Though occasionally brilliant with unexpected insights, Haseo was no stranger to composure—unlike most, he rarely lost control of himself. Yet he had a habit—saying things that could shock people or give them migraines.
Kurin must've had nerves of steel; otherwise in such a sudden situation where his intentions were directly exposed, he'd already have broken down. One moment they're chatting happily, exchanging superficial pleasantries about nothing, and the next comes a direct hit to the core—what kind of stimulation could anyone endure?
You had to admire the Kumo Jonin's performance—it took serious acting chops, not to mention a damn strong heart.
After being startled by Haseo, Kurin quickly resumed his usual demeanor, continuing trivial small talk like "How's Raikage doing? How's the food? Do you sleep well at night?" But Kurin was wide awake to the game now, fearing another verbal trap set up by Haseo.
So even when Haseo dropped a bomb like, "Your daughter's shaping up real nice—I caught sight of her the other day at the baths," Kurin kept his cool.
"Lord Kurin, you..."
"Eh?"
"I mean, since all of you have arrived here safely, everyone please rest here temporarily today. The Third Hokage will personally receive you all tomorrow. Right now I must report the main agenda of the meeting to the Hokage.
We also need to speed up our discussions on how best to cooperate with Kumo, so... I won't be able to accompany you further."
Haseo mused silently—this guy was fine a second ago. Why the violent eyebrow twitch now? I didn't show any interest in your daughter... Even if you did have a daughter, she'd definitely have a broad square face—what was there to be interested in anyway?
"No problem, Lord Haseo, please feel free to go. It's also important for us to rest well and conserve energy." Kurin's face was full of seriousness, but inside he bitterly resented Haseo for always speaking in abrupt jumps.
After leading the Kumo envoy team to the front of a building, placing them at the designated guest reception area, and handing them over to the specialized ninja responsible for receiving foreign guests, Haseo excused himself and left.
The moment the guy vanished from sight, Kurin felt the pressure melt away instantly, involuntarily sighing inwardly with relief... One person's scheming is another's wisdom—someone else's tricks are dirty play, while his own? Just clever tactics. Therefore, he hadn't expected there actually existed such a devious ninja in this world.
...
Haseo felt sincerely amiable as he arranged accommodations for Kumo's envoys. In a way, his thinking wasn't flawed—indeed, the other party had been properly 'arranged'—then he dispatched the two ninja following him to report everything that occurred during the reception to the Third Hokage.
Regardless of whether the issues raised by Kumo were genuine or not, Konoha needed to make appropriate preparations.
As for himself, after crossing the street, Haseo turned and made his way toward another building—one that rose several floors higher than the last.
In one of the rooms within this building, twelve Anbu ninja had already been waiting there.
During the Kumo envoys' stay in Konoha, Konoha's mission was to constantly monitor the activities of the opposing side and ensure their own faction could take immediate action... including all sorts of actions.
There were six such observation posts nearby, which revealed just how seriously Konoha had treated the Kumo delegation's arrival during this sensitive wartime period.
"Haseo, have you noticed anything unusual after making contact with the Kumo team?"
As soon as Haseo entered the room, the Anbu squad leader asked him directly.
As head of the surveillance operation, the squad leader knew exactly how much the village elders valued keeping tabs on the Kumo envoys, and that put serious pressure on him.
Haseo didn't respond immediately. His gaze shifted toward a telescope hidden behind thick curtains—and the Anbu ninja who hadn't moved even slightly from its eyepiece. After staring for a moment, he asked, "While this location definitely provides an excellent field of vision that allows perfect monitoring of that envoy team... do you really rely solely on optical observation? Where's the Hyuga?"
"The Byakugan user is at another observation post. He isn't officially part of Anbu; we've only temporarily borrowed him. We've basically exhausted all available methods to ensure Kumo's movements remain under our control," explained the squad leader.
Haseo knew well that few shinobi from major clans ever joined Anbu. However, since there was someone with the Byakugan involved, the surveillance indeed became more comprehensive.
Haseo gave a slight nod as he observed Anbu's operational setup before finally responding, "From my interactions with them, I haven't discovered any obvious issues. Still, I get the feeling they're hiding something. I don't have solid proof, but my gut tells me something's off... Their purpose for coming to Konoha certainly goes beyond what they've revealed publicly."
However, Haseo had no actual intuitive insights—his lack of professional counterintelligence training meant this was just baseless speculation.
Surprisingly, the squad leader accepted this kind of mystical judgment without concrete proof, even strongly agreeing with Haseo: "Indeed, their presence in Konoha at this time itself defies logic."
In the minds of these Konoha ninja, foreign shinobi were inherently suspicious—dangerously so. This underlying psychological bias and hostile attitude meant they hardly needed substantial evidence when forming judgments.
After all, they were pests. Did anyone really think they came to Konoha to play nice?
Presumption of guilt—that was the rule in this world. Not just because all ninja villages operated under the belief that it was safer to eliminate threats before they could act, but because the consequences of missing something or showing slackness were often intolerably severe.
"So stay extra vigilant. Just now I tried bluffing them a bit. If they intend to take any action here in Konoha, they won't waste time—it'll be sooner rather than later, probably tonight or tomorrow night at the latest... These people won't let Konoha get the chance to catch them red-handed. In fact, they're clearly terrified of being exposed, so they must act before that happens," Haseo continued.
Simply put, Haseo didn't believe the Kumo ninjas could remain so calm after their intentions had been exposed, unless they truly had no ulterior motives.
This time, the squad leader hesitated a moment at Haseo's certainty, but finally nodded. "Captain Haseo, we'll definitely stay extra vigilant."
In any case, whether or not Haseo reminded them, they needed to be especially cautious around the Kumo Team.
And the actions of the Kumo squad themselves would confirm the correctness of Haseo's assessment—this unfounded chatter did indeed cause concern, prompting the Kumo ninjas to prepare for active countermeasures.
But this sense of urgency wasn't immediate; in an entirely unfamiliar Ninja Village filled with hostile gazes, whatever they intended to do would require exceptional care and caution.
More importantly, any action would require at least some basic intel first.
In Konoha, wandering around aimlessly like a chicken with its head cut off could really get you beheaded—no one doubted that… Though the Kumo team had grown restless, they weren't reckless enough to jump into action just yet.
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