Under the cool night sky, starlight and pale light poured cold-toned illumination across the land. Smears of blood lay splattered on the ground, releasing warm vapor into the chill before rapidly solidifying into a far more repulsive gel-like state.
The sharp clinking of thin metal lasted only briefly, after which the surroundings returned to their former stillness.
Though he had trained continuously for twenty years—as a self-proclaimed rookie—Haseo found dealing with enemies like this required no elaborate techniques at all. With merely a few fluid flicks of his Long Blade, and an encounter so brief it could not have been any shorter, he achieved exactly what he wanted:
One slash, one life; one step, one kill.
Haseo shook off the blood clinging to his Long Blade before sheathing the trusted weapon at his waist.
Yet not all enemies had fallen. Of the twelve Mist Ninja, one remained alive… This was intentional—a deliberately spared informant.
You might consider yourself lucky. I've got a few quick questions for you.
After sheathing his weapon, Haseo casually walked toward him, asking the question in a tone as if he were catching up with an old acquaintance, completely ignoring the massacre behind and the corpses scattered at their feet.
Being captured was worse than just dying—by every measure. Although dying outright was undoubtedly unfortunate, surviving here could hardly be called "lucky" either.
Yet facing Haseo—who had effortlessly wiped out all his comrades—the sole surviving Mist Ninja showed not even a trace of fear. After Haseo finished speaking, the man's expression first turned scornfully mocking, then twisted into something brutally savage.
Then suddenly, he ignited the explosive tags attached to his chest and lunged straight at Haseo without hesitation.
S-Suicide attack?
This unexpected action momentarily startled Haseo. Truthfully, he probably could have prevented the [Self-Destruction] and preserved his potential informant. But… why go through the trouble?
After all, the information he sought wasn't that important, and there would surely be plenty more informants like this in the future. This guy held absolutely no unique value.
So, arcs of [Lightning Release] flared from Haseo's body. Dodging the reckless charge with ease, he passed right by the Mist Ninja and quickly strode forward.
In the next moment, the Lightning Release around him vanished, and his pace slowed to a normal walk—he had already returned to the temporary Konoha shelter camp he had set up earlier.
Boom!
Only then did a violent crimson burst erupt exactly where the explosion had taken place.
Enemies might indeed be fearless to the point of death, but somehow, the blast radius still fell short of being sufficient.
Lord Haseo, were the enemies... dealt with already?
Haseo left and came back in the blink of an eye. Most people couldn't even catch a glimpse of the battle—only the sound of the explosion reached them, serving as their only clue to what had happened.
He looked exactly the same as before, except now carrying a faint trace of blood clinging to his body.
"Yeah, that's handled... My movements were a bit slow, I'll admit. But it's understandable—I've been deeply focused on training and cultivation lately. In fact, it's been quite some time since I last stepped onto the battlefield or engaged in frontline combat firsthand.
This long break has made me a little rusty. You could say I'm still getting back into the groove. It'll take some time for me to regain my original sense of fighting."
"N-Now you're saying you're a... rookie??"
What Haseo said made sense, but the longer he talked, the more uneasy it made others feel.
"Hmm."
Haseo glanced back at where the fight had just occurred. From his first impression upon encountering the Mist ninja again, they seemed overly aggressive and fanatical. Honestly, such fanaticism was clearly out of the ordinary.
Take that last remaining Mist ninja, for instance—he clearly meant to say, "I can die right in front of you. How does that make you feel? Scared, aren't you?"
Though that enemy desperately wished this display would instill fear into Haseo, unfortunately, instead of feeling frightened, Haseo found the enemy's behavior and attitude rather foolish.
Unable to suppress enemies through strength yet hoping your final act might strike terror? What made him worthy of wearing that mocking expression?
Perhaps it truly was because Mist had suffered heavy losses from the previous explosions, combined with years of suppression policies enforced by the Third Mizukage. As a result, the Mist ninja were experiencing an especially strong backlash—particularly after breaking through Konoha's defensive lines, their mental state appeared even more radicalized.
They reminded Haseo somewhat of the Amegakure ninja during the First Great Ninja War. However, there remained notable differences:
Firstly, although those Rain ninja also disregarded their lives, they fought within a context of defending their homeland. Much of their actions had been out of necessity; fundamentally speaking, they risked everything simply to defeat invaders. But how about the current Mist ninja? The situation was clearly different.
Secondly, the Land of Rain had always been a small country with limited territory and modest military power. To prevent being swallowed up entirely, they had no choice but to appear "extreme." However, Mist was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, yet they adopted aggressive tactics akin to terrorist-like strategies—an approach beneath their dignity, effectively showing regression instead of progress.
Moreover, their style differed greatly from Kumo's and Iwagakure's offensive doctrines. There was a clear distinction between a village's consistent fighting tradition and sudden extreme aggression.
Real ferocity and staged intimidation—those two things couldn't be more different. Truthfully, Haseo didn't feel intimidated by Mist at all, nor did he approve of their current tactics... In the context of a ninja war, mere retaliation amounted to little more than childish behavior.
"If that's the case, then I think I've got a good idea..."
At this moment, Haseo was having some "interesting" thoughts.
"Can you guys guess whether Mist will bring a Jinchuriki to the Front Line?" He then asked those nearby.
"..."
This wasn't an easy question to answer. But in everyone's opinion, it seemed unlikely.
By dawn, there had been no second attack on the temporary camp. As more Konoha ninja gathered here, more available personnel were dispatched to guide the scattered Konoha ninja toward the camp, allowing them to regroup at a faster pace—it became a positive cycle.
Preserving the Medical Ninja proved immediately valuable. Although a lot of supplies had been left behind during the evacuation, the skills and healing chakra of these medics alone were enough to save many wounded lives.
After some time passed, around morning, Haseo finally saw the return of Danzo Shimura from the battlefield... Surprisingly, the man had survived, despite his earlier defeat.
One Root agent carried Danzo on his back, while four other operatives guarded him closely.
Danzo was covered in blood and clearly severely wounded. His face was pale, one eye (the exposed one) remained shut tightly, and he looked like he had fainted.
Haseo stepped closer for a look, thinking—if he tried to reach out and remove the man's eyepatch right now, would Danzo suddenly wake up?
Perhaps Danzo was merely pretending to be unconscious, trying to avoid the awkwardness of facing Haseo. It was childish, yeah, but even a loser has his pride. How to phrase this?
Oh...
Running away might be shameful, but it works.
Still, Haseo decided to show some respect toward Director Danzo. He slapped a written order onto the Root operative and said,
"Since Director Danzo has suffered serious injuries and can no longer command the eastern front effectively, Third Hokage has temporarily reassigned me to take over this battlefield.
For Danzo's safety, escort him back to the village as soon as possible."
There was no need to verify the order—everyone knew it was genuine. Haseo was obviously sent here to clean up the mess. Only someone mad enough would dare challenge him now.
That would only mean further offending the Konoha ninja protected by Haseo.
So the Root operatives silently accepted the order, bowed slightly to Haseo, and continued their journey, protecting Shimura Danzo as they headed back toward Konoha.
Even if Danzo stayed at this temporary camp, he could definitely receive treatment—but naturally, he understood that he needed to leave the Front Line as soon as possible. Not just because of the shame from the defeat he had suffered...
But also because one Front Line didn't need two supreme commanders.
At least not in Haseo's view.
Maybe on the Western Front, the Sannin could work together against Sunagakure, but such unity would be impossible between Haseo and Danzo. First and foremost was the undeniable barrier standing between them...
Were these two childhood friends?
To sum it up...
Whatever.
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