Haseo halted others from hanging his portrait on walls for veneration, finding the idea extremely embarrassing and even inauspicious.
More specifically, he halted the "Hokage Cliffs Carving Plan" initiated by the Fourth Hokage, so his giant face wouldn't be carved into the cliffs of Konoha.
"The previous Hokages were respectively the pioneers, developers, and perfectionists of Konoha. Theoretically, they deserve the highest status. As someone who came later, I have no qualifications to stand alongside them. Furthermore, I hope that all future Hokages will remain humble and maintain reverence toward the First, Second, and Third."
"Practically speaking, launching such image projects during wartime is simply a waste of manpower and resources—useless spending that brings no real benefit. Better not to do it at all."
The Fourth Hokage gave very modest, polished, and convincing reasons—reasons worthy of admiration—and therefore, his Hokage Cliffs carving was indeed abandoned.
Frankly speaking, this decision became a disaster for the Fifth, the Sixth, the Seventh, and all future Hokages; Haseo would surely be blamed for it later.
Everyone else was eager to have their portraits displayed on the walls. Don't believe it? Just ask Danzo Shimura.
Because tradition had been broken by Haseo, later generations could never place their own images on the cliffs above the Fourth—after all, even new Hokages still had some dignity left.
So once broken, the tradition was never revived… Thus, the Hokage Cliffs carvings remained limited to only three.
From an aesthetic point of view, three carved faces with open space around them just looked better—neater and more balanced. What about the generations one through seven crammed together like sardines afterwards—was that supposed to be impressive? Looks like they're lining up for something.
Anyway, Haseo's move won high praise from both elders… Who wouldn't appreciate a younger generation who showed humility and respect for predecessors?
Haseo repeatedly expressed his unworthiness while accepting the compliments… Hmm, though secretly thinking: my predecessors were all dead; if they carved me up there, I'd be the only live one among them—it'd feel like cursing myself, as if wishing I'd die quicker wasn't enough.
Looking past appearances, the truth was clear: those weren't statues—they were tombstones.
Since the beginning of the Third Great Ninja World War, Sakumo Hatake had never returned to Konoha. He had been away from the village far too long, so recently, taking advantage of a temporary lull in the Northern Front fighting, he finally returned to Konoha.
His reason: to report battlefield conditions on the Northern Front to the Hokage and offer long-term predictions regarding the war—this kind of visit by a frontline commander to command headquarters for an update with the Defense Minister was perfectly normal.
Thus upon returning to Konoha, this commander received a "picnic invitation" from the Minister of Defense of the Land of Fire.78zww Updated fastest PC:
Sakumo Hatake felt somewhat amused—what kind of thing was this?
Still, he accepted. After all, everyone needs to relax sometimes.
It was currently autumn—cool, bright, and pleasant weather, perfect for picnics. Then why not go for a picnic? Although it might seem odd for two men—one forty, the other almost forty—to plan a picnic together.
Therefore, they each brought along their families.
That way, the atmosphere became much more ordinary.
Both of them were fairly prominent figures, so they weren't stupid enough to insist on meeting outside the village—there were plenty of quiet corners within Konoha itself.
A patch of light-green grass was covered with a thin blanket. In the distance on one side stretched dense woods, while on the other bloomed clusters of autumn flowers in various colors—osmanthus, phalaenopsis orchids, and countless unnamed wildflowers that looked just as refreshing.
Autumn flowers weren't flashy like summer blooms—they had a quiet charm, the kind that grows on you. Maybe you could even call it a sort of "abundance."
Various sweets, snacks, pastries, and side dishes were neatly arranged on the blanket, all brought by Lady Hatake. As for the two from the Yagyu household… well, what exactly could people expect from them?
They didn't even bring the blanket themselves.
By midday, aside from the sky gradually turning a soft gray, everything else felt quite pleasant.
Two older men sat across from each other chatting idly, while the women at their sides quietly kept the teacups full with freshly brewed tea. Alcohol might've suited such an occasion better, but as everyone knows, Haseo never touched cigarettes or alcohol.
He hadn't tasted a single drop of alcohol in this life—truly a man of principle.
Sakumo Hatake first spoke about recent events on the battlefield. Most of that intelligence had already made its way back to Konoha through various channels, but there was still a difference between written reports and Sakumo's own account—he'd witnessed everything firsthand, and his words naturally carried more vibrancy than dry records.
As he talked, Sakumo eventually shifted toward discussing the progress of both his son and half-disciple. Though he was an honest and straightforward man, when speaking about these things, he couldn't help but sound slightly proud—even bordering on boastful.
After all, everyone thinks their own kid is the best—and hey, turns out the same goes for wives. Look, we've already said it: Sakumo's just a straightforward guy.
