After returning from the Shikkotsu Forest, Haseo first paid a visit to the Third Hokage. Following some words of caution from the elder ninja, he was immediately dispatched in urgency toward the Daimyo's Castle… The transition of leadership for the Daimyo indeed held great importance.
Especially under the current harsh external conditions, the Third Hokage certainly did not wish for any internal political instability within the Land of Fire. The country's support for the ninja village absolutely must remain unaffected by the change in Daimyo.
As a dedicated ninja who had always served Konoha faithfully, Haseo didn't even stop to rest in the village—he immediately set off for the Daimyo's Castle, taking Tsunade with him. It took less than half a day for them to reach another key location in the Land of Fire—far beyond Konoha's borders.
Upon arriving at the Daimyo's Castle, Haseo did not immediately seek an audience with the soon-to-be-installed "new Daimyo." Instead, his first stop was a certain estate near the palace grounds, where he prioritized meeting several among the twelve Konoha ninja dispatched to protect the Daimyo.
He was among several members of the "Twelve Guardians."
These were elite ninja from Konoha, frequently rotated—nobody could remember which generation they were on now.
Yet Haseo still found someone familiar.
"Kohei Sarutobi, how did you end up here? Just making up the numbers?"
Kohei Sarutobi, the eldest son of the Third Hokage, was actually among the Twelve Guardians. By age, he should have only been sixteen this year. As for his personality, there was no way he had come here for some ridiculous reason like "running away from home."
It was probably arranged by the Third Hokage personally.
Hearing Haseo's remark, Kohei wasn't embarrassed. He simply smiled—it was true that in terms of combat capability, at his age, he really did seem somewhat like a placeholder.
"Lord Haseo, my position here guarding the Daimyo at the castle is more symbolic than practical."
Having the son of the Hokage serve as the Daimyo's personal guard absolutely symbolized a harmonious relationship between the military and political factions. To be honest, such symbolism wasn't meaningless at all; it carried real significance.
Legally speaking, the ninja village was originally the Daimyo's hired muscle, so it was perfectly natural for the Hokage's son to serve the Daimyo. However, as long as the Daimyo had an ounce of sense, he wouldn't truly treat the Hokage's son like ordinary muscle. The previous Daimyo had shown reasonable judgment.
It was all about mutual respect—when one side wins, the other side wins too. A win-win situation, really.
"What about the cause of Daimyo Hisakubo's death? I heard there might be something else behind it," Haseo then returned to the matter at hand.
"Not exactly anything hidden—Lord Hisakubo did pass away naturally, however..." At this point, Kohei glanced left and right. Seeing nobody paying attention, he leaned close to Haseo's ear and whispered something quietly.
Kohei was a rather upright individual, so regarding matters that would bring shame to the late Daimyo, he preferred discretion.
Then Haseo suddenly understood. No wonder details about the Daimyo's death felt hazy and hidden.
The truth of the matter was this: just two nights ago, the sixty-year-old Lord Hisakubo died suddenly—surrounded by three sixteen-year-old lady servants… died rather suddenly—if you know what I mean.
Of course, the term "beside him" came from Kohei Sarutobi's description, which was somewhat vague. Haseo thought about it for a moment and felt a more accurate description should be "on his stomach."
"What a truly heart-wrenching way to die... I had always been a close friend of the late Daimyo, but now, unfortunately, I probably won't even get to see his face one last time." Haseo nearly let slip something inappropriate, but the faint killing intent around him subtly corrected his choice of words.
"What about those three lady servants?"
This wasn't out of curiosity or prying into secrets; rather, how these three servants were handled might give some clue as to the new Daimyo's character.
"They had their mouths sealed and were exiled from the palace," Kohei Sarutobi replied. "Sealed their mouths" certainly wasn't an issue—using ninja methods to ensure silence meant three ordinary people could keep certain secrets forever.
"That's actually not bad," Haseo thought, releasing the three was probably the best handling method.
It probably wasn't their fault that the former Daimyo died. Still, if the heir had decided to execute them, it would have been the correct—and even the most appropriate—course of action. It simply wouldn't have sat well with Haseo personally.
Overall, in most cases, Haseo generally preferred to treat people with humanity.
If the former Daimyo passed away naturally, then there shouldn't be any problem with the upcoming succession ceremony for the new Daimyo.
"Let's go. Inform them properly—I want to meet the 'new Daimyo'... I think he'll definitely want to see me too."
Haseo instructed the Twelve Elite to formally announce his arrival at the Daimyo's court. As expected, within half an hour, Haseo received the summons.
