In every world, there exists a similar rule—those most terrifying catastrophic events are rarely caused by terrorists, but rather by scientists.
Some research is conducted for destruction, while other research itself *is* the destruction.
Therefore, the "culprit" who activated the Spike Mine wasn't anyone else but Orochimaru himself, who'd been studying it. Now could be said to be quite foresighted—otherwise why would he rush past the door so quickly? Clearly, he already understood Orochimaru well.
When Haseo arrived at the scene within a few steps, he found everything in chaos, though the only fortunate part was that no one seemed injured. While tampering with it, at least Orochimaru hadn't stood foolishly in front, so ultimately, he had only destroyed the gate of his fiancée's house before the Third Hokage's wedding, without splattering any more of that festive red stuff.
Although this felt somewhat like a near-death enthusiast's antics, this kind of behavior—akin to a son destroying his father's home—somehow felt oddly normal.
"The power...is considerable."
Orochimaru muttered after a brief stunned moment and calmly issued that assessment.
Without hesitation, Haseo smacked him right on the forehead, "Do you even need to say whether the power is considerable or not?"
This time, he knew he was in the wrong, so he simply shrugged and said nothing.
Hmph, must maintain an air of noble aloofness. Only by being noble and cold during childhood can one become even nobler and colder when grown up.
"Clean up the mess here. Jiraiya, go inform Lady Biwako about what happened. The commotion just now wasn't too big or too small; they definitely heard it. So go explain properly—you know what I mean, right? The usual routine: pin it all on Orochimaru."
Haseo rubbed his temples—this was already giving him a headache. This mission had barely started, yet someone was already causing trouble—way too familiar. There's no black sheep among us, so don't overthink it.
"Why me?"
Jiraiya immediately objected, thinking this sort of thing shouldn't fall upon him to handle.
His objection was mild enough, showing no resistance whatsoever toward shifting the blame entirely onto Orochimaru. Truly, brothers forever.
Haseo glanced at him and replied, "Up until now, you've always been the one causing chaos and ending up unlucky. Finally, for once, it's Orochimaru's turn. Doesn't reporting it feel... good? Hell, you can even spice it up a little."
"..."
Jiraiya was shocked at first, then cracked a smile three seconds later.
"You guys stay here. I'll go talk to Lady Biwako myself."
At this point, Tsunade, who had watched long enough, finally couldn't bear it anymore. Suddenly, she felt emotionally drained. It seemed none among those around her were reliable... Men remained boys regardless of their age, so logically speaking, every boy equaled a baby.
And a baby's brains? Practically clueless.
Then again, girls usually did grow up faster.
Tsunade turned on her heel and left to handle business without delay. Haseo spread his arms toward Jiraiya in an exaggerated gesture, as if saying, You really wasted such a great opportunity.
"Wait a second—I suddenly feel something off about you. What about your hair...can't it be restored?"
Only now did Haseo realize something strange about Jiraiya—the old pervert had been sporting jet-black hair all this time.
"Tsunade's potion is incredibly potent," Jiraiya's voice trailed off weakly. "If I had applied it externally, cutting my hair and taking a heavy dose of hormones would've brought me back quickly enough. But since I was forced to ingest it, they say it won't wear off for at least three months."
Haseo silently sympathized with Jiraiya. After thinking for a moment, he tried to comfort him: "Black hair isn't so bad. I've got black hair too—first off, it makes you look younger. And on the bright side, it won't clash with Sakumo's image for now."
Jiraiya: "..."
Was that even a good thing? As if he wasn't youthful-looking already.
At this moment, Guren Uzumaki, the Uzumaki ninja who had come along to carry out the mission, finished inspecting the scroll and walked over to report to Haseo, "Lord Haseo, I found nothing wrong with it. Theoretically speaking, traps shouldn't have been activated, but..."
The Uzumaki technique was definitely reliable, so why had touching the scroll twice triggered its effect?
"Oh, don't worry about this. It's not our problem."
Haseo waved his hand, signaling the Uzumaki not to dwell on it. The weapon's reliability had been thoroughly tested and experimentally proven—it couldn't possibly be faulty. The real issue lay solely with whoever touched the scroll. Orochimaru had an uncanny knack for scrolls—even knowing exactly where to touch to set them off.
After this minor accident, Haseo decided to keep a close eye on these troublesome kids. Fortunately, thanks to this incident, the following few days passed without any further issues.
Three days before the Hokage's wedding ceremony began, all outside guests had arrived in Konoha. Around this time, a special group of visitors arrived at Biwako Lake, where Haseo and his team were stationed—the envoys sent by the Fire Daimyo.
The Daimyo was extraordinarily enthusiastic. His emissaries, after first congratulating the Third Hokage, even came directly to the bride's side to present her with dowry gifts.
When you're a Daimyo, what more could you possibly need? By comparison, some people were still stressing over whether to go with a two- or three-figure sum.
The Daimyo's envoy first held a cordial meeting with Biwako. Before leaving, the envoy approached Haseo.
"Lord Haseo, there's something I'd like to speak with you privately... something extremely important."
At this time, Haseo was with his three-man squad. Actually, he had met this approaching envoy once before. Even Jiraiya and others had seen her previously—she was none other than the Daimyo's trusted maid—and also Konoha's spy embedded within the Daimyo's court.
Haseo didn't understand why she sought him out, but he decided to hear what she wanted to say first.
"You three, go keep watch around the perimeter. I need to speak with the Daimyo's messenger."
The trio hesitated—they wanted to hear what the maid had to say—but they could only grudgingly step aside. Not that it mattered. As long as they kept their ears open, they could still catch the conversation from a distance.
"You can speak now," Haseo said once he confirmed the others had moved far enough away. "Do you have anything important to report?"
"Lord Haseo, everything at the Daimyo's castle remains normal and the Daimyo himself is unharmed. However, the Daimyo is preparing something and intends to formally propose it to Konoha after the Third Hokage's wedding..."
At this point, the maid paused and subtly studied Haseo's expression.
"I'm listening. Continue."
"The Daimyo deeply regrets decisions he made in the past. He now fully recognizes the importance of the relationship between the ninja village and the country's ruler. Therefore, he wishes to mend relations and further strengthen ties between our two sides."
"For example?"
"For instance... forming a family alliance through marriage. Naturally, since the Third Hokage's wedding is already approaching, and there are currently no suitable female relatives within the Daimyo's bloodline, if possible, the Daimyo would like to marry a kunoichi of appropriate standing from within the village."
"Oh, I see. So soon after the Third Hokage got married, you're already scheming about his daughter… That might take some time."
Haseo interrupted her.
What was the name of the Third's daughter again? The one with the sideburns—oh right, Asuma Sarutobi... Wait, no, that's the son! Imagine him shaving off that beard, throwing on a skirt, maybe slapping on some makeup. With a little effort, that square face of his might not look so bad. The Daimyo might actually go for that kind of look.
"No, what the Daimyo meant was—"
Haseo cut in again. "One thing I want to ask first. How exactly did you learn my name? I don't recall telling you who I was."
Haseo didn't understand why she approached him specifically, but he wanted to know how she had figured out who he was.
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