Following the crowd, he walked straight to the Mission Hall.
The hall was bustling with people, filled everywhere with ninja preparing to accept missions or submit completed ones.
Sitting behind the counter was a Special Jonin named Tanaka Keichi.
Tanaka Keichi flipped through the documents in his hand, his peripheral vision catching Chiba walking up to the counter.
He curled his lip imperceptibly.
He had some impression of this unlucky guy, Chiba.
A useless waste with mediocre talent, who only managed to scrape through the Third Shinobi World War by hiding among piles of corpses.
“What mission do you want to accept?”
Tanaka Keichi didn’t even raise his head, his voice dripping with businesslike indifference.
“Tanaka-senpai, money’s been a bit tight lately.”
“I’d like to take a C-rank escort mission with a higher payout.”
Chiba rubbed his hands together.
On his face, he squeezed out a flattering smile.
“They’re all here. Pick for yourself.”
Tanaka Keichi pushed a stack of scrolls in front of Chiba.
Chiba repeatedly thanked him and began looking through them, putting on a show.
His movements were slow, but his eyes rapidly scanned every single mission.
He couldn’t search directly for missions going to Tanzaku Street.
Filtering choices with such clear intent would easily arouse suspicion.
First, he picked up a mission going to the Land of Fire’s capital to check it out, shaking his head because the “payout was too low.”
Then, he pulled out a mission heading to the Land of Hot Springs border, putting it back while complaining that the “route was too dangerous.”
After picking through over a dozen scrolls back and forth, a clear look of impatience had appeared on Tanaka Keichi’s face.
Right at this moment, Chiba’s finger pressed onto a slightly worn scroll.
He deliberately hesitated for a good while before gritting his teeth and pulling the scroll out.
“Senpai, this one will do.”
Tanaka Keichi took the scroll and glanced over it.
[C-rank Mission: Escort a batch of precious medicinal herbs to Kikyo Town in the western Land of Fire.]
That small town was extremely close to Tanzaku Street, separated by only half a day’s journey.
Missions like this with remote routes and payouts only slightly higher than ordinary C-rank missions were usually ones nobody wanted to take.
Because of this, the look Tanaka Keichi gave Chiba became even more contemptuous.
To earn just a few thousand ryo more in commission, he was even willing to take on a miserable chore like this.
Truly a useless loser.
“Take the commission paper.”
“At two in the afternoon, gather at the village entrance.”
Tanaka Keichi stamped the mission seal and tossed the document back.
Chiba received the document with both hands, bowing repeatedly once again.
The moment he turned to leave the counter, his originally slouched back imperceptibly straightened by half a margin.
The first step was complete.
That afternoon.
In front of Konoha Village’s wide main entrance.
A merchant caravan consisting of three horse-drawn carriages was doing a final headcount.
The caravan boss was a fat merchant named Yamada, who was currently constantly wiping sweat with a handkerchief.
“Konoha only sent you alone?”
Seeing Chiba walking over by himself, Boss Yamada’s brows instantly knit together.
“Rest assured, Boss Yamada.”
“I am very familiar with this route and can absolutely guarantee the safety of the medicinal herbs.”
Chiba stepped forward slowly and said in a calm tone.
His obsequious smiles in front of Tanaka Keichi were because there were too many ninja in the Mission Hall.
Chiba didn’t dare expose himself recklessly.
However, an ordinary person like Yamada didn’t warrant such treatment.
“Hurry up and get on.”
“Don’t delay the journey!”
Yamada grumbled dissatisfiedly.
However, to save on the expensive cost of hiring an entire squad, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept it.
Hearing this, Chiba jumped directly onto the driver’s seat of one of the carriages.
The gatekeeper ninja were still the veteran duo, Izumo and Kotetsu.
They checked Chiba’s mission permit and verified his chakra signature.
“Safe travels.”
Izumo waved his hand, signaling permission to pass.
The carriage wheels rolled slowly, crushing over the white line at the village entrance that symbolized the boundary of the barrier.
The instant he crossed through the barrier, the giant boulder that had been weighing down on Chiba’s heart was finally completely shattered.
The air of freedom poured into his lungs through his nasal passage.
Lowering his head, a glimmer of wild ambition emerged in his eyes.
That evening.
The caravan encountered several stray samurai who lacked eyes.
With just a few precise Kunai throws, Chiba easily dealt with those petty thieves.
Seeing Chiba’s decisive and ruthless execution, Boss Yamada’s attitude also shifted from initial contempt to eager flattery.
At night.
The caravan set up camp in the forest.
Chiba voluntarily took on the night watch duty.
He sat cross-legged on a thick tree trunk.
After confirming no one was around, Chiba slowly raised his right hand.
No hand seals were needed.
A faint green light softly bloomed in his palm.
Immediately following that, a sapling as thick as a thumb sprouted out from the surface of Chiba’s skin.
Green leaves full of vitality swayed gently in the night wind.
Chiba only felt a tingling sensation across his scalp.
This was Mokuton (Wood Release)!
This miracle of creating life out of nothing completely defied the physical laws of conventional ninjutsu.
As long as he injected more chakra, this thumb-thick little sapling could instantly turn into a towering tree that strangled everything.
No wonder a proud and ruthless powerhouse like Uchiha Madara repeatedly suffered setbacks in the face of Mokuton (Wood Release).
This was simply not a power that conventional ninja could contend with.
A moment later, Chiba immediately withdrew his chakra.
The little sapling withered in an instant, turning into a small handful of ash that scattered in the wind.
He didn’t dare test it on a larger scale.
In the middle of nowhere, causing too much commotion could easily invite unnecessary trouble.
Right now, his primary task was to find Tsunade.