Two days later.
The gates of Konoha.
The sunlight was somewhat glaring.
Izumo Kamizuki leaned boredly against the guard post, letting out a massive yawn.
As one of Konoha’s gatekeepers, this job was truly dull.
Aside from occasionally checking the travel documents of passing merchant caravans, they spent most of their time staring blankly into space.
Beside him, Kotetsu Hagane was looking down, organizing the registry log.
“Hey, Kotetsu.” Izumo nudged his companion with his elbow.
“Wanna grab a drink tonight? The usual place.”
Kotetsu didn’t even raise his head.
“Pass. I just lost money yesterday. I’m in no mood for that.”
Just as the two were engaging in their daily bickering, a rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed from the main road outside the gate.
The sound wasn’t loud, but every step that fell felt as if it were stepping precisely on the beat of a heartbeat.
Izumo subconsciously raised his head, his gaze crossing over the long fence.
At the end of the road, a young man was walking toward them.
The stranger wore a plain robe completely devoid of markings, his black hair fluttering gently in the wind.
Although he was merely a single person walking, he gave off an extraordinarily eerie illusion.
He seemed to blend entirely into the surrounding wind, sunlight, and even the dust on the ground.
There was no sense of discord whatsoever—a naturalness that was downright spine-chilling.
“Hey…” Izumo’s voice caught in his throat.
Instinctively, he straightened his posture, his palm stealthily reaching for the ninja tool pouch on his outer thigh.
The demeanor radiating from the approaching person was far too unique.
That deep, ocean-like tranquility was definitely not something an ordinary person could possess.
Noticing his partner’s abnormality, Kotetsu snapped his head up as well.
The young man didn’t stop his pace, soon arriving right before the checkpoint.
“Present your identification.” Izumo forced composure, reaching out his hand according to regulations.
The young man’s expression was serene as he pulled out a somewhat worn small booklet from his chest and handed it over.
Izumo took the booklet.
Opening the first page, his eyes swept over the photograph and name inside.
Then, his eyes widened larger and larger until his eyeballs almost popped out.
“Chi… Chiba?” Izumo’s voice instantly rose an octave higher.
Hearing that name, Kotetsu’s body shuddered violently.
He snatched the ninja ID from Izumo’s hands and stared fixedly at the information on it.
Name: Chiba
Rank: Chunin
ID Number: 012604
That’s right.
It was that Chiba!
But…
how was this possible?
Kotetsu snapped his head up.
His gaze darted back and forth between the young man standing before him and the photograph on the ID card.
The person in the photo bore the bashfulness and timidity of a civilian ninja between his brows.
Yet the person before him…
Though his facial features still carried traces of his former self, the composure and aloofness seeping from his very bones made it seem as if his soul had been replaced entirely!
What terrified Kotetsu most was not even the change in demeanor, but a memory from over a year ago.
At that time, while organizing the village entry and exit logs, he had discovered a Chunin named Chiba.
The kid had taken a C-rank escort mission to leave the village and hadn’t returned for a full month.
Logically, an overdue absence like that meant the ninja was in all probability a rogue or dead.
Back then, Kotetsu had hurriedly rushed to the Hokage’s Office to report it.
And the result?
The Third Hokage merely brushed it off offhandedly, saying Chiba was off executing another secret mission and telling him not to worry about it.
And now, this guy who was supposed to be executing a “secret mission” had actually just walked back in like this!
“Is there a problem?” Chiba spoke calmly, looking at the two utterly stunned guards before him.
His voice was very soft, yet carried an indisputable sense of pressure.
Kotetsu only felt his scalp go numb, as though targeted by some terrifying primeval beast.
“N-No problem!” Kotetsu handed the ninja ID back, his movements stiff like a puppet.
Chiba took the ID and casually slipped it into his robe.
Without giving the two another glance, he walked straight through the gates of Konoha.
“Kotetsu… don’t you think…”
“…the way he looked at us just now was like looking at two ants?”
Watching Chiba’s receding figure, Izumo swallowed hard, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
Kotetsu didn’t answer.
He turned around abruptly and sprinted like crazy toward the Hokage Residence.
He had to report this immediately!
This Chiba was definitely not right!
The streets of Konoha Village were as bustling as ever, street vendors’ shouts and children’s playful laughter intertwining in the air.
Chiba walked through the crowd at an unhurried pace.
With the boost from his Perfect Sage Body, every single movement within a hundred-meter radius could not escape his perception.
This was the confidence brought by sheer strength.
Over a year ago, he was still just a useless cannon-fodder Chunin.
Even walking down the street, he had to tread carefully, fearful of offending some scion of a prominent clan.
And now, he looked down upon this village.
Everyone here, all their conspiracies, all their schemes—before his all-crushing strength, they seemed utterly laughable.
Soon, he paused at an intersection.
To the left was the main avenue leading toward the prosperous heart of Konoha.
To the right was a desolate area toward the village’s periphery, veiled by dense forests.
Chiba didn’t hesitate for even a second.
He turned directly and walked down the weed-covered path to the right.
That was the former compound of the Senju clan.
Hokage’s Office.
The strong stench of pipe tobacco pervaded the room.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his broad desk, taking a deep drag from his pipe.
Wreathed in swirling smoke, his face—covered in age spots—appeared gloomy and uncertain.
Before him, an Anbu wearing a fox mask knelt on one knee.
“Are you certain it is him?” Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring, his voice deep.
“Yes, Hokage-sama,” the Anbu reported, bowing his head.
“The guards at the main gate have verified the identification documents. The individual is indeed Chiba, the Chunin who left the village nearly two years ago.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, a complex light flickering in his cloudy old eyes.
Chiba.
Naturally, he hadn’t forgotten the name.
The Chunin kid whom Tsunade took an interest in and kept by her side.
Back then, Hiruzen Sarutobi had reviewed all of Chiba’s files and found nothing remarkable whatsoever.
He had merely assumed Tsunade had lost money gambling outside or gotten drunk, making an absurd decision on a whim.
Regardless, it was just an insignificant Chunin.
If Tsunade wanted to take him along, so be it—as long as no major trouble was caused.
However, he had been gone for nearly two years.
Now, the kid had suddenly returned to the village.
And where was Tsunade?
Why hadn’t Tsunade returned with him?
What irritated Hiruzen Sarutobi even more was that since the kid was back in the village, why hadn’t he come straight to the Hokage’s Office to report in?
According to Konoha regulations, any ninja returning after an extended absence from the village was required to report to the Hokage immediately!
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the clock on the wall.
A full half-hour had already passed since the Anbu reported Chiba entering the gate.
What was this kid dawdling for?
Could it be that spending too much time beside Tsunade had infected him with her nasty habit of disregarding rules?
Presuming upon his status as a Sannin’s disciple, did he dare look down on him, the Hokage?
A flicker of displeasure flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes.
He was Tsunade’s teacher, making him this kid’s grandmaster.
Just what on earth had Tsunade taught this kid over the past nearly two years!
“Go,” Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“Bring him here.”
“Tell him it is the Hokage’s command.”