Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

During wartime, each ninja village followed similar cold-blooded rules—for example, "mission first, sacrificing teammates when necessary," and so on. Honestly speaking, Haseo saw nothing wrong with these regulations at all. Ninja villages functioned like war machines; without such ruthless rules, how could anyone expect ninjas to act kindly toward one another?

Later, Sakumo Hatake sacrificed the mission to save his teammates—a move emotionally admirable—and his subsequent fate was indeed pitiable. However, if strictly evaluated in terms of right and wrong, there was no doubt that Sakumo Hatake's decision had been wrong.

Ninjas were required to take their own lives when necessary; sacrificing a teammate, then, was even more acceptable. Overall, at least for now, Haseo definitely had no intention of rebelling against the principles of being a ninja.

Two days after this conversation between Haseo and the Hokage, his squad officially began serving as temporary guards for the Hokage. Their first assignment was to escort the Hokage back to Konoha together with three remaining squads. At the time, the frontline situation was not urgent, so it posed no problem for the Hokage to return to the village.

Meanwhile, Sansho—who had lingered at the frontline for quite some time—also returned to the village alongside them.

The Hokage planned to stay in the village for a while, intending to resolve the previous issues involving the Uchiha clan... Of course, he didn't intend to launch any post-conflict retaliation. Given Sarutobi's abilities and prestige, he lacked the power to fully hold the massive Uchiha clan accountable. Therefore, his strategy remained primarily one of pacification and appeasement.

Compared to the Second Hokage's authoritarian rule, the Third Hokage's attitude toward the Uchiha could be described as much calmer. He tried his best to treat the Uchiha clan fairly across the board, so this approach of calming them down was likely to prove effective...

But as for whether the Third Hokage truly liked the Uchiha personally? Haseo doubted it. Because if he put himself in the Hokage's position, he wouldn't particularly like a family like the Uchiha either—so independent-minded, frequently clashing with the rest of the village, placing extreme emphasis on blood ties, and highly exclusionary by nature.

A single ninja sect [Ninja Sect] maintained such a high level of independence within the village that even the Hokage's decrees hardly took effect among its members... No leader would genuinely appreciate subordinates like that.

If the Uchiha refuse to change, then no matter which Hokage comes into power, they'd naturally want to eliminate them at the earliest opportunity. The only reason this isn't done is simply out of fear of their formidable strength.

After returning to Konoha, the Hokage immediately went directly to visit the Uchiha Clan. In such a scenario, Jiraiya and Haseo's squad had no need to follow him, so upon returning to the village they received permission for free movement.

Haseo's companions, on the other hand, seemed quite pleased with this situation. They had barely left the village, and already another break came their way.

As for Haseo himself, he was taken away by Sansho.

They wove through street after street until finally reaching a deserted part of town—a place Haseo had never seen before. Further ahead stood a rather grand mansion, yet it appeared entirely cold and desolate.

In an instant, Haseo understood. This was the mansion of the Senju, a symbol of the clan's former majesty.

"These days, hardly anyone comes around here anymore," Sansho explained to Haseo as she pointed toward the estate. "The bigger a place is, the faster it falls apart if no one's living in it." As she looked in that direction, her eyes held a complex mix of emotions—just a trace of comfort, but more than anything else, loneliness.

Haseo could understand how Sansho felt. Wasn't this exactly what people meant by "those once mighty families now long gone"?

This must have been where Sansho grew up. Perhaps she hadn't lived here since childhood, but a large part of her life had definitely been spent among these walls.

The emotion on Sansho's face disappeared as quickly as it had surfaced. She walked forward and pushed open the great doors before leading Haseo deeper into the compound. Soon, they arrived at a room deep within the estate.

"Sansho-sama."

Several masked ninja stood guard here. As soon as Sansho appeared, they revealed themselves. A few pairs of eyes shifted toward Haseo, though none of them commented on his presence as an outsider.

Although all wore masks obscuring their faces, instinctively, Haseo felt their aura wasn't like that of Anbu ninja… No, naturally, they weren't Anbu. They should be ninja of the Senju clan.

"You've all done well up to this point," Sansho said to the gathered ninja. "As of today… the Senju clan's last duty has been fulfilled."

"…Yes, Sansho-sama."

After a long, eerie silence, the ninja eventually accepted her command wordlessly and turned, leaving the place without another sound.

Sansho sat silently on the steps outside the room. After a long silence, she finally turned to Haseo and spoke. "Haseo, you know what? For a long time, I feared someone among my more radical clansmen would try to kill me… Even those few who just left might suddenly turn back and strike me down without hesitation.

Yet in reality, nothing like that has ever happened to me…

The restraint shown toward me by this clan—even though they regarded me as a traitor—wasn't solely because of the previous leader's reputation protecting me. It was because they endured unimaginable suffering, allowing them to understand that, despite hating my actions, my decisions were ultimately correct. This kind of self-restraint pains me far more than any assassination born from rage. Do you understand?"

Sansho erased the name of the Senju, once legendary throughout the Ninja World, so she branded herself a traitor, half-expecting her own clansmen to strike her down. Yet in truth, hiding the identity of the entire Senju clan was actually a collective decision. The sins she carried were only superficial.

The Senju were gone; or perhaps more accurately, they had simply adopted a new identity—Konoha.

"I think I can roughly understand what you mean, Sansho-sensei," Haseo replied sympathetically. Although he could feel her pain, being not truly a member of the Senju clan meant there were still many things he couldn't fully grasp from personal experience.

"Let's stop with these pointless complaints. Come with me."

Although Haseo's comprehension and reassurance didn't really help, Sansho still managed to pull herself together. She stood up once more, opened the door to the room, and immediately several large chests came into Haseo's view.

"All the [Secret Arts], ninjutsu, and various research materials accumulated over countless years by the Senju clan were passed on to the village. What you see here is merely a small backup portion of that collection. These were originally meant to be destroyed, but in the end, I just couldn't bring myself to do it… You placed Katsuyu's Contract Scroll inside Shikkotsu Forest, right? Then let these items also be sealed away within that hidden realm." Sansho stepped forward and patted one of the large chests as she spoke.

Haseo was beginning to understand. If he hadn't previously brought the Contract Scroll into Shikkotsu Forest, these valuable backup records would certainly have already been destroyed.

Sansho had her reasons for trusting him, but Haseo still had to prove he was worthy of that trust and responsibility.

Compared to the vast legacy the Senju left for Konoha, what lay before Haseo was naturally just a small fragment. Still, since these items were kept specifically as a backup, they must contain the most crucial knowledge.

"Take these things into Shikkotsu Forest. You've been curious about it, haven't you? This will give you a chance to explore this so-called hidden sanctuary… Perhaps someday, when the time comes, you can reveal parts of the Senju clan heritage to Tsunade or someone equally worthy." Finally, Sansho removed her hand from the chest and never looked back at the closely guarded secrets of the Senju.

"…I understand, Sansho-sensei."

Haseo opened his mouth, wanting to say more, yet ultimately, all he could offer was this simple acknowledgment.

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