Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

Since Haseo's toxin condition had already been fully cleared, the comrades who had voluntarily kept watch outside his hospital room stopped their self-assigned mission. When Haseo arrived at the Frontline Hospital carrying his newly acquired weapon, he was finally informed that he must leave the hospital by tomorrow morning or else he would be forcibly removed, with the medical ninjas recording a remark in his ninja file labeling him as "cowardly, evading battle."

Haseo had no intention of bearing such a reputation. More importantly, there was no longer any reason for him to remain at the Frontline Hospital, so naturally he planned to leave here by tomorrow morning.

Most likely, his squad would soon receive a new mission afterward and head back into battle for the next fight.

Similar to Haseo, Sakumo Hatake's previously emaciated body—worn down from starvation—had recovered after this period of rest, so he too would be leaving the hospital alongside Haseo. Unfortunately, they didn't belong to the same squad, meaning they probably wouldn't see each other again for quite some time.

Hopefully neither of them would die on the battlefield. Although in the story known to Haseo, someone his age like Sakumo would continue fighting actively throughout the war, who could guarantee that nothing unexpected might happen now... As the first person he'd met in Konoha, it would be appropriate to describe their relationship using the word "friends" at this point.

However, Sakumo wasn't thinking nearly as much about this as Haseo was. Despite being younger, Sakumo had adapted far better to war. To him, the war was simply one mission followed by another. At worst, he might starve for a month somewhere?

That kind of attitude was definitely worth learning from. From Sakumo, a true "veteran" on the battlefield, Haseo had learned plenty of experience. So he calmed himself down and resumed studying Lightning Release techniques.

Haseo formed hand seals with both hands, then weak arcs of electricity flickered across his body once again. He concentrated chakra into his palm, and in the blink of an eye, lightning danced between his fingers—wild and uncontrollable…

In every sense of the word, calling it Lightning Cutter made perfect sense.

Yet, having already mastered [Lightning Release: Mikage], this was just a minor trick for adjusting the intensity of Lightning Release in different parts of his body. If he wished, he could even use his feet to release the "Lightning Cutter."

After briefly testing it, Haseo quickly dispersed the lightning chakra in his hand. He certainly didn't plan to test the move's power inside a hospital ward—that would just be asking for trouble...

Then, Haseo pulled out a short sword from behind his back, and as he revealed the entire blade, bright Lightning Release immediately surged across its surface.

[Chakra Blade]? Where did you get that? Seeing the level of Lightning Release radiating from the sword, Sakumo couldn't help but ask aloud… Could it be that Haseo had snuck off somewhere, found himself a Chakra Blade all on his own? Did Konoha secretly belong to his family?

[Lightning Release] was a type of Elemental Chakra Affinity that easily conducted through metal. However, the intensity of [Lightning Release] on Haseo's short sword at this moment was far beyond what ordinary metal could handle. Therefore, upon first glance, Sakumo Hatake mistakenly identified it as a Chakra Blade. After all, metal capable of conducting high-intensity chakra wasn't something easy to come by.

Haseo was merely a new ninja with no special status or powerful backing, so under normal circumstances, there was no way he should've acquired something like that.

Regarding Hatake's question, Haseo simply smiled and said, "As long as I'm willing, any weapon in my hands can become a Chakra Blade."

Perhaps Chakra Blades were indeed rare weapons, but to Haseo, they held little value. Because just as he said, he could transform ordinary weapons into Chakra Blades — it was actually quite simple, merely an advanced application of Dōruku and [Mikage]… Like right now, all he had done was lay down a path of [Water Release] along the blade, allowing [Lightning Release] to pass through it effortlessly.

After understanding Haseo's method, Sakumo Hatake muttered, "What a handy ability…"

Haseo thought to himself, Why don't you try training to use two chakra natures at once? You might actually learn it.

While one tinkered endlessly with [Lightning Release] and the other never stopped eating, a whole day passed in no time.

Such things often happened to Haseo: He would always make thorough battle preparations, both mentally and materially. Yet at times like these, combat always arrived earlier than expected… No one could tell whether it was just bad luck or if war itself enjoyed messing with everyone's plans.

Time passed into the dead of night. A loud noise jolted Haseo awake from his sleep, and under the cover of darkness, the once quiet, orderly Konoha base was instantly thrown into chaos and noise.

Haseo and Hatake exchanged a glance before immediately jumping up without hesitation, hurriedly pulling shoes onto their feet, then hastily strapping on armor, weapons, and ninja tools before rushing outside the tent.

In the dark night, the battlefield carnage had already begun.

Espionage infiltration? Rebellion? Or an invasion attack?

Outside their tent, the chaos had completely erupted. Almost instinctively, both Haseo and Hatake turned their gazes toward the direction of the Forward Command Post. Then, astonishingly, the scene unfolded exactly as they saw it.

"What… is that?" Unquestionably, the young Sakumo Hatake made for an excellent straight man.

And almost as soon as he saw the sight, he prepared to rush toward the command center — but beside him, Haseo abruptly grabbed his arm.

"It's an Uchiha's Susanoo," Haseo was very familiar with that towering "blue giant" over dozens of meters tall. Yet seeing such a presence up close — the sheer intimidation it gave off was unbearable for anyone ordinary.

Haseo kept his hand pressed on Sakumo Hatake while rapidly continuing, "Unless something unexpected happened, it should be Kagami Uchiha. Since he used his ultimate move right from the start, the situation we're in now is easy to figure out... Either a small-scale but ultra-elite infiltration operation, or a large-scale invasion at the battlefield level. Thus, the enemy's identity becomes obvious — only Sunagakure could pull off something like this. It's highly possible that Konoha's command system has already been destroyed at the initial stage. If we rashly rush over there without receiving accurate orders, it'll only add to the chaos within the encampment!"

"Don't worry though," Haseo declared firmly, "regardless of what happens, the enemies will quickly come directly to us anyway."

After all, where he and Hatake currently stood — the Konoha Frontline Hospital — was always the top priority target for destruction by the enemy.

As he spoke, Haseo once again turned his gaze toward the command headquarters. Then, an even more shocking scene unfolded: regardless of sides, the most conspicuous object on the battlefield right now was definitely [Susanoo], piloted by Kagami Uchiha. However, this chakra-powered giant did not immediately enter combat. Instead, it raised one arm high and began forming coded messages with a single hand — the secret signals known only to Konoha ninja.

Indeed, although Konoha's command system could easily be destroyed at the first moment, equally true was the fact that no one could stop Kagami Uchiha from restoring it at the second possible moment.

That's how ninjas did battle.

PS:

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