"Then I'll take my leave first, Lord Chiba."
Watching Chiba accept the command scroll in his hands with some hesitation, the Anbu Ninja gave a slight bow. After a low utterance, he departed with the Body Flicker Technique.
"Oh... right!"
Chiba's response seemed half a beat late. Only as the Anbu Ninja left did he speak as if suddenly coming to his senses.
This should be the letter of appointment, right?
Next should be an appointment letter making me an official assistant, removing the word "acting."
Sure enough, they decided it directly without even notifying me. As expected, I had no chance to object.
At this moment, he truly did not care about the Anbu Ninja's departure. All his thoughts were focused on the scroll.
If this assistant position really became official, then unless I was already dead—dead long ago and forgotten by everyone—I would definitely appear in the original story.
At the very least, I would be mentioned.
But now, it was impossible for me to exist in the original story, nor was there any legend about me. In other words, according to the greater course of events, I should die quietly like Senior Hokoma and be forgotten by everyone.
But what kind of death could make everyone forget? So much so that even Kakashi would never mention me.
As his attention focused on the scroll, Chiba's thoughts scattered. He had previously calculated that he might die in the Nine-Tails' Rampage. Even though Chiba had faced life and death many times, he still cared deeply when confronted with his own death date.
Of course, although he cared deeply now, he was no longer as terrified and panicked as he had been at first. He had already calmed down.
After all, knowing when one would die and risking one's life