Logically speaking, Kushina had just completed her first real combat experience. Her opponent was a powerful Kumo shinobi, the battle atmosphere was extremely tense, and eventually she created a scene that could be described as "bloody"… Playing with throat-cutting at such a young age is certainly quite shocking.
Therefore, as her senior and mentor, Haseo should have properly guided her afterward.
Psychological development in children is very important. What if this incident left Kushina with lifelong psychological trauma?
However, Haseo didn't do that.
It wasn't because ninja training in the Ninja Academy primarily focused on teaching how to kill people, but rather because such concepts simply hadn't crossed Haseo's mind… His emotions weren't refined enough to that extent.
Fortunately, both Kushina and Minato Namikaze, since choosing to become ninjas, possessed certain innate qualities necessary for the role… Neither of them took the bloody events of that night too seriously. If they had any reflections or regrets about that battle, it would probably be their regret at failing to eliminate the enemy successfully.
Perhaps they still didn't fully understand the gravity of killing, bloodshed, and taking others' lives. Like children unafraid of snakes, their fearlessness stemmed from ignorance… Although technically speaking, this situation likely only applied to Kushina. If Haseo had heard what Minato Namikaze said earlier, he'd realize this boy understood things very clearly.
He knew exactly who his enemy was, and he fully grasped what "taking a life" truly meant.
In many ways, an immature child can already be terrifying—in their own way. But a mature one? Even more so… Though immersed in the situation, Haseo himself hadn't realized this yet.
Anyway, if Kushina's issue was merely something she caused personally, then it might be considered innocent naivety. But if she was part of a "gang" trying to deceive Haseo, then that would constitute an actual "guilt"… Kushina's sense of righteousness definitely scored no points with Haseo.
After being caught, Kushina could only obediently explain everything truthfully.
Strictly speaking, Haseo bore some of the blame for this incident. After all, those were incredibly powerful and dangerously lethal forbidden techniques, yet he carelessly scattered them about… Even though he stored the [Senken Zesshou] scroll inside a hidden chamber, he hadn't added any safeguards to it.
In Haseo's mind, those forbidden techniques held absolutely no value for anyone other than himself. Even if someone saw them, there wouldn't really be any loss, since no one else could possibly master those jutsu anyway.
What he hadn't anticipated was elementary school students and a cat-like companion having such wildly imaginative minds—one girl and her feline partner somehow modified an S-rank forbidden technique, recklessly practicing it—and somehow succeeded. Obviously, Haseo's carelessness was where everything truly began.
But how could Haseo have foreseen all of this? Personally, he felt he was definitely not to blame. First of all, no matter how lax he might've been, the forbidden technique scroll was always kept inside the Kagenami base—a place heavily guarded and surrounded by multiple layers of barrier. Who could've imagined there would actually be a "thief from within," and that the thief was actually a cat?
Secondly, he himself acted as the judge in this case, so naturally, he ruled himself innocent.
As for the actual person—and cat—who had committed the error, they now needed to take responsibility and face punishment.
The Black Cat should primarily consider itself lucky that previously, Haseo discovered its ability to "transform"... Not into a soft and adorable bipedal creature, but rather into something massive and terrifying. So Haseo decided it was actually worth having around—not just a pet, but a real summoned beast for battle.
Otherwise, just for the crime of stealing the master's forbidden techniques at will, it would have truly deserved being chopped up and fed to the dogs.
Right now, its punishment was practically negligible.
The main target of the punishment instead became Kushina.
As for the specifics of this punishment...
Two weeks later, Kushina left Konoha Hospital. For the following month, every day between six and seven in the evening, atop a three-story building at the busiest intersection in the Uzumaki District, a horizontal pole extended outward. At the end of this pole hung a delicate little girl, with a black cat hanging upside-down shortly behind her.
Whenever a breeze passed by, the young girl—hooked by the collar at the back of her shirt—would sway like a doll in the wind.
...This became widely known afterward as the "Kushina Doll Incident."
She was so angry she could barely hold back the tears.
Even kids care about their reputation. Thanks to this public embarrassment, Kushina's formidable reputation at school went up in flames. How could she hold her head high among classmates again?
There wasn't even a need for supervision; every day, Kushina voluntarily hung herself up there.
The memory would only get worse over time—by the time she hit fifty, she'd still cringe at the thought. Maybe only at eighty could she finally feel at peace.
This was a trauma that would haunt her for life.
