Let's just say, even Yuzuru thought he looked pretty refined now. The Sage Facial Markings were so sharp that people couldn't help but compliment him.
He'd even composed a catchy rhyme in an instant:
There's a justice-lover in Konoha called Haseo,
With iron face judging friend or foe,
Village heroes gather by his side,
Hatake and Uzumaki walk proudly by his side...
"Feeling okay, Lord Haseo?"
Katsuyu asked, noticing how quiet Haseo had been despite his vivid expressions… hoping the Sage Mode training hadn't actually driven him nuts.
"Oh, I've never felt better. With Sage Mode activated... time to put it to the test!"
Haseo quickly snapped back to focus and replied.
The "Sage Facial Markings"? Just superficial stuff not worth obsessing over. Looking cool was temporary, but being strong—that lasted forever. Let's face it, if you're powerful enough, you look cool no matter what.
Wasn't Jiraiya's incomplete "Sage Mode" already super impressive?
The real reason Haseo was so determined to master Sage Mode was mainly because of its incredible resistance—it could even withstand damage from Kinjutsu like the Rasengan. Whether Sage Mode itself was strong came second.
Still, after succeeding, Haseo had to admit—the mode really did feel powerful.
That's exactly how Sage Mode worked. Resistance was just a side effect. Even though Haseo primarily pursued that particular benefit, he couldn't ignore the overall stat boost it gave him.
Soon after, Haseo fully tested and explored his Sage Mode. Surprisingly, in this state, no matter how long he trained, instead of tiring out, he became increasingly energetic… until he used up all his chakra.
Nothing unusual happened in the Land of Rain. Nawaki was going through the recovery period after being defeated by elementary school students, so he'd been unusually quiet these past few days, slowing down the whole team's activities.
In short, with the late First Hokage's help, Haseo successfully activated Sage Mode for the first time. However, this enhancement powered by borrowed chakra wasn't sustainable—the pendant only contained a limited amount of chakra, giving him only a few attempts at learning it.
Moreover, even with the First Hokage's chakra, success wasn't guaranteed—ultimately, he still had to rely on himself.
A week after activating Sage Mode for the first time, when Haseo tried the training again, he didn't succeed—he nearly died from an overload of unstable natural energy… Fortunately, Katsuyu instantly absorbed the wild energy from his body.
Ninjutsu always carried such life-threatening risks—it wasn't the first time Haseo had faced death like this. Luckily, with Katsuyu assisting him, and having grown used to these near-death experiences, Haseo didn't care much about almost dying. All he really regretted was wasting that one portion of the First Hokage's chakra.
Well, it wasn't exactly pity he felt. To be precise, he was genuinely pained.
Each use consumed a bit more of it, and surely Haseo couldn't expect him to dig up the First Hokage from his grave? If he did that—grandson robbing grandfather's grave—what would Tsunade think?
Fortunately, the third attempt succeeded.
And with these two successful experiences, Haseo finally felt he had grasped some clue... If even with the First Hokage serving as his "guide," he still couldn't grasp a single thing about Sage Mode, then Haseo might as well start figuring out how to bash his head in a clean and efficient way.
Still, he wouldn't have time for further training anytime soon. After spending roughly two months in the Land of Rain altogether, Nawaki finally completed his mission and was preparing to return to Konoha.
So naturally, Haseo couldn't keep having fun running back and forth between the Land of Rain and Shikkotsu Forest either.
Nawaki was one reason; another was that New Year's Day was drawing near, and Haseo had no excuse not to return home at such a time.
He certainly wasn't one of those frontline ninjas who had to stick around executing missions—it'd be ridiculous not to return home for New Year just to waste time doing nothing outside Konoha, right? Just because both the Land of Rain and Shikkotsu Forest provided excellent environments for mushroom growth?
This year, Konoha seemed to hold some celebratory events for the New Year.
After returning, Haseo first reported his recent work to Tsunade, then handled matters accumulated by Kagenami during this period (there really weren't much at all—his only job was to review the logs of recent days and keep himself updated on the organization's developments). Then he ended up being free again.
Of course, he was both free and tired.
Then the new year arrived.
The New Year festival was probably one of the rare large-scale entertainment events in this ninja village—and not even an annual one at that.
Truthfully, Haseo wasn't all that thrilled about these events. Compared to jostling through crowds, he'd rather just stay cooped up at home.
Wouldn't it be better to just sit by the window, sip some tea leisurely, and watch the bustling crowd below—the human scenery, so to speak? Once he got bored, he could do some indoor exercises, followed by sleeping until morning came naturally—that alone was life's greatest happiness!
But his opinion was ruthlessly rejected.
"I wonder if Nawaki's been feeling a little better lately? He hit a bit of a rough patch recently, but he'll probably bounce back soon enough."
On New Year's Eve, Tsunade and Haseo strolled casually down the village streets shoulder to shoulder, yet as they spent time together, what she talked about remained related to her younger brother.
"He is at that age where he tends to get stuck in his own thoughts, but everyone goes through their middle-school syndrome phase. In a few years, when he gets older and gains more experience, naturally he'll understand many things on his own," Haseo replied. At first glance, this sounded like casual flattery, but truthfully, the logic was exactly right.
"Mmm, but Nawaki..." Thinking for a moment, Tsunade chose her words carefully, "Seems to lack the talent necessary to become a top-tier ninja."
Haseo smiled. "Whether he's top-notch or not is actually irrelevant. He doesn't need to intimidate anyone anyway. If anything happens, you, his older sister, can protect him, and I'm here too... Honestly, being an ordinary person is far happier than being a ninja, though your brother doesn't seem to accept that kind of life."
Nawaki had yet to show any special talent so far, but Haseo found this normal, indicating that Nawaki had largely inherited the direct genetic traits from Sansho.
After all, Sansho himself couldn't become a ninja.
As for Tsunade, she was more like a trait passed down across generations… although nowhere near as extraordinary as her legendary grandfather and grandmother, she herself was among the greatest ninjas, quite unlike Sansho.
After chatting about this subject for a while—mainly with Haseo trying to comfort Tsunade—they finally brought the conversation back around to the festival itself.
"I'm getting hungry. I'll go grab something to eat," Tsunade said.
"Alright, hurry back. There's going to be a fireworks display soon."
Tsunade walked away from Haseo, but before she could return with her snacks, the first firework lit up the pitch-black Konoha night sky in a dazzling explosion of color.
Haseo looked up in awe. At that very moment, a hooded figure, wrapped head to toe in a cloak, passed by him. Taking advantage of the explosion's sound, the stranger whispered to Haseo in a low but clear voice:
"Lord Haseo, please stay cautious recently."
Startled, Haseo turned around, but by then the figure had already vanished within the dense crowd without a trace.
Who was that? And what were they warning about?
In the middle of the bustling crowd, someone completely unknown approached Haseo out of nowhere and muttered such a cryptic sentence… Who even knows what that was about.
"What's on your mind, Haseo?"
When Tsunade returned carrying two small bags, she found Haseo standing there, confused and lost in thought.
"Nothing much. I was just spacing out, waiting for you to come back so we can watch the fireworks together."
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