As one ice mirror after another floating midair fell and shattered, anyone could understand that this battle—so brief it couldn't possibly have been any shorter—had already determined a winner.
The result was clear from the sight of the fallen bloodline-limit ninja. The body of the kekkei genkai user lying motionless facedown on an ice pillar told everything.
From the use of secret techniques to breaking through those same techniques in such a manner, the entire process had been far too short, so much so that all the Mist ninjas surrounding the scene held their breaths in utter silence.
Most could accept the defeat—even death—of this Ice Release kekkei genkai user, but they struggled to comprehend why he had fallen so quickly. This user of the Ice Release technique must have surely been a well-known figure within Mist. Yet before absolute strength, he hadn't even lasted as long as the crowd had expected.
Maybe the Kekkei Genkai user had hoped to end the fight decisively, or at least buy some time—but reality proved otherwise.
The "unhesitating" death of such a pivotal figure, displaying an attitude like "if you say die, then I'll die," was the most shocking thing possible on the battlefield—perhaps even more chilling than Haseo's slaughter of ordinary ninja.
Hozuki, the Ice Release bloodline, and Kaguya's Shikotsumyaku—these formed the most iconic ninja sects of Kirigakure. Naturally, there were many powerful ninja among them. Compared to them, even the so-called Seven Swordsmen of the Bloody Mist came second—in particular, now that Konoha had its own "Seven Swordsmen of the Cloud." Still, there were notable differences between capable ninja and certain *other types* of capable ninja.
After a prolonged period without actual combat, right now, Haseo was trying to rediscover the feeling of returning to the battlefield. So far, he had only been "warming up," not yet employing his usual large-scale area-of-effect jutsu in this situation.
Given how densely packed his enemies were, cannon-fire attacks and saturation bombardments clearly better suited the task of clearing out troops. At this moment, even using some simple Fire Release techniques would effectively eliminate quite a few enemies… Surely no one truly believed fire couldn't kill people?
Even without resorting to Sage Mode, by virtue of years of accumulated chakra and improved physical strength, Haseo's current power already vastly surpassed that of regular jonin, even elite jonin.
He had nearly reached the peak of his career. Without modesty, what level Haseo had achieved represented precisely the highest standard of current-day Konoha.
If he'd wanted to play the arrogant hero, Haseo could've smirked at the Mist ninjas and said, "Ever seen me at my peak? Want to see it up close?"
Unfortunately, he was already almost forty years old, and his mindset remained quite mature. Those glorious days of cringe-worthy, overly dramatic dialogue—that phase was long behind him now.
For Mist, the only person who might currently stand a chance at stopping Haseo was probably the Fourth Mizukage. Regardless of the eventual result, for any village and its Kage, this sort of confrontation definitely warranted an attempt. However, so far, the Fourth Mizukage hadn't appeared on this battlefield at all.
This seemed somewhat irrational… Actually, both sides appeared strategically unsound. If the Mizukage showed up here, he would likely face mortal danger; yet if he didn't show up, his subordinates would instead be risking their lives.
There was only so much movement one could make. Haseo shook his wrists and felt he had warmed up enough. It was about time to try clearing the battlefield.
However, just as Haseo mentally prepared himself for a large-scale offensive to eliminate the enemy forces, he immediately noticed that the Mist Ninja surrounding him began retreating.
This sudden development left Haseo completely stunned. Where had their former "charge without hesitation" spirit gone? Why did they back down so quickly? Totally untrustworthy!
The once fanatical Mist Ninja suddenly turned cold as ice. Their withdrawal must have been ordered by unified command. Given their earlier behavior, Haseo had assumed these guys would disobey orders just to keep charging recklessly ahead. But unexpectedly, they proved quite capable of coordinated advances and retreats.
As enemies pulled back, Lord Haseo made no move to chase them down. The battlefield, which had been heated moments ago, soon left him standing alone.
These enemies still weren't ruthless enough. After a brief skirmish, they suddenly seemed like bark without bite—like their true colors had finally shown through.
The Konoha temporary camp set up by Haseo had rapidly gathered nearly a thousand people from yesterday until today. By comparison, since the Mist side maintained an intact command structure, they could mobilize forces far faster for deployment. Thus, after discovering Konoha's temporary camp, the opposing side assembled much more quickly.
When Lord Haseo charged solo into enemy ranks, the number of Mist Ninja present should've exceeded Konoha's forces—it absolutely couldn't have been fewer. Although Haseo moved swiftly cutting down opponents like melons in a field, appearing extremely fierce, in reality because he used merely a cleaver—every kill required a separate strike for each opponent—his overall efficiency wasn't especially high.
After repeatedly charging through battle, the number of enemies killed was just over triple digits. Judging by this calculation, overall fatality rates among the Mist faction definitely hadn't surpassed ten percent.
Choosing to withdraw under such circumstances, Haseo thought their morale really wasn't anything special at all.
Where was that 'burn-the-ships' kind of resolve?
To be honest, Haseo's approach—analyzing everything by the numbers—wasn't exactly scientific either. First of all, when calculating casualties, terms like "casualty rate" shouldn't even apply—it was clearly nothing more than a straightforward "fatality rate." Every time he struck someone down, that person died instantly, delivering particularly powerful impact.
Besides, if overwhelming numbers could actually result in Haseo's death, then sacrificing Mist Ninja might arguably have been worthwhile. However, things seemingly weren't working out that way. In the ongoing conflict, losses were being suffered only by the Mist side while Lord Haseo himself remained utterly unscathed. Considering this stark contrast, expecting others to charge forward recklessly any longer...
Well, there was nothing reckless about it—they were literally racing to die, desperate not to miss out before Shinigami's list filled up.
"Lord Haseo, shall we pursue?"
Soon afterward, some Konoha ninja arrived on the battlefield. They gathered around Haseo, looking unusually obedient… indeed, they had to say—it was fortunate indeed that Lord Haseo belonged to their side.
The seasoned ninjas gazed at Lord Haseo with quiet reverence, while the younger ones stared wide-eyed with sheer hero worship… Emotions like these shouldn't theoretically exist among ninjas, who consider themselves emotionless "killing tools."
Yet on this battlefield, such feelings were inevitable.
Driving away enemies by oneself—this was something only Haseo, at the peak of his power, could accomplish… Well, actually, there weren't quite "thousands" of them. But saying it that way just sounded more impressive.
Seeing the emotions stirred up among the ninjas, Haseo didn't want to spoil the mood with unnecessary reservations. He then spoke, "Organize a squad and try pursuing them, but don't go too deep. Snatch whatever advantage you can get and pull out promptly. Don't let Mist make up their minds to turn around and swallow our forces, or we'll suffer great losses."
Limited pursuit, scratch Mist's skin a little if possible—but never allowing themselves to fall into danger… That was essentially Haseo's order.
"Understood, Lord Haseo."
This command was quite reasonable. A few ninjas exchanged nods, then headed back to camp to assemble battle-ready squads for the chase.
Haseo himself did not join the Konoha ninjas in chasing down the enemy. Instead, he stayed behind to supervise.
He didn't need to personally participate in the pursuit. His mere presence alone cast an enormous shadow over the Mist ninja. As long as Haseo kept his eyes locked on the battlefield, his single presence alone could force Mist to continuously retreat. Whatever ninjutsu they threw at him, not even a millimeter of ground could be gained.
Because once they took a step forward, there'd be no coming back at all.
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