Four Months

After an especially lively dinner, Chiba, Hirohiko, Yukina, and Nao moved into Kakashi's house, filling what had once been an empty home with life.

Hirohiko and Nao had originally planned to stay at their home in the Uchiha Clan Grounds, but since Nao's condition had not truly stabilized yet, they decided to live together here for the sake of easier treatment.

With everyone moving in, Kakashi's house underwent a few changes as well.

For example, a simple wooden room was built outside the house specifically for Chiba to prepare medicine in. The Third Hokage had arranged another set of pharmaceutical equipment for him. As for the previous equipment, it had been completely buried beneath the collapsed little cabin. Even some of the rather precious herbs Asuma had brought over last time could not be salvaged.

Because of this, aside from replacing the pharmaceutical equipment, the Third Hokage also replenished Chiba's supply of ordinary and precious herbs, while conveniently bringing over several incomplete formulas for chemical medicines.

Of course, that "convenient" part was probably the Third Hokage's little scheme. Those formulas clearly hinted that Chiba should complete them and make up for his mistake through merit.

After all, a complete medical pharmaceutical facility was quite expensive even in Konoha. It had been destroyed in a farce, along with a considerable amount of precious medicine. Even if the Third Hokage wanted to let the matter pass quietly, there were pressures from certain sides that could not simply be ignored. Chiba had to show something, or prove something, to demonstrate that Konoha's continued investment in medical equipment and herbs for him was worthwhile.

These formulas had clearly been secured for him by the Third Hokage. Although the chemical medicines appeared difficult to formulate, the formulas were already nearly eighty percent complete. They were