"Pssh... pssh..."
Faint white vapor flashed past his temples and dissipated into the air as the scenery sped backward around him.
Whenever he thought of the day they had graduated early and formed their team, he always felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.
Especially at Hirohiko's slow reaction.
And at this moment, as Chiba raced through the mountain forest toward the direction of that furious, resentment-filled beastly roar, a faintly warm smile appeared on his face.
By now, the Ration Balls he had swallowed had been completely digested. With the vitality of Hashirama's Power in his cells, combined with the abundant nutrients in those Ration Balls, Chiba's body had recovered rather well. At the very least, he could now maintain high-speed movement.
If necessary, he could even enter Gate of View Mode. Though he could not increase his Chakra reserves to the full extent of Gate of View Mode, he could still obtain roughly Kage-level Chakra. Of course, entering it again would basically inflict irreversible damage on the root of his body—every cell in him. It would reduce the number of times his cells could divide and so on. It was practically consuming his life.
This could be considered a blessing in disguise—or perhaps an unexpected delight.
Honestly, when he had first swallowed the Ration Balls from his Ninja Tool Pouch, he had merely thought that something was better than nothing. He truly needed replenishment as well. Chiba had not expected that although these Ration Balls were inferior in quality to the latest bean-sized special Ration Balls and contained far fewer nutrients, their accumulated quantity still provided a considerable amount of nutrition. They were quite beneficial in replenishing and nourishing his cells' energy.
Moreover, Chiba now possessed Hashirama's Power. His body, localized and fused with the core power of the