"Mm, this..."
Listening to the boy before him—only eleven or twelve years old, yet already Konoha's most outstanding talent, someone who could be mentioned in the same breath as the Nara Clan genius capable of serving as Konoha's chief strategist—Mitokado Homura's slightly relaxed brow furrowed even deeper. After a thoughtful hum, he found himself unable to say anything more.
Utatane Koharu, seated across from him with neither pleasure nor displeasure showing on her face, also knitted her brows tightly.
As Chiba's words fell, the entire Conference Room No. 3 instantly sank into silence.
A heavy atmosphere pressed down on them.
What Chiba had said was no different from what Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had been thinking. Precisely because they had considered this, they felt helpless—and had secretly summoned Chiba to think of a solution together.
After all, in their minds, only two people could solve such a thorny problem.
One was Nara Shikaku. His wisdom had already been thoroughly proven during this Third Great Ninja War.
The other was, naturally, Chiba before them. Though young, this child always came up with brilliant schemes. Several critical strategies of his had practically determined the direction of the entire Ninja World War. In terms of the big picture, attention to detail, and strategy, this boy left no gaps—he was even slightly superior to Nara Shikaku.
Both of their strategic styles favored caution and reliability. Comparatively, Nara Shikaku was steadier, while Chiba combined stability with unpredictability. Both were masters at this sort of "preventive measure."
Now, Nara Shikaku was away on a mission. That left only the boy before them.
Still, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had not expected that this incident would leave even this young man somewhat at a loss.
Yet although it had been unexpected, they were not too surprised.