In the Ninjutsu World, information spreads in predictable ways. If a piece of intelligence is valuable enough that ordinary Konoha shinobi come to know it, then high-ranking officials in Kumo and other major villages will inevitably learn of it as well.
Haseo had been a pivotal figure during the final phase of the conflict between Konoha and Kumo in The Great Ninja World War. Therefore, if Kumo still failed to pay attention to him while Konoha quietly allowed this kind of information to circulate within the village, then it could only mean the Raikage had water in his brain.
Added to these were the reports sent by the spy embedded within Haseo Squad, along with intelligence extracted from the so-called "sole survivor" of The Great Ninja World War. In fact, Kumo's understanding of Haseo was already becoming structured and systematic.
The more action a ninja sees on the battlefield, the more intel enemy nations gather about him—it's just how things work.
During the previous Frostfield Battle, although every Kumo shinobi who participated had perished… Kumo still had an eyewitness—albeit not human: Eight-Tails Gyuki.
Tailed Beasts are hostile toward shinobi, and at present, not even a shred of understanding or bond exists between Eight-Tails and Kumo. Naturally, extracting related intelligence from Gyuki was no easy task for Kumo… yet... the Raikage always manages somehow.
Konoha emerged victorious in the Frostfield Battle, so naturally they made the news public. This disclosure rendered all of Kumo's attempts to suppress the intel useless—their refusal to acknowledge the event also meant they lost any right to comment on it.
When one side lacks authority to speak, that means every other ninja village will listen to Konoha's account.
Although this time, the Kumo Envoy dispatched to Konoha consisted merely of mediocre operatives rather than core elites, they'd certainly heard *something* about Haseo before departing on their mission. After all, when you're face-to-face with someone who crushed an entire elite force *and* two Jinchuriki, the resulting tension between them was especially riveting.
Further considering how this Kumo envoy first displayed arrogant attitudes, ridiculous claims, and then suddenly went silent upon facing Haseo, the whole scene turned out to be pretty damn funny.
Naturally, Haseo saw no need to hide his identity. There were various plausible reasons why his squad left the village, but since the Third Hokage specifically assigned him to "escort" the Kumo envoy group, it was clearly meant for him to scare the crap out of these clueless Kumo ninjas.
Even the Third Hokage himself must've been driven up the wall by those unreasonable pests.
When that Kumo ninja first heard Haseo's name, he doubted whether the man was truly 'Haseo' at all, because Haseo seemed far too young and frail to possess such formidable combat capabilities. However, upon seeing Haseo's calm, deep-as-a-pond gaze, he… wavered.
Even if you really are that ninja, what can you do? I'm an official envoy with formal diplomatic status... Are you daring enough to kill me? Did you kill me? Can you kill me? Go ahead and try?
To uphold his own integrity and the dignity of his village, the Kumo envoy should have rebuked Haseo at this moment—but he didn't. He simply… didn't dare.
If he had dared to say those words, Haseo certainly wouldn't mind testing what it felt like to kill an envoy. Fundamentally, they were enemies, not allies. Haseo still hadn't settled the score from being surrounded by Kumo's forces. Even if he couldn't make a move in Konoha, there'd be plenty of opportunities along the way back.
The alliance between Konoha and Kumo remained intact even after Kumo launched a coordinated attack on Haseo. So would it really collapse over something as trivial as Haseo "accidentally" killing one Kumo envoy? Come on, that was ridiculous! The Great Ninja World War had barely ended; even Kumo wouldn't possibly start another war just because of one single ninja.
"Envoy? Lord Imu? Any further questions? If not, we should get going." Noticing the envoy's face still twisted in discomfort, Haseo realized he probably couldn't handle such direct confrontation just yet. He called out gently to snap him back.
Actually, Haseo was quite considerate. He even gave the other man a graceful way out—bury the past and focus on the task at hand. After all, returning the envoy safely was what mattered most right now.
"A-Ah, yes, let's go. We'll leave right away."
The Kumo envoy left in utter disgrace, not daring to cast even a single glance at Haseo anymore, immediately turning around and heading toward the exit of Konoha.
Haseo shrugged his shoulders, first signaling Tsunade to stop laughing—she needed to maintain seriousness too; even the Senju princess must behave appropriately according to the occasion—and then his squad followed closely behind the hastily departing Kumo envoy group.
For some unknown reason, the Kumo envoy's pace grew faster and faster the moment they stepped outside Konoha Village and exited the Land of Fire, like he was racing toward rebirth itself. In theory, since they finally had a legitimate reason to enter the Land of Fire, they should take full advantage of the opportunity to collect geographical intelligence about the region. Such preparations—"for the future"—were always better with more detail. Yet they did none of that.
Because compared to running faster, staying in the Land of Fire itself was an act already dangerously close to seeking rebirth.
And before long, within merely one day, the group had already reached the border of the Land of Fire.
The Land of Rice Fields lay just ahead. Throughout the journey, the Konoha ninja made no unnecessary moves, finally allowing the Kumo envoy to exhale in relief… It really messed with your head having someone's blade hanging over you.
Yet precisely at this moment when the envoy thought he could finally relax, Haseo suddenly spoke up without warning.
"By the way… Has Two-Tails been revived yet?"
"Hmm, not yet… cough, What do you mean by asking that, Lord?"
The reply came out almost instinctively, the man reacting immediately. However, by then, it was already too late.
Haseo nodded slightly. Oh, he didn't mean anything special—he just wanted to ask casually to pass the time.
It sufficed to know that Two-Tails hadn't revived yet—at least not within the Land of Lightning. Tailed beasts typically revive several months to years after death. It seemed Two-Tails hadn't returned that quickly.
The Kumo Envoy realized he had spoken too much. Internally, he cursed the cunning of the Konoha ninja, yet on the surface, he dared not reveal even a hint of emotion.
"Honored guests from Konoha, we have already arrived at the Land of Rice Fields. From here on, I believe we can proceed independently."
Right now, all the Kumo ninja wanted was to return home as quickly as possible.
Haseo gave a slight nod and extended his hand in a polite gesture. "Wish you all a safe journey. Feel free to visit Konoha anytime in the future. Although some unexpected incidents occurred this time, I guarantee it's not the norm. Next time, next time we'll definitely welcome you with warmer hospitality."
Such courteous words were met with silence from the Kumo squad—they simply turned and left without bothering to reply… Next time? Whoever wants to go next time can go. As for them, they'd never set foot in Konoha again.
The members of Haseo's squad stood at the border watching the Kumo ninjas vanish into the distance.
Once the Kumo squad had put some distance between them, they instinctively turned back for one last glance. Seeing this, Haseo immediately waved enthusiastically.
His warmth was genuine, but there was something odd about it—he wasn't raising his hand very high, only up to neck level. And instead of waving his palm back and forth, he kept his palm parallel to the ground and gave a short, forceful jerk backward, almost like slicing through the air.
It was a graceful farewell—as they entered the Land of Rice Fields and rushed off, Haseo simply watched in silence, waving one last blessing to his departing guests.
"Travel safely, stay safe."
Unfortunately, those words would never reach their ears, because that group scattered in panic like wild boars and wolves and vanished from sight in an instant.
"Interesting reaction, don't you think?"
Putting on an air of innocence, Haseo turned toward his teammates.
"…"
Everyone else remained silent. "Interesting?"
Well… maybe it actually was kind of funny.
At this moment, Tsunade finally realized that Haseo had a side to him that was genuinely refreshing—and unexpectedly mischievous.
Not out of calculation or shrewdness—just… naturally a little mischievous.
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