"Haseo."
After issuing orders meant to calm people down—orders that were, in truth, nearly pointless—the Third Hokage pulled the kunai embedded in his shoulder and flung it to the ground. Unexpectedly, he then called out Haseo's name.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Haseo responded. Within the hall, he swiftly closed the distance and stood behind the Third Hokage within a few steps.
"Find Tsunade," the Hokage instructed, then added something else in a whisper too soft for anyone but Haseo to hear. Immediately, Haseo's expression shifted to one of surprise.
"Do you understand? Any enemy encountered is to be executed on sight—no survivors under any circumstances. I will issue the same command to the Anbu as well."
As the smoke cleared, Haseo fixed his gaze on the three figures emerging from the mist. After a brief pause, he took a deep breath and said to the Third Hokage, "I understand, Hokage-sama. I know exactly what must be done next."
Under normal circumstances, an organized, premeditated assassination attempt on the Hokage would require capturing the attackers alive. Konoha needed to uncover the full story behind such an attack. Yet now, the Hokage had given an unusual order—to kill without hesitation. And even more surprisingly, Haseo had accepted it calmly. All of this happened because… they had their reasons.
Seeing that the Hokage didn't seem particularly shocked by the situation, Haseo cautiously asked, "Hokage-sama, do we have any estimate on the number of enemies?"
The Hokage glanced at him and replied, "Unknown. Don't expect me to predict such things. It could be just a few, or maybe twenty or thirty."
It might as well have been silence.
Haseo nodded and stepped back, leaving the Hokage alone to face those three enemies… theoretically, the strongest adversaries present.
"[Kagenami], enter combat mode and form a defensive formation while falling back gradually. Don't take unnecessary risks. Retreat slowly toward base. If you encounter Jiraiya and others along the way, bring them with you. Say it's by the Hokage's order."
Returning to his original position, Haseo issued withdrawal commands to the Uzumaki ninja.
At this point, the relocation of the Uzumaki clan had only just begun. If the first wave of "settlers" suffered heavy casualties, the entire plan would likely collapse. Therefore, survival came first.
Then Haseo fixed his gaze on Sakumo Hatake. "Sakumo Hatake… you are authorized to engage freely. Right now, you don't just have permission to kill—you *must* eliminate every enemy you can. Withdraw immediately if you cannot do so. Understand? The enemies today will likely be especially strong."
Sakumo Hatake nodded and drew the chakra-infused tanto from his back.
"Move!"
With urgent finality, Haseo gave one last signal before dashing through the chaotic crowd and rushing outside the venue.
However...
Don't let his composed appearance fool you—Haseo had acted in haste. As soon as he rushed outside the venue, he realized a critical problem... how was he supposed to find Tsunade quickly by himself?
He was being ridiculous. Tsunade must be close by—surely he could've just created a whirlpool to sense her location?
But he hadn't.
So people should never panic. Once you get flustered, you make mistakes. Helplessly, Haseo formed hand seals and used the Summoning Jutsu to call upon Katsuyu-san.
"Katsuyu-san, there's no time for a full explanation. Can you sense where Tsunade is right now?"
At this point, he could only rely on the sensing ability between a contracted ninja and their summon to locate Tsunade.
"Yes, Master Haseo... I've found her," Katsuyu-san said, her antennae rotating briefly before pointing him in a specific direction.
Outside, night had already fallen.
All the chaos had centered around the Sarutobi estate, so Tsunade couldn't be far from here. However, he hadn't walked more than a few steps forward when he was forced to stop again.
Because he saw the daimyo's envoy group—or rather, what remained of them—slaughtered without hesitation.
Haseo took a moment to scan the scene before spotting the lady servant. She was covered in blood but still seemed to have a faint breath left.
"This is the world of ninja. So why don't normal people just stick to their normal lives? Why do they insist on stepping into this world?"
The words made sense, but... if that were truly the case, why did Haseo himself choose to become a ninja?
"I don't understand... the world of ninja," the lady servant spoke weakly, her voice barely audible, yet she had something urgent to say, "Master Haseo... I have a younger sister named Tsumiki. She used to serve under Konoha... now she's stationed at the Daimyo's Castle... please..."
With what little strength she had left, she reached out, placed something in Haseo's palm, then slumped back, limp.
Looking at the bloodstained charm resting in his hand, Haseo sort of understood why the maid's attitude had changed so completely. The maid didn't understand ninja, and in truth, Haseo didn't understand the maid either. Understanding each other… that's always been incredibly hard for people.
Haseo had no reason to accept such a request, but because of a sense of shame over this lack of understanding, he tightly clenched the charm in his palm.
Meanwhile...
After completing the protection mission with Haseo and the others, Tsunade had arrived near the Sarutobi estate. Earlier, she had overheard the conversation between Haseo and that lady servant. Though she hadn't suffered any actual harm, for the first time she experienced something she could only describe as a feeling of "restriction."
Although her status remained high and she was still valued—even respected—some people started saying things she disliked hearing, trying to push her into doing things she didn't want to do... That earlier period when she could sit comfortably on the First Hokage's lap laughing foolishly while gambling seemed to vanish completely from this moment onward.
This sudden psychological shift over just a few days wasn't pleasant — but in some ways, this was growing up in its truest form... It marked the transformation from a child to a young girl.
While Tsunade was alone, sorting through her feelings, she suddenly noticed the commotion at the wedding venue. After taking only a few steps toward it, a masked figure blocked her path.
"Tsunade-sama... please come with me."
Tsunade simply drew a Kunai, eyeing this secretive person warily. "Who are you?"
She must've lost her mind to even consider listening to this stranger.
"In that case, excuse me."
The enemy naturally knew there was no chance Tsunade would obediently follow, so they prepared to take forceful action next.
However, just at this moment, a silver light violently flashed from the indigo night, filling everyone's vision instantaneously from an extremely distant location.
At this moment...
The night deepened beneath sparkling stars, where warmth met cold and silence embraced frost.
"[Shunshin Jutsu]?"
"No, it's [Senken Zesshou] — or 'Flash Piercer.'"
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