This was...
Third Hokage...
And... Yukina?
He stopped in his tracks, lightly bracing himself against a nearby tree trunk to steady the inertia of his abrupt halt. Chiba narrowed his eyes slightly. At this moment, his vision was somewhat blurred. Though the distance was only a few dozen meters, it still looked indistinct to him.
Those were...
Third Hokage's attendants?
Why did something feel off? Were they crying?
In the next second, though his vision was blurred, Chiba was, after all, an expert at reading body language. He immediately noticed the two people standing opposite Third Hokage, crying before two forms on the ground that appeared to be covered by white cloth.
Their shaking shoulders and the occasional motion of wiping their eyes undoubtedly meant they were crying.
From their behavior, Chiba almost instinctively determined that these two shinobi were Third Hokage's new attendants—two outstanding members of the younger generation temporarily assigned to him after Third Hokage returned to help Minato Namikaze handle administrative affairs.
Chiba even knew them.
He had seen their files during the selection process. At the time, personnel were being arranged for Kushina's protection, and the two of them had originally been on the security roster.
Later, they had been removed.
In the end, Watanabe Kenshin had assigned them to Third Hokage's side. On one hand, they helped relieve some of the burden of paperwork; on the other, they served as part of Third Hokage's protection.
At this time, Third Hokage was kneeling on one knee beside the two cloth-covered forms. The Adamantine Staff transformed from Enma stood upright on the ground, seeming to gaze at the two white-covered forms as well. It seemed to have noticed his presence and was looking at him.
Yukina was there too.
Thank goodness, Yukina was all right.
At the