At Tsunade's own request and considering the mission itself wasn't particularly difficult or dangerous—though it was somewhat complicated and dark, even to the extent that no written records would be left behind—Haseo's squad consisted only of himself, Tsunade, Sakumo Hatake, and Sannai from the Uzumaki clan.
Sannai was a Sensor Ninja. Bringing along a Sensor was never considered a mistake for any operation, so Haseo went with this "standard configuration," although it was quite possible that Sannai didn't even know the true purpose of this mission from start to finish—not to mention Sakumo Hatake wouldn't know either.
Before the mission began, Haseo gathered the three together and said, "Everyone, listen carefully. The official objective was to monitor Cloud's envoy leaving the Land of Fire. However, on our way back, we must make a stop at the Daimyo's Castle, where another hidden mission needs to be carried out."
These moments were always when Haseo routinely gave his "mission briefing." He always had a solid plan—practical, psychological, detailed, and precise. It was always something you could act on without hesitation.
Yet, so far, whether due to subjective or objective reasons, none of his plans had ever been perfectly executed. This was truly regrettable, which was precisely why Haseo had decided this time must go according to plan.
They absolutely had to follow the plan.
Next, of course, Haseo wouldn't utter a single word about the Daimyo himself, continuing instead, "The Daimyo… Konoha once had a spy placed near him. Prior to this, the Daimyo dispatched this spy as an envoy to attend the Third Hokage's wedding. Unfortunately, due to the chaos during the wedding night, she died tragically.
However, just before her death, I arrived by her side in time, and she handed this to me—a bloodstained charm."
As he spoke, Haseo took out the bloodstained charm—a small pouch woven from square silk fabric roughly the length of a finger, with two lines of auspicious words embroidered in golden thread on one side.
Then Haseo opened the pouch and pulled out the note hidden inside.
Stained with blood, the writing remained clearly visible—it recorded a certain address within the Daimyo's castle city.
"This is where one of the spy's relatives lives. She once provided critical intel to Konoha. Although she has now passed away, we should at least bring her family member back to Konoha. Right or wrong, even ninjas have their own sense of honor," Haseo added.
Although this wasn't his true objective for going to the Daimyo's Castle, what he said wasn't false either. In the Ninjutsu World, spies, regardless of allegiance, were in some sense among those most lacking autonomy.
At first, Haseo believed the lady servant had betrayed Konoha. But in reality, all that changed was the party controlling her; from Konoha's control to the Daimyo's. Her stance had never been something she could decide herself.
She must have protected herself well, at the very least keeping her identity as a Konoha spy hidden from the Daimyo until the end. Otherwise, there was no way she could have survived, let alone been sent by the Daimyo himself as an envoy to Konoha with the heavy mission of arranging a political marriage. However, whether it was due to lack of full trust in her or simply as a form of insurance, the Daimyo still held her younger sister under his control. Regardless of the reason, this lady servant was clearly under someone else's thumb.
As for why she didn't choose to seek help from Konoha regarding this matter, perhaps she believed her family would be safer in the hands of the Daimyo than in those of Konoha's spy division.
Judging from the note she carried on her person, it seemed that she had long anticipated and accepted the possibility of death. If she died, then her younger sister's position would instantly shift—once she was gone, the leverage held over her would lose its meaning entirely.
At that point, based on her past contributions, she could finally call upon Konoha for assistance.
Even until her last breath, she might not have been able to guarantee whether the ruthless ninja village would show even a hint of compassion in this affair, but the only chance left for her sister's freedom rested on this final path.
Although all of this was merely conjecture, a spy's thoughts were naturally destined to be incredibly complex. An ordinary person's scheming would be limited, but she had planned everything meticulously. Maybe, in the end, she couldn't bear to give up even the faintest hope she imagined—and perhaps she still thought too highly of the ninja village.
If it weren't for Haseo, that note might have meant absolutely nothing.
Both his upbringing and experiences from a past life had conditioned Haseo to instinctively see people as humans, rather than as tools or pawns.
Even Tsunade, who bore the identity of a "victim," probably wouldn't hold any grudge against a dead person. The lady servant was merely a piece in the game, not its instigator, so Haseo's perspective made perfect sense.
He explained everything, slipped the note back into the charm, and handed the item to Sakumo Hatake.
"Let's go. It's time to meet our 'escorts.'"
With that, Haseo stood up first, leading his squad onward to rendezvous with the representatives from Kumo.
...
"We have come to Konoha as envoys of Kumo for the wedding ceremony of the Third Hokage, representing the dignity of both our village and nation. Yet we have been detained without cause—it's utterly unreasonable! What problems you face are your own business, nothing to do with us, but now we're delayed and unable to return home. How should we explain this to the Raikage?"
Upon meeting Haseo and others, the Kumo envoys immediately started accusing them. If they weren't in Konoha right now, they probably would've already started a fight.
"Yes yes, honorable envoys of Kumo, you're absolutely right. The Third Hokage will surely explain this situation to the Raikage personally."
Since Konoha was clearly in the wrong, it made sense to just admit it. Thus, Haseo stood nearby with a smile on his face, humoring them.
"Considering how Konoha previously defamed us, we deserve credit just for being willing to maintain the alliance and still attend the wedding!" One of the envoys continued angrily, "But what did we get in return?!"
"Actually, considering the current relationship between Kumo and Konoha, the composition of the four-member delegation they sent to Konoha is nothing more than one regular Jonin — probably just a Chunin who survived long enough on the battlefield to get promoted — plus three regular Chunin."
So these four didn't hold much status in Kumo; otherwise, such "dirty and exhausting tasks" wouldn't have fallen solely on their shoulders.
The other party's attitude was so bad not only because Kumo shinobi were generally like that, but also because their role as envoys gave them the right to loudly complain. And another reason... for a common ninja, such opportunities to speak out weren't easy to come by. Perhaps this leading Jonin was immersed in the delusion that he was actually an important figure.
"Defamation?"
This word caught Haseo's attention.
"You mean when you claim we surrounded and attacked one of Konoha's ninja squads and suffered heavy losses as a result? Isn't that already defamatory?"
Haseo's face instantly twisted in disbelief. What the hell are you doing bringing that up yourself? Don't you realize how embarrassing that is? Do you really think what happened will just vanish? Self-deception to this degree?
"May I ask, Lord Envoy… how should I address you?"
"I'm Jonin Imu from Kumo. What, is there any problem with that?"
Haseo carefully spoke, as if bearing some grievance: "Lord Imu, I wonder whether you've heard my name before. You may or may not have heard of it—that's completely normal. But here's the thing... My name is Haseo. That's H-A-S-E-O. Do you know who I am?"
"...!"
The eyebrows of the Kumo envoy raised as he was about to scold Haseo—who the hell are you anyway, why would I need to know your name? However, once Haseo finished speaking, his words—and half-formed expression—abruptly halted.
He opened his mouth several times, ready to lash out, but no words came. Haseo's piercing, unwavering gaze fixed on his neck had rendered him speechless.
At this point, Haseo understood—this guy had definitely heard of his name.
So then, how should they proceed with the conversation?
"How do you do?"
"Funny how we haven't met before?"
Seemed ridiculous in such a serious diplomatic setting.
But clearly, someone wasn't buying the solemnity of the moment. Tsunade behind Haseo couldn't help herself and let out a sudden snort of laughter.
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