Target Found

"Heh, such a world."

Chiba suddenly grasped a truth.

In a world like this, good people struggle to survive, and bad people struggle just the same; the only ones capable of surviving are the strong.

Never before had Chiba felt such a desperate craving for power.

"No matter what, I must learn ninjutsu and become strong. I will take control of my own destiny. Even if it means becoming a ninja and dying in battle, that is still better than being slaughtered like an ant as I am now."

With that, Chiba silently rose to his feet and looked into the distance.

"Hanzo. Five-Tails Jinchuriki."

Watching the two massive figures that had long since faded into the distance following their intense clash, Chiba carefully etched those two names into his mind.

A day later, Chiba finally finished the arduous task of burying Xia Mu and his group all by himself.

"Brother Xia Mu, Sister Izumi, and... I'm leaving now. If I ever get the chance, I will definitely come back to visit you."

Taking one last lingering look at the simple gravestones he had fashioned, Chiba turned and walked away without looking back.

Suddenly, an indescribable sense of loneliness welled up in Chiba's heart.

"Alone... once again."

Three months later, a thin, frail figure approached the outskirts of a bustling town.

The newcomer was none other than Chiba, though he was already vastly different from the boy he had been months ago.

While his frame remained slightly gaunt, his eyes now carried a hint of sharpness.

In particular, a faint, thin scar beneath his eye, resembling a tear line, gave the once-delicate-looking Chiba a touch of ferocity.

In these short few months, having lost the protection of Xia Mu, Chiba had traveled through dozens of towns alone, encountering countless dangers along the way.

In the most perilous instance, Chiba had even been captured by bandits.

Fortunately, he had managed to use a few Explosive Tags that Scarface had left him—which he had kept hidden in the sole of his shoe—to blow up the bandit stronghold, using the ensuing chaos to find an opportunity to escape.

The scar beneath his eye was a souvenir from that very chaos.

Beyond the scar, Chiba's right leg had been twisted during his flight; although it had healed, it now had a slight limp. While it didn't significantly hinder his movement, it certainly wasn't a pretty sight.

It had to be said that Chiba's right leg was truly ill-fated; ever since he arrived in this world, the injuries had never really stopped, and now it had come to this.

Of course, Chiba didn't care much about such things.

Along this journey, he had grown accustomed to the tragedies of others and had seen death all too often.

In these days, Chiba finally understood deeply what a chaotic world truly was. If nine out of ten people died, that wasn't a chaotic world; when ninety-nine out of every hundred died, that was a chaotic world.

Could those refugees really expect many to survive until the end? The answer was obvious.

The deaths of Xia Mu and the others were, in truth, merely a microcosm of this chaotic era.

Compared to the countless others who had already perished, the fact that he was still alive was, in itself, the greatest stroke of luck.

Silently glancing at his leg, Chiba sighed softly: "If I could become a ninja, treating an injury like this shouldn't be too difficult. If I can't become a ninja... then whether I limp or not doesn't really matter anymore."

Quietly pulling out a map, Chiba began to calculate carefully.

"Hmm, this town should be one of the few marked for me by Xia Mu."

Back then, relying on his memory, Xia Mu had mapped out nine locations for Chiba.

Throughout his journey, Chiba had already passed through four of them, but unfortunately, he had come up empty-handed. This was the fifth.

"I hope I can find them in this city. I'm reaching my limit."

If he failed to find traces of Yahiko and the others in this city, Chiba would be in real trouble.

The remaining four potential cities on the map were incredibly far away, and one could only imagine the difficulties he would face crossing such a distance.

Especially after the recent bandit raid; although he had escaped in the chaos and recovered a few of his belongings, his money was essentially gone. Now, even simple survival had become a struggle for Chiba.

After a brief moment of silence, Chiba took a deep breath and resolutely walked into the town.

"Bless me, Brother Xia Mu."

Quietly crouching on a street in the town primarily dedicated to selling food, Chiba scanned the passing crowds with focus.

It had to be said that this town was quite peaceful; the flames of war had clearly not yet spread here, leaving the town well-stocked with supplies.

In that regard, it met the criteria, and both its scale and geographical location matched what Chiba had hypothesized.

Of course, whether they were actually here was another matter, and even if they were, whether he would be able to run into them was another question entirely.

A day later, just as Chiba was beginning to think this city would yield no results either, two figures suddenly darted out from a street corner, catching his eye.

He saw a young boy with orange hair and a young girl with blue hair quietly approaching their target.

A moment later, the two snatched several loaves of bread from a stall and bolted into the distance at full speed.

"Stop right there! You little brats!"

"Quick, Konan, run this way!"

Without a doubt, Chiba's heart was racing; judging by their names and appearances, he was fairly certain he had found his targets.

However, Chiba did not see Nagato anywhere.

Could it be that Nagato hadn't arrived here yet?

Without overthinking it, Chiba quickly followed after them.

A short while later, outside the town, Yahiko waved two massive loaves of bread in his hands with excitement.

"Heh heh, these should be enough to last us at least three days."

Konan was also beaming with a smile: "We really were lucky today; we actually succeeded on the first try."

Suddenly, just as the two were talking excitedly, a frail figure appeared before them and collapsed onto the ground with a thud.