Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

After revealing her identity, the servant girl first stole a glance at Haseo before quickly slipping her hand into her robe. She pulled out a small note and swiftly placed it in Haseo's palm.

Then she tidied herself up rapidly, bowed to Haseo and others, and without hesitation, retreated back into the darkness from where she came, slipping past the area guarded by the Konoha ninjas.

She came and went just like that — in the blink of an eye. If not for that whispered cipher still echoing in his ears, and the lingering warmth and smooth touch of the note in his hand, Haseo might suspect she was just a ghost and nothing had truly happened.

Under the dim night light, Haseo carefully unrolled the tiny slip and read its contents — then quickly crumpled it shut again.

"Why would she give you the intelligence?" His companions were just as confused about what had happened. Tsunade voiced the question first, clearly criticizing the maid's judgment.

Tsunade naturally wanted to see what was on that paper, but Haseo had already hidden the note away — a clear sign he had no intention of letting anyone else find out.

"Because I look more reliable? Like the leader here, with obvious leadership vibes," Haseo answered. And well… that explanation was basically just fluff.

The truth was, since Haseo had been the one exchanging codes earlier with her, of course the maid would hand it over directly to him. It was simply because he was the one who had exchanged codes with her earlier.

"First off, let's establish something — we were just shooting the breeze a minute ago. No one came here at all. We didn't see anyone, got it?" Haseo continued.

"Of course, we were just eating military rations pills until we felt sick," Jiraiya added. Everyone understood the reason behind this pretense — it was just for protecting the spy's safety.

Haseo was satisfied that everyone immediately grasped his meaning. Yet still, he shot Jiraiya a sharp glare — those rations tasted great, why did he have to say such things?

"Secondly, though there isn't anything serious going on — I only received a minor piece of information — I still need to meet the Hokage right away. So… Orochimaru, could you help me out?" Although emphasizing how unimportant this intelligence was, Haseo's words were merely an outward show. In reality, it was quite significant — he needed to see the Third Hokage urgently under normal circumstances without alerting the Daimyo.

He glanced around before settling on his next choice.

"No." But Orochimaru refused cleanly and decisively.

Haseo frowned slightly. "You're such a smartass. I wonder if your folks even know?" With that thought, he simply moved on to his next choice. "Jiraiya, then — how about you?"

"At least tell me first exactly what you want me to do?" Jiraiya wasn't necessarily clever at this point, but he certainly wasn't dumb either. Seeing how Orochimaru flatly refused, he couldn't help but sense the trap behind Haseo's request.

"Nothing much. Since it's so lively down there, don't you want to go take a look? Look at all those crowds—someone like you could easily squeeze through without drawing any blame." Haseo deliberately stressed four words in that sentence, clearly hinting at what benefits Jiraiya might gain.

Jiraiya felt tempted but still shook his head. Compared to the potential excitement of the festival parade, he was more concerned about what kind of intelligence information Haseo had just acquired. "No, if something important is about to happen, I'd prefer to stay here..."

This kid actually knows how to tell what matters most.

But right then, Haseo quickly continued speaking, "Nothing important will happen next, which means you've already agreed with me. Therefore...you better bite down hard—you might accidentally bite off your tongue otherwise."

"Go!" 

"Huh?"

Before Jiraiya even figured out what Haseo meant, he felt someone grab his collar. With one powerful throw, Haseo launched him like a javelin straight into the festival crowd beyond the palace gates.

"I… am… gonna…" Who could possibly expect Haseo would suddenly turn against his own teammate?

Jiraiya's figure and voice vanished across the night sky, while Haseo clapped his hands together casually as if nothing happened.

"...Haseo, are you even human?" Tsunade stared in disbelief at Haseo's sudden action.

Haseo glanced at the little girl. Frankly speaking, she had no right to question him... The reason he chose to throw either Orochimaru or Jiraiya instead of her was precisely because those two were already used to being tossed around by Tsunade. They should be well-acquainted with such flight paths and thrilling speeds by now.

