Two days later.
At Konoha’s main gate, the sunlight was a little dazzling.
Kamizuki Izumo leaned idly against the guard post and let out a huge yawn.
As one of the guards at Konoha’s gate, he found the job truly monotonous.
Aside from occasionally checking the travel documents of merchants entering and leaving the village, they spent most of their time staring into space.
Beside him, Hagane Kotetsu was looking down as he organized the registry.
“Hey, Kotetsu.”
Kamizuki Izumo nudged his companion with his elbow.
“Want to get a drink tonight?
The usual place.”
Hagane Kotetsu did not even look up.
“No.”
“I just lost money yesterday.
I’m not in the mood.”
Just as the two began bickering as usual, rhythmic footsteps came from the road outside the gate.
The sound was not loud, but every step seemed to fall in time with their heartbeats.
Kamizuki Izumo instinctively raised his head and looked past the long fence.
At the end of the road, a young man was walking toward them.
He wore a plain robe without any insignia, and his black hair fluttered gently in the wind.
Although he walked alone, he gave them an extremely strange impression.
It was as though he had merged with the surrounding wind, sunlight, and even the dust on the ground.
Nothing about his presence felt out of place.
He seemed so natural that it was unsettling.
“Hey…”
Kamizuki Izumo’s voice caught in his throat.
He instinctively straightened up, one hand quietly reaching for the ninja tool pouch strapped to his thigh.
The approaching man’s aura was far too unusual.
That abyssal, ocean-like serenity was definitely not something an ordinary person could possess.
Hagane Kotetsu noticed his companion’s strange reaction and sharply raised his head as well.
The young man did not stop and soon reached the checkpoint.
“Show me your identification.”
Kamizuki Izumo tried to remain calm as he held out his hand, following procedure.
The young man’s expression remained calm as he took a slightly worn booklet from his pocket and handed it over.
Kamizuki Izumo took the booklet and opened it to the first page, his gaze sweeping over the photograph and name.
Then his eyes widened until they nearly popped out of their sockets.
“Chi…
Chiba?”
Kamizuki Izumo’s voice rose by an octave.
At the sound of that name, Hagane Kotetsu shuddered violently.
He snatched the ninja registration booklet from Izumo’s hand and stared at the information on it.
Name: Chiba.
Rank: Chūnin.
ID: 012604.
There was no mistake.
But…
How was that possible?
Hagane Kotetsu abruptly looked up.
His gaze shifted repeatedly between the young man before him and the photograph on the identification booklet.
The person in the photograph had the reserve and timidity of a civilian-born ninja in his eyes.
But the person standing before him was different.
Although traces of his former appearance remained in his features, the composure and indifference emanating from his very bones made it seem as though his soul had been replaced!
What terrified Hagane Kotetsu most was not the change in Chiba’s demeanor, but a memory from over a year ago.
At the time, he had been organizing the list of people entering and leaving the village when he noticed a Chūnin named Chiba.
Chiba had accepted a C-rank escort mission and left the village, but had not returned for an entire month.
Logically, being that far overdue meant he had most likely defected or died.
Hagane Kotetsu had hurried to the Hokage’s office to report it.
And the result?
The Third Hokage had brushed him off with a casual remark, saying that Chiba had been assigned another secret mission and there was no need to worry.
And now, this man who was supposedly carrying out a “secret mission” had finally returned!
“Is there a problem?”
Chiba looked at the two stunned men and spoke indifferently.
His voice was quiet, yet it carried an undeniable sense of oppression.
Hagane Kotetsu’s scalp went numb, as though some terrifying prehistoric beast had set its sights on him.
“No…
no problem!”
Hagane Kotetsu handed back the ninja identification booklet, his movements as stiff as a puppet’s.
Chiba took it and slipped it into his pocket.
Without sparing the two men another glance, he walked straight through Konoha’s gate.
“Kotetsu, don’t you think…”
“The way he looked at us just now was like he was looking at two ants?”
Watching Chiba’s retreating figure, Kamizuki Izumo swallowed, his voice trembling.
Hagane Kotetsu did not answer.
He abruptly turned around and sprinted toward the Hokage Building.
He had to report this immediately!
There was definitely something wrong with Chiba!
…
The streets of Konoha were as bustling as ever.
The calls of street vendors mingled with children’s laughter.
Chiba walked through the crowd at an unhurried pace.
Enhanced by his Perfect Sage Body, not a single movement within a hundred meters escaped his perception.
This was the confidence that came with power.
Over a year ago, he had been nothing more than a worthless Chūnin—mere cannon fodder.
Even while walking down the street, he had needed to remain cautious, afraid of offending the heir of some powerful clan.
But now, he looked down upon the village.
Everyone here, along with all their conspiracies and schemes, seemed utterly ridiculous before his power to crush everything.
Soon, he stopped at an intersection.
To the right was a path leading toward the edge of the village, a desolate area covered in dense forest.
Chiba did not hesitate for even a second.
He turned and walked directly onto the weed-covered path to the right.
It led to the Senju Clan’s former compound.
…
In the Hokage’s office, the strong smell of tobacco filled the room.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his large desk and took a deep pull from his pipe.
Amid the swirling smoke, his age-spotted face looked troubled and uncertain.
Before him, a fox-masked ANBU knelt on one knee.
“Are you certain it’s really him?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a ring of smoke, his voice low.
“Yes, Hokage-sama.”
“The guards at the main gate have already verified his identity.”
“He is indeed Chiba, the Chūnin who left the village nearly two years ago.”
The ANBU lowered his head as he delivered his report.
Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, a complicated gleam flashing through his clouded eyes.
Chiba.
Of course he had not forgotten that name.
He was the Chūnin boy whom Tsunade had taken an interest in and brought along with her.
At the time, Sarutobi Hiruzen had reviewed all of Chiba’s records but found nothing remarkable.
He had simply assumed that Tsunade had made another absurd decision on a whim after losing money gambling or getting drunk somewhere.
In any case, Chiba was only an insignificant Chūnin.
If Tsunade wanted to take him with her, so be it.
As long as he did not cause any serious trouble, it did not matter.
However, nearly two years had passed since then.
Now the boy had suddenly returned to the village.
What about Tsunade?
Why had she not returned with him?
What annoyed Sarutobi Hiruzen even more was that Chiba had not immediately reported to the Hokage’s office after returning to the village.
According to Konoha’s rules, ninja returning after a long absence had to report to the Hokage at once!
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the clock on the wall.
A full half hour had passed since the ANBU reported Chiba’s arrival.
What was the boy dawdling over?
Could he have spent so long with Tsunade that he had picked up her bad habit of ignoring the rules?
Did he think that being a disciple of one of the Sannin meant he could disregard the Hokage?
A trace of displeasure flashed through Sarutobi Hiruzen’s eyes.
He was Tsunade’s teacher, which naturally made him Chiba’s grandmaster.
What on earth had Tsunade taught the boy over the past two years?
“Go.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his pipe, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“Bring him here.”
“Tell him it’s the Hokage’s order.”
“…”