"Did you hear? Lady Tsunade has returned to the village."
"Seriously? Could this be another case of someone seeing things or having wild fantasies again? Every time there's a major casualty incident in Konoha, rumors like this start spreading."
Whenever a big disaster happens, people always hope for a great doctor nearby—and Tsunade is basically the miracle healer everyone dreams of.
"It must be true. In the past few days, Lady Tsunade has been hanging around Konoha Hospital. It's not just hospital gossip—many people who've visited the hospital have actually seen her with their own eyes."
"If it's true, then this is definitely good news—an unusual rarity lately."
"There's more to it. Think about it—if Lady Tsunade is back in Konoha, that means The Fourth has returned too. Considering The Fourth's personality... husband and wife are surely together."
"What kind of personality do you mean?"
The questioned ninja glanced left and right cautiously before leaning in nervously, whispering, "Afraid of his wife."
"Ahhh~"
The other guy stretched out the sound while jabbing the air toward the whisperer with his finger—was he pretending to understand because the comment hit too close to home?
"If The Fourth really came back to the village, then all these chaotic happenings should finally come to an end."
Something rather funny happened—although Haseo was famously inactive as Hokage, paradoxically his tenure represented Konoha's most stable period. On one hand, external warfare was the primary source of conflict for Konoha at that time, with most ninja energies focused on frontline battles.
On the other hand, Haseo's overwhelming military achievements—defeating Kirigakure, instantly killing the Third Raikage, and halting Iwagakure's army—intimidated any internal unrest within Konoha. Even Danzo Shimura didn't dare act suspiciously during that period.
Perhaps Danzo understood just how much Haseo personally disliked him—Haseo would even look for reasons to reprimand him when there was no cause whatsoever, let alone if Danzo were actually instigating trouble!
"Just The Fourth's age... He's nearly sixty now, right?"
"That doesn't matter. The Fourth remains The Fourth."
"You've got a point too—The Fifth never carried the same weight or fear-inspiring authority as The Fourth did."
Still, guessing like this was pointless. "How about we go confirm Lady Tsunade's whereabouts at the hospital ourselves?"
The memories Konoha shinobi held regarding The Fourth's era weren't particularly long, and Haseo's actual time as Hokage had been remarkably short. Yet now people had already started longing for The Fourth's period.
During The Fifth Hokage's tenure, large-scale rebellion incidents like this occurred—without necessarily ruining her credibility entirely, but certainly dealing a serious blow to her reputation.
If things got worse, it could even lead to a full-on leadership crisis.
The Fifth Hokage's foundation for ruling paled not only against Haseo's but even fell far short of The Third Hokage's.
People came from different backgrounds. What specific accomplishments set Haseo apart? What kind of battles had he gone through during the first forty years of his life? There were many named ninja among them.
As for Minato Namikaze, the "Golden Flash" sounded impressive, but most of his reputation came from "minion farming" and Konoha's idolization campaigns.
To put it simply, Haseo was a hero who rose by securing kills, while Minato Namikaze was a hero who gained fame by last-hitting minions. Assuming they were equally strong, people would still usually only remember the former, respecting and trusting him more deeply... because he was flashier.
Last-hitting minions or defending positions just weren't as visually satisfying as taking down enemies and showing off skillful moves.
...
Speaking of "intimidation factor," that brief conversation between Minato and Haseo made Minato feel an underlying pressure radiating from Haseo... Even to this day, instead of sensing a strong chakra reaction from Haseo, Minato felt the opposite: Haseo seemed like an ordinary person at first glance.
But no matter how one looked at it, there was no way Haseo could truly be an ordinary man. Therefore, the reality must be exactly the opposite... Over these years, his strength hadn't weakened with age; rather, it had grown stronger over time.
Haseo's current demeanor probably could be called a return to simplicity and authenticity.
Come to think of it, had Haseo actually aged? Just look at Tsunade's youthful appearance...
These two probably deserved the title of "Monster Couple."
Therefore, only a complete idiot would ever consider challenging Haseo for practice—a move that would easily get oneself killed.
After clearly explaining things to Minato Namikaze, Haseo reiterated that he was just an old man who had long since retired, thus reaching a tacit understanding with Konoha's leadership.
At the same time, Haseo met Naruto, who was only ten years old. Overall, he found the boy quite likable—his impression kind of matched what he remembered... At least Naruto didn't act spoiled or entitled, considering both his parents were alive and well-regarded pillars of Konoha. That kind of behavior would say a lot about how the parents raised him.
If you stay quiet, you're basically encouraging it. If Kushina Uzumaki allowed her son to develop such a character, then obviously she'd bear responsibility... Although, given her famous nickname, The Red-Hot Habanero, it seemed unlikely she would hesitate to discipline her child.
So whether it was Namikaze Naruto or Uzumaki Naruto, ultimately Naruto was just Naruto… At the very least, Naruto wasn't Boruto.
In conclusion, meeting with Minato Namikaze resolved the issue of Haseo's status upon returning to Konoha. This meeting actually turned out to be pretty significant. Of course, he wouldn't hold any real office again—Konoha's highest administrative authority was the Hokage. Could anyone really expect Haseo to serve under the Hokage?
Haseo's return to Konoha essentially placed him in the role of a hidden master like the monk who sweeps the floor—seemingly unremarkable but immensely powerful. Perhaps one day he might actually pick up a broom and start sweeping various secret vaults around the village. Such an event wasn't beyond his capabilities.
A few days later, more than a week after Haseo had practically returned to Konoha, news of his comeback finally began spreading among the ninja ranks.
Strangely enough, Haseo never actually interacted with the Ninja directly. Yet once this rumor started gaining full traction throughout Konoha, people found comfort in it. Such prestige would certainly provoke envy from The Fifth—Haseo hadn't even made much of a public appearance. Information about his presence in Konoha was all deduced through a rigorous logical chain: "Lady Tsunade is in Konoha," and therefore, "Lord Haseo must be a whipped husband."
This also indicates that none of Konoha's Ninja from Haseo's era had perished. On the contrary, they should've become Konoha's core Ninja force, forming the most important part of the village's strength.
Thus, even though Haseo no longer resided in Konoha, legends of him continued to circulate there.
It also implied…
Since the biggest troublemaker had returned to Konoha, other Ninja should behave themselves now.
Moving forward in time, after hiding in Konoha like an old turtle for a while, Haseo finally arrived at Kagenami's underground base for the first time.
This was essentially a "return" nearly two decades later.
Unfortunately, not only were most of the Uzumaki Ninja stationed here unfamiliar faces, but the base itself had changed significantly… The space had expanded greatly.
The Organization had grown immensely too. Certainly, it could no longer be restricted to the former scale Haseo had previously set—limited to just sixty individuals.
The world had moved on, and so had its people.
But regardless, Haseo decided it was time to stretch his legs again. If something came up, he'd pitch in. Otherwise, he wouldn't mind stirring up a little chaos himself.
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