One hundred and fifty people—it wasn't a small number by any means, but neither was it large enough to be effective.
If the mission were simply surveillance, this force would clearly be overkill. But if they were expected to fight a major ninja village, the lack of elite troops meant their combat effectiveness would fall short.
So this setup revealed the Third Hokage's unspoken intent—he wanted Haseo to handle watch duties in normal times, deal with minor or mid-sized threats when they came up, and at least hold out briefly against a full-scale invasion long enough to send critical intel back to the village.
At the same time, such a small number wouldn't push Kiri into suspecting Konoha had offensive intentions. Let's be real—150 men couldn't even launch an attack on flatulence. It was clearly only enough for defense and garrison work.
Using minimal forces to do maximum work—the Third Hokage really knew how to crack a whip. Chances were high that both he and Konoha's leadership believed a direct invasion from Kiri into the Land of Fire was unlikely.
Konoha clearly had different expectations for the western and eastern fronts. The west was already in active combat, facing two great nations plus Amegakure, so the village had to pour most of its energy there. That meant careful resource management—focusing hard on one side while holding back on the other… With things so tense in the west, all the Third Hokage asked of the east was stability.
Although fighting had already begun on the western front, it still followed traditional ninja rules of undeclared war. Once countries officially declared war, that would mark the point where the conflict truly heated up.
Everyone hoped the war would end quickly, but once it started, no one could predict what would follow. So decision-makers had to prepare for long-term operations. Expect the worst from the enemy, demand the best from yourself—that mindset was always correct.
Correct as it might be, in the end, those "high standards" fell squarely on Haseo's shoulders—a burden he hadn't expected.
Sure, he could complain, but Haseo still had no choice but to accept the order. As a shinobi of Konoha, even though the Hokage seemed like a kind old man, his commands weren't something you could refuse—in fact, precisely because the Third recognized Haseo's considerable abilities.
A leader's "trust" isn't just praise. It means you're the one who has to step up and carry the weight.
Haseo never intended to outright refuse the assignment. What frustrated him was just how few people he had under his command… As head of an entire frontline, he'd originally expected to have at least a four-digit number of subordinates, yet now he had only a tenth of that.
It was like middle schoolers trying to start a brawl.
The Hokage needed to reserve backup forces and maintain enough mobility for unexpected wartime situations, so his caution wasn't limited to Haseo alone—he held back across all fronts.
But for Haseo's case, the cutbacks were especially noticeable… After all, this was just a defensive and monitoring mission, right? He didn't need to lead charges or orchestrate attacks anyway.
"So," Haseo finally asked, just before leaving the Hokage's office, "my battlefield autonomy will definitely be guaranteed?"
"That goes without saying. As the head of the front line, you naturally hold supreme authority over the entire operation. In an emergency, you can even disregard the village's orders and act purely based on your own judgment," said the Third Hokage.
Although the world of ninja was small to begin with, if one were to be precise, Haseo's current status was essentially equivalent to that of a theater commander... although considering his number of subordinates, he was barely better than a commander without any troops.
"Good then, Hokage-sama. Wait for good news from me." Haseo seemed finally satisfied with what he had heard from the Hokage's mouth, and proudly prepared to leave.
But his attitude slightly unsettled the Third Hokage. Considering how occasionally ["flights of fancy" (tianmaxingkong)] Haseo could have, the Third promptly stopped him, "Wait a second, Haseo. What are you planning this time?"
"Eh? Nothing much. I was just thinking maybe we could seize an opportunity and launch a decisive strike against Mist."
The Third Hokage: "..."
One hundred and fifty men to capture Mist? You're 150, not 250; what, are you trying to pull some kind of stunt?
Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage, and Haseo was merely a Jonin of Konoha — this difference in rank left him clearly at a disadvantage... unless, of course, Haseo decided to start being particularly annoying.
Maybe the Third should add a new rule to Konoha's lawbook: anyone who bugs the Hokage the most in a year gets labeled a rogue ninja — no trial required.
...
Haseo returned to Kagenami's underground base.
