Haseo sent an Uchiha Jonin to infiltrate Kiri disguised as a defeated Mist Ninja. The mission was to obtain specific intelligence that would support Konoha's strategy for the next phase of the war against Kiri… As mentioned before, while Haseo had his own views on the Uchiha, he didn't hold any deep bias against them.
Anyone under his command would naturally be treated equally. As supreme commander, he needed to maintain the proper attitude and stance.
The main reason he assigned this mission to an Uchiha was simple—when stealth mattered most, they were just better at gathering intel. Uchiha Kushan possessed a Three-Tomoe Sharingan with illusionary capabilities—undoubtedly a tool that could make a big difference.
Normally, ninja with Kekkei Genkai like the Uchiha shouldn't be sent on high-risk espionage missions. After all, in most cases, the mission wouldn't justify the risk of losing or exposing a Sharingan. Yet, at the extreme end of reasoning, Haseo didn't believe that losing a single Sharingan posed any threat capable of jeopardizing the entire battlefield.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan was the strongest standard Sharingan form, but its only real danger lay in genjutsu abilities… Such eyes retained evolution potential only while residing within the ocular region of an Uchiha.
There seemed to have been only one case where a transplanted Sharingan advanced from Three-Tomoe to Mangekyō. Notably, during that transformation, the original owner of the eye had also been present, suggesting it might have involved some sort of "resonance" effect.
In short, only the original Sharingan born within an Uchiha's sockets held the greatest power and threat.
Whether that logic stood up to scrutiny or not, Haseo saw no problem putting Uchiha to work on covert missions like this.
After all, weren't bloodline-limit holders still ninja? And ninja were expected to obey orders absolutely… Still, the Hyūga presented another situation entirely. Although due to the Cursed Seal, their Byakugan posed no loss concerns, their physical characteristics were far too obvious, making covert infiltration impossible.
After watching Uchiha Kushan depart, Haseo prepared to return to the battlefield.
Though the Mist frontline had collapsed, the latter half of the war remained critically important… Battlefield cleanup had always been a vital process. While retreating Mist ninja who fled across the sea could be dealt with relatively easily, many others scattered throughout the Land of Fire.
In all honesty, Haseo thought these scattered squads could be more dangerous than entire armies… A powerful beast could be focused upon and crushed, but swarming gnats were a different story.
And these weren't just aimlessly buzzing insects; a sudden ambush from them could cause immeasurable damage.
Therefore, to prevent potential complications afterward, this final phase of the war was crucial… Proper battlefield cleanup was necessary.
From another angle, chasing down a retreating enemy was exactly when you could turn a win into a total victory.
Uzumaki Shikou and Nagisa Nara, who were currently in command on the battlefield, seemed fully aware of this. Even though Konoha had already secured a major victory, the entire army remained organized while managing the battlefield they now controlled.
Haseo made his way back toward the center of the battlefield, nodding slightly as he walked. Yeah, Konoha's command was spot-on—something definitely worth appreciating. But it also meant that whether their supreme commander returned to headquarters quickly or not didn't really matter at all.
Such a harsh reality was truly disheartening.
In this large-scale battle, Haseo had indeed fulfilled his role as commander properly. Strategies like surprise attacks, double flanking maneuvers, and concentrated frontal offensives were all his ideas.
He could be considered a solid commander. The downside? His combat skills barely got a workout—which made sense. Commanding from behind didn't mix with charging the front line.
Throughout this fight, aside from stomping the ground once or twice, Haseo hadn't really done anything else. So now, he felt a bit unsatisfied… It wasn't a boring victory, but Haseo had always been the kind of ninja who lived for blade-to-blade fights in the thick of battle.
This time, he hadn't met a single opponent, drawn blood, or taken an injury—it left him feeling like something was missing.
He moved cautiously across the battlefield, occasionally stepping over fallen enemies.
Haseo stayed alert. After all, you never knew when some bold—or foolish—enemy might try to assassinate him again, just like the Mist's former commander had tried.
But in the end, nothing like that happened.
As he walked, Haseo suddenly stopped. There was no assassination attempt, but something else caught his attention now.
A Mist ninja was crawling low through the battlefield scattered with corpses. After watching briefly, Haseo quickly figured out what the person was doing—a female ninja with dark brown hair, likely a Medical Ninja.
Staying on the battlefield after such a devastating defeat and still trying to save lives—that took guts and heart… "Medical Ninjas can fight" was clearly a flawed concept. Sure, there were exceptions, like Konoha's Tsunade and Sunagakure's Chiyo, but those two weren't typical examples.
