Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

"Regarding Sunagakure, do you have any specific news?"

"Specific intelligence? That's not something ninja of our level can access. But think about it...with the sudden loss of the Second Kazekage, they should still be in internal chaos. However, external pressures combined with their own crisis will likely lead them to rapidly regroup and unify. It's said that due to its weakened state after losing battles against Konoha, and hearing this information, Iwagakure—who is intensely fighting against Kumo—suddenly dispatched large groups of ninja heading northward, clearly aiming to invade the Land of Wind."

While returning from their patrol mission, Haseo was casually chatting with his teammates. As war veterans themselves, they naturally paid close attention to changes in the battlefield situation. However, even if Haseo could loosely be considered as having some kind of backing, he still wouldn't have access to that level of critical strategic intelligence.

According to official statements, teams like Haseo's were supposed to operate only in the northern part of the Land of Rivers. In reality though, they had already begun tentatively infiltrating into the Land of Rain; crossing borders was now commonplace. Although nothing particularly unusual occurred, Haseo's team had just returned from the Land of Rain.

By shifting focus toward the Land of Rain, the Third Hokage's strategic intent was now unmistakable—let the other villages fight among themselves as they pleased. Once Konoha finished dealing with Ame, it planned on completely withdrawing from this prolonged Great Ninja World War.

Iwagakure reasserting dominance over Sunagakure essentially meant giving Konoha a major advantage. By reducing troop deployments along the border with the Land of Wind, Konoha indirectly relieved pressure on Sunagakure. Yet now Iwa intended invasion, so Sunagakure would definitely shift most of its forces to defend against Iwagakure.

Though emotionally Sunagakure held more resentment toward Konoha, national strategy couldn't simply be determined by personal emotions. Quite the opposite—the more they hated Konoha, the less likely they'd provoke Konoha actively in the future.

Since succeeding to become the Third Hokage, aside from initially struggling during the beginning phase, Hiruzen Sarutobi had performed exceptionally well. While he hadn't devised any brilliant strategies, employing steady, solid progression perfectly reflected his personality—stable and mature. At this point, Konoha had clearly become the most advantageous among the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Now, one could confidently say that Hiruzen fully deserved the trust placed in him by both The First and The Second.

This overall optimistic outlook was visible to every Konoha ninja—the war was finally turning in their favor. Yet precisely because Konoha stood near the end of the war, they needed to remain vigilant, never slackening efforts; otherwise, everything would crumble at the final stage, leaving nothing but lifelong regret.

The pressure of 'one wrong move losing the entire game' fell on the shoulders of the player with the strongest position. Though no party could truly win this war, Konoha simply could not afford a defeat.

Thus, top to bottom, Konoha maintained a strong sense of urgency at the tactical level, especially for newer battlefield recruits like Haseo, who had just recently arrived at the frontlines.

Haseo also had a nagging feeling that the conflict between Konoha and Amegakure wouldn't go down quite as objectively as one might expect… He faintly recalled that during what would later become known as the Second Great Ninja War, Amegakure, under the leadership of Hanzo of the Rain Village, had declared war one after another on the three great countries—the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Fire—and for a considerable period fought all three at once, stubbornly resisting their combined assaults without falling.

That a small ninja village could shine so brightly in such a massive war was unimaginable under the current circumstances of the ninja world. At the time, the three great ninja villages launched invasion wars against Ame, while Ame defended itself using its unique geography and climate, counterattacking when possible. Eventually, though Ame fell into long-term internal chaos after being ravaged by the three great villages post-war, that war ultimately established Hanzo of the Rain's legendary reputation.

Amegakure hadn't yet grown as powerful as it would become later, but since Hanzo had already started gaining influence on the battlefield, Haseo held cautious expectations about Konoha's future operations against the Rain Village… Although in the end, his opinion didn't really matter—after all, it wasn't like he could actually recommend to the Third Hokage that they send someone into Amegakure before Hanzo rose to power and simply take him out?

That was completely impossible.

However, after Haseo's squad returned to the Konoha base, he received news that the Hokage had issued orders for him to report immediately for an audience upon completing his mission… This command left Haseo somewhat puzzled—he couldn't figure out why the Hokage wanted to see him.

