After returning to camp, Haseo began enduring an excruciating treatment process.
Stopping external bleeding, removing toxins from his body, even dealing with internal organ injuries—none of these were particularly serious issues. The real problem lay in what Haseo had already suspected: some iron sand had indeed mixed into his bloodstream.
Haseo immediately asked his charming attending physician whether he should install an electromagnet over his chest to prevent the iron sand from reaching his heart…only to receive her cold disdain.
The medical capabilities of the Ninjutsu World were truly unmatched.
In any case, using Lightning Release techniques could extract the iron sand from Haseo's body. It was a very tedious and delicate task, but luckily for him, Tsunade had the patience for it.
After what felt like half a day of this "treatment," Haseo's ordeal was finally over. Exhausted from massive chakra depletion, severe blood loss, and poisoning, he finally fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up again, it was already nearly noon the next day.
However, upon opening his eyes, Haseo couldn't accurately determine the current time—not only because the tent was dimly lit, but mainly due to the gloomy weather outside.
Rain poured down, filling his ears instantly. Compared to yesterday, the weather had seemingly shifted into a heavy storm.
This was Haseo's own tent.
Tsunade was tidying his clothes. When she noticed him waking up, she immediately approached.
"Haseo, how do you feel?"
"Okay… just a bit thirsty. How long have I been asleep?"
"It's already noon on the next day," Tsunade said while adjusting the headrest of the bed upright, allowing Haseo to sit halfway up. However…who could explain to him why there was a hospital bed inside his tent? Who prepared this? Had someone anticipated he would get injured at the Front Line beforehand?
Then, Tsunade walked away briefly before returning with a cup of water.
Haseo was about to reach out for it when she stopped him immediately, "Don't move around carelessly, or else the wounds on your arm will reopen."
So Haseo didn't move, yet somehow, he still managed to drink the water.
Next, Tsunade gently pressed her hand against his forehead. "You've got a slight fever, but that's within the normal range."
Haseo glanced down at himself, noticing that he had already been cleaned up completely—mud, water, and bloodstains all gone. In fact, he felt as if spotlessly clean.
He had also been dressed in clean clothes.
"Let me make this clear first: although your left arm suffered only an external wound, the situation is still quite serious. A large section of tissue has been removed, and even through my Medical Ninjutsu, I can't restore it right away—I need to treat it step by step. So be careful yourself…how exactly did you get injured like this?" Tsunade asked.
"It was just a graze."
Haseo... was actually telling the truth this time.
"Just a scratch? Come on!"
But Tsunade appeared somewhat angry, clearly dissatisfied with Haseo's attitude.
"That's exactly what happened. I simply got grazed by Third Tsuchikage's Dust Release. I promise I was extremely cautious at the time—I dodged just in time, Tsunade-chan."
Haseo hurried to add an explanation.
It was indeed a mere graze, but the kind that could easily erase a person entirely with the slightest slip.
Tsunade remained silent for a moment. Facing enemies like the Kazekage and Tsuchikage—should she actually praise Haseo for barely returning intact to Konoha's base?
Noticing Tsunade with her brows lowered and lips tightly pressed together, Haseo realized she must have looked pale from staying up all night to care for him.
"Tsunade..."
Haseo could sense her mood, but before he could speak, footsteps approached outside the tent followed by a knock—well, more accurately, someone knocked against one of the supporting poles of the tent.
The hell does this bastard want? Can't he see we're having a private moment?
"Come in."
Tsunade called out, and a figure entered.
It turned out to be Danzo Shimura. Oh well, no surprise there—he was a total creep anyway.
"Has Haseo awakened?" Danzo asked Tsunade.
"Yes, Director Danzo," Tsunade replied, stepping aside slightly.
Danzo advanced as Haseo appeared alert yet oddly sullen. But Danzo ignored it and got straight to the point: "Haseo, I heard you made contact with the Third Kazekage yesterday and then returned gravely injured half a day later... I need to know what happened in between."
Meanwhile, Tsunade also listened closely. She hadn't yet heard directly from Haseo the full story.
Danzo's wording slightly bothered Haseo. What did he mean by "made contact with the Kazekage"? Did he suspect Haseo of defecting to Sunagakure?
Still, he decided not to dwell on it and simply report the facts clearly before sending this man away.
"You hear me—it went like this..."
So Haseo began explaining why he had gone out scouting, recounting everything up to dragging the Third Kazekage toward Iwagakure's camp and finally engaging in a fierce three-Kage battle with the Third Tsuchikage, exchanging devastating blows before managing to retreat.
After Haseo finished speaking, silence filled the tent for a while.
Danzo himself was somewhat puzzled—how could Haseo accomplish so much in just a few days at the frontlines compared to his years stationed there?
He personally had never battled either the Kazekage or the Tsuchikage, let alone participated in a three-Kage confrontation.
"Cough... So then... did the Third Kazekage eventually escape from Iwagakure's camp?" Danzo asked after a pause. He couldn't bring up his earlier confusion; that would only make things awkward for him.
"It's unclear. That should be determined by you, Director Danzo, or analyzed through further intelligence gathering. When I withdrew, the Third Kazekage had already lost one arm and one leg and was heavily surrounded. His situation appeared rather grim." Haseo only stated facts he personally witnessed, leaving subsequent developments for the frontline commander to judge.
"What about the damage sustained by Iwagakure's camp?"
"It's hard to say. I was too busy dealing with the two Kages at the time to pay attention to the surrounding situation one by one. I guess the losses were pretty heavy. At the very least, they'll have to relocate their camp."
Danzo: "..."
"What was the Third Tsuchikage's purpose for secretly arriving at the Front Line then?"
"Do you think I know or not?"
No need to guess. Except for the battles he had personally experienced, Haseo knew absolutely nothing else.
Danzo truly felt frustrated. He thought to himself, after experiencing battles of such intensity, why hadn't he brought back more intelligence? At the very minimum, he should've confirmed whether the Third Kazekage lived or died.
Fortunately, he didn't voice this thought, otherwise Haseo would've snapped back immediately, even if it meant sacrificing more alone time with Tsunade... You gotta be kidding me! Why don't you try sticking around there longer yourself—see if you'd make it out alive!
"I understand now. I'll immediately send people to specifically investigate the situation regarding the Third Kazekage and closely monitor Iwagakure's next moves." Danzo said this, and then actually did a reasonable thing...
Danzo hurriedly left the tent.
However, after Danzo left, Haseo's expectations ended up in vain, because Tsunade soon left too.
It was rare for Tsunade to stay by his side all day—she was swamped at the Front Line.
Starting from that afternoon, Sunagakure's offensive against Konoha suddenly intensified.
For reasons unknown, the war became fiercer all of a sudden.
Thus, Tsunade was so overwhelmed she was barely seen during daylight hours. It wasn't until the third night later that she finally got another chance to check on Haseo's condition.
At this time, Haseo was aimlessly pacing around inside the tent. Even though injured, he couldn't lie around forever—he needed some exercise.
After arriving, Tsunade immediately asked, "Haseo, besides fighting the Kazekage, what else did you do to provoke Sunagakure? Their attack seems absolutely wild, especially Chiyo. She seems almost reckless and hysterical."
Haseo froze for a moment, then replied in an innocent tone, "Chiyo? I didn't even kill her son!"
Huh, how did that sentence just slip out of his mouth so naturally?
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