"Lord Haseo, Lady Haseo, please forgive my tardiness in welcoming you all—due to the affairs surrounding my father's passing, I couldn't greet you immediately upon your arrival."
As soon as he saw Haseo stepping onto the palace steps, the young man hurried forward to greet him warmly, speaking only courteous words. Indeed, he was the son of Daimyo Hisakubo—his words sounded slightly deliberate and flattering, but better polite than arrogant.
"My Lord, heir of Daimyo Hisakubo, I can understand the grief caused by the late Daimyo's passing. When I first heard the news, I myself had difficulty believing it at first... but still, please take care of your health. From now on, the responsibility of governing the land rests solely on your shoulders."
Naturally, Haseo already knew the name of the new Daimyo. They even had met before—though back then, Haseo had stood behind the previous Daimyo and remained unnoticed.
Tsunade barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes because she understood Haseo so well—precisely because he was being formal and serious, which only made her think he was putting on an act.
Yet this was merely her bias. The message Haseo conveyed through his words alone was clear enough for the new Daimyo: Konoha fully supported him.
The heir of Daimyo Hisakubo obviously did not show any delight on his face. He was grown up enough to know how to hide his emotions. Still, as he looked at Haseo, his expression softened slightly with gratitude.
His late father had indeed been right—Indeed, Lord Haseo really was a tremendous asset.
At a time like this, if Haseo had been ten years older, he could have simply reached out and patted the Daimyo's shoulder for encouragement. Unfortunately, their ages were too close for that.
"Father always told me during his lifetime that Lord Haseo was a rare and valuable friend…"
The Daimyo welcomed Haseo and Tsunade into the main chamber of the Palace. Alongside the Daimyo himself, several nobles were also present. Then came some small talk—most of it revolving around praising the previous Daimyo's "great achievements" and expressing regret over his passing. In short, after exchanging some meaningless pleasantries for a while, Haseo rose again and excused himself to leave.
Before the Daimyo's succession ceremony, he would remain at the Daimyo's Castle. But naturally, he couldn't expect constant company from the new Daimyo—after all, the man probably had actual responsibilities to handle at a time like this.
It was enough to get the message across; Haseo was merely representing a signal. As long as the new Daimyo succeeded properly, there wouldn't be any trouble from the Ninja Village.
Afterward, Haseo and Tsunade returned to the courtyard where they had been staying.
"Haseo, what do you think of this new Daimyo?"
"Not bad. Personally, I think he's pretty good. His eyes stayed locked on me the entire time without straying—he must be better than Jiraiya."
The reasoning behind Haseo's assessment that someone was "pretty good" did seem a bit strange.
But then again…Tsunade was indeed the kind of person who easily drew attention. And even Haseo couldn't go around beating people up just because they looked at Tsunade a few times too many. He was mature enough not to cause trouble over something like that.
At most…well, nothing serious.
"I'm asking seriously, how did it turn into something about me?"
"I'm answering seriously too. You never think about how the last Daimyo died. What if his son has similar tendencies? Although, someone of the Daimyo's status probably doesn't lack beautiful women around him anyway."
"There are plenty of attractive ladies-in-waiting in the Palace, many prettier than me."
"That makes sense." Haseo nodded in agreement.
"…"
You could definitely say some folks live worse than dogs.
"Hey, why are you walking faster now?"
...
Early the next morning, Tsunade had already vanished.
"Lord Haseo…huh? Where is Lady Tsunade? She isn't with you."
Kohei Sarutobi asked this upon seeing Haseo idly watching the sunrise from the courtyard during his early-morning stroll.
Since "always together" had turned into "all alone," he felt compelled to ask.
"She's probably somewhere in town. My wallet disappeared along with her…What rotten luck! Those places probably aren't even open this early, are they?"
Kohei walked over, and his gaze swept past Haseo's neck. He caught sight of a faint red mark from a "mosquito bite" right away, ignored Haseo's complaints, and said with a smile: "Lord Haseo and Lady Tsunade really do have a great relationship."
Though Haseo had lost part of his mission funds, he wasn't exactly at a loss either.
Without hesitation, he smacked Kohei Sarutobi lightly on the back of the head, saying, "You're still so young. What do you really understand?"
It started out as a fairly ordinary morning. Just as they were chatting idly, a ninja (a highly trained shinobi) suddenly appeared before them, speaking in a rush:
"Lord Haseo, Lord Kohei, urgent news...
Yagura Karatachi, an elite Jonin of Mist, has assassinated the Third Mizukage, Hozuki Riman."
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