Hyuga Chiba's First Picnic

"What happened outside?"

"Why has it suddenly become so quiet?"

"Have those so-called Evil God Cultists left?"

"They're dead. Those beasts are all dead. They were killed by that youth... no, by our benefactor."

"Thank goodness, we're saved."

"But, my father and mother..."

As time passed, some of the villagers who had hidden well and managed to survive gradually discovered the situation outside.

They felt joy at being alive, yet they also felt deep pain and sorrow over the tragic deaths of their friends and family, and the destruction of their village.

These two diametrically opposed emotions caused some of the villagers with weaker mental fortitude to faint on the spot.

The remaining villagers also took a long while to gradually calm down.

"What a pity, these people don't have the surname Uchiha."

Seeing this scene, Chiba sighed casually to himself, Otherwise, they would have at least awakened a One-Tomoe Sharingan. If they were like Obito, perhaps another pair of Mangekyo would have been born.

"But if that were really the case, they wouldn't have needed me to save them."

At the same time, the villagers who had calmed down, along with those who had been saved by Chiba in the forest and had since returned, knelt toward Chiba one after another, expressing their gratitude: "Thank you, Benefactor."

"If it weren't for you, Benefactor, we all would have probably..."

"We do not know your honorable name, Benefactor. Is there any way we can be of service to you?"

Seeing this, Chiba's gaze swept over every kneeling villager.

Their gratitude was genuine, yet there was also, more or less, fear, unease, and other such emotions.

After all, to them, even though Chiba had wiped out those Evil God Cultists, that did not necessarily mean he wouldn't harm them.

The good news was that there were no idiotic accusations like "Why didn't you come sooner?" or "It's your fault they died."

"My name? It's better if you don't know it."

Withdrawing his gaze, Chiba said straightforwardly, "And there is nothing you can do for me."

"Right now, I only need some seasoning for cooking, to make my first picnic in the wild a bit more perfect."

After speaking, Chiba didn't wait for the villagers to respond. He gathered up all the money, Kunai, Explosive Tags, Shuriken, Storage Scrolls, and other items left behind on the bodies of the Evil God Cultists.

Next, he used his Byakugan to easily locate some seasonings that had not been damaged or affected by the disaster.

"Well, I suppose my mission is complete."

"Everyone, we shall meet again if fate allows, or perhaps we shall never meet again."

After storing the seasonings into a Storage Scroll, Chiba smiled at the bewildered villagers and vanished from the spot using Body Flicker.

"The Benefactor... disappeared again?"

"What kind of ability was that? It looked so cool and powerful."

"The Benefactor saved us, yet he only asked for some cooking seasonings and didn't even leave his name?"

"That is a true hero!"

"But didn't the Benefactor just say it was because we couldn't provide the help he needed?"

"Shut up! Don't taint the Benefactor's noble soul with your filthy mind. He must have said that on purpose so we wouldn't feel guilty."

"..."

After Chiba left, the villagers began to discuss among themselves in a flurry of voices.

Eventually, they fell silent in mutual understanding, sinking back into their grief as they began to clean up the aftermath.

Elsewhere!

Smoke swirled in the air!

Chiba's main body had already set up a simple bonfire and skewered pieces of wild boar meat, roasting them over the flames.

He had also gathered materials on the spot to fashion simple bamboo tubes and stone bowls for boiling water.

As for whether lighting a fire here would attract pursuers?

Chiba had already created dozens of Shadow Clones specifically tasked with keeping watch and intercepting any potential threats.

At the very least, holding them off until he had enjoyed a comfortable, hearty meal shouldn't be a problem, right?

Not long after, the Shadow Clone that had gone to the village to deal with the Evil God Cultists returned with the Storage Scroll.

"Perfect timing."

Chiba took the seasonings from the Storage Scroll and sprinkled them over the nearly roasted wild boar skewers.

Immediately, Chiba picked up a skewer and took a bite. His expression turned somewhat unreadable. "Uh... should I blame my own lack of skill, or is the seasoning in this world just mediocre?"

The taste of the roasted wild boar meat wasn't exactly bad, but it wasn't good either. If he had to describe it, it was... edible?

"Forget it, I'll just eat first."

Whether it was because he hadn't eaten for so long or because his appetite had increased after awakening the Tenseigan, Chiba managed to finish off the entire wild boar, which weighed at least two hundred pounds.

Even then, he was barely eighty percent full.

"It's about time; I should keep moving."

After eating his fill, Chiba extinguished the fire, tidied up the site, and prepared to officially enter the Land of Wind.

According to his Byakugan and the reconnaissance from his surrounding Shadow Clones, the various pursuers—including Konoha Jonin, Anbu, and Root—were already closing in on his position.

Meanwhile!

Back in the village from earlier!

"What on earth happened here?"

"Who are these people, and what are these strange symbols?"

Hyuga Nozomu, Kakashi, and the eight Ninja Hounds summoned by the latter for tracking arrived at the scene together.

Upon witnessing the tragic scene, their expressions turned grave, filled with confusion.

Originally, under the obstruction of Hyuga Chiba's Shadow Clones, they had been closing in on the location of his main body.

However, both Hyuga Nozomu's Byakugan and the noses of the eight Ninja Hounds had detected something unusual about this village.

They also discovered traces of Hyuga Chiba's Chakra and aura lingering here.

Therefore, after a brief moment of deliberation, Kakashi and his team decisively chose to come here instead.

Although they had some premonitions before arriving, the bloody scene before them still left them shaken.

In the current era, following the end of the Third Shinobi World War, such scenes were relatively rare.

Furthermore, Kakashi and his team were not yet certain what specific role Hyuga Chiba had played in this incident.

Even if they were unwilling to believe it, they couldn't help but entertain some terrifying conjectures.

"Are you... Konoha Ninjas?"

"White eyes? Just like our benefactor's. Are you relatives?"

The surviving villagers naturally noticed the arrival of Kakashi and his team.

Upon spotting the Konoha Ninja headbands and Hyuga Nozomu's Byakugan, they appeared quite enthusiastic.

"White eyes, benefactor?"

Seeing this, Kakashi and Hyuga Nozomu exchanged a glance and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the thing they feared most had not come to pass.

On the contrary, Hyuga Chiba's heart remained kind.