Kushina Uzumaki was pointlessly keeping herself busy inside Haseo's office. Her current "important" tasks included, but were not limited to, pouring tea and water, wiping tables, and cleaning the floor.
At this time, Haseo had naturally returned from the Daimyo's Castle to Konoha.
The ninja village and the daimyo were interdependent. When a new daimyo took power, as long as the village expressed its support, his position would quickly stabilize—that wasn't an issue.
However...
War had already erupted, and in almost an instant, the entire Ninja World burst into flames. With the other four great ninja villages targeting Konoha, the external situation for the Leaf Village deteriorated rapidly. The immense pressure of war even made the entire Land of Fire seem unstable and precarious.
Unlike the previous Great Ninja World Wars, which were chaotic free-for-alls, when this war began, all other ninja villages directly turned their focus toward Konoha. Though they weren't without hostility toward each other, there was an unspoken understanding among them—an agreement, or rather a tacit decision, to temporarily hold back against one another until Konoha was dealt with.
Whether it was a true consensus or merely a simple collusion, the coordination between the four great villages was nothing more than a straightforward open strategy, not even clever enough to be considered a scheme. Yet precisely because this "alliance" was so straightforward and overt, it seemed difficult to counter effectively.
The only relief was that this alliance still maintained the premise of independent action—each village fought its own battle. But given how small the Ninja World actually was, Konoha had practically zero room for diplomatic maneuvering through alliances.
Moreover, warfare among ninja had never relied heavily on elaborate schemes or deceptions. Expecting the Hokage to execute espionage tactics? It just didn't sound very realistic.
Yet despite this critical situation, Haseo remained calmly seated in Konoha... as if he could do nothing else but remain calm.
"Kushina, what are you wandering around me for? If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, go play somewhere else."
At first, Haseo hadn't thought much of it, but after Kushina wiped the table and floor until they gleamed like they'd been licked by a dog and still kept circling him, something was clearly off.
His tone clearly showed he was annoyed. Kushina deliberately made a pitiful face, then placed a freshly brewed cup of hot tea beside Haseo's hand. "Lord Haseo, I'm just afraid you might get bored, that's all."
Haseo found himself slightly amused—Kushina had intentionally stayed here to keep him company. Who would've guessed Haseo would ever become someone others worried about emotionally?
Sure, her own boredom played a part too—but still, it was a nice gesture.
Deep down, she was still the same person—just looked different now. When she was younger, Kushina had always been especially obedient around Haseo. But as she grew older, she became increasingly "lively"—some might say annoyingly so. Now at sixteen, she even seemed to be evolving into a more "sophisticated" woman—at least outwardly.
There was a difference, though. Back then, she was simply well-behaved; now, she was mature.
Outside, war raged. Yet here in Konoha—especially under Kagenami—Haseo sat calmly as if he'd already been placed into peaceful retirement.
Kushina had misunderstood Lord Haseo. She assumed someone like Haseo, who hadn't rushed to the battlefield immediately, must have been deeply distressed and anxious inside.
But in reality, Haseo felt nothing like that—just the opposite, actually.
Right now, he was as relaxed as possible. After all, during the original Third Great Ninja War, there hadn't even been a figure named Haseo on Konoha's side.
War was just a mission. Without an assignment, naturally, Haseo felt quite at ease.
Gradually, Kushina noticed Haseo's attitude—he didn't seem anxious or tense at all. So she curiously asked, "Lord Haseo, aren't you worried about the situation at the front line?"
"What is there to worry about? I'm not at the front myself… Konoha serves as the central hub of the Land of Fire, coordinating various battlefronts.
This place actually has the most convenient access to information. Once something happens at the frontline—be it good news or bad—the village will always receive it first.
Whether you like it or not, the messages will reach your hands anyway.
Instead of worrying, I'd rather concentrate fully on battlefield intelligence."
"But Lord Haseo…"
"I know what you're thinking. But from my side, there truly are no other intentions.
Regarding the war, the Third Hokage and I have already discussed everything beforehand. Staying behind as a central commander is also part of the job—and its importance isn't any less than fighting directly at the front.
Ensuring internal stability within Konoha is a special trust bestowed upon me by the upper echelon."
"Lord Haseo… you're not being sarcastic, are you?"
Kushina's expression looked complicated. She found it slightly confusing whether these words of Haseo's should be taken at face value or interpreted otherwise.
