Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

After traveling for a day and through the night, Haseo followed the small squad back to Konoha. Then they wound their way through the tightly packed buildings of the village. By the time they finally entered an empty underground space through a secret passage, they'd nearly made Haseo dizzy.

Yes, it was an "underground space," not simply a "basement." As a ninja village, Konoha possessed a massive subterranean architectural complex. In emergencies, it could function as a shelter; at other times, it could hide things—be them people, objects, or simply secrets—that couldn't be exposed to the light of day.

The underground space was dim, stifling, yet expansive. After descending layer upon layer of stairs into unknown depths, the group entered an open "hall" where Sansho was already waiting.

The other three ninja in the group nodded respectfully toward Sansho before walking past her and deeper into the pitch-black interior of the hall. However, Haseo stopped and stood beside her instead.

"Haseo, you must be wondering why we recalled you from the Front Line at such a time… Unfortunately, this is an emergency mission," Sansho said to her disciple. It had only been half a month since they last saw each other, but she noticed he seemed a bit taller again.

Since he had now met up with Sansho, Haseo figured it was time for things to be explained. Yet at that moment, another thought popped into his mind: "Sansho-sensei… Could this have something to do with Danzo Shimura?"

In Konoha, when something sinister was going on—or about to—and no one could figure out who was responsible? That would almost certainly be Danzo's handiwork.

"Why would you mention Shimura at a time like this? Do you have some misunderstanding about him? You know, although Shimura may be evil, he's also ugly…"

Haseo gave Sansho a long look… Teacher, do you realize what you just said?

Character consistency—don't mess it up now!

"Erm…" Taken aback by Haseo suddenly bringing up Danzo Shimura, Sansho blurted out her unfiltered thought without thinking. Her face flushed slightly from the embarrassment of speaking ill behind someone's back—especially in front of a junior. Trying quickly to recover her composure, she continued, "What I mean is, good and evil are relative concepts. Everyone has their own perspective. What you perceive as evil might appear as good to someone else. Do you understand me, my student?"

She actually said "my student"—clearly trying to sound noble and brush aside what she'd just let slip.

Although Haseo found it slightly amusing, he had no choice but to play along, "I understand, Sansho-sensei. I'm familiar with dialectics. And besides… while the same thing might seem good or evil depending on the viewpoint, there's always good where there's evil, and vice versa. There's never a world that's entirely good or wholly evil."

He suddenly recalled that saying, "There are no villains in the Hokage's eyes." That was nothing but a shallow hypocrisy, a self-satisfying illusion held by outsiders. Only someone truly living in this world like him could understand how ridiculous that notion was.

Right is right, and wrong is wrong.

If one could justify their actions with seemingly reasonable reasons, gain forgiveness due to personal position, or harm others under the cover of a self-consistent ideology, then from an outsider's perspective, there wouldn't be a single villain on Earth.

Sansho sensed Haseo's attitude from his tone. She thought to herself, I'm just trying to avoid embarrassment—why are you being so profound?

"Anyway, currently, things in the village have nothing to do with Shimura... at least he's only a minor factor. The current situation in Konoha is extremely grim—it might even end up with the village breaking apart. So, at a time like this, don't hesitate. According to your words before, our position is righteousness, and whoever stands in our way is evil."

This statement was unusually firm.

From these words, Haseo picked up two messages. First, in the end, this affair was still somehow connected to Danzo Shimura. Second, since Sansho had spoken so decisively, it appeared that violence would soon erupt in the Hidden Leaf Village.

However, judging from the situation when he entered the village, everything appeared perfectly stable. There was no sign that Konoha had been attacked by Sunagakure or other villages.

"I've heard about your progress over the past half month. How should I put it? As your mentor, I feel genuinely pleased," Sansho suddenly switched the topic into something more personal, just as Haseo was ready to listen carefully.

Caught slightly off guard, Haseo couldn't help wondering—shouldn't she continue explaining why she summoned him, just a regular Genin, back to the village instead of turning the conversation back toward herself?

Sensei, this really isn't the time to start getting all emotional.

"I barely kept up with the schedule arranged by Sansho-sensei. According to the teacher's standard, I was originally supposed to have mastered Lightning Release before leaving the village and heading to the battlefield," Haseo replied.

Sansho nodded. Although she knew Haseo's achievements extended far beyond merely mastering Lightning Release—he had innovated techniques in Taijutsu and applied multiple chakra natures effectively—such things were better left unspoken between them.

"Do you have any idea why I called you back to the village?" Then, she finally returned to the main topic.

Yet this couldn't be blamed on her for talking too much; precisely because the matter was so serious, she had to make proper preparation beforehand.

Haseo shook his head firmly, "Teacher, exactly what happened?"

Instead of answering directly, Sansho continued speaking at her own pace, "Firstly, during the time you stayed at the Front Line, your strength has made a leap forward—you could now be *barely* considered a ninja with actual combat capability..."

It was a compliment, certainly—even if not stated outright. Considering that all ninjas Sansho had ever interacted with were elites among elites, such a remark from her mouth was definitely not ordinary.

"In the second place," Takeo continued, "your combat style involving multiple elemental jutsu combined with complex hand seals is particularly effective against the Uchiha."

"Uchiha?" Haseo clearly hesitated for a moment. After going over 24 hours without sleep, his mind might have been slightly foggy from exhaustion, so for an instant, he thought he must've misheard.

"Yes, the Uchiha," Sansho emphasized again. "You participated in last night's counterattack against Sunagakure's surprise assault, right?"

What's this got to do with the Front Line now?

Haseo nodded before replying, "Yes, although in my opinion, Sunagakure's achievements were limited. Although we suffered some damage, it wasn't serious—we'll be able to regroup soon enough."

Recalling the condition of the camp he'd seen that morning, despite Sunagakure's grand display of force, he believed they hadn't gained much from this attack.

Sansho shook her head. Despite not being on the battlefield, the intel she'd received was clearer, more detailed, and more up-to-date than what Haseo had experienced firsthand.

That's why all the important details Haseo didn't know were crystal clear to her.

"To be precise, Sunagakure succeeded... The unit that launched the surprise attack last night was the most elite force brought by the Second Kazekage."

"The Second Kazekage?" Haseo questioned, puzzled. He didn't feel as though the enemy he faced was particularly elite—could it be that only weaklings came to the Frontline Hospital area, while the truly elite forces were somewhere else? He shrugged and shot back, "So what?"

"So," Sansho replied, "Kagami Uchiha is dead."

This information left Haseo frozen on the spot—this was something he absolutely never anticipated beforehand.

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