According to the Third Hokage's order, he and his unit needed to mobilize as soon as possible. However, deploying to the Front Line required extensive preparations.
Even though Haseo's unit was pitifully small.
Konoha would supply the official troop allocation and personnel assignments, while Haseo himself selected shinobi from Kagenami for deployment to the Front Line. Some tasks did not require Haseo's direct involvement — he simply needed to pick two people: a secretary and an enforcer.
The enforcer had a special talent for cutting people down.
As for the secretary, they'd handle the details of various affairs for Haseo.
Right now, the Uzumaki Clan totaled more than a thousand members, among whom approximately one hundred were shinobi. After natural turnover and major losses, the total number of Uzumaki shinobi had slightly decreased compared to when they were still in the Land of Whirlpools — since relocating to Konoha, most members of the clan had assimilated into regular civilian life, and few were enthusiastic about continued warfare.
Nearly all the organizational ties of Uzumaki shinobi were affiliated with Kagenami; however, those who could truly be considered Kagenami members, including Shisanxiang, numbered around fifty individuals.
In other words, half of the Uzumaki shinobi were part of Kagenami.
Haseo planned to bring thirty of these shinobi to the Front Line. Half of them would go under Shisanxiang's leadership, while the remaining fifteen would be personally selected by Uzumaki Shikou, who better understood the clan members' conditions.
Regarding the remaining twenty Uzumaki shinobi in Kagenami, Haseo intended to keep them stationed at the base, using the need to protect the base's "secrets" as a reasonable justification. Even the Third Hokage wouldn't force them into frontline duty under such grounds.
As for the other Uzumaki ninja, some of them would definitely be sent to the Front Line, and they wouldn't be placed under Haseo's command anymore... Hopefully, the Third Hokage would show some consideration for Mito Uzumaki's sake and not flood the battlefield with too many Uzumaki shinobi or assign them particularly dangerous missions.
Generally speaking, the Uzumaki were never really suited for spearheading frontline combat operations. To make the best use of their capabilities, they'd probably operate around the Forward Command Post.
Specializing in long-range perception, barrier construction, and various sealing techniques, even Danzo wouldn't send large numbers of Uzumaki shinobi directly into the deadliest combat zones—people would start questioning his motives… or his sanity.
Therefore, despite how brutal the war was, Haseo wasn't especially worried about the Uzumaki ninja; they were already relatively safe. Even if some sacrifices happened, would it be worse than for other Konoha ninja?
Haseo couldn't possibly demand that not a single Uzumaki die—that would just be looking for trouble... Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't guarantee that.
Haseo wasn't particularly concerned about the Uzumaki, but before heading to the front, an unexpected incident occurred—one he had never anticipated: Sakumo Hatake was supposed to be a very reliable person, yet this time, he ended up causing serious trouble.
Inside the underground base, everyone was busy running around frantically, with Haseo and Uzumaki Shikou working nonstop with their feet barely touching the ground. Yet there Sakumo Hatake sat on a chair, calmly sipping hot tea while chewing something noisily.
When everyone else was occupied, someone loafing around like this really got under one's skin.
Yet something even more infuriating followed—Sakumo Hatake seemed to have caught some kind of bizarre disease from Haseo because suddenly he blurted out complaining, "Why did a war have to break out all of a sudden? Originally, I had planned to get married in these next few months, so now everything has to be postponed until after the war ends… The problem is, who knows how many years the war will last."
Haseo froze.
This…this…
This must be what they call a classic death flag—like legendary-level stupid.
Haseo swore that although throughout his life he had said many outrageous things, none of his words combined had been as devastating as this honest man's single sentence.
Without hesitation, he dropped the supplies notebook he was holding and walked behind Sakumo Hatake, raising his hand and slapping him sharply on the back of the head with a loud smack.
"How old are you anyway? Have your whiskers even grown in? What marriage?"
"Cough… cough, hey!"
Sakumo choked on his hot tea, coughing violently.
Despite being slapped without warning, he didn't seem angry—he simply fell deep into thought...
Was there any envy or jealousy behind Haseo's words?
Clearly, Sakumo had misunderstood completely.
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