After leaving Konoha for a while to carry out his "daily good deed"—training Iwagakure's Five-Tails' Jinchuriki—Haseo naturally returned, settling back into a seemingly "peaceful" life.
His violent behavior had felt more like an emotional release, since he didn't continue with any pattern or follow-through afterward.
About a month after Haseo handed over the Five-Tails to Yahiko, nothing particularly significant occurred in Konoha.
The tension caused by Root and the internal unrest among the Uchiha clan had finally begun to ease. Although the losses suffered by the ninja village couldn't be quickly recovered, as long as the hidden undercurrents had subsided, Konoha wouldn't face extreme crises just because of those losses.
Konoha was a typical ninja village deeply fearful of internal chaos. As long as the inside remained stable, external pressures would never crush this village.
Therefore, now that the situation in Konoha had stabilized, Haseo's purpose in staying here had essentially been fulfilled. It was time for him to start considering finding a suitable reason and appropriate timing to leave the village.
Haseo didn't truly dislike being here; however... he no longer belonged to this era, and remaining here carried far more disadvantages than benefits.
Returning temporarily to Konoha had benefited everyone, but if Haseo stayed any longer, neither he nor Konoha itself would find it pleasant.
As the lively, walking legend known as the Fourth Hokage, his presence created immense pressure—both political and administrative—that the newly established regime simply couldn't handle.
"Distance brings beauty." It was time for Haseo to start thinking about leaving.
"Yeah, seems like you're right.
It's rare indeed for you, Haseo, to actually consider others and think about the big picture.
We've been here long enough; it's definitely time we started thinking about moving on… No matter how you look at it, your presence is far too overwhelming. In Konoha, that's not a good thing," Tsunade said.
"Why does it sound like you're not saying anything nice again? I can clearly sense a strong tone of disapproval in your words."
Tsunade's words were mostly factual. Even if she wanted to cover for Haseo in matters like this, it wouldn't be easy.
So she decided to just stick to the facts.
"I don't have any 'presence' to speak of. For most of Konoha's ninja, my return has only ever been a vague rumor. I've kept such a low profile that they can't even be certain whether I'm really here or not." Haseo wasn't convinced and offered this explanation.
Tsunade rolled her eyes. This was the first time she'd heard someone describe beating another village's Tailed Beast so hard it got kicked all the way back home as "keeping a low profile."
"I'm talking about the pressure you exert on Konoha's upper echelon. Even though you haven't actively contacted old acquaintances, merely out of courtesy, after your return to the village, just think about how many people have come to visit you—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you're secretly coordinating with the upper echelon."
"If I wanted to do something, would I really need such 'coordination'?
It was Haseo's turn to roll his eyes this time, but his "repeated action" was ineffective since Tsunade didn't even look at his expression.
"I know you think that way yourself, and I understand it's the truth, but some people don't see it like that… Hokage Fifth aside, those two advisors definitely dislike you in every way."
"Huh? Are those two old bastards still alive? These political leftovers from the 'pre-previous generation' who just occupy their positions without doing any real work—why hasn't the new Hokage gotten rid of them already? Keeping them around for entertainment like circus monkeys?"
That remark was a bit unfair though—they'd always been diligently protecting Konoha's interests.
For the Fifth Hokage, they represented a force that strengthened his ruling rather than disrupting order—although in Haseo's opinion, these two often acted like humans who refused to do human things, from Fifth's perspective, they belonged precisely to the category of "an old family member is like possessing a treasure," a common saying in some cultures.
Judging purely by strength alone, Fifth wasn't particularly powerful either, so he needed to unite every available force he could… which was also one reason why Haseo disliked staying in Konoha.
The Fifth truly was quite similar to the Third.
"Putting jokes aside, we really should leave Konoha now."
The Fifth Hokage eliminating the two Konoha advisors would cause at minimum widespread discontent—but Tsunade believed if they continued staying in Konoha, there was no telling when Haseo might suddenly decide to go kill those two old men himself.
Because continuing this way, conflicts between Haseo and the upper echelon of Konoha were inevitable. If they provoked something, wouldn't that be equivalent to asking for death?