Thanks to Tsunade, both Jiraiya and Orochimaru had gone through things no kid their age should ever experience. That's probably why they'd already mastered the art of landing safely without getting hurt.

"You guys just stay here. Keep playing however you like. As for myself, I need to report to the Hokage how Jiraiya lost his mind and ran off outside the palace." Haseo continued.

Framing someone again—or make that double framing! Jiraiya was still just a kid; didn't this person feel guilty doing this?

Well apparently, he did not.

Haseo left the tower and turned toward the banquet hall where the Hokage resided.

"Ninja-sama, did something happen?" When Haseo approached the hall's entrance, one of the Daimyo's ceremonial guards blocked him.

"Yes, a minor issue came up. I must report it to both Third Hokage and the Daimyo. One of our younger ninja, Jiraiya..." Immediately, Haseo began reciting his prepared explanation.

The guard chuckled slightly at hearing such trivial matters but also understood serious-minded ninja often liked making small issues sound huge. So he let Haseo enter the banquet hall.

Inside, a group of men were performing a special shamanistic dance. Though Haseo's arrival didn't interrupt the performance, it caught the Daimyo's curious gaze.

Haseo carried himself with poise and grace. He nodded respectfully to the Daimyo, catching a glimpse of the servant girl pouring wine beside him. Her nerves as a spy were truly impressive.

Step by step, Haseo approached the Hokage. He repeated his official report to the Hokage, then smoothly slipped the note into the Hokage's hand while his body blocked everyone's view.

After such a handoff, the paper was now soaked in Haseo's sweat — whatever elegance it once had was gone. Even a collector wouldn't give it a second glance.

"Hokage-sama, is something wrong?" Noticing Haseo's serious expression, the Daimyo clapped his hands to stop the performance and asked the Third Hokage with apparent concern.

The Hokage smiled, speaking in a joking tone. "It's like this — one of my apprentices slipped down into the city..."

Jiraiya wasn't even out the door when trouble came knocking. No matter how much fun he had tonight, there was no way he could redeem his damaged reputation.

After listening, the Daimyo showed no suspicion and burst out laughing instead. "Hokage still spoils your apprentices too much. But… since he's here already, I suppose we shouldn't be too strict. Let him enjoy himself tonight. After all, although he's a ninja, he's still just a kid. Within this city, I can guarantee his safety without any problem."

"Then we'll follow the Daimyo's kindness. Let him enjoy himself."

The Third Hokage gave a helpless shake of his head, wearing that bitter smile of a teacher who tried too hard but got no thanks for it. Who knew someone so young could have such brilliant acting skills?

Meanwhile, the Hokage quietly opened the note. The message was simple: one month ago, eighty million taels (a traditional Chinese unit of weight used for measuring silver currency) vanished from the Daimyo's treasury without a trace.

Eighty million taels — considering inflation hadn't reached its later peaks, this was undeniably a huge sum. The issue wasn't whether the Daimyo had spent it recklessly; the real problem was its mysterious disappearance.

Also, the Hokage had just survived an assassination attempt moments ago. Isn't that quite a matching price tag?

How could the Third Hokage not connect the dots? In fact, when Haseo read the note, he immediately thought the same thing… No wonder the assassination occurred on the road toward the Daimyo's castle rather than inside the castle itself where it would have been easier.

Success or failure, no one wants to end up stinking of trouble, do they?

The Daimyo's acting was even better than the Hokage's. Look at how sincere he always appeared — yet all of it was just a performance. If it weren't for the Second Hokage's wisdom and foresight, this incident might have truly gone unnoticed.

Unfazed, the Hokage continued drinking with the Daimyo as the temporarily paused performance resumed. A warm and peaceful atmosphere filled the hall.

Is that really the case? The smiling Hokage looked at the young Daimyo... Seems like a Daimyo who claims disinterest in village affairs — isn't that just another kind of ambition?

P.S.

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