The time it takes for a ninja to leave the village and adapt to the battlefield, or for a newly formed ninja squad to become an effective fighting force, can be as brief as the blink of an eye—or it might be a goal forever out of reach.
Yet when this question was applied to Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, the transition seemed unusually smooth. Their ability to adapt to combat zones and their practical battle skills followed a continuously rising curve.
Due to how solid their foundational training was, transitioning from mere students to skilled assassins posed no issues at all. In other words, so long as they remained cautious and didn't get reckless, they would keep growing stronger.
During this process, Haseo, serving as their squad leader, actually had very little to do. As a "senior" with some degree of battlefield experience, once Jiraiya and the others arrived on the battlefield, his main job was simply keeping them in check and preventing them from being overly aggressive.
To be honest, Haseo found the job of keeping them in check way easier than he'd expected—and it just kept getting smoother.
For several consecutive months, the new 'Haseo Squad' kept moving between battlefields across the Land of Rain, steadily scouting, fighting, returning to the front-line camp for rest and resupplying, gaining experience and progress before setting out again.
The trio grew familiar with the battlefield and soon moved through it like seasoned hunters. Before long, their operational range expanded beyond just the periphery, and their enemies were no longer just low-level infiltrators.
They began frequently pushing deep into enemy territory, facing down the most dangerous and troublesome opponents amid the fiercest fighting. With their squad maturing and power increasing, they had grown bolder in approach. Lately, they even carried an air of arrogant confidence—like someone who'd eat watermelon in the south with no intention of paying.
...
At Konoha's front-line camp, the squad had just returned from their latest mission and was currently resting, training, analyzing past battles for lessons learned, and nursing injuries.
"Jiraiya, pay attention! If you hadn't fallen behind during that fight and separated from the squad, how could we have let the enemy escape? And how would you have gotten hurt yourself? In life-or-death situations where every second counts, why can't you just stay sharp instead of looking for trouble?"
On the training field, Tsunade was chewing out Jiraiya. Although the latter appeared pitiful now, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, none of his wounds stirred sympathy in Tsunade, nor did they earn him any gentle treatment.
These after-action reviews usually amounted to little more than bashing Jiraiya.
Meanwhile, Haseo still stood aside on the training ground, watching the three argue, practice, and continue improving. Upon hearing Tsunade's words, he glanced at Jiraiya and thought to himself that she wasn't wrong this time. Separating from the squad during a tense mission deep within enemy territory—seriously, who in their right mind would do something like that?
Totally asking for it. Honestly, those kids were one step away from getting themselves killed.
"If I had succeeded back then, the battle could've ended instantly," Jiraiya retorted. "So my judgment at that moment was correct. To achieve victory, one must always take risks. We're ninja after all."
"Yet you didn't succeed."
Immediately after, Orochimaru's words made further conversation impossible.
If the initiation fails, it's just a pointless sacrifice—so what's there to talk about?
Haseo thought to himself that no matter how much Jiraiya liked to act recklessly, there was no need for him to personally intervene, because his teammates would naturally rein him in.
Though Tsunade enjoyed punching Jiraiya, it was Orochimaru who truly countered him.
Jiraiya was lively, and Orochimaru was cold; Jiraiya was enthusiastic, and Orochimaru was indifferent; Jiraiya got excited, and Orochimaru remained aloof; Jiraiya leaned toward extremes, and Orochimaru stayed detached...
Frequently, Jiraiya even faced combined suppression from both Tsunade and Orochimaru. One undeniable fact was that whenever facing something new, whether it was ninjutsu or anything else, Orochimaru and Tsunade always picked things up much faster than Jiraiya did—which was how he got his nickname as "the slowest learner."
Because of this, the two naturally felt some sense of superiority over Jiraiya. It couldn't be helped—after all, they really were quicker learners and more gifted.
However, as an observer, Haseo saw things clearly: although Jiraiya started slower, he'd quickly catch up, only to fall behind again when faced with a new challenge, and then catch up once more.
There indeed was a gap between the three, but such gaps only lasted briefly. Otherwise, during these past few months of missions and battles, Jiraiya would've already fallen behind irreversibly.
But in reality, he hadn't—he not only kept up, but showed unyielding perseverance.
Over time, Haseo had even grown quite fond of his current role. During battles, he merely held position at the rear while letting the trio handle everything themselves. He wouldn't step in personally unless absolutely necessary—enjoying a leisurely lifestyle while still having the freedom to give comments, along with receiving generous pay. This wonderful feeling must be what people mean by "being a leader," right?
When your subordinates are capable, leadership naturally becomes easy.
Glancing at the time, village-level grassroots leader Haseo felt today's session was about done, so he addressed the three: "You guys, it's about time. Today's training ends here."
"Yeah, got it, Haseo."
Upon hearing Haseo's order, the three stopped their ongoing training exercises, quickly tidied up the training ground, and prepared to leave the area.
"The Third is already brewing his next big plan. It seems he intends to resolve our conflict with Amegakure within next year."
"I think it's about time too. The Land of Rain is barely holding on right now—it should have collapsed long ago."
"Haseo, what do you think? Can this war end exactly as the Hokage envisions?"
While walking away, the four of them continued chatting casually, except now their topic had subtly shifted—from personal combat practice to the current state of the war.
Haseo was left momentarily speechless. He pleaded with you guys, please don't just blurt out the next step of this "top secret plan" before anything's even happened… It wasn't that the little trio had no sense of secrecy—they just completely trusted Haseo.
"You guys shouldn't always talk about fighting and killing. In your free time, try getting into some art—it'll help you appreciate life more. Or, like me, listen to music to mellow out a bit…" Haseo said. Anyway, some things about him never changed—he had no interest in digging up information he wasn't supposed to know.
So he shifted the topic.
"For example, I have a song here called *Samidare*. It's really nice. Jiraiya, do you want to give it a listen?"
Jiraiya: …[beat]
For reasons unknown, perhaps just due to an indescribable and mysterious feeling, Jiraiya had absolutely no desire to appreciate Haseo's musical work.
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