"..."
Faced with Tenten's seemingly disdainful words, Chiba's mouth twitched, and he remained silent. Meanwhile, Tenten beside him sank into deep thought again.
Never did I imagine that, even now, I'd be left speechless by a little girl.
Still, he felt no displeasure toward the current situation or Tenten's slightly disdainful remark.
On the contrary, it gave him a sense of warmth.
Perhaps it was because he had been born and raised in Konoha in this life. He had truly come to regard this village as his hometown, as his home.
Originally, he had thought his sense of belonging to Konoha came from Kushina, Hirohiko, and Yukina. After losing them, Chiba had once believed he no longer had any feelings for Konoha.
But once again, he had underestimated human emotions.
And underestimated his own dependence on Konoha.
Though he was unwilling to admit it, over the past dozen years—especially during that year at sea—the number of times he had recalled Konoha's scenery, the smell of grilled meat, and the sunny, peaceful atmosphere unique to this village had been second only to the number of times he thought of Kushina and the others.
In other words, Chiba had still missed Konoha a little over the past dozen years.
And precisely because of that, he understood just how much he depended on this village.
He also understood the kind of security this village gave him.
It could be said that this village—a village built over three generations around the ideal of "at least letting children grow up healthy and happy"—had played no small part in keeping him from falling into darkness, from being consumed by grief and hatred after losing Kushina and the others.
Because he had a place he could return to, Chiba had never truly felt abandoned and alone.
He