Fortunately, the doctor was just out of breath. He continued immediately, "But your condition isn't that serious. Compared to when you arrived at the hospital, within just a few hours, the traces on your body have slightly faded. They'll disappear soon enough."
Could things really be this simple? Haseo wore an expression of doubt.
"If you're still worried about your condition," the doctor added upon noticing Haseo's concern, "the best advice I can give is for you to control your chakra as soon as possible. Using your own energy to resist external corrosion is the standard method for dealing with this."
"I understand." With things having been said this plainly, Haseo could only nod in agreement.
Chakra, ninja... everything felt too unfamiliar. While Haseo did know something about Hokage and the Ninja World, his knowledge came solely from manga he read in his previous life during adolescence. Considering how vague his memories had become by now, could those comic pages' limited visuals and scripts truly reflect the vast information contained within an entire world?
Therefore, Haseo understood that his memories could serve merely as reference points, not as the foundation for understanding this new reality.
"You can rest assuredly here in the hospital. After all, someone like you—a rare specimen—has significant research value." The doctor half-joked. Medical ninjas were among the busiest, so he couldn't afford to hang around chatting with Haseo all day. Before turning to leave, though, as if suddenly remembering something, he pulled out a small glass bottle from his pocket.
"Oh right, this is the embedded object we removed from your body earlier—you might want it as a souvenir." With that, the doctor left the ward.
Haseo stared blankly at the glass bottle. At its bottom lay a thin layer of tiny blade fragments. Some were as large as fingernails while the smaller ones looked exactly like trimmed nails.
Looking at these shards, suddenly he realized something—the ninja tools inside him when attacked by The Second belonged originally to Kumo's rogue ninja brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku. He couldn't recall their exact names anymore, but he did remember they dated back to the founder of the Ninjutsu World.
Whether the gourd or the cleaver, both were made and used by the Sage of Six Paths.
Perhaps because of metal fatigue or simply past their warranty due to age, those two artifacts shattered under The Second's Water Dragon Blast... In this world, however, existed one rule: anything connected with the Sage of Six Paths would either turn out extremely good or catastrophically bad.
At that moment, Haseo's entire body had been filled with shattered fragments from those tools, not to mention every previous owner liked sticking random strange objects into them...
In short, right now Haseo wasn't even particularly worried about chakra corrosion—he was more concerned about a toxic mix-up from all that debris inside him.
Thinking thus, Haseo gently pulled aside a bandage on his body. Beneath it, the fine wound also showed those same blackened marks of corrosion.
So his worst fear had come true after all?
Haseo already knew things wouldn't be that simple. Still, for now, all he could do was hope—hope that the situation would unfold like the doctor had just said: that those traces would soon vanish on their own.
His concerns weren't unfounded—they were logical and well-reasoned. The problem, though, was that his worries might have been looking too far ahead. The crisis wouldn't only emerge in the future—it would strike immediately as well.
Not long after the doctor left the ward, another unexpected visitor arrived.
"Haseo…that's your name, right?"
"You're…?" Haseo recognized the familiar face in front of him but quickly masked his shock, feigning ignorance about the man's identity—Danzo Shimura, Konoha's burning shadows. Of course, at this age, he hadn't yet reached the level of infamy he'd later obtain. Still, there was something unsettling about his expression.
"Danzo Shimura," the man introduced himself before stating his purpose. "Needless to say, Haseo, your arrival—and news of The Second—is a matter of great significance not only to Konoha but to the entire Ninja World."
"No, no, it couldn't possibly be that important…"
Danzo Shimura directly cut through his unnecessary modesty. "This isn't praise; I'm simply stating a fact. At this critical juncture in the Great Ninja World War, a major event occurred—one capable of shifting the war's tide. Whether it's the alliance between Kumo and Konoha or the worsening relations following the passing of the Hokage and Raikage, these are world-altering developments. Right now, you're the only one who actually knows what happened during that alliance ceremony."
"Not only information regarding the Hokage, but also concerning the Raikage, and even Rogue Ninja Kinkaku and Ginkaku who attacked him—this is exactly the intelligence every hidden village desires…And now, it's all in your hands."
The more Haseo listened, the more uneasy he felt. He couldn't help but frown. "Wait, aside from the Hokage's whereabouts, I really don't know anything about the other matters you mentioned."
What Haseo said was indeed the truth. However, such an explanation sounded powerless in Danzo's ears. As expected, Danzo continued unperturbed, "No, as long as Konoha believes you know everything, then in the eyes of other villages, you will know everything…Once you shared the Hokage-related intelligence, whether you liked it or not, events were already spiraling out of your control."
"I'm just a nobody..."
"Kumo, Kirigakure, Sunagakure—at all times, both wartime and peacetime, Konoha sends spies into enemy and potentially hostile villages. Likewise, those villages also infiltrate Konoha with their own spies. No matter how strictly you guard against it, this kind of activity can never be fully eradicated."
"In other words…I've unknowingly become bait already?"
" said Haseo. By this point, Danzo's intentions had become crystal clear. "In order to uncover exactly what occurred during the Alliance Ceremony, assess the future relationship between Konoha and Kumo, and further predict the direction of the upcoming war, spies from other villages hiding in Konoha will surely target me — the 'truth-keeper', won't they?"
However, the situation ultimately developed beyond Haseo's expectations.
Danzo Shimura did not directly answer his question. Instead, he said, "Spies have no reason to ignore such critical intelligence, even if it means facing the risk of exposure... correspondingly, when they start moving, that will be the perfect moment for Konoha to eliminate them."
His eyes gleamed with a strange light, and his tone wasn't one of discussion at all — it was nothing more than the announcement of a "set plan."
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