore some resemblance to what Danzo Shimura would later do. Frankly speaking, establishing isolated private groups within the village wasn't a positive phenomenon, but Haseo didn't intend to challenge the Third Hokage either. The position of Hokage wasn't something he aimed for, nor did he particularly desire it.
Actually, the Kagenami would willingly follow the Third Hokage's orders—far more obediently than Root or than Danzo himself. However, lacking full confidence in the Third Hokage, Haseo relied solely on his own strength when it really counted.
In Konoha, the only person Haseo fully trusted—one hundred percent—was someone who died just as he was about to place his complete trust in her.
As for the Third Hokage... Compared to the First and Second Hokages, he was "incompetent." This wasn't meant as an insult—it was simply a calm and neutral description of his situation.
"Incompetent" didn't imply stupidity or lack of intelligence—he wasn't even overly rigid—it simply meant what it said: his abilities were limited, and his strength fell short.
The most representative incident was the death of Hizashi Hyūga during the Third Great Ninja War. A group of Kumo envoys entered Konoha, claiming they were there to mend relations and achieve peace by reestablishing a close alliance with Konoha. In reality, however, this group carried secret orders to steal the Byakugan.
In the end, these Kumo shinobi proved too weak and failed in their attempt at theft, getting killed on the spot by Hizashi Hyūga, the head of the Hyūga clan—known as the "strongest in Konoha."
Yet the death of Kumo's envoy leader in Konoha constituted a serious diplomatic incident. With no surviving witnesses, Kumo turned around and denied any wrongdoing, accusing Konoha of attacking them and demanding the Hyūga Clan hand over the so-called "killer" responsible.
So how did the Third Hokage handle the situation? He forced Hizashi Hyūga to commit suicide and handed his corpse over to Kumo as the price for quelling the crisis.
Thus, peace between Konoha and Kumo was achieved.
It's hard to believe that a place like Konoha—considered the strongest ninja village—would stoop so low. Even the First Hokage might've turned in his grave out of sheer anger...
Although criticism regarding this incident primarily fell upon the Third Hokage, in truth, it would be unfair to lay all blame solely on him. At that time, nobody within Konoha wanted the war to continue. All the ninja hoped for was for the Hyūga Clan to make a sacrifice and resolve the issue peacefully. Under such overwhelming public pressure, whether willing or not, the Third had no choice but to stand with the majority and demand accountability from the Hyūga Clan toward Kumo.
To put it simply, the problem with the Third wasn't his compromise itself, but rather his lack of authority strong enough to suppress both internal and external pressures. He was pressured from below, forced into a corner without the kind of authority needed to command absolute loyalty from every ninja in Konoha.
If it had been the First Hokage, he'd have leveled Kumo's headquarters on the spot. But the Third simply wasn't capable of that kind of action.
Anyone with common sense can understand that political compromises often result from necessity and are understandable. Yet, this doesn't erase the fact that the entire incident was deeply unpleasant... If they threw the Hyūga under the bus, what made Haseo think he wouldn't be next when push came to shove?
Wasn't the incident where Haseo was surrounded and hunted down by Kumo also quietly swept under the rug?
Certainly, there were people the Third would never sacrifice—individuals like Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. But the relationship between the Third Hokage and Haseo didn't reach that level... As long as someone says, "the village's interests come first," then whether it's Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzō Shimura, or any other high-ranking member of Konoha's inner circle—they're all cut from the same cloth.
When they tell you to sacrifice yourself for the greater good, do you really have a choice?
Didn't Hizashi Hyūga already do just that?
Clearly, Haseo has no intention of becoming another Hizashi Hyūga. Since Konoha naturally has its dark side, he hopes at least to build himself a warm little shelter.
Ultimately, everything traces back to one word: strength. How to further improve his own power—this is truly what lies deepest in Haseo's heart as his greatest concern.
If the Tailed Beast division plan succeeds, there's no doubt becoming a Jinchuriki would become easier—maybe not even requiring the Uzumaki bloodline to withstand Nine-Tails' chakra anymore… For any ninja, even one-eighth of Nine-Tails would still be an enormous amount of power—one so overwhelming it could "leak" uncontrollably every single night.
The Nine-Tails is famous for having infinite chakra. So what's one-eighth of infinite? Infinite, duh!
Of course Haseo desired such Tailed Beast-level chakra—but could he really become a Jinchuriki? Unlikely. Very, very unlikely.
His body was already too special—constantly eroding him from within, even without external influence. Adding Nine-Tails' chakra into the mix? Would he even survive?
So are we really suggesting using poison to fight poison?
Hmm, actually… come to think of it, maybe that theory isn't completely off… But those three little words—"in theory"—say everything already.
There's a one-in-ten-thousand shot that Haseo could rocket to being one of the strongest in the Ninjutsu World overnight by becoming a Jinchuriki. As for the rest of the probabilities… well, that just means more lectures from Sansho-sensei to endure.
So, should he take the risk?
Hell no. He'd rather keep researching his [Kinjutsu]. At least then he could die knowing exactly what killed him.
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