At noon, in the Japanese-style wooden house.
"Then Hirohiko is in your hands, Yukina. I may be shut away researching for a while, so don't call me for dinner either. Let Kushina know!"
Chiba paused on the stairs leading upstairs and called down.
"Okay!"
Yukina, who had been "reading" a novel downstairs, turned back in reply. Then she stood up, familiarly picked up the lunch box set nearby and the food Kushina had left before heading out that Chiba had not eaten, then grabbed the bamboo pole by the door and tapped her way outside.
It was already mealtime. Hirohiko had changed dramatically these past few days. He no longer refused to eat anything like before, and he was eating more and more every day. Yukina did not want him to go hungry. Once Chiba had told her, she headed out straight away.
Chiba silently watched Yukina expertly finish everything and leave. Then he ran upstairs, went to Nao's empty room, and watched Yukina skillfully depart through Nao's window. Only after letting out a sigh of relief did he enter his own room.
The moment he stepped inside, Chiba wasted no words. He sat directly at his desk and spread out the latter half of the Curse Mark Jutsu scroll he had obtained from the Third Hokage.
Bang!
After he untied the cord binding the scroll, the palm-sized scroll suddenly burst into a cloud of white smoke.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
In an instant, amid the billowing white smoke, the scrolls on Chiba's desk sprang outward and rolled onto the floor, scattering everywhere.
What was this?
Chiba's pupils contracted slightly at the sudden development, though he did not react too strongly.
Could this also be like...
At the same time, as he watched the spreading white smoke, a sense of foreboding