Konoha wasn't a one-man show run solely by the Hokage. Regardless of how things stood in the past, at present it was governed and managed collectively by several high-ranking oligarchs represented by the Hokage himself.
Given Haseo's status and position, he naturally didn't rank among those top oligarchs, but now at least he had become someone whose voice could be heard—a rising political figure within Konoha.
As for the current Third Hokage, there seemed to be quite a few ninjas from his own generation upon whom he could rely and trust. However, when looking down the ranks, such support seemed much more limited. Put bluntly, before his own disciples matured, while other promising young ninjas did exist, Haseo was undoubtedly the most unique among them.
Therefore, when Haseo's opinions became associated with Shimura Danzo's, even the Third Hokage couldn't afford to ignore them.
Once both matters had been discussed and settled, Danzo left Kagenami's base. For him, this visit brought not only its intended gains but also an additional realization—he understood that from now on, he could no longer afford to underestimate this young man.
Lately, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had been stirring things up in his castle, while Haseo of Konoha had been making waves within the village. The difference was that the former made people sick, while Haseo sometimes came off as clumsy, and at other times oddly charismatic.
So Haseo could continue acting boldly.
After Danzo left, a hidden door on the wall behind Haseo flipped open. First appeared the head of a black cat, then the person carrying the cat emerged.
"Are you really going to get involved in these shady dealings? You remind me of my granduncle back in his days..."
Tsunade paused abruptly as she realized she had unconsciously included her granduncle in her criticism. She quickly stuck out her tongue, indicating that she hadn't meant it like that.
However, Haseo's eyes were still fixed on the empty chair ahead, so he didn't notice Tsunade's expression. Without turning his head, he replied,
"How can ninja affairs be described as 'sketchy'? At the very least, you could say they're 'intriguing'."
"Or..." he continued, "do you really dislike such things?"
Only then did he finally turn his head around, though Tsunade had already resumed her usual composure.
If Tsunade did indeed dislike such conduct, that would be perfectly normal—this world does have its dark and real aspects. People who've always lived under the light naturally resist seeing or hearing about such things, especially considering she was a girl.
However, Haseo underestimated her just a bit. After all, she had just referenced the Second Hokage—how could anyone be certain she hadn't already encountered such affairs?
Didn't she receive teachings directly from three successive Hokages since childhood? Could the Hokages' instruction really be so ineffective?
Well... One of those teachers indeed had been pretty silly, and his teaching actually had been terribly ineffective—he only taught Tsunade how to gamble—and not very well at that.
In response to Haseo's question, Tsunade simply shook her head in disagreement before replying somewhat angrily, "Haseo, do you always instinctively look down on others?"
"You don't have to do this," Tsunade said, finally voicing her objection.
Haseo was about to deny it when he paused thoughtfully... Well, in technical terms, it was still a form of condescension. It wasn't intentional belittlement—he had simply always seen her as a child. At least when he thought about someone his own age like Hatake Sakumo, he never saw him the same way he saw Tsunade now.
The black cat struggled briefly and finally freed itself from Tsunade's arms before leaping onto the table in front of Haseo. It had escaped from what felt like demon claws, so naturally it felt slightly wronged. A cat enjoys being petted in the direction of its fur, but feels pain when stroked against it.
Instinctively, Haseo glanced at a bloodstained charm lying beside him, thinking… Perhaps deep within his heart, there really was a bit of unshakable arrogance.
After all, he had been reincarnated into this world.
Fortunately, whatever the case was, Haseo remained a person capable of acknowledging his mistakes and correcting them. So he spoke to Tsunade again, saying, "I apologize for my earlier words; my attitude indeed had an issue... I simply meant you might find this difficult to accept."
Among the Sannin, certain things were definitely easy for Orochimaru to accept, even learning something naturally without instruction. But Jiraiya and Tsunade were different... Call it bias or fixed impression, either way, this was how Haseo had always perceived them.
"Don't forget, I'm also a ninja," Tsunade emphasized, "However... I accept your apology, but you must promise me one thing."
"..."
"If you're going to take any action next, you have to bring me along."
Well then, even if she was merely a little girl, she was still a woman—and thus intuitive understanding didn't belong solely to Orochimaru.
"..."
Haseo was somewhat surprised by Tsunade's remark. Was it competitiveness? Or some form of resistance toward what he'd said before?
No, neither quite fit. The expression on Tsunade's face right now seemed more like she was saying, "I have to finish what's mine—on my own."
The matter concerning the Daimyo was deeply personal to her.
And indeed, as Tsunade had just stated herself, she was also a ninja. Moreover, even before becoming an exceptional medical ninja with refined healing techniques, she'd first been a battle-oriented ninja known for her wild fighting style.
Because of the chaos at the Third Hokage's wedding ceremony, many foreign guests found themselves stuck in Konoha. Although most of them weren't seriously harmed during the commotion, their movements were now under Konoha's control.
To be more accurate, they weren't just lingering—they were under temporary confinement.
As long as these outside guests obediently stayed put for a while, the village wouldn't mistreat them excessively. After all, a great ninja village must persuade with reason and lead with virtue.
Before everything settled down completely, limiting the spread of information was the primary purpose for detaining such a diverse range of outsiders. As a result, this temporary detention lasted for ten whole days.
In a short time frame, Konoha efficiently clarified the causes and consequences of the attack and promptly informed all the ninjas and villagers that the instigators were the surviving remnants of the Fuma clan.
These people were rotten to the core—evil through and through, like cockroaches after the apocalypse. That was now the general consensus.
Konoha had suffered some losses during the chaos—entire streets lay in ruins, the Third Hokage sustained minor injuries, and most tragically, Biwako's father lost his life amid the turmoil, a truly heartbreaking event.
However, while Konoha was sealing off information, an unusual channel appeared. Someone subtly conveyed a message to the Fire Daimyo at his palace: all the messengers he had dispatched to Konoha had been killed. Moreover, the Twelve Guardians' behavior had grown suspicious lately, as though they were watching the Daimyo's Palace around the clock.
Combined, these events naturally led the Daimyo to grow suspicious. Under the pretext that the Hidden Leaf Village might require ninja support, he sent the Twelve Guardians back to Konoha—which was basically a polite dismissal.
At the same time, for his own safety, the Fire Daimyo immediately hired several rogue ninja… Clearly, His Excellency didn't understand ninja very well. Rogue ninja versus highly trained elites from major villages—who could even think they're comparable?
The former were nothing more than window dressing.
Ten days gave Konoha and Danzo enough time to sort everything out. On the tenth day, Konoha began allowing emissaries from other villages to return home.
Furthermore, for their safety, Konoha even arranged escort teams of ninja squads to accompany each group of envoys out of the village.
For instance, right now Haseo wore a bright smile while watching the delegation from Cloud—the Hidden Leaf's long-standing trustworthy ally—from the Land of Lightning.
So his smile was soft and controlled.
The envoy from this good allied nation among the Ninjutsu World smiled along with him—at least they didn't yet know Haseo's true identity, did they?
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