"You didn't say anything, but I almost forgot—Third Hokage is actually a young man too. So… spring has arrived, and once again, it's that time of year in the Land of Fire."
Haseo held great respect for the Third Hokage, mainly because no one else could detect the subtle disrespect hidden in his words.
How did the First and Second refer to him? Sarutobi, right? So Haseo's way of speaking wasn't wrong at all.
But something even more troubling came to mind—would he also have to send a wedding gift? 50... no, maybe 100 ryo would be enough? People always said that a meaningful gesture was what truly mattered in such cases.
Despite being so young, Third Hokage exuded an air of old-school stability—calm, composed, and fully mature. Yet his character lacked dynamism... his position as Hokage and his reserved manner often made people forget his actual age. Unlike the subsequent Fourth, whose style was particularly distinct, the Third's personal life rarely drew attention from someone like Haseo.
Normally, ninja only needed to focus on official duties and work; private affairs of leadership weren't usually their concern. But the Hokage's marriage wasn't ordinary—it seemed unrelated to others at first glance, yet if a wedding ceremony were to be held, it would carry intense political significance. The title of Hokage wouldn't allow Hiruzen Sarutobi to keep his marriage under wraps and quietly start a family.
Tsunade thought Haseo had a problem with his sense of timing. After all, she'd just told him that summer was nearly here—spring was clearly about to end. Then why mention spring arriving?
Adult stuff was way over their heads.
"How does the Third Hokage plan to proceed next... specifically regarding our own arrangements? Although the Hokage's wedding is indeed a grand occasion, surely he won't dramatically introduce us publicly during the ceremony itself—it'd steal the spotlight."
Haseo asked Tsunade. Since the Third Hokage had sent her to inform him of this, he should've revealed some specific plans.
Intentionally introducing us could draw unwanted attention—yet doing so would be plain idiotic. Politics thrived on subtle betrayals in the shadows, but on the surface, everything had to stay smooth and tactful. A leader who lacked subtlety wasn't a good leader at all.
"During the wedding period and prior," Tsunade replied, "the Third Hokage will assign you all to serve as guards for the bride—in other words, Lady Biwako."
...
After thinking for a moment, Haseo found the arrangement quite appropriate. During the Third Hokage's wedding ceremony, there would certainly be people of various statuses gathered around him. Even if Haseo's group joined them, they wouldn't stand out much. On the bride's side, however, things would be completely different. Given "Kagenami's" current numbers and strength, they could easily handle such a protective task independently.
At that time, the presence of the "Kagenami" would naturally become apparent.
The Third Hokage's arrangement was reasonable and justified. No one would mistake them for mere wedding organizers just because of such an assignment.
"Biwako-sama? Lady Biwako—the bride?"
"Thinking this through, Haseo shifted his focus back to the bride's identity… 'Biwako Sarutobi' wasn't a particularly memorable figure in the stories Haseo recalled. Yet if she could become the wife of a Hokage, clearly, she couldn't be just anyone either.
Was she childhood friends with the Third Hokage, playing in the dirt together since they were kids? Or perhaps another heavenly beauty fallen from the sky?
No, no—that wasn't what Haseo cared about. What really caught Haseo's attention was how Tsunade addressed her—just 'Biwako'? That felt off.
At present, the bride hadn't yet become the 'Sarutobi' Biwako, sure, but she shouldn't simply be called 'Biwako' either.
"Yeah, the fiancée of the Third Hokage, Biwako. The Third... is quite something; I only recently learned there was someone like her," Tsunade said.
Clearly, within her words lay a subtle implication: she herself didn't even know Biwako's surname. If the bride's identity had already been confirmed, why would her family name need to be concealed?
Unless she didn't have a surname at all—or...
Lately, Haseo had developed something of a conditioned reflex. Whenever he encountered people without surnames in Konoha, his first thought was that they might once have belonged to the Senju clan. Even though many had changed their names after the Senju withdrew from public life to hide their identities, there were also some who, out of nostalgia for the past, chose to retain only their given names.
Tsunade was a special case, of course, and didn't include people like Jiraiya or Orochimaru, who had always flown solo since birth.
That Tsunade didn't recognize her didn't diminish the likelihood of such origins... All Senju would surely recognize Tsunade, but Tsunade certainly couldn't recognize every last one of the Senju. Considering her current age and upbringing, it was likely Tsunade had met far fewer Senju than Haseo himself had.
"Is something wrong?"
Seeing Haseo lost in thought, Tsunade assumed he felt there was some difficulty with the task, so she asked him directly.
"No, nothing's wrong."
Haseo immediately shook his head. This was merely his habitual way of thinking. Whether Biwako was from the Senju clan really had little bearing on his mission. After all, it was the Third Hokage getting married, not himself.
Still, if the Third Hokage's bride turned out to be someone from the once-revered Senju clan, it would definitely help stabilize the village's situation. It would soothe the hearts of those still devoted to the now-vanished Senju clan.
Sealing oneself away wasn't quite as simple as it seemed.
Tsunade represented the final face of the Senju legacy today, yet she was merely symbolic. Many decisions required careful consideration by the Third Hokage himself.
"The mission from the Third Hokage—we've accepted it—and we're ready to execute it whenever needed."
Overthinking was one of his bad habits. At this moment, Haseo should simply focus on accepting the mission.
After Tsunade left, Haseo distributed the medicine she had created among the Uzumaki clan members. Naturally, everyone understood the necessity of hiding their identities, but they weren't overly confident in the effectiveness of this particular medicine... Especially since they'd just heard it was created by a child. Who knows? It might even kill someone.
This thing was like a universal balm—useful both internally and externally—and just a single drop could create a miracle, like some miraculous potion that works anywhere, anytime. Absolutely unbeatable.
So, the once bold and charismatic "Kagenami" instantly became an organization filled entirely with black-haired members… Well, aside from one silver-haired guy.
Sakumo Hatake could easily dye his hair black if he wanted to, but instead, he chose to simply voice his objection.
This was one of the rare opportunities he had to say "no" to Haseo.
Since the upcoming mission involved guarding a bride, for the sake of overall image, Haseo had no choice but to order custom-made uniforms… Fortunately, the Third Hokage had already approved the budget for organizational activities.
Haseo also customized some special kunai—flattened ones for his personal use. As for clothing, time was tight, so he didn't think too much about it and simply went with long robes in a plain grayish-white color. Therefore, a flashy haori was totally off the table—not in this lifetime. They had to wear low-key robes that gave off a modest vibe.
To ensure swift action in missions, they each carried a thick scroll strapped securely to their backs… Thus, apart from the subdued coloring, the overall style of the Kagenami resembled that of the "Sage Mode Naruto".
Wearing a scroll wasn't contradictory to the requirement of concealing identities. Quite a number of ninja used scrolls while fighting or performing jutsu, as they were essentially no different from kunai or shuriken.
Only when an Uzumaki unrolled their scroll would anyone stand a chance of recognizing them.
In addition to these items, everyone also had accessories: they attached their masks to the strap connecting to the scroll, subtly showing off their Uzumaki status. Considering the highly public nature of the upcoming mission, wearing masks on their faces to scare people wouldn't be appropriate.
As for Haseo, even though he didn't have an Uzumaki mask, he did possess a "Shōtenme" mask taken from Anbu. Although he had effectively left Anbu, he still kept the mask.
So they all managed to pull off a unified look.
It wasn't flashy by any means, but somehow, the team still managed to stand out. Modest yet stylish, for a "debut," it was actually quite decent.
Too bad everyone had black hair—if only their hair could've been colorful and vibrant, then this would've truly been the protagonist's team.
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