At around six o'clock the next morning, at Konoha's main gate.
"This..."
Shibata, who was in charge of inspecting those leaving the village, widened his eyes slightly. He looked at the boy on the left, then at the boy on the right. His mouth opened and closed, but he was too astonished to speak.
Even Kusunoki, assisting beside him, wore a face full of surprise and confusion as he looked at the two boys before him.
"Sorry, could you please hurry? This is a mission assigned to me by the Hokage, and I need to depart as soon as possible."
One of the two boys in front of them extended the permit in his hand a little farther and spoke very politely.
"Oh... oh!"
Seeing the Hokage's permit, Shibata, who was responsible for the review, finally snapped out of his stunned state. He hurriedly accepted the permit held out before him and began examining it.
Yet even as he checked it, he could not help glancing repeatedly at the two boys in front of him.
Only after quite some time did he confirm the Fourth Hokage's authorization.
Then, after the boy could not help reminding him, he finally said, "Verification complete. You may leave the village."
"Mm, thank you."
The boy nodded. There was no impatience on his face, nor any displeasure at Shibata for delaying him. After nodding, he started toward the gate.
"W-Wait, Lord Chiba! Please wait!"
But just then, Kusunoki, who was assisting nearby, suddenly seemed to think of something and hurriedly called out to stop the two boys.
Perhaps because he was too anxious, his voice rose sharply the moment he spoke. He even braced himself against the desk at the checkpoint and leaned halfway over it.
"What is it?"
Both boys stopped at the same