Over these past few years, Sakumo Hatake's strength had skyrocketed—only the phrase "leaping forward like a wild beast" could truly capture it.
If it came down to a fair fight, battle, or training match, even Haseo couldn't guarantee himself a one hundred percent chance of victory over Sakumo anymore. In fact, they'd reached a cosmic balance... Yes, that mysterious kind of balance people call "fifty-fifty."
As for the other shinobi his age, none stood a real chance against Sakumo in a fight—Konoha's White Fang was now shining in full glory.
Therefore, if he really was about to grab his blade right now, things were about to get serious.
The only downside was that, despite his immense strength, Sakumo was still technically a chunin. Several years had passed, and the "White Fang of Konoha" was already eighteen or nineteen years old, yet he remained stuck at the same rank. Honestly, this looked somewhat unreasonable.
"You can't even beat me yet, yet you dare claim you're fully qualified for the jonin position? And if you truly have absolute confidence in your abilities, then what difference do these superficial titles of jonin, chunin, or genin make anyway?"
Previously, Haseo always told Sakumo Hatake this, using it as a reason to prevent him from taking the jonin exam.
Orochimaru hadn't become the gatekeeper for genin or chunin ranks, but with Sakumo, Haseo ironically had become precisely that gatekeeper standing before jonin promotion.
This was merely during peacetime; Haseo simply wanted Sakumo to consolidate his foundation properly. Staying as a chunin for another couple of years wouldn't hurt... But Sakumo constantly felt like Haseo was deliberately holding back his salary—a form of exploitation.
He wasn't entirely wrong about that either. Although performance bonuses between chunin and jonin didn't differ much, basic salaries definitely did vary. Besides, many lucrative and significant missions could only be accepted by jonin in theory.
Meanwhile, Sakumo Hatake looked ready to draw his blade at any second, and the Uzumaki ninjas weren't any calmer… They clearly had been influenced badly by someone, constantly wanting to handle that scroll recklessly, pointing its marked side outward toward enemies without warning.
C'mon, everyone's supposed to be protecting the world, not blowing it up like a bunch of trigger-happy lunatics.
Haseo could only hastily raise his hand to stop everyone, signaling them not to act rashly. He looked at the Mist ninja who stood tens of meters away, fully alert, then offered a smile in an attempt to ease this volatile situation.
"Guys, relax and stay calm… Since you've got more people, you've got the upper hand—might as well stay calm and take it easy."
However, this response only heightened the suspicion on the opposing side.
You even know we're more, yet you're still acting smug? And smiling, too—that means you've got something up your sleeve.
Well, there indeed was something unusual going on. Just slightly more than half a day had passed when suddenly the number of Mist ninja squad members increased dramatically. A rough headcount showed their forces were about twice that of Konoha's present group.
Some figures were easy to spot based on their distinctive weapons and gear—Haseo could tell who they were just by looking… Wasn't that the hallmark of the Mist?
"Lord Haseo, the enemy is an elite squad. Based on certain traits, part of them belong to the Hozuki and Kaguya clans, while the rest are…"
"I understand. The Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist."
Shikou's reminder made perfect sense, and Haseo completed her sentence.
Needless to say, the Seven Swords had always served as prime targets for Konoha shinobi to gain experience; as for the Hozuki clan, Haseo didn't know much about them.
As for the Kaguya clan… again, it was the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths. He just wondered whether any of them carried the [Dead Bone Pulse] trait. If so, capturing one and delivering it to Orochimaru would be ideal.
After all, Orochimaru seemed especially fond of those [Dead Bone Pulse] physiques… This kind of wild variant should be first-come-first-served, right?
But regardless, even though the enemy squad was indeed elite, if a real fight broke out, Haseo's side wouldn't back down either… Just activate [Opening the Gate] and send Sakumo Hatake in. That would instantly neutralize the Mist's numerical advantage. Then everything would swing in their favor.
They were all sword fighters, but having Sakumo Hatake alone face off against seven from the Mist might be too overwhelming—almost like bullying, wouldn't it be?
"Leaf ninja…"
Fortunately, no need for Haseo to point this out—the opposing side already understood they should hold back.
At this point, the danger lay with someone on either side panicking and accidentally pulling the trigger, which could ignite unavoidable conflict.
"You go your way, I go mine."
Without question, the leader of the Mist group knew exactly what was going on—he didn't waste a single word on Haseo. While keeping a wary eye on Konoha's side, he slowly withdrew his team.
Though this individual was conserving forces in preparation for dealing with the Two-Tails and its unpredictable contingencies, his cautious choice had effectively prevented a tragedy.
If he had decided to attack head-on earlier, things might have easily escalated into something like: "You go your way—but first, help bury us where we lie."
Since the enemy had shown common sense, Haseo naturally had no problem accepting the situation. He had no intention of provoking them anyway.
However, only after watching the Mist team vanish into the night did Haseo suddenly realize something: "These people... were indeed clever. We've been outmaneuvered."
The Mist's deliberate retreat had actually given them the lead toward the direction of the Two-Tails. At this moment, to avoid misunderstanding, Konoha needed to maintain a safe distance… If Haseo's team attempted to overtake now, that movement would be seen as hostile, possibly triggering a clash between both sides.
So, without needing to say a word, Team Konoha had no choice but to fall back and trail them at a distance.
Once Haseo spoke, everyone quickly caught on. A moment ago, they had thought the Mist squad was reasonable—but now, their opinion shifted immediately… Those guys were true tricksters.
"Lord Haseo, we will keep a close watch on the Mist team."
Hyuga Soji said to Haseo.
Hinata had a point, sure... but relying too much on your dojutsu isn't always a good idea.
Haseo cleared his throat and said, "Just a friendly reminder—while dojutsu can be very convenient, as a ninja, it's best not to rely on them too much... I have a friend who accidentally obtained a Sharingan. And what happened?
He gained attack power at the expense of his defense, and later he claimed that how skilled he was didn't really matter—he'd never become the strongest anyway. Plus, he had an introverted personality, so overall he became somewhat of a lost cause.
A real blood-soaked warning staring us in the face..."
Sakumo Hatake immediately caught on and said, "This 'friend' you mentioned... could it possibly be..."
"Shut up, what's it got to do with you?"
After some small talk, they quietly distanced themselves from the Mist ninjas before setting off again.
Now, if you were hoping for a fresh pile of crap to step in, you were too late.
But when it came to stirring things up, the consistency was just right.
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