"Hiruzen, you finally understand what 'anything can happen' means, right? After your death, it's actually me who took control of Konoha. How about that? Makes you mad, doesn't it?"
Haseo didn't even have local residency status originally, yet he still managed to become the supreme leader. In fact, given the current situation, he could become Hokage whenever he wanted.
This was exactly what the Third had always sought to prevent—and now, it was happening.
There's an old saying—the tea goes cold once the guest has gone. And when someone departs this world entirely—body and spirit gone—how much colder would it be?
Though Haseo spoke in a joking tone, others saw it as somewhat smug and inappropriate. Therefore, Uzumaki Shikou started coughing repeatedly, reminding him to mind his words. There were still many Anbu ninja present here, after all.
He was already forty—why couldn't he act more mature?
The setting was a rather cramped basement with numerous Anbu ninjas guarding its perimeter. In the center lay the corpse of the Third Hokage.
The Hokage's facial features had already been tidied up; thus, he appeared calm and peaceful now, only slightly pale.
Pulling back the white sheet slightly, Haseo instantly understood the cause of death—it looked just like when Piccolo prepared to self-destruct. His chest bore a perfectly round hole.
"Since he's already gone, there's no point in further examination. Have you notified the Sarutobi household yet?"
Haseo glanced once and immediately pulled the sheet back over. Obviously, no idiot would dare do anything inappropriate with the Hokage's corpse.
"Not yet, Lord Haseo."
"Then summon the Sarutobis and the Elders," Haseo ordered the Anbu ninja.
This was part of being Hokage—the body couldn't be handed directly to family members. First, there needed to be a proper ceremony throughout the village.
Haseo had no intention of challenging Konoha's rules, but he also wanted to avoid unnecessary complications. Thus, after taking just one brief look, he immediately instructed the Anbu to summon those responsible for handling the Hokage's remains properly.
He quietly stepped aside.
Before long, the Elders arrived first.
Seeing the Third's corpse, both Elders clearly felt deep sorrow. Besides their official relationship, they'd been longtime friends with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
A little later, representatives from the Sarutobi household finally showed up. Watching them enter, Haseo thought… well, perhaps "satisfaction" wasn't quite the right word. But at least only Biwako Sarutobi and Kohei Sarutobi arrived—his youngest son Asuma didn't appear at all. That gave Haseo a rather pleasant impression.
What would be the point of having a chaotic crowd crying loudly and wailing hysterically? Though it's natural, it would cause nothing but trouble.
After Biwako and Kohei arrived, Haseo led the Anbu out of the room, giving space and time to the blood relatives of the Third Hokage while he himself remained silently outside the door.
Roughly half an hour later, the secret door opened again. By then, both mother and son displayed red-rimmed eyes, though they managed to keep their composure.
"Lady Biwako, please accept my condolences for your loss."
"There's some deep-seated connection between Haseo and Biwako Sarutobi's family, though it doesn't seem to have been anything particularly good."
"Lord Haseo, thank you for informing us immediately."
"That's only common decency. However, regarding the Hokage's funeral arrangements, please understand that the village's plans should take primary precedence..."
"I understand."
Haseo wasn't paying attention to the mother and son in front of him. His gaze passed through the doorway, using the faint light reflected from the four walls to look toward the center of the room.
"For most of our careers, the Third and I had nothing but mutual disdain for each other. Our ideologies and methods often clashed greatly, so... we weren't friends, certainly not enemies either, nor could we simply be described as superior and subordinate—we worked closely together on many occasions.
But whether good or bad, my interactions with the Third have now become memories that will never grow again. That's just how people are—you only truly value something once it's gone or becoming scarce."
Haseo spoke with clear emotion.
"I was actually thinking earlier—if I ever retired, I'd definitely lie in wait down an alley after the Hokage finished work, give him a solid whack on the head, then toss him into the women's bath area at Hot Spring Town... Now it seems like I won't get that chance anymore."
This statement was deeply sorrowful yet somehow warm, making one feel grief, anger, and amusement all at once.
As for someone like Haseo, if he ever revealed any sort of "plan," there was a good chance it was a terrifying plan he genuinely intended to carry out.
Biwako Sarutobi and Kohei Sarutobi found themselves unable to respond to such words, so she could only change the subject instead.
"As for Hiruzen's funeral, what arrangements has the village made?"
At this point, the matter of the funeral had become the only thing Biwako cared about, and she paid special attention to its handling... After all, funerals have nothing to do with the deceased—they're rituals for the living to express their grief, and often little more than a public spectacle.
"Honestly, I think there's no rush. The Third was Konoha's Hokage. Although dying on the battlefield meant he achieved his wish, leaving little else to be said, the Hokage shouldn't simply be buried quietly like this.
Put bluntly, this concerns every ninja in Konoha.
Therefore... we should at least wait until this tense period passes, sort out the situation on Konoha's front lines, and then properly arrange the Third's official funeral."
Biwako looked deeply at Haseo for a moment, seemingly understanding his meaning.
"In that case, everything is in your hands, Lord Haseo."
As Haseo said, he and the Third indeed often "mutually disdained" each other, but now Haseo still had to help him regain dignity—it really shows how amusing human relationships can be.
"By the way, regarding the handling of the remains... I'd recommend cremation. It's clean and carries no risk."
"..."
"Starting tomorrow, Kohei will temporarily stay by my side."
Kohei glanced at his mother first, then nodded. "Yes, Lord Haseo."
After finishing their conversation, Haseo left this place, leaving the two of them behind to continue staying by the Third's side. Next, Haseo needed to head to Shikkotsu Forest.
At this moment, he finally had time to check on the reincarnated body created through Impure World Reincarnation still buried in the Shikkotsu Forest, which served as the Nine-Tails' vessel. Fortunately, Impure World Reincarnation wasn't the kind of Ninjutsu that would automatically dissolve upon the caster's death.
Otherwise, right now, either the Nine-Tails would have died off altogether and eventually resurrected somewhere unknown in the Ninja World after a few years, or they'd already returned to the custody of the Shinigami, or they had been freed from the reincarnated vessel and destroyed the entire Shikkotsu Forest.
The technique itself remained stable, and the reincarnated body was still safely hidden inside Katsuyu's belly. This was good news.
......
Once the Third Hokage's corpse returned to Konoha, it confirmed his death beyond any doubt. As a result, Konoha had entered its most fragile phase—whatever was going to happen next would unfold within these coming days.
However, Haseo's clever "Monkey Strategy" seemed to be working smoothly. First, without external interference, no one in Konoha should dare to cause trouble; secondly, even if someone truly intended to stir up chaos, they would still need to carefully weigh the situation with Haseo personally overseeing security.
For a solid two weeks, Haseo kept showing up at the "Zoo" in Konoha, and during that time, nothing happened in the village at all.
This meant things inside the village were finally under control. Therefore, now Haseo could finally think about matters concerning the Front Line.
In fact...
He was ready to head to the Front Line.
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