I remember, of the two names Shikamaru Nara mentioned, one sounded very similar to this one!
I remember, one of them was something like Nitta—an awfully strange name.
And the other one...
Bracing himself stiffly against the corner of the wall, uncertainty, confusion, and hesitation flickered through Second Pillar's wide eyes. In his mind, he kept recalling the first thing Shikamaru Nara had said when he passed beneath the tree during Sasuke's surveillance.
It had been about the Strongest Ninja's name.
But at the time, his attention had been on Hada Ichiba. He had only heard the latter half of the conversation, while the first half was extremely hazy in his memory. And the two possible names Shikamaru Nara had mentioned for the Strongest Ninja had both been in that first half.
At this moment, he could only vaguely remember surnames like "Nitta." As for the other name, he only felt that it was definitely connected to the Chiba mentioned by this man.
It seemed like... perhaps... that uncertain second name had contained the word Chiba.
But it was too unclear, too vague.
If that was the case, if this Chiba they had mentioned was the Strongest Ninja Shikamaru Nara and the others were looking for...
Then Hada Ichiba looked exactly like him.
And he had displayed such formidable strength...
Then, the next second, although he had not fully recalled that name, he instinctively linked Chiba and Hada Ichiba together in his heart.
"Alright, alright, I know, I know. He was Maha's son. The Taki Family had always been fiercely loyal to Konoha. Maha was willing to bear infamy even after death for the sake of his companions, even willing to let it extend to the next generation. And Chiba, his son, saved the village several times. He was the