Aruo handed the scroll to Nawaki, gave him a few words of instruction, then left. When she returned to her residence, opened the door, and stepped inside, she immediately discovered a brief letter placed on the floor near the entrance.
She bent down, picked up the neatly folded piece of paper, and then tightly closed the door. After confirming that there was nothing unusual around, she unfolded it.
Surprisingly, not a single word was written on the paper. Instead, a single period was printed right in the center.
Aruo paused for a moment, then finally caught on... This was definitely something in line with his style.
The message was simple, yet its meaning had been clearly conveyed. It was good news. She smiled slightly before burning the piece of paper in her hands.
After finishing that, Aruo changed out of her civilian clothes into more casual attire suitable for being at home. However, her gaze lingered on a standard ninja outfit hanging on the wall—this wasn't the vest-style uniform that later generations had adopted; instead, it featured dual gray metal plates worn on both front and back, along with metal bracers.
Of course, the design only resembled traditional plate armor without actually having its thickness. The equipment still needed to remain lightweight since maneuverability was essential for a ninja.
Regardless, how effective this gear truly was wasn't something Aruo concerned herself with—it simply hung in her room, unused. She'd never even gotten the chance to take it outside.
Meanwhile, Uzumaki Shikou quickly set about handling the task after receiving orders from Haseo. Several days later, she reported progress back to him.
Actually, no detailed report was necessary—the entire situation could easily be summarized by saying "Leave it to her—no worries at all."
"Overall, the first step is to move the older and weaker Uzumaki shinobi out of active service while replacing them with an equal number of young children entering the Ninja Academy, thereby maintaining the impression that our ninja numbers remain unchanged.
However, most of these children sent to the academy will never actually graduate as qualified Genin—they'll simply be deemed untalented and expelled before graduation."
Shikou explained her initial plan to Haseo, and indeed, following this approach wouldn't cause any problems—nor would it pose much difficulty. Ensuring several students fail graduation would be extremely easy for the Uzumaki clan.
The plan itself seemed solid enough, though Haseo couldn't help feeling a little bad for the kids involved.
"This plan isn't bad, but aren't those kids a little pitiful? Not graduating from the Ninja Academy doesn't sound very good either."
Shikou's strategy leaned toward gentleness, so Haseo broadly accepted it, though he did feel some sympathy for the children who'd end up failing.
"There's no perfect solution in such a short time. If you don't think this one works, maybe Lord Haseo has a better idea?"
"No, no, your plan is already perfect. Just proceed accordingly." Haseo quickly corrected himself. He preferred avoiding unnecessary thinking if possible.
Shikou rolled her eyes, then stayed silent. Truth was, she didn't really mind how indifferent Haseo acted toward Kagenami's daily affairs—he didn't need to deal with that stuff in person anyway. Shikou believed she could handle those trivial matters just fine by herself.
Haseo's value lay in his vision. For example, the idea to secretly reduce the number of Uzumaki ninja proved he was a capable—if not outstanding—organizational leader, even if his methods seemed damaging to Konoha's interests. A leader's job was to set the right direction, while subordinates carried out the tasks. That was simply how division of labor worked.
Still, Haseo wasn't completely heartless; assigning all the work to Shikou still stirred some guilt inside him.
When it came to actual work, though, there wasn't much help Haseo could offer—he'd already allowed Uzumaki Shikou to organize everything perfectly.
Within Kagenami, if she wanted to, Shikou could instantly sideline Haseo and "rise up in rebellion [literally: raise the banner and rise up]". But truthfully, ever since the organization's formation, Haseo had basically been sidelined from the start—and he had willingly accepted that.
There was no need for Haseo to assert himself in daily operations—it wouldn't have been helping, only causing problems. So, to show he wasn't just a symbolic figurehead or an absentee boss, Haseo decided to follow the leadership style of great leaders like the Third Hokage—by showing concern for his subordinates beyond just their professional duties.
"Ahem, Shikou, let's put work aside for a moment. You can handle things however you think is best... How've other parts of your life been lately? Any plans?"
"Other parts?" Shikou clearly didn't understand what Haseo meant.
"Mainly things outside work—personal relationships, family life, stuff like that. It seems like you've always been alone so far. Do you plan on staying that way forever?"
Frankly speaking, Haseo had completely missed the point—he sounded awkward and robotic.
First of all, his image was off. The old Third had been warm and approachable.
"Oh, *that* kind of thing," Shikou straightened herself and grew slightly more serious. Looking directly at Haseo with unusually clear eyes, she said, "Lord Haseo, I've been by Lady Mito's side since childhood, and back then Lady Mito had already been living in near-seclusion. Therefore, throughout my life, I've had very little opportunity to interact with others.
It wasn't until Kagenami's formation and the Uzumaki clan's strategic relocation to Konoha that things finally started to change for me.
But after that, I became continuously absorbed in work.
Therefore, if Lord Haseo truly cares about my personal life... there is no doubt that Lord Haseo is a very important person, both to the Uzumaki clan and to me personally.
In reality, the person I've spent the most time with is probably Lord Haseo."
His strength, experience, and accomplishments spoke for themselves—there was no need to go into detail. Aside from being a bit lazy, Lord Haseo had a pretty decent personality too, and his looks weren't bad either. So you're quite charming..."
"Ah, right, I just remembered something urgent I need to handle. Let's talk about this later."
Haseo could barely bear those words, along with Uzumaki Shikou's current gaze. He immediately stood up, hurriedly muttered an excuse, then turned around and fled.
He totally messed up the act—almost ended up costing himself dearly.
Who knows how much truth there was in Uzumaki Shikou's words. But regardless of whether they were true or false, such words could definitely get someone killed.
Once the Master of Kagenami was gone, Uzumaki Shikou let out a quiet chuckle before starting to tidy up the mess of papers scattered across Haseo's desk.
As she was organizing things, her hands suddenly paused for a moment.
Then, shaking her head again to dispel the scattered emotions in her mind, she smoothly finished putting everything else in order. She still had important work to handle—one that concerned both Kagenami and the Uzumaki clan.
...
Escaping in total disarray, Haseo wandered aimlessly through Konoha several times before slowly making his way back home.
And he swore on it—if he ever tried dishing out advice or motivational speeches again, he'd turn into a damn dog himself... Who knows, maybe he'd end up choking on his own flimsy words.
Konoha really was a minefield. You never knew when a single careless word could get you killed. Haseo believed he had learned this lesson well, though in reality, his understanding remained rather shallow.
Until he returned to the Hot Spring Town.
The dusk was settling in slowly. At this hour, the Hot Spring Town buzzed with life, its streets now lively and packed with people. After all, it was one of Konoha's famous attractions, where crowds always surged at certain times of day.
At this moment, Haseo was thinking about his daily routine: feeding the cat and taking care of his wife. But today, he had to be extra cautious—keeping his emotions under tight control so nothing would slip out. Otherwise, he might end up with at least a fracture,
or even soft tissue contusions.
What he didn't realize was that, within the teeming crowd, someone's piercing gaze had already fixed on him.
A deadly blade, unassuming yet lethal, was steadily aimed toward Haseo...
It's hard to summarize a ninja's life in just a few words, but one truth remained—bloodshed was part of the job description.
One moment peaceful routine, the next moment brutal slaughter.
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