"Whew..."
As he stepped out of the Hokage Building, Chiba slowly let out a breath. His eyes involuntarily swept over everything before him. The villagers all wore smiles as they went on with their daily routines, completely unaware of the bloody rebellion brewing within that noble clan.
However, Chiba did not dwell on it too much. The village's peace and stability also represented Konoha's safety under the Fourth Hokage's rule. As long as the village was safe, the people he cared about would have a safe place to return to.
Although, as a transmigrator, he now possessed a certain degree of strength and the ability to protect himself, and could go anywhere, it would be a lie to say that he had no feelings for Konoha after growing up and living here. Still, it was not as if he absolutely had to remain in Konoha.
But for the others—for those he cared about—Konoha was their hometown, their one and only hometown. It was the hometown they would protect even at the cost of their lives, and the home they could return to.
That also meant Chiba could never leave Konoha. As long as those people were here, this place was his home.
Thus, seeing the peace and stability before him truly lifted a weight from Chiba's heart.
At this moment, he understood why the people in the village had behaved so unusually.
This kind of "unusualness" probably only existed under the rule of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. It was the villagers' absolute trust in the Hokage who had turned the tide of war almost like a "god."
This time... I calmed down so quickly...
As that thought surfaced, Chiba suddenly felt an inexplicable notion rise within him.
Silently glancing at the marks in his palms left by his nails—wounds