"Bang, bang, bang!"
"Smack, smack, smack!"
"Thunk, thunk, thunk!"
In the most remote corner of Konoha's residential district, a series of repair noises carried far into the distance.
"Smack!"
Driving the last nail into the roof, Chiba stopped swinging his hammer and wiped away a light sheen of sweat.
That should do it.
He looked over the neat, sturdy roof, making sure every unstable spot and potential hazard had been dealt with, then wiped his sweat again and slowly stood up.
Another two hours had passed. He had gone through the entire Japanese-style wooden house from top to bottom, repairing every possible danger spot. He had reinforced the outside of the basement, set up a simplified version of the Sage of Six Paths' Barrier Jutsu at the entrance, and placed several traps inside the tunnel. Only now did Chiba finally feel at ease.
Everything that needed to be done had been done. There was nothing left for him to do.
"Tap!"
Having finished all that, Chiba did not hesitate. After putting away his tools, he leaped down from the roof and landed on the ground behind the Japanese-style wooden house.
However, after landing, he did not leave right away. He paused slightly, his gaze falling ahead of him.
On the clearing before the small grove.
Other than a few potholes and cracks, there were only three wooden posts standing in that clearing.
One seemed never to have been used. It bore no marks at all and looked like nothing more than an ordinary wooden post. Another was densely covered in fist marks and kick marks, its side facing Chiba slightly sunken in.
The last one, however, had been completely dented inward and was nearly broken. It looked unusable now.
They were the three wooden posts Chiba used for his daily