Deprived of centralized command, most of the Mist ninja blindly rushed toward the command headquarters. Their actions now seemed to carry a sense of "blood for blood."
After receiving no further orders from above, some clever and rational Mist squads took the opportunity to retreat eastward across the sea, withdrawing from the battlefield.
Objectively speaking, this latter choice was obviously the correct one; when the tide of war turns against you, frontline combatants should preserve themselves as much as possible.
Yet within that killing frenzy, expecting ninja to remain consistently rational, accurately assess the situation, and make optimal decisions throughout was extremely difficult.
Formed in squad units, ninja could only perceive parts of the battlefield rather than grasp the entire picture... If they could instantly clarify the chaotic battle situation, they wouldn't just be ordinary ninja anymore.
Such capability alone would qualify them for commanding positions.
Unfortunately, not only had the Mist front line lost its leadership, but just as the Mist ninja were charging their own command headquarters with fiery passion, Haseo's sudden "big commotion" struck them like a thunderclap.
Haseo's bold decision-making and risky actions during this battle had played crucial roles thus far. However, compared to thinking things through, he actually excelled more at another form of combat:
Bull rushing.
Whether he charged others or got charged himself made little difference; the results were much the same.
It wasn't just Haseo either—Sakumo Hatake and Might Duy's [Eight Gates] techniques were also difficult to resist... Even though the latter had only opened six gates, very few people could stop him when his body became solid as cast iron while performing high-speed taijutsu.
However, since enemy numbers were too great, the battle here remained temporarily deadlocked.
Yet after a slight delay, the Konoha Central Large Squad that had just withdrawn finally restored its original formation.
Then immediately afterwards, this powerful organized force reentered the battlefield once again.
Numerical superiority returned to Konoha's side, and systematic battlefield command enabled Konoha ninja to operate like extensions of one's limbs—the advantage in numbers was fully leveraged... Although large-scale engagement had just begun right now, in reality, the battle had already entered its concluding phase.
Complete annihilation would be difficult to achieve, and Haseo himself wouldn't even allow this current battle to escalate into complete destruction... He needed scattered fleeing troops.
But the goal Haseo had set before the battle—"driving the Mist ninja back into the sea"—could now be confirmed achieved.
The pincer-style attack from two fronts forced the hastily attacked Mist front line to neglect one direction inevitably; frankly speaking, this strategy was quite blatant.
Haseo didn't possess any particularly outstanding military talent, nor did he stand out in terms of warfare tactics... However, overall tactical and strategic proficiency among ninja wars generally wasn't exceptional anyway, so comparatively speaking, Haseo could indeed be considered brilliant.
Now the Mist probably understood—the Land of Fire wasn't such an easy place to stay in anymore.
But Haseo's goal in this battle went beyond mere victory; his purpose reached beyond just the current battle itself... As the commander, ultimately, he had to look toward the end of the war.
In other words, Haseo should be considering how to end the war overall—at the very least, bringing an end to the conflict between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. Yes, that was Haseo's own line of thinking, and at this moment, he completely disregarded the conservative commands issued by the Third Hokage.
"Caution" was indeed necessary, since maintaining stability of one's core foundation was the prerequisite for any other actions. However, didn't the frontline commander have ultimate authority and decision-making power over the ongoing war?
Therefore, a commander's personality and approach would determine the course of the war.
So then, what kind of person was Lord Haseo, Konoha's Eastern Front commander? Well, he was an extremely cautious individual—just as the Third Hokage required.
With organized formations and precise command, Konoha's main force pressed forward, steadily overwhelming the weakened Mist forces. Yet now, the war was being directed by people like Uzumaki Shikou and Nagisa Nara—but what exactly was Haseo doing?
He even delegated command of the assault unit to Sakumo Hatake.
At this time, Haseo was moving across the battlefield alongside Uchiha Kushan. They had encountered a defeated squad of Mist ninja and swiftly rendered them unable to resist. Then Kushan approached with his Sharingan and applied Genjutsu.
Uchiha then shook his head, apparently dissatisfied with the results.
Thus, after finishing off these enemies, the pair continued searching the battlefield for suitable targets—it was clear they were not simply pursuing enemy kills.
About five repetitions of this later, the two finally found a suitable target within a dense forest.
Uchiha Kushan nodded slightly. First, he tiredly deactivated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan before speaking to Haseo:
"Lord Haseo, this one is our proper candidate—a Chunin whose abilities are unremarkable, who has never undertaken anything notable or attention-grabbing, living alone, with minimal social connections, and possessing a cold, aloof personality... and so on. In short, I believe he will suffice."
Haseo glanced at that Mist ninja—the man's appearance was ordinary enough to vanish into any crowd. In other words, a typical background character.
"This is your mission, so you take the lead. As long as you can hide and protect yourself effectively, you can then proceed to discuss the actual task."
"Yeah, I've already gathered all possible information about him. Even if he tries to conceal something, it won't escape the illusion of the Sharingan. What I need to do next is merely to transform into him."
It wasn't common for someone like Uchiha to take on an acting role—at any point in history or even the future, there had only ever been one person particularly skilled in deception. However, the target selected by Uchiha Kushan was much easier to mimic.
Therefore, this plan was feasible.
As he spoke, Uchiha Kushan began removing the other man's personal clothing and putting it on himself... Even on his forehead, he now tied on a Mist Ninja's forehead protector.
His own belongings were simply left lying where they were.
Haseo stood by to assist with guarding, making sure no one would notice what they were doing.
"I think you know that once your identity is exposed, there will be no chance of survival for yourself... In such a situation, the only thing you can do is 'protect' your eyes properly." Seeing that Uchiha Kushan had already used Transformation Jutsu to assume the appearance of the Mist Ninja, Haseo added this reminder.
Uchiha Kushan replied, "I understand. I will never allow the Sharingan to fall into hands outside the Uchiha Clan."
To be honest, what he said was practically impossible to fulfill. It was currently possible to say "never let the Sharingan fall into hands outside Konoha," but claiming "never let it fall outside the Uchiha" was impossible since Haseo already knew that it had already fallen out.
However, that wasn't the key point. What Haseo really meant by "protection" was a reminder that, if cornered, Uchiha Kushan should destroy his own eyes.
This mission was incredibly dangerous no matter how you looked at it.
A small Katsuyu crawled from Haseo's arm onto Uchiha Kushan's body, then hid itself away.
"Good, let's begin the operation. Remember... during your escape, don't get killed by our own people."
"I understand. I'll definitely avoid any Konoha Ninja like Sakumo Hatake."
Uchiha Kushan, who had completely transformed into a "Mist Ninja," said thus, then without hesitation dashed toward the sea surface.
It'd be a cruel twist of fate if he died at the hands of his own comrades before even starting the mission.
But... this was precisely what made Haseo such an imaginative person—sending an Uchiha to conduct espionage, delivering the Sharingan, a bloodline trait fiercely guarded by the village, into enemy villages.
In fact, there was no good reason why he wouldn't pull off something like this...
When playing shogi, Haseo was nothing more than a weakling,
but when it came to Five-in-a-Row (a popular Japanese strategy game), he was genuinely a masterful grandmaster.
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