Chapter 68: Mopping Up

There once was a ninja who fought fiercely and bravely on the battlefield. His heroic presence deeply impressed both comrades and enemies, winning him widespread praise. Soon, his name spread far and wide—he became famous overnight.

Later, this ninja started feeling overly confident, as if the Hokage title awaited him in the future.

But then came another mission where he was targeted and beaten to death by a group of enemies. In the end, his fate was no different from those he had bravely slain before.

For ninja, such stories are all too common—just another part of life in the world of shinobi.

Right now, Haseo felt like that unfortunate future was waving at him.

At least, his mindset remained unshaken. Defeating an old ninja like Menzuomen wouldn't make him conceited or complacent. In fact, his current situation somewhat resembled Hiruzen Sarutobi's. Though they had eliminated valuable enemies, neither considered it particularly impressive—they both knew how truly exceptional individuals handled extraordinary feats.

In a way, they'd already seen the ocean; ordinary waters could no longer move them.

Witnessing Hiruzen Sarutobi's fierce battle against the Second Kazekage, the former leader of Suna, caused the Konoha ninja's trust and admiration for the new Hokage to reach new heights. But would the Hokage himself even take pride in defeating the Second Kazekage?

Not really—his mind stayed sharp and clear.

Others' opinions were just that—opinions. Outer voices couldn't significantly change those with strong self-awareness. If even Sarutobi thought this way, then Haseo—who wasn't even comparable to previous Hokages—felt even less entitled. All he needed was to compare himself with Sunagakure's Magnet Release ninja to clearly see his own shortcomings.

Currently, Haseo wasn't even among the most outstanding of his peers, so naturally, he wouldn't embarrass himself trying to match up with absolute elites.

Of course, while Haseo could calmly and objectively assess what happened around him, keeping his composure didn't mean he had no feelings at all. If he ever found out who started spreading all those ridiculous nicknames about him, he'd definitely give that person a beating.

"[Lightning Release] You used violent techniques at supernatural speeds no one could follow, wielding invincible blade-like attacks resembling divine beams of light—you instantly destroyed the Chikamatsu Collection, then calmly assassinated Sunagakure ninja Menzuomen... Your figure charging against all odds has been deeply imprinted into the minds of Konoha ninja who witnessed it, leaving them unforgettable memories," Renjiro continued explaining to Haseo the origin behind the title "Opposing Feather."

"But I clearly used Lightning Release, everyone saw it. Then why don't they call me something like 'Violent Heart,' instead of Opposing Feather? Frankly speaking, this word 'opposing' sounds kind of bad—it keeps making me feel like a Rogue Ninja," Haseo complained somewhat. Objectively speaking, his complaint made sense—if he used techniques typical of a lightning-wielding master, why not simply name him Violent Heart?

From a conspiracy angle, Haseo couldn't help but wonder if someone was deliberately twisting the rumors about him into something worse. Thinking about it carefully, according to Renjiro's explanation, the "reverse" (Ni) in Niyu had its own backstory—but what about "Yu"? How could those Konoha ninja have known so quickly that the assassin of Menzuomen was named Haseo Yu?

There shouldn't have been many Konoha ninja who could recognize Haseo's unfamiliar face, let alone accurately call him by name.

But at the moment, though, Haseo wasn't overthinking it. The fatigue from days of battle had temporarily dulled his mental processing speed, so his complaint remained nothing more than mere grumbling.

Haseo's reaction left Renjiro somewhat embarrassed—shouldn't a renowned ninja feel pleased about earning a reputation?

"Captain, are you really unhappy with your title?"

"Not exactly. I just don't think it's worth worrying about… Anyway, we've rested enough. Let's get back to work," Haseo said.

Truth was, Haseo didn't really care about what Renjiro was explaining right now—even if it sounded like he were a rogue ninja, he wasn't truly one. Could the village really start suspecting him just because of some idle gossip?

The Third Hokage wouldn't be that naïve.

The large-scale war between the two hidden villages had already ended, and the former mass organizational structures used during combat were now disbanded. Currently, Haseo's team no longer accompanied the Hokage on missions. If someone asked where the Hokage currently was on the battlefield, Haseo wouldn't know the answer.

However, the end of the war did not mean that ninja like Haseo could completely relax. Temporary rest was permitted, but letting them wander freely was impossible—at the very least, Konoha ninja still needed to clean up the battlefield. That was a privilege reserved solely for the victorious.

"Haseo, raise your hand," Chichio said as she approached him. She crouched beside him, gesturing for Haseo to lift his arm.

"Mm, thanks." Haseo glanced at the bandages Chichio held and then raised one of his arms, rolling up his sleeve.

During the earlier chaotic fighting, nobody could possibly escape unscathed—this had nothing to do with speed or evasive skills. Chaos was chaos. Thus, Haseo had picked up a few cuts—nothing serious, just minor scrapes from flying shuriken.

Chichio tended to the wound on his arm and wrapped it with clean gauze. Although she wasn't a Medical Ninja, her naturally delicate attention to detail and nimble hands ensured proper emergency treatment.

"The Medical Ninjas should have already been recalled. I hope the severely injured can receive timely and effective treatment soon," Chichio noticed Haseo focusing intently on her hands, watching every move she made while bandaging him, assuming he was concerned about the medics.

"Yeah, let's hope so. Don't sweat it too much. As the winning side, Konoha has the means to quickly limit losses."

Haseo humored the other's words, even though he hadn't been thinking along those lines just now. It was just a habit of his to occasionally zone out. Still, he did believe that Konoha should have already redeployed its frontline medical units that had temporarily withdrawn.

After the squad members helped each other with emergency treatment of their wounds, they began cleaning up the battlefield according to their superiors' orders. Countless squads at this moment were carrying out exactly the same mission. Their primary objective was to search for survivors from Konoha's side; secondly, to eliminate enemies who weren't dead yet but barely clinging to life; third, to recover the corpses of fallen comrades; fourth, for environmental protection and disease prevention purposes, they needed to burn and bury enemy bodies.

It sounded straightforward, but this wasn't actually an easy task by any means—the main issue lay in the sheer volume of work.

The original battlefield had been on open plains. But once Sunagakure scattered and pursuit battles began, the enemy started fleeing toward rugged forested mountains with complex terrain. Therefore, after the battle ended, the Konoha ninja had to search vast areas filled with nooks and crannies, where they might find—alive or dead—either enemies or their own comrades.

"Haseo, this way."

After Haseo's squad resumed activity, Nagisa Nara quickly noticed something unusual inside a grove and called out to Haseo.

Haseo hurried forward. What appeared before him was a Sand ninja about ten years old, lying beneath a tree, letting out pained whimpers.

"All four limbs have been severed…" At a glance, Nara had already determined the opponent's condition.

"No value as a prisoner," Renjiro added next. A ninja at this age was nothing more than expendable personnel on the battlefield—there was neither possibility nor worth in extracting intelligence from them.

Haseo nodded. He walked beside the enemy, squatted down, then reached out and covered the boy's mouth and nose, saying, "Sorry, kid. A painless death is the greatest mercy we executioners can offer you."

Then he pulled out a kunai with one hand and stabbed it steadily into the enemy's throat.

Following his action, the young life's cry of grief—and the life itself—disappeared together.

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