Sunagakure suddenly became extremely active, launching frequent attacks against Konoha. This might have been because they had finally uncovered what happened to the Third Kazekage's squad—they must've realized they'd been tricked. But why did they target Konoha? Shouldn't Iwagakure be their true enemy?
Of course, it was possible Suna was now fighting on two fronts at once—attacking both Konoha and Iwa. After all, Iwa's camp had fallen into chaos with heavy losses. Exaggerating slightly, you could say they'd lost all footing entirely.
But was Suna truly fighting one war or two? Haseo hadn't known the exact battlefield developments over the past couple of days. First, he wasn't part of Konoha's front line—he was just a bystander; second, he was currently injured and couldn't fight; third, he was stuck alone in a small tent under nonstop rain, totally forgotten by everyone.
Konoha was swamped dealing with Suna's attacks, and everyone was tied up. Probably only Tsunade still had the presence of mind to check in on Haseo from time to time.
Didn't you notice Haseo's temporary attendant had gone missing? Dan Kato should've also gone off to fight.
So when Tsunade came to explain the current situation, Haseo actually didn't care much about Chiyo of Suna going crazy—he was far more concerned about the current state of the Third Kazekage. Was he dead or alive?
But this kind of intelligence was often hard to confirm definitively. Maybe earlier Danzo Shimura's thoughts were correct after all… At that time, Haseo really should've verified whether the Third Kazekage was alive or dead. That would've saved everyone so much trouble afterward.
Now, Haseo could only try to figure out why Chiyo was so worked up.
"Ah, I mean… Could it be something like Chiyo lost her son?"
After realizing his words might've sounded problematic, Haseo quickly reworded himself. Still, changing the words like that didn't fool anyone—it was just wishful thinking.
Tsunade shot him a suspicious glance. "According to our intelligence, Chiyo of Suna does indeed have a son. Don't tell me that when you fought the Third Kazekage earlier, you also killed Chiyo's son?"
"No way," Haseo immediately denied. "You're blaming me? That was all Sakumo Hatake!"
As he said before, what he encountered was just a four-man squad. Aside from the Third Kazekage, none of the other ninja had any real presence.
Haseo feigned deep contemplation, then took a few steps back and sat on the edge of his hospital bed.
Regarding those three guards of the Third Kazekage—regardless of actual strength—at least they hadn't managed to fully demonstrate their abilities before being eliminated by Dan Kato's [Phantasmagoria Jutsu]. Two were eliminated by Dan Kato, while the third—seemingly stronger—ultimately fell to Haseo's sudden lightning-fast strike… To be honest, the last Sunagakure ninja who died had the worst luck of all. The "Strongest Wind Kage" he trusted utterly lacked the power to properly contain Haseo, which left him vulnerable enough to be ambushed and killed by Haseo.
"And the age still doesn't add up either. You must understand, members of the Third Kazekage's guard are definitely elite ninja from Sunagakure. These so-called elites are usually mature ninja... Among those three ninja, the youngest one looked at least in his late thirties. Unless Chiyo's son aged extremely fast, there's no way the timing matches."
Soon afterward, Haseo found sufficient evidence to prove his innocence.
Tsunade silently sat down beside Haseo. Her son wasn't dead, so why did Chiyo appear completely out of her mind?
On this battlefield, Tsunade had fought alongside Chiyo a few times, so she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right about her. After all, a woman wouldn't act like that unless...
Wait a second.
Tsunade cast a sidelong glance at the person sitting beside her, and then a certain suspicion surfaced in her mind.
"I think I get it now."
"Huh?"
"Chiyo didn't necessarily lose her son; she has a son, right? So how exactly did that son come into being?"
"You don't know that? Didn't I teach—"
"Shut up," Tsunade shot him an angry look, swiftly pulling the conversation back on track. "What I mean is, maybe it wasn't her son who died—it was her husband."
"..."
Haseo froze. This angle hadn't crossed his mind at all—it was a blind spot. Previously, he'd been entirely focused on the idea that 'the White Fang of Konoha killed Chiyo's son,' which might've led him astray.
Suddenly everything clicked. He murmured to himself, "Now that I think about it, Chiyo should indeed have a husband... How could I not consider that before?"
This was seriously strange—who said Chiyo didn't have a husband? Did people actually believe that just because the entire nation prayed for her, she miraculously became pregnant? Let's be real—getting pregnant through collective prayers? That's way wilder than the idea that Chiyo had a husband.
Imagine a woman waking up one day, opens her eyes, and boom—she's suddenly a widow. That wouldn't even be shocking enough… no, not even upsetting?
"Funny coincidence, isn't it? Chiyo must've had a husband after all, right?"
Tsunade thought Haseo's reasoning was total nonsense. What the hell logic was he using? Was having a husband really that odd for a woman who already had a child? Things happened in order, didn't they? There needed to be some scientific logic here.
"In that case, the ages do match up. Besides, among the Third Kazekage's guards, there truly was one ninja whose skills were especially sharp—one whose strength matched warriors like Chiyo. Dan struggled against him, so... Considering how much time it would waste letting them fight endlessly, I generously snapped the guy's neck. Just like that—one quick twist, painless."
As he spoke, Haseo dramatically demonstrated the action with his injured hands.
"..."
Thankfully, Chiyo didn't hear that explanation—or else her rage meter might've just gone through the roof.
"You actually killed that man's husband so easily?"
"Now wait a minute, that phrasing sounds seriously off. On the battlefield, it's always either/or—you live, or she does. One of you becomes a widow, plain and simple."
"Wait a second..." Haseo suddenly felt confused. He vaguely recalled that before Tsunade proposed her hypothesis, she seemed to glance at him. Could that be how she got the clue?
"Hell no. I don't want to charge toward enemy lines like some lunatic."
Fortunately, Tsunade quickly gave a reassuring reply.
No, she wouldn't really lose her cool — the worst that could happen is she gets queasy around blood.
"Cough... This is just speculation for now, without factual proof. Before we determine the truth, I reject these groundless accusations... Chiyo might not have even lost her husband; and even if she did, the killer wasn't necessarily Mū's guard; even if it was Mū's guard, chances are it was Dan Kato who killed him. Let's say there's a two-to-one chance it was him, not me."
"What's the point of explaining all this to me? Anyway, Chiyo is spreading poison everywhere, keeping me running nonstop... I came here only to check your wounds, proceed with the next stage of treatment on your left shoulder, then I must head back to the frontline hospital immediately."
"Yeah, Chiyo isn't important right now. We should confirm what happened to the Third Kazekage as soon as possible."
Since when is Chiyo not important? Why don't you go clean up the disaster she left behind?
"...No, no—I was just saying, just saying."
Wait a second, Haseo suddenly thought. Why did I sound so spineless just now? Even kind of guilty?
Not like I ever caused you any trouble either.
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