Still, orders were orders. Before he even had time to think deeply about it, he was already escorted toward the Hokage's tent.

"Hokage-sama, did you summon me for something?"

The tent where the Third Hokage resided appeared no different from other tents within the camp. When Haseo arrived there, he found the Hokage buried in paperwork. Interrupting him so suddenly seemed impolite.

Certainly inappropriate. So he simply spoke up without hesitation.

Given how Sansho treated him, Haseo honestly didn't think the Third Hokage would act against his interests… After all, the prestige of the Senju clan must be respected by its disciples.

If seen that way, weren't both the Third and Haseo essentially cut from the same cloth?

Well, technically or not, they were from completely different generations anyway.

Upon seeing Haseo arrive, the Third Hokage signaled him to wait briefly. Not until half an hour later, after finishing the work at hand, did he finally have time to speak to Haseo regarding certain matters.

"When I was young," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, putting down his brush and organizing the documents on the desk, "I always thought being Hokage meant playing a mighty and imposing role. But now that I've actually become Hokage, most of my job turns out to be bureaucratic work like this."

See? This was how the Hokage conversed. Unlike Haseo's direct approach, the Third Hokage didn't come straight to the point about why he'd summoned him. Instead, he always started with minor details from daily life, especially when dealing with younger ninja. He tried to connect with you, making sure you understood him while also seeking to understand and care for you—like a warm spring breeze that nurtures life without making a sound.

This was definitely not brainwashing, yet he truly hoped to cultivate these youths into the talents that Konoha needed... Because he had too little contact with Sarutobi, Haseo didn't know whether this was a habit Sarutobi developed only after becoming Hokage, or if it had always been his nature.

Still, Haseo gave a nod, understanding where the Hokage was coming from. As the supreme leader of a military organization, the time the Hokage spent buried in paperwork must certainly far exceed the time spent charging through battlefields.

"Was the First Hokage like this too?" Understanding in theory, but still curious, Haseo couldn't help asking, because it was difficult for him to imagine the First actually doing such truly Hokage-like work.

Predictably, the Third Hokage's expression froze instantly. "Ahem, the First... Well, the First was different from ordinary people. When he was Hokage, these kinds of duties were all handed over to the Second to handle."

The First Hokage, with his cheerful and carefree personality, probably wouldn't have wanted to deal with official documents even if he had tried. Moreover, the Second likely wouldn't have trusted him with such tasks anyway... Besides, he absolutely wouldn't have wanted to do this kind of work at all.

All things considered, aside from the usual Uchiha troubles, the First Hokage was quite comfortable in his position. He only handled matters that required decisive action, while leaving all the dirty and exhausting work entirely to his younger brother... Frankly speaking, even though the Second had a gloomy disposition, from the First's point of view, that younger brother really was quite endearing.

Since Haseo had brought up the First Hokage, the Third momentarily seemed lost in memories, but quickly regained his composure and continued speaking to Haseo. "By the way, how was your recent mission inspecting the Land of Rain? Did you find anything?"

"No, everything was normal in the Land of Rain. We didn't find anything significant along the way... Nor did we encounter any enemies." Haseo replied, shaking his head.

"I see?" The Hokage fell silent again, seemingly contemplating the current battlefield situation. Snapping out of it, he then explained why he'd summoned Haseo. "I called you here today isn't for anything particularly urgent; I simply plan to assign your squad as my personal bodyguards for the coming period."

"Huh?"

Haseo was utterly confused—acting as the Hokage's guards? With a rookie squad like theirs, if real danger occurred, who would end up protecting whom?

"Just us four from Haseo Squad?" Immediately, Haseo asked the crucial question.

The Hokage smiled—an expression that seemed to say, "If I chose you, then I fully trust you to fulfill this responsibility."

Influenced by the Hokage's smile, Haseo found himself smiling too. What a warm and inspiring feeling it was to be trusted by an important figure!

Then, the Hokage continued, "Of course...

Not just your squad."

The clouds cleared and the rain stopped—just like that.

"..."

Haseo genuinely wanted to slap himself. F*ck, what the hell was I smiling about? Did I lose my mind or something?

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