"For better or worse," Tsunade herself didn't like those two advisors either, but she thought those two weren't deserving of death sentences. Although Haseo wasn't as reckless anymore, and he'd only been joking just now, still—with him, who could ever be sure?
As for those two old guys' current combat capabilities… better not mention it. Haseo could definitely wipe them out instantly anyway.
"So what would be our reason for leaving Konoha?" Haseo asked again.
"For example, Niyu has already finished playing here, so we're moving house?"
Ideological conformity really is a terrifying thing—Tsunade had begun frequently coming up with ideas that sounded exactly like ones Haseo would suggest.
"Great idea. I think that'll work—let's use that as our excuse."
Wouldn't it make more sense to say Niyu missed home? Even that would sound a hundred times more reasonable than this?
Anyway, thus this pair of male and female decided on leaving Konoha together, unanimously agreeing to place the blame for their departure entirely on their daughter.
But for Haseo, formulating plans and executing them had always been worlds apart. Just as they prepared to put into practice their plan to use their daughter as an excuse for leaving Konoha, a rather unusual piece of intelligence returned to Konoha.
The following morning after Haseo and Tsunade discussed this matter, Tsunade still went as usual to Konoha Hospital. When Jiraiya approached him while he sat alone atop a roof enjoying the scenery behind the streets—
And Jiraiya wore a very serious expression.
"Jiraiya, I've noticed a pattern lately… Whenever you show up before me lately, nothing good ever happens."
"If you're about to say something right now, just hold it in. I'm giving up—I'm afraid of you."
Haseo had been peacefully retired in the Land of Bears until Jiraiya's news forced him back to Konoha and into all this mess.
Looks like this guy has definitely evolved into a typical trouble magnet—at least in Haseo's eyes.
"There's an emergency, Haseo."
Jiraiya completely ignored Haseo's complaints because he knew if he started arguing, things would never end—Haseo always excelled at steering conversations off-topic with his nonsense, so when talking with him, one must be especially careful not to get dragged along.
After all these years, everyone had long since gotten used to his old tricks.
"Here we go again,"
Haseo muttered as he began speaking immediately.
"Haseo, the Fourth Kazekage is dead."
Jiraiya directly interrupted Haseo.
"...Dead again?
When did this happen?"
Hmm...
This time, Haseo didn't even have the heart for banter; indeed, this was major news... except why did he emphasize "again"?
"Well, he was lured out of Sunagakure and then attacked by Rasa, a rogue ninja from the Sand Village."
"So the Fourth Kazekage was defeated by a rogue ninja?"
"No, we don't know the details of the battle, but judging from the results, the Fourth Kazekage definitely defeated Rasa.
However afterward, he lost his life trying to save his daughter… It should've been some kind of self-sacrificing kinjutsu."
"..."
The only resurrection [Edatransference Technique] capable of bringing someone back to life must be Suna's forbidden kinjutsu.
It's just that Haseo found this confusing—who sacrifices himself to save his daughter? Wasn't Jiraiya basically retelling the story of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, instead of the Fourth Kazekage's tale?
"Additionally, Suna lost the One-Tail Shukaku—the daughter whom the Kazekage saved was the One-Tail jinchuriki several days ago—but now the jinchuriki has lost the tailed beast."
"..."
To Haseo, this event was even more impactful and symbolic than the Kazekage's death.
"I'm getting confused—what year is it exactly?"
Such a question seemed particularly senile, but Jiraiya noticed Haseo looked quite serious while saying it, so he had no choice but to reluctantly reply, "It's the fifty-eighth year since Konoha's founding."
"..."
Haseo felt even more depressed.
So after living my entire life, everything I've done throughout my life ended up pushing the world in exactly the opposite direction of what I intended?
Haseo fell into deep self-doubt.
At the same time, he also realized an undeniable truth.
Some people may live their whole lives energetically, seemingly accomplishing much, highly praising their own value as if untangling the knots of worldly chaos, returning everything to its origin and setting things straight—but such belief exists only within their self-perception.
His real role could be described in just three words:
[Stir-the-Shit Rod].
(End of this chapter)
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