The Uchiha Clan's Blind Swordsman

"Chiba-kun... are you alright?"

He was somewhat worried about the battle between Chiba and Asuma.

Itachi did not believe Chiba would lose to Asuma.

However, the other party was, after all, the son of the Hokage.

Therefore, as night approached, Itachi went to Koizumi's house to look for Chiba.

Yet, the answer he received was that Chiba would not be returning home today.

Feeling slightly worried, Itachi eventually tracked him down here.

Seeing that his friend was safe and sound, Itachi finally felt relieved.

"I'm fine. An opponent of Asuma's caliber isn't enough to pose a threat to me."

"Then why aren't you going home, and also..."

Itachi poked his head out and glanced toward the direction of the bathroom.

From there came the sound of someone bathing.

"The bathroom—is there someone else there?"

Chiba nodded.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if you know her, Kurenai Yuhi!"

Upon hearing this, Itachi tilted his head.

He blinked, looking quite shocked.

He had never met Kurenai Yuhi, but he knew of her.

She was the one Asuma was pursuing.

And so, Itachi was bewildered.

He was completely stunned.

Chiba-kun, not only did you defeat Asuma.

You also poached the girl he was pursuing and brought her to your house to bathe?

After a long while, Itachi sighed and looked at Chiba with earnest concern.

"Chiba-kun, there is something I don't know if I should say or not!"

"If you have something to say, just say it directly."

"My father often talks to me about the three prohibitions for ninjas!"

Gambling, womanizing, and drugs are the three prohibitions for ninjas.

Although there is no written rule, it seems to be the unspoken consensus in Konoha.

Because this seems to correspond to the Sannin of Konoha.

Tsunade and Jiraiya were often cited by Uchiha Fugaku as examples when speaking to Itachi.

Even ninjas as powerful as Tsunade and Jiraiya could be "corrupted" by gambling and womanizing!

They were supposed to be "perfect" individuals.

Yet, they were held back by the three prohibitions.

This is not right.

"Even though we haven't become ninjas yet, Chiba-kun... sometimes, you need to exercise some restraint."

Exercise some restraint.

It was hard to imagine that such words would actually come out of the mouth of Uchiha Itachi.

In Chiba's view, Itachi's mind had always been filled with thoughts about the state of the nation and the people.

He hadn't expected him to have such a wealth of knowledge in this area as well.

Moreover, he was attempting to pull his best friend back from the edge of the "three prohibitions."

Chiba really didn't know what kind of expression to use to respond to Itachi.

"Itachi... aren't you overthinking this a bit?"

Chiba was only five years old right now.

No matter how early people in the ninja world matured, it was impossible.

Appreciating the so-called scenery was the only "out-of-line" thing Chiba could do.

As for anything else, Chiba wasn't at that level yet.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but the circumstances didn't allow for it.

"The situation this time is a bit complicated!"

"Kurenai Yuhi appearing here was nothing more than an accident!"

"As for her reason for using the bathroom, I suppose it's just the natural trouble that comes with being a woman!"

"Besides, it's only for this one time."

Only this one time, huh...

Itachi looked at Chiba, still shocked by this answer.

Chiba seemed to have explained a great deal.

However, Itachi couldn't glean any real information from those words.

It was no different than not explaining at all.

Still, Itachi maintained unconditional trust in his best friend.

"Very well!"

"Chiba, if there is anything... you can come to me at any time!"

Itachi would never refuse a request for help from his best friend.

After saying this, he turned and left.

Having received news that Chiba was safe and sound, he felt at ease.

However, just as he was leaving, he was called back by Chiba.

"Itachi..."

"Don't tell Koizumi about this!"

Hearing this, Itachi paused for a moment.

That's you, alright.

Chiba didn't offer much of an explanation.

Some things only become harder to explain the more you try.

Once Itachi had completely departed, Kurenai Yuhi finally emerged from the bathroom.

After drying her hair, she looked at Chiba.

"What about tonight?"

"Just go to sleep. It's only one night; it will pass quickly."

His implication was that he would be keeping watch.

Looking at this Uchiha youth who was only half her age, driven by some unknown impulse, Kurenai Yuhi spoke up.

"At night, you take the first watch, and I'll take the second!"

She didn't want to be purely protected by Chiba.

It was precisely because of this that such a comical scene unfolded.

Hearing this, Chiba looked up.

He wasn't trying to admire the beautiful face of Kurenai Yuhi, who had just stepped out of the bathroom; he simply wanted to know where she found the confidence to say such a thing.

"Sorry, but I don't feel comfortable handing my back over to you."

"You might get yourself killed without even realizing it, yet you still want to keep watch?"

Hearing this, Kurenai Yuhi's eyes widened as she stared at Chiba, and she took a deep breath.

She was nearly angered to death by Chiba.

However, remembering that she was currently under his protection, she suppressed her inner resentment and said through gritted teeth:

"Is that so? In that case... Chiba, I'll leave it to you."

"That's for the best!"

Chiba replied with an expressionless face.

Kurenai Yuhi flopped directly onto the bed, wrapping herself tightly in the quilt.

I don't know how much time passed.

Darkness gradually descended, and all that could be heard in the surroundings was the quiet chirping of crickets.

"Chiba, you... you're not asleep, are you?"

"What is it?"

"For this time--thank you!"

Chiba did not answer.

He simply leaned against the corner of the wall, quietly waiting for his system's daily tasks to refresh.

Not long after, when a series of snores drifted from the bed, Chiba was stunned.

Kurenai Yuhi, that little girl, was actually snoring?

At this moment, Chiba suddenly froze.

His Observation Haki had captured something writhing in the darkness.

After Chiba opened the door and stepped out, a large white snake was coiled around the wooden pillar of the small building.

The great snake flicked its tongue and spoke in a human voice.

"Chiba-kun, I didn't expect... that someone like you would also be interested in women."

Orochimaru, he had come as expected.

Chiba's guess was correct.

A single sentence was never going to be enough to make Orochimaru give up.

Cutting weeds and digging up the roots was Orochimaru's style.

If Chiba had let Kurenai Yuhi go home as usual tonight, she would have become just another one of the many children who had gone missing in Konoha Ninja Village recently.

Fortunately, Chiba had spoken to the young girl.

And the young girl had chosen to trust Chiba.