Haseo immediately noticed the clear difference between Nawaki now and Nawaki before. He didn't even need to consider differences in chakra—this version of him simply gave off a completely different aura... Obviously, no matter how it was done, there had to be a "shadow warrior" involved.
The Nawaki Haseo had seen with his own eyes, the same Nawaki being monitored by Anbu ninja, wasn't the real Nawaki. Considering Konoha had already taken action against Nawaki at the very first sign of trouble, and there hadn't been much opportunity for any mid-operation switch, it was highly likely the real Nawaki had left right from the start.
You could say the Senju were generally pretty foolish—and sure enough, they were—but oddly enough, they showed surprising sharpness when it came to little details like this.
But if you called them sharp, then why would Nawaki dare come alone to intercept Haseo?
That meant he considered himself strong enough to counter or even suppress Haseo. So where did he get such confidence?
Haseo's string of accomplishments was well known—his records spoke for themselves, and Nawaki had no reason not to know about them.
Or maybe Nawaki thought all those feats Haseo pulled off were something anyone could easily replicate?
You just got lucky? I could pull the same off.
"I'm kinda curious… I'll admit choosing me as your target might've been a wise move on your part. So tell me, coming alone to fight me—was that decided by your group or is this your personal choice? Even if your goal is to restore the Senju's former glory, given the current situation, wouldn't your main focus still be on the Konoha leadership led by the Third Hokage?"
Haseo asked this question first—he was genuinely curious about how the Senju—no, more precisely, Nawaki himself—was thinking.
Dawn hadn't yet arrived, but more noise began spreading through the darkened Konoha. Chaos rose along with flames. Haseo had no idea how many Senju were involved, but based purely on what he heard… it sounded pretty impressive.
So, given such strength, why not concentrate it?
"Lord Haseo, I understand the significance of Master Aruo's death, so I hold no ill will toward you. However, you pose a serious obstacle to our plans… That's the only reason I'm here," Nawaki said calmly.
Ah, so that's the case—not every member of the Senju clan was completely out of touch after all. The one standing before him was acting entirely on his own.
Haseo found things increasingly interesting—so the Senju placed their hopes on such an immature youth?
While the Senju launched their operation, probably hoping Nawaki, having gained "power," would deliver a Thunderous Attack against the Third Hokage, suddenly they'd turn around and discover the person was gone...
What now? Haseo felt he'd found himself in the middle of a joke, but wasn't sure whether to laugh out loud or not.
Rope Tree thought he had complete control over his emotions, wearing a "composed" mask and claiming to hold no hatred. But in reality, these were nothing more than self-deception. The simple fact that he willingly showed himself before Haseo already said everything.
"Just because you're a Senju, do you think certain things are naturally yours to claim yet remain frustratingly out of reach? So you believe you deserve high status and universal admiration?
Effort and reward are always proportionally related. Tell me, aside from the name 'Senju,' what have you personally done for this village?
Put nicely, you take pride in being a Senju. Put bluntly, aside from that surname 'Senju,' what else do you actually have?
The First's achievements are your achievements? The glory rightfully belonging to the First is yours by right? Come on then, explain the logic here—personally, I don't quite get it."
"..."
At that moment, Rope Tree suddenly understood why Orochimaru considered it such a feat when Aruo managed to verbally dominate Haseo.
"We simply walk different paths. You aren't a Senju, nor will you ever truly understand our experiences. Just because you're an armchair critic watching someone drown, you think your judgment makes sense?"
Well... frankly speaking, Haseo didn't really see much similarity between peacefully living in the village and "drowning."
Still, Rope Tree's words reminded Haseo of some idiot screaming angrily at his friend like, "You grew up as an orphan—you can't possibly understand how I feel after suddenly losing my entire family!" Not exactly the same situation, but similarly ridiculous in effect.
Anyone with even minimal intelligence would probably never say something so stupid.
In the end, people just don't get each other—completely impossible. Speaking only from your own perspective will always be the easiest thing to do.
"Therefore, you so-called members of the 'Major Ninja Sects' wallow in self-pity and blame fate when powerless, yet the moment strength arrives, you act like power is your right, go around with your heads in the clouds, thinking you're the smartest guy in the room."
Haseo finally let out a scornful laugh. He saw no point in talking further with Rope Tree—frankly, they came from completely different worlds.
Now, he simply waited for Rope Tree's move, ready to respond accordingly.
"Then watch closely and see if I'm merely deluding myself."
This arrogance from Haseo made Rope Tree's face shift from pale to furious. Perhaps he felt his pride deeply insulted, but he too chose silence.
Or rather, he chose not to speak with words anymore, instead preferring to express his feelings through hand seals.
As Rope Tree pressed both hands together, a surge of powerful chakra unlike anything before began to accumulate around him. It seemed like the next moment would witness some immensely powerful technique.
Yet that "next moment" did not arrive.
At a speed beyond Rope Tree's reaction, Haseo dashed right beside him. At such close range, theoretically, Rope Tree should've already been dead. But strangely, Haseo did not perform his signature stabbing maneuver.
In an instant, Haseo seized Nawaki by the collar with one hand, twisted his body mid-turn, and hurled him skyward like a hammer thrower unleashing all his strength.
Nawaki showed a bit more grit—his grip never wavered even as Haseo caught him, and he barely managed to complete the hand seal in time.
"Without even thinking, you're releasing a Ninjutsu of this scale within a civilian residential area... It seems the Senju really have no reason left to exist at all."
Nawaki was just someone who had gotten his hands on a new toy and couldn't wait to show it off. If he were merely a child, then such behavior could be considered nothing more than childish immaturity... However, when a child shows off his toys, he certainly doesn't casually end up killing everyone around him.
Haseo's strength was sufficient to hurl an adult from the central residential district of Konoha all the way to the sparsely populated outskirts.
As Nawaki soared through the air, he finally finished the hand seals.
Then, a massive shadow sliced across Konoha's night sky before crashing down with a deafening roar. The ground rippled out violently like ocean swells during a storm.
The tremor originating from the impact shook every part of Konoha.
"A Wooden Construct... So this is the Senju's pride?"
Haseo thought the Senju's perspective and vision right now were incredibly narrow-minded and shortsighted beyond belief.
A wooden giant about thirty meters tall, seemingly imposing in appearance, landed at the edge of Konoha.
But something like this wouldn't even faze Haseo.
After all, he had been collecting and assembling action figures since his past life.
He was a die-hard action figure enthusiast.
(End of chapter)
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