"Lord..."
"Lord Haseo..."
A large group of Kagenami ninja had gathered in the central chamber of the base. As Haseo arrived, dozens of eyes fixed on him silently, while greetings rang out one after another.
News of Konoha's setback in the Eastern Front campaign quickly spread throughout the village... From the perspective of maintaining internal stability, this clearly wasn't an official announcement coming from Konoha. Yet the key point was that such news was simply impossible to conceal.
The "passive dissemination" of the information was inevitable.
"What are you all crowded here for? Welcoming me to work?"
"Lord Haseo, regarding the situation on the Eastern Front..." One ninja tried to ask something.
However, Haseo raised his hand directly to stop the man from speaking further. "Yes, it did happen, but my task is to ensure internal stability within Konoha.
Just do your own jobs properly. Dividing tasks is part of working together. Trusting our comrades at the front line is also part of what we must believe...
Until new orders come through, don't overthink things—I won't act recklessly, and the battle situation hasn't deteriorated to that extent yet.
Now go on, everyone, get back to work."
As he spoke, Haseo waved his hand to disperse the surrounding Uzumaki shinobi. Moments later, only Shikou remained.
Standing alone before Haseo, she finally spoke. "Lord Haseo, everyone is deeply concerned about the current external war situation, and I believe there's no way you can remain inside the village either. The sooner you take action, the better.
Under these circumstances, our existing plan will have to be delayed—everything now must focus on the war."
Haseo fell silent upon hearing her words. Although he personally preferred to stay in the village forever as nothing more than a mascot, reality seemed unwilling to allow him that luxury.
Even Haseo wasn't entirely independent. In Konoha, countless individuals formed an interconnected web; human connections would inevitably push him toward making more direct decisions.
No matter how Haseo felt about this village or some of its people, he couldn't simply stand by as Konoha faltered.
"You're right, Shikou, but until I get new orders, I'll keep carrying out my current duties."
After saying that, Haseo stopped paying attention to Shikou and left on his own, returning to his office.
Shikou remained standing in the dim and vast underground space. Flickering firelight from the surrounding walls barely illuminated her expression.
That Haseo would display such a passive attitude was entirely predictable—it couldn't even really be called "pettiness," merely a natural human reaction.
When war broke out, Haseo and Tsunade had been at the Daimyo's Castle handling the Daimyo's succession. Taking advantage of his absence, Konoha's upper echelon decided upon their overall military strategy—the deployment of troops across the three fronts, along with designated commanders for each.
When Haseo returned to Konoha... he was assigned to remain behind as garrison commander.
This decision was by no means problematic. You do your job, I do mine. Isn't that what being a ninja is all about—carrying out assigned tasks and following orders?
Now someone has messed up their own mission, should we really expect Haseo to step in and clean up the mess himself?
A person who isn't trusted naturally has no reason to be enthusiastic.
At this moment, even if Shikou felt some resentment, it wouldn't be directed at Haseo. Rather, her frustration would fall upon the village's previous decisions.
So far, the battlefield collapse had only affected Konoha psychologically. Everyone was worried about the current situation, but defeat still seemed distant; the village remained stable and peaceful. Thus, Haseo quietly stayed inside the Kagenami base for the entire day.
In name he was dealing with work, but actually he merely sat around lost in thought the whole time.
When quitting time came, Haseo stayed behind at the base a little longer, giving the impression of hard work before finally leaving at his usual unhurried pace.
When he exited the underground base and walked onto the street, turning a corner he ran into Homura Mitokado, one of Konoha's elders… Actually, it was exactly as he had expected.
It was already evening outside.
Haseo simply glanced at the other briefly but did not speak first, continuing forward at his usual pace.
Eventually, Homura had no choice but to catch up.
"Haseo, you've heard about what happened on the Eastern Front, right?" Homura then started.
"Mm, I received the report."
Under normal circumstances, in the face of a life-or-death crisis threatening the village, a ninja shouldn't respond so indifferently. However, Homura knew well enough that Haseo would inevitably answer like this.
