Just as Tsunade entered Shikkotsu Forest, Haseo had already departed from Konoha, heading toward the eastern border of the Land of Fire to carry out a new mission.
At this time, the western front conflict had already concluded, so Haseo needed to head eastward.
But compared to the fierce warfare on the western front during this Great Ninja World War, the eastern border of the Land of Fire had remained far more stable… Here, at most, there were only quiet tensions brewing beneath the surface.
Geographically speaking, the western and northwestern regions of the Land of Fire had always been especially complex and chaotic. Not only were there numerous small nations, but beyond them lay a powerful country known for its aggressiveness.
The eastern side, however, was different—facing the sea, it had nothing but water along its coastline.
On the continent, only two small countries bordered the eastern edge of the Land of Fire: the Land of Iron to the northeast, and the Land of Bears to the southeast.
The Land of Iron was a very unique country. Among smaller nations, its territory was only slightly smaller than that of the Land of River and the Land of Frost. More importantly, it was a "Samurai Country" with little connection to the Ninja World. According to an agreement between the major nations and ninja villages, ninjas would never attack this nation under any circumstances. Therefore, the Land of Iron functioned somewhat like a permanent neutral state.
Strictly speaking though, in today's era where ninjas dominated, samurais should have been relics of a previous age. Additionally, the current terrain of the Land of Iron consisted entirely of highland glaciers. Thus, despite the years of war during the Great Ninja War, all sides still respected their agreement and avoided disturbing this nation.
To put it plainly, this was a nation already half-dead—there was no need for ninja to act against it at all.
As for the Land of Bears in the southeast direction, it was a minor nation without its own ninja village, so it wasn't even worth mentioning.
Since the start of the Great Ninja War, the hidden treachery along the eastern front of the Land of Fire hadn't really involved these smaller nations. Rather, it primarily stemmed from Mist Village in the Land of Water across the sea… Separated by fire and water respectively, both sides seemed incompatible. Yet oddly enough, during this war, Konoha and Mist had not actually engaged directly—they had only remained locked in a standoff.
Recently however, when Konoha launched its Rain Offensive, Mist suddenly became highly active again, forcing Konoha to respond accordingly by increasing maritime surveillance.
During that period, Haseo happened to disappear into the Land of Rain. Consequently, his original teammates were reassigned to the eastern front to handle such monitoring tasks. Now, Haseo had arrived here to rejoin them.
Once the Rain Campaign ended, Mist's covert activities also began to subside, which meant that Haseo's arrival here really felt like a break from active duty. After all, this current surveillance duty was relatively low-intensity.
Konoha also held a key strategic advantage on the Eastern Front—the Land of Whirlpools, lying directly between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.
Because the Uzumaki clan maintained close ties with Konoha, and because the Land of Whirlpools bordered the Land of Fire while blocking the central part of its coastline, it could serve continuously as the gateway to the Land of Fire during wartime.
Konoha ninjas operating on the Eastern Front received support from the Land of Whirlpools, both in intelligence and material aid. The two nations were practically inseparable, united as if by a shared heartbeat.
Barriers, seals, scouting, and even combat tactics—the Uzumaki clan's expertise was uniquely outstanding. They were, without a doubt, Konoha's most reliable support.
After leaving Konoha, Haseo spent two days crossing the border and arrived at the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire. There, in a small outpost perched atop a seaside cliff, he reunited with his former teammates. Judging from how much time he had taken to travel, it was clear that his current mission didn't seem particularly urgent or demanding.
"Long time no see, Captain."
The other members expressed excitement upon seeing him again—they were nearly ready to rush forward and hug him individually. Of course, they had every reason to feel grateful and emotional; after all, the last time they parted ways, it was Haseo who single-handedly stayed behind in the Land of Rain covering their retreat, risking his life to give them a chance to survive. If such an act couldn't stir feelings of gratitude within them, then they must be truly heartless.
Later, due to his prolonged absence, they assumed their captain had perished in the Land of Rain—a thought that brought sorrow. Eventually, while taking on a new mission at the Eastern Front, still deep in grief, they received a letter from Haseo, which revealed not only was he alive but positively energetic.
Only now, after the Amegakure Campaign came to an end, did their squad finally get a chance to reunite.
"Yeah... feels like it's really been a while," Haseo said to his teammates.
It wasn't merely because some time had passed since the team split up; during this period, Haseo himself had experienced many things, making his sense of "longing" far stronger than that of his fellow squad members.
Haseo's gaze swept across the small outpost. The living facilities here were extremely simple. The only somewhat special feature was several cages placed by a window, each housing a hawk or falcon. Since carrying out scouting missions naturally required ways to transmit intelligence, these birds represented the most important ninja tools.
"Captain, we've all heard about your exploits on the battlefield in Amegakure. Actually managing to assassinate the leader of Amegakure? That's no ordinary feat for just any ninja." After their emotions calmed slightly, Renjiro spoke thus.
He was startled for a moment before realizing they were praising him. "Have things really been exaggerated to this degree?"
He looked toward Nagisa Nara and Chichio, who both nodded at the same time. "Isn't that exactly what happened, Hayase?"
Haseo shook his head, then clarified, "Not quite accurate. Although, in outcome, the Amegakure leader indeed died from my fatal strike, prior to that, he'd already become someone doomed to die anyway… His death was simply the result of internal conflict in Amegakure—an inevitable outcome of his own stubbornness leading to his downfall. What does that have to do with me?"
I just happened to be the one who cut off his head—that's all.
The truth was that it was Hanzo of the Rain Village's backstab that truly killed the Amegakure leader. In truth, the leader had essentially brought about his own destruction. If he hadn't stubbornly insisted on fighting Konoha to the bitter end and had instead been pragmatic enough to seek a peace treaty with them, then regardless of whether or not Hanzo himself understood the broader implications of peace, at the very least, he wouldn't have gotten such a perfect opening to strike.
Thus, even if we were to stretch things greatly, Haseo could not claim credit for the Amegakure leader's death. At most, his actions could only be described as desecrating a corpse.
Desecrating a corpse—what kind of fucking honor is that?
"Anyway, enough about me. How's your mission going?"
"No issues. It's just routine patrols every day. The Mist has quieted down… for now."
As Nagisa Nara said this, he glanced toward Haseo. Then, whether because of a sudden memory or some unspoken thought, his voice trailed off uncertainly.
The Mist had been quiet before Haseo arrived. What would happen now that he was here? No one could say for sure. Still… they could brace themselves mentally, couldn't they?
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