Lord Haseo had always been skilled at speaking with double meanings, particularly enjoying subtle sarcasm directed toward certain people.
Her expression made Haseo shake his head. He felt a deep sense of failure—he had clearly failed if even a junior disciple like Kushina couldn't see him as an upright and noble person.
Next, Kushina still wished to explore the psychological state of 'the Northwest Axe King—forced retirement—at home idly,' but Uzumaki Shikou had already entered this office first.
"Lord Haseo, our people have completed the battlefield deployment. Next, we'll rotate operations in three directions and ultimately assist in setting up frontline camps in each direction." Upon seeing Haseo, Shikou immediately reported.
Konoha would now push its war potential to the limit. Except for those already hidden or missing, every ninja sect and organization must dispatch large numbers of shinobi to the frontlines.
Significant casualties were something inevitably coming soon.
The Kagenami and Uzumaki were no exceptions either, though because of Haseo's arrangement with the Third Hokage, the Uzumaki forces would be used in the safest possible manner.
It's true what they say—one thing always keeps another in check. The moment Shikou walked in, Kushina went quiet, like a mouse seeing a cat.
Haseo accepted the intelligence report handed over by Shikou and, unusually, carefully flipped through it.
"There's something else too... After Tsunade-sama arrived at the Front Line, she stopped doing what she had been continuously doing..."
This made Haseo hesitate for a moment before he finally spoke. "Well, now everything must be prioritized according to the war effort."
Upon hearing Kushina mention Tsunade, Kushina immediately perked up her ears, curiosity driving her to memorize every word of this conversation between the older individuals. Just then, however, Haseo first glanced at her, and then pointed toward the office door.
It was clear what he meant—he wanted Kushina to shut the door and stay outside.
Kushina pouted but still slowly shuffled her way out. Yet whether she stayed or left, she wouldn't hear what she wanted to know because Haseo and Shikou hadn't planned to talk about it anyway.
Some things just went without saying.
Haseo simply found the child distracting while she wandered around the office, giving him a headache, so he used that as an excuse to chase her out.
As for Tsunade's concern over Nawaki... After Nawaki left Konoha, naturally she would keep track of his whereabouts, but unfortunately there hadn't been any news regarding this yet.
With such matters, Haseo could only act like he didn't know anything. But deep down, he couldn't truly remain indifferent.
"Is there anything else?"
After finishing reading the intelligence report in his hand, Haseo felt quite satisfied—there seemed to be nothing more needing attention—and so he asked further.
"Oh, there's also this... The Third Hokage has already set off," Shikou continued to report another significant piece of information.
"Oh? When exactly?"
"Just moments ago."
...
Since the outbreak of the Third Great Ninja World War, the Land of Fire came under attack from all directions, forcing Konoha to divide its forces to resist.
Among them, Danzo Shimura—the commander responsible for the Western Front battlefield during the previous conflict in the Second Great Ninja World War—took his troops eastward this time to counterattack the Mist Village, who were eager for revenge.
So the more complicated Western Front was now placed in the hands of the Sannin, whose reputation had been established during the Second Great Ninja World War.
Meanwhile, the Third Hokage himself had no choice but to proceed to the battlefield personally, aiming to seal the gap through which Kumo advanced south into the Land of Fire.
In essence, with the Third Hokage himself leading the efforts alongside his three disciples, they were guiding Konoha's power to resist Cloud, Stone, and Sand.
Three out of the four formidable enemy villages concentrated their forces from west to north within the Land of Fire... So, the main theater of war was self-evident.
As for Haseo, who had played a very active role in both previous wars, this time he instead could do nothing but stay behind in Konoha, wasting time... The reason was very simple: if he participated in battle again, nobody would be able to stop him from becoming the Fourth—not even himself.
Since Haseo couldn't go to the battlefield, the Third Hokage himself had to step in and fill the gap he left behind.
However, Haseo didn't feel too bad about it, mainly because this was essentially an all-or-nothing trade-off. In this war, Haseo wasn't the only one being sidelined; another individual pushed aside to the distant battlefield against Mist was that old teacher of his. Whenever Haseo imagined how Shimura Danzo might currently feel and what expression he might be wearing, he couldn't help bursting into laughter.
Lately, that had become the highlight of his day.
Secondly, since he wasn't heavily involved in the war and simply stayed in Konoha—though Haseo was only nominally there, as nobody really expected him to manage resource distribution—he had the time to handle his own affairs…
To follow through with his Plan.
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