Homura had no choice but to state things outright: "Haseo, the issue now is that the command structure on the Eastern Front has been destroyed. At a time like this, the village needs you… Only you can turn the tide of battle on the Eastern Front."
Haseo didn't stop walking. He just glanced slightly sideways at Homura, who was walking a step behind, and smiled. "Elder, since the initial decision was made to keep me here within the village, doesn't that mean I'm better suited for these kinds of assignments? The village leadership must have thought carefully before making such a decision—surely they didn't make a mistake?
Everyone's capable of thinking for themselves. In fact, you are the village's leaders and advisors—the wise men. So if I truly am unsuited for fighting directly on the front lines…
Then under these circumstances, what good would come from sending me to the frontline anyway?"
These words left Homura feeling deeply resentful, yet at this moment, aside from silently enduring Haseo's criticisms, he had no further arguments to offer… He didn't argue with Haseo, nor did he walk beside him—instead, he deliberately kept a step behind.
Though absolute obedience to orders was a ninja's principle, a shinobi of Haseo's caliber could no longer be ordered around forcefully—personality-wise, even though both were powerful ninja, Haseo and Sakumo Hatake had completely opposite temperaments.
"At the beginning when we formulated our strategy, we had to weigh various factors, but..." Homura Mitokado clenched his teeth before finally speaking. "The current situation proves our judgment was wrong. The scale and aggressiveness of Mist's attacks exceeded our expectations. The defeat on the Eastern Front resulted from errors in both strategic decisions and battlefield command.
Now only you can correct this mistake, Lord Haseo."
Misjudging Mist's intentions... This sounded familiar, like it had happened before. But was it truly a mistake?
No—it was clearly an intentional oversight that led to these consequences.
This defeat was far more severe than the previous one due to strategic misjudgments. Now, who could step in to take command of the Eastern Front after Danzo Shimura sustained serious injuries? Was there anyone else in all of Konoha besides Haseo himself?
Although Danzo did bear some responsibility for battlefield failures, the root problem lay in the Third Hokage's "selfishness."
While Haseo had tolerated such 'selfishness,' he assumed these personal considerations wouldn't undermine the greater strategic objectives, wouldn't make collective interests pay the price for personal motives, and certainly wouldn't cause him personal trouble.
Strengthening the heir's reputation had led to massive losses among Konoha ninja and the collapse of an entire battlefront. How should one describe the Third Hokage's approach?
Considering Fire Country's current plight, Konoha might actually be destroyed. At a time like this, were they still preoccupied with succession issues?
Succeed to what—a tombstone?
That would indeed be quite a substantial inheritance.
Seeing Haseo unmoved, Homura pulled out a letter and handed it to him. "A message from the Third Hokage at the front lines."
Haseo took the letter and unfolded it, confirming it was handwritten by the Third Hokage. As for its contents...
First, it solemnly explained Konoha's current crisis; second, it candidly admitted his mistakes; third, it sincerely hoped that Haseo could turn the tide.
The tone was respectfully courteous, entirely devoid of authoritative commands.
It was essentially a formal bow to Haseo. The Third Hokage now found himself in a position where he had no choice but to yield.
By now, within the village, Haseo counted as a major figure—one with undeniable prestige. If they wanted him on board, even the Hokage would need to offer him appropriate acknowledgment—officially assuming written responsibility for the war's failure. Probably this was the first time the Third Hokage had ever done something like this.
Haseo still carried enough influence, yet at this moment, he found it all rather amusing.
"Lord Haseo..."
Without realizing it, Haseo had already stopped walking. He stood in the street, surrounded by a circle of people—half ninja, half civilians—with ten or so Kagenami ninja already gathered behind him.
Some called his name, while others simply gazed at him filled with hope.
"Ah, let's go then... leaving Konoha, heading east."
Even the Hokage has lowered his head—what else could Haseo do? He couldn't very well refuse such obvious courtesy either. Since the battle situation was urgent, he'd better depart immediately.
Haseo yanked out two Ninja — big and small, male and female, "Single" and "Ten" — from the group behind him and tossed them aside. Then he marched off toward the Battleground with the rest of the Ninja.
In the end…
He remained nothing more than a tool.
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