Departure

A few days later, the group was making their final preparations before departure.

"Raincoats, hoods, tents, bedding, hmm, and fire starters."

Yahiko was meticulously organizing the items they needed for their journey.

A moment later, Yahiko nodded in satisfaction.

"That should be about it. Is there anything else we need to bring?"

Yahiko then cast his gaze toward Chiba.

Chiba didn't even look up, continuing to fiddle with the blades of grass in his hands.

"I don't think so. You handle it, Yahiko; I trust you won't leave anything out."

"Hey, can you be a little more serious?"

Chiba lifted his head slightly and said lazily, "I am being serious. You've already thought of everything I could have."

As he spoke, Chiba showed his latest creation to Konan.

"Look, Konan, does this look like Little Dot?"

Truth be told, the first skill Chiba mastered after arriving in this world was the grass-folding technique he learned from Xia Mu.

Chiba could still clearly remember how Xia Mu used to excitedly use grass to craft various little animals to amuse them.

Just as Konan loved origami because she missed her relatives, Chiba had habitually developed a knack for folding grass on a whim.

Beyond making little animals, Chiba had expanded this hobby into crafting grass paper, mats, ropes, sandals, and various other practical items.

It was no exaggeration to say that Chiba had become a master at making things out of grass, though such mastery was essentially useless—much like Konan's origami, it was flashy but impractical.

Watching Chiba and Konan focused on playing with grass and paper, Yahiko gave up on the idea of chatting with them and turned to talk incessantly with the usually quiet Nagato.

Suddenly, just as Yahiko was in the middle of speaking, the entire cave began to tremble slightly.

"What is this?"

The group quickly ran outside, only to see various colorful lights flashing in one direction in the distance.

If one looked closely, they could barely distinguish things like flames and poisonous smoke.

Yahiko couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.

"This is... ninjas are fighting! I didn't expect it to be so close, and the power is so immense!"

Chiba watched the violent fluctuations in the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He had already guessed who was fighting.

If nothing went wrong, it should be the Sannin and Hanzo locked in a great battle.

If he hadn't arrived, Yahiko and the others would have been swept into this epic clash on their way home, and might have even been killed by the shockwaves of the battle.

Although they wouldn't have died in the end, Little Dot, who was practically a companion, would have perished in this war.

It was precisely Little Dot's death that had motivated them to leave and seek power.

Because of Chiba's arrival, Yahiko had developed the desire to leave early, and the group hadn't gone out to forage for food these past few days, choosing instead to rest.

This meant they were lucky enough not to be drawn into this battle, and naturally, Little Dot would not die.

Quickly climbing to a nearby mountain peak, the group watched the great battle from afar.

At this moment, the fight was exceptionally intense; Hanzo was taking on three of Konoha's top powerhouses single-handedly, yet he showed no signs of falling behind.

Every exchange between the two sides kicked up clouds of dust, and various dazzling, magnificent ninjutsu were unleashed one after another.

The summonings, dozens of meters tall, shook the very earth with every collision.

Without a doubt, this was a top-tier battle in the Ninja World.

"It really is Hanzo."

Seeing that figure again, Chiba trembled inexplicably.

Clearly, the person before him had stirred up some unpleasant memories.

Chiba had thought he had moved past certain things as time went on, but when he truly recalled them, that intense anger and pain surged into his heart once more.

Unlike Chiba, Yahiko couldn't help but feel a bit excited when he saw such power.

"Is this the power of ninjas? As expected, this is exactly what I need!"

Nagato and Konan, however, remained silent, feeling a sense of fear.

Especially Nagato; seeing those headbands representing Konoha from afar also triggered his own painful memories.

The battle raged for an entire afternoon. Unexpectedly, Hanzo gained the upper hand despite being outnumbered and could be considered the victor, though he certainly lacked the ability to kill Jiraiya and his companions.

Watching the backs of Jiraiya and the others as they retreated, Yahiko clenched his fists. "I've decided. I want to learn ninjutsu from them."

"Learn ninjutsu from them?"

"Yes. Being able to fight Hanzo proves their strength. Only by taking such people as masters can I achieve something in the future, and only then will I be able to defeat Hanzo and change this country."

"But will they even take us in?"

"How will we know if we don't try?" Yahiko shouted with firm resolve.

"If they won't, we'll just find someone else. The world is so big; someone is bound to be willing to teach us."

Before long, the group had quickly gathered everything they needed for their departure.

Returning to the small town, Yahiko led Chiba and the others to thank the stall owners they had once stolen from.

"It's you little brats again."

The stall owner watched them warily, immediately shielding his wares.

It had to be said that over a year of thievery had made them quite familiar with these vendors.

"We aren't here to steal anything this time."

As he spoke, the group set down the large bundles they were carrying on their backs.

"Although these things might not be worth much, we still want to thank you for looking after us all this time."

Before leaving, they distributed all the various oil lamps, bedding, food, tools, and other miscellaneous items they had hoarded among the stall owners.

Afterward, the group returned to the front of the now somewhat empty cave.

"I'm a little reluctant to leave this place."

Looking at this familiar spot, tears welled up in Konan's eyes involuntarily.

Chiba and the others also felt a slight sense of melancholy.

Although life here had forced them to endure many hardships, it also held their warmest and most beautiful memories.

Yahiko gently hugged them. "If we have the chance, we can always come back to visit."

Soon, they each shouldered their prepared heavy packs and began to walk toward the distance.

Taking one last look at the place they had once called home, Chiba felt an incredibly complex mix of emotions.

Leaving here meant they were finally about to be completely swept into the massive whirlpool that was the Ninja World.

So, it finally begins.