Haseo spent most of the time quietly listening—an unusual behavior for him, considering how talkative he usually was.
Still, whatever Haseo wanted to say, he would eventually say it aloud.
"Hatake, you're probably my oldest friend. I've known you since the day I arrived in Konoha. Thinking back now, how many years has it been?"
"Yeah… Who knows? At any rate, it's been quite a few years."
That's just how aging people are—they especially enjoy reminiscing about their youth. Perhaps everyone, at one point or another, has wished they could go back to those days.
"Coming to Konoha, getting trained, fighting, running around all over the place—and finally becoming Hokage… My first half of life was a bit chaotic, full of unexpected twists. For instance, why did I end up becoming Hokage?"
"Well, life's just full of surprises. Haseo, why are you suddenly saying all this? Something feels off... Are you feeling fed up with the world?"
"No, not fed up. Sakumo, I think it's simply time for me to retire—this ninja named Haseo is officially closing shop and calling it quits."
Haseo and Sakumo were truly old friends, which is why he could speak like this.
"…Retire? I heard you disappeared for a while before. Did something happen during that time?"
"I can only tell you that I've accomplished the greatest task of my life... As for retirement, I plan to travel the world and find a suitable place far away from ninja life to settle down."
"Your lifelong wish has been fulfilled? Still, I don't quite understand. You're the Hokage—how can you just leave Konoha? What happens to this village then?" Hatake Sakumo didn't press further about the matter, but he seemed to understand Haseo's mood.
"I'll make proper arrangements, and besides, I'm not planning on completely cutting ties with Konoha. Going out to see the world, perhaps when old age arrives, I might return to Konoha to spend my golden years... If there's still one place in this world I can call home, strangely enough, it seems it can only be Konoha."
"Sakumo, you must understand—one day this village will give birth to a new, even greater Hokage."
"Haseo, I know your tone well—you always talk like this when trying to pass the buck... Still, it's true enough.
"If you really can make proper arrangements, then naturally I support your decision.
"Everyone has their own path to follow, and you especially deserve the freedom to walk yours—Haseo, I've always known your heart belongs beyond the village walls."
After thinking for a moment, Sakumo finally smiled.
Haseo laughed as well. There was no need for words between them anymore.
Yes, just how many years had they been friends?
"I'll stop briefly in Konoha before returning to the Front Line, so... After you've made your decision, will we old friends ever meet again?"
"What difference does meeting or not make? But... I believe we'll meet again someday. We can have tea together again then.
"Unless you pull some stupid stunt and get yourself killed for no good reason."
"Why would I go and die without reason?"
Sakumo found Haseo's words strange.
"How should I know why you'd die?"
Haseo thought Sakumo was the strange one.
Toward evening, the Hatake couple left.
Haseo shifted onto his side and scooted closer, resting his head in Tsunade's lap, staring blankly at the sky... Fortunately no one saw this scene, otherwise what would it look like for the Hokage to behave this way?
Time passed quietly. After a long while, Tsunade almost thought Haseo had fallen asleep, but then he suddenly spoke up.
"It might not really be necessary, but I feel I should formally ask...
"Tsunade, will you leave with me?
"Konoha has always been your home—you must feel attached to this place."
"What do you think, Haseo? As long as you let go of those long legs of yours, wherever you are is where I'll be."
Tsunade thought the question was barely worth answering.
So…this was truly the best possible situation.
Haseo lay on his side, turned inward—his entire left cheek now came to rest comfortably against something soft yet firm.
"I knew I'd hear the answer I wanted...
"Just now I was imagining my retired life. What should I do after that? I think I could spend at least half of every day making babies."
"
..."
You couldn't see Tsunade's face in the night, but her reply to the situation was simply:
"Pfft."
"...My words don't mean anything weird, okay? Why do you always go there? I was talking about hobbies! Like, actual hobbies—you thought I meant investing money every day. Nooo, I meant spending time sculpting little clay figures. That's been my hobby forever. Didn't you know?"
If that's what you're thinking... I'd just rather die.
How can a young person have such perverted thoughts? Although come to think of it, even though you've kept that seventeen- or eighteen-year-old appearance all along, Tsunade is actually almost thirty now, it's said...
The joy from making tiny clay figurines through these two different methods was naturally quite different.
Yet age seemed like an eternal taboo when it came to women.
Tsunade's face darkened instantly, and she immediately went to chase Haseo away, standing up abruptly.
But right afterward, she stifled a startled gasp and reluctantly sat back down instead.
Haseo reached out and pulled at her slightly, though exactly how he managed to stop her wasn't very clear.
"Sorry, that one was a bad prosthetic reaction."
However...
Why should one hand take the fall for the other?
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