After such a profound punishment, Kushina never dared misuse forbidden techniques again. The effect of this punishment was absolutely effective.
Of course, this punishment came after Kushina recovered physically. When Haseo figured out exactly what had happened and left Konoha Hospital, he mostly felt a mix of laughter and helplessness.
All the imagined conspiracy theories were simply overblown imagination. In the end, it was nothing more than a case of a brat going wild again.
Still, to prevent future events like this, Haseo decided he must properly tidy up his office—removing various falsely labeled "dangerous items" and securely storing away those forbidden scrolls.
Specifically, he planned to handle this matter as follows:
Notify Uzumaki Shikou and ask her to assist with the organization.
That same night, urgently summoned, Sakumo Hatake returned to Konoha.
Haseo immediately informed him of the events that had transpired in Konoha over the past few days and assigned him a new mission… Well, actually, the mission itself remains the same — we're just shifting direction from the Eastern Front to the Northern Front. Instead of focusing on Mist, we'll be keeping an eye on Cloud.
"This time around, small-scale skirmishes are essentially inevitable. Cloud won't likely launch a large-scale offensive, and our operational range won't extend beyond the Land of Rice Fields further north.
If we must define it, our strategy remains defensive, but don't hesitate when active offense is necessary… That's precisely why you've been deployed there."
So Haseo laid out the details of the upcoming mission to Sakumo Hatake.
"If Cloud hasn't received the news yet, then we can complete our preparations first. This will be more favorable to the mission," said Sakumo Hatake.
"Exactly. But still…it'll just be on your own this time. Letting you go off always makes me feel uneasy, yet who'd have thought that all of a sudden, you're already married?" At this moment, Haseo suddenly felt like a father seeing his son off on his own.
"..."
Sakumo Hatake wasn't quite sure how to respond. He felt like he was at a disadvantage somehow, but he couldn't quite figure out why.
"You know that already, Haseo. Don't forget — I was already taking lives before you even became a ninja."
"I just said something casually. Why do you sound like a grade-school student fussing about seniority?"
Sakumo joined the war effort at a very young age — back when Haseo was still someone who could easily lose his life at any moment. Back then, Sakumo himself was still just a genin, while Haseo had already begun operating throughout the entire Ninjutsu World, all while Sakumo's strength was still on the rise. By the time he fully matured, Sakumo had followed Haseo constantly, meaning his own brilliance was overshadowed by Haseo's radiance.
Therefore, Sakumo's reputation didn't match his actual power; in fact, someone of his caliber remaining practically "unknown" was rather strange.
Consider that the fame of the Sannin was already nearly world-renowned.
Yet, this worked to his advantage. With the Sannin ahead and Sakumo behind, he posed no threat. People always judged based on first impressions. Besides…unless Sakumo could decisively defeat the Raikage in battle, his prestige would never surpass that of the Sannin, who had been built up by Haseo and the Third Hokage.
In short, while the recognition of 'Sakumo Hatake' comes a little late, it actually works in his favor — he'll remain relatively safe within Konoha precisely because people underestimate him.
"To recognize your ability to operate independently, I've decided to officially grant you the title of 'White Fang of Konoha.'"
Though he told Sakumo not to dwell on experience and seniority, Haseo still acted like an older mentor… Well, okay, despite having less service time, Haseo indeed was older than Sakumo.
Besides, Sakumo was leading missions solo by the age of nine.
"Listen, Haseo, a real ninja shouldn't dwell on titles. Even if names or codenames exist, they're usually ones the enemy gives to identify a specific ninja… Coming up with one yourself feels genuinely shameful."
"So, do you hate this title?"
"No, it's embarrassing, but I can accept it. I mean... I actually like it."
Then why even ask? Sounds like classic "actions speak louder than words" to me.
Three days later, the Konoha Ninja led by Sakumo Hatake set off from the village toward the Land of Rice Fields.
Year 32 of Konoha: due to the Cloud Ninja assassinating all the envoys sent by Konoha, both sides blamed each other, eventually leading to the collapse of the more-than-a-decade-long alliance between Konoha and Cloud.
Shortly afterward, Cloud declared war on both Rock and Konoha, stepping straight into the quagmire of war.
In the same year, a Ninja named Sakumo Hatake began to "rise to prominence," but before enemy nations could even fully grasp his rising fame, the [Legend of the White Fang] had already shaken the entire Ninjutsu World.
Things escalated too quickly.
On the battlefield, no one could ignore the presence of this Konoha Ninja.
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