Most Medical Ninjas couldn't last long on the frontline—they were too fragile, and far too precious. That's why medical personnel should retreat first when a unit is defeated.
For a Medical Ninja to keep trying to save people under these conditions was unheard of—only someone carrying the 'Will of Water' could act like this.
Besides, the other side clearly wasn't motivated by some saintly sense of mercy, wasting time on pointless rescues. She only helped ninjas who could genuinely recover their combat capability through treatment, ensuring her actions held meaning—those like the legless ninja, she ignored completely, since even with help, immobile individuals wouldn't be able to escape anyway.
Haseo hesitated briefly before finally walking in that direction.
War was ultimately nothing more than an exchange of population. From a species' characteristics standpoint, humanity's "production capacity" was inherently limited. Even if ninja wars were brutal, the youngest ninjas on the battlefield were still at least ten years old.
A new generation of warriors emerged every ten years, and war struck the Ninjutsu World like clockwork.
With production capacity fixed, recovery ability became one of the most crucial capabilities—it allowed injured ninjas to return to battle. An increased recovery rate equated directly to an increase in available fighters.
Therefore, this note appeared in every ninja combat manual: Medical ninjas were among the top priority targets for elimination.
Saving lives might be noble, but respect for that virtue came only after you killed the person responsible.
So Haseo stepped forward and, with the utmost sincerity, invited the Mist Medical ninja and the two bloodied ninjas behind her:
"Gentlemen, care to visit Konoha? Under normal circumstances, it seems like a better option than visiting Shinigami's home."
Across the corpse-strewn battlefield, soaked in blood, a thin layer of mist began to rise, and suddenly Haseo appeared beside these few people—this was a coastal battleground where the saltiness of the sea couldn't mask the heavy stench of blood, yet when sea mist rolled in, it could conceal the bodies.
As his face came into view, all three Mist ninjas wore identical expressions of shock… as if they'd seen a ghost.
Haseo reached out and touched his own face, surprised he had become so notorious?
That was certainly the case.
After all, Haseo Yu was a Konoha commander who had recently dealt a grievous blow to the Mizukage. In many ways, he had gained more notoriety in Mist than in Konoha.
Such was the fate of someone universally hated.
"Haseo Yu?!"
"Why is Konoha's commander here?!"
Indeed, why was he here?
Even Haseo Yu couldn't help but wonder the same thing himself. Logically, he should have been busy directing the war effort, yet now he was wandering the battlefield like an idle vagrant—it couldn't be helped, since Kiba led the frontline assaults while Uzumaki Shikou handled overall strategy. Haseo Yu really did have time on his hands.
"Doctor, run! We'll hold him off!" There was no point in questioning why—it was the right decision for the Mist ninja to make at that moment.
The female medical ninja gritted her teeth and ultimately fled immediately… staying served no purpose.
Unless pointlessly sacrificing oneself counted as meaningful.
What Haseo Yu had just said was obviously not credible. Did captured ninjas really live better than those who died fighting?
Now that was a cruel joke — either brainwashed into becoming a spy, or tortured endlessly until death felt like a mercy. This was always the fate of captured ninja; everyone understood that.
But how could two freshly rescued Mist Ninja, barely able to stand or walk, possibly resist Haseo at full strength?
Haseo simply strode past the two, and in an instant, his enemies collapsed to the ground.
Without hesitation, Haseo pressed forward in pursuit… He didn't really need to chase them, but he had no reason to let them escape either.
Yet at that moment, his steps abruptly halted. Looking down, Haseo saw that one of the fallen Mist Ninja had grabbed his leg.
Still alive, huh?
Haseo met the unwavering, hate-filled gaze.
How should one put it? The participants in war were all living people. In the eyes of the Mist Ninja, Haseo was undoubtedly seen as a complete villain.
After failing to shake him off twice, Haseo glanced back toward the Medical Ninja who had already fled deep into the mist. Eventually, he sighed:
"I hope Konoha's ninja can also protect their Medical Ninjas with their lives, just like you did."
Haseo held no sympathy for the Mist Village's Medical Ninja.
But when it came to Konoha's Medical Ninjas, he felt quite softened instead.
PS:
Groveling and begging for support on Monday morning.
Seeking subscriptions, recommendation votes, and monthly tickets.
The rain hasn't stopped since yesterday, and I've had a fever all this time, but I still pushed myself to update… Yeah.
But every time I check the numbers… it's like cold, icy rain smacking me in the face outta nowhere.
I need to feel some warmth.
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