"Is that so... So you were the one who helped me repair the Barrier back then! Otherwise, something truly serious might have happened."
Hearing the dissatisfaction behind him, Chiba wore nothing but a warm, gentle smile, as though he did not take those complaints to heart at all. He turned and spoke.
As he spoke, the figure of a young man appeared in his eyes.
"Hmph..."
The young man gave a disdainful snort.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't reveal your identity?"
Then, the young man spoke again.
"Plans can't keep up with changes..."
Looking at the young man before him—who had his right eye covered just like him and looked almost exactly like his younger self, aside from having medium-short hair—Chiba thought for a moment before speaking.
"Heh..."
The young man, who looked exactly like the man before him had in his youth, wore an even more disdainful smile.
Though he said nothing, his expression practically screamed, Who do you think you're fooling?
"Ahem! At least give me some face, Kazuha."
Seeing the young man's expression, Chiba knew he could not bluff his way through it. He gave a bitter smile and spoke.
That was right. The young man who had suddenly appeared, identical to Chiba in his youth, was Hada Ichiba of Kusagakure.
He was also one of the people who had cleaned up the aftermath after the sparring session with Kakashi and the other four.
In truth, Chiba had already sensed his presence back then. Or rather, he had known that the young man before him was the one who had repaired the Barrier concealing the crack in the Third Hokage's stone monument, which he had not had time to hide.
After all, only he and the young man before him knew how to use this type of