"Chiba-kun... are you all right?"
He was a little worried about Chiba's fight with Asuma.
Itachi didn't think Chiba would lose to Asuma.
But Asuma was the Hokage's son, after all.
So, as evening approached, Itachi went to Koizumi's house to look for Chiba.
But the answer he got was that Chiba wouldn't be coming home today.
Still a little worried, Itachi eventually found him here.
Seeing that his friend was safe and sound, Itachi finally relaxed.
"I'm fine. Someone like Asuma isn't strong enough to pose a threat to me."
"Then why aren't you going home? And also..."
Itachi leaned his head out and looked toward the bathroom.
There was the sound of someone bathing.
"The bathroom—there's someone else in there?"
Chiba nodded.
"Yeah. I don't know if you know her, but it's Kurenai Yuhi!"
At that, Itachi tilted his head.
He blinked, looking utterly shocked.
He'd never met Kurenai Yuhi, but he knew who she was.
She was the girl Asuma was pursuing.
So Itachi was stunned.
Completely stunned.
Chiba-kun, you didn't just beat Asuma.
You also stole the girl he was pursuing and brought her to your house to bathe?
It was a long while before Itachi sighed and looked at Chiba earnestly.
"Chiba-kun, there's something I'm not sure I should say..."
"If you have something to say, just say it."
"My father often tells me that there are three things ninjas must avoid!"
Gambling, prostitution, and drugs—the three things ninjas must avoid.
There weren't any official rules about it, but in Konoha, it seemed to be an unspoken rule.
That was because these three things seemed to be embodied by the Sannin.
Uchiha Fugaku often brought up Tsunade and Jiraiya as examples when talking to Itachi.
Even powerful ninja like Tsunade and Jiraiya could "fall" because of gambling and women!
They should have been "perfect" people.
But the three taboos had held them back.
That wasn't right.
"Even though we haven't become ninja yet, Chiba-kun... sometimes, you still need to show a little restraint."
Show a little restraint.
It was hard to imagine that words like those could come out of Uchiha Itachi's mouth.
Chiba had always thought Itachi's head was filled with thoughts about the nation and its people.
He hadn't expected him to know so much about this, too.
And he was even trying to pull his best friend back from the edge of the "three taboos."
Chiba had no idea what expression he should make in response.
"Itachi... aren't you overthinking this a little?"
Chiba was only five years old.
No matter how early people in the world of Naruto matured, this was still impossible.
Enjoying the so-called beautiful scenery was as far as Chiba could go in terms of mischief.
As for anything else, Chiba wasn't at that stage yet.
It wasn't that he didn't want to; the circumstances simply didn't allow it.
"This whole thing is a little complicated!"
"Kurenai Yuhi just happened to end up here by accident!"
"As for why she's using the bathroom, well, I guess it's one of those hassles women naturally have to deal with!"
"And this is just for tonight."
Just for tonight...
Itachi looked at Chiba, still deeply shocked by his answer.
Chiba seemed to have explained a lot.
But Itachi couldn't get any information out of what he'd said.
It was no different from not explaining at all.
Even so, Itachi still trusted his best friend without reservation.
"All right!"
"Chiba-kun, if anything happens... you can come to me anytime!"
Itachi would never refuse his best friend's help.
With that, he turned to leave.
After hearing that Chiba was safe and sound, he had relaxed.
But just as he was leaving, Chiba called out to him.
"Itachi..."
"Don't tell Koizumi about this!"
At that, Itachi froze for a moment.
That's just like you.
Chiba didn't offer any further explanation.
Some things only became harder to explain the more you tried.
Only after Itachi had left completely did Kurenai Yuhi come out of the bathroom.
After drying her hair, she looked at Chiba.
"What are we doing tonight?"
"Just go to sleep. It's only one night; it'll be over soon."
What he meant was that he would keep watch.
Looking at the Uchiha boy, who was about her age, Kurenai spoke up, though she couldn't say why.
"You keep watch for the first half of the night, and I'll take the second half!"
She didn't want Chiba to be the only one protecting her.
And that was how this ridiculous scene came about.
At that, Chiba looked up.
He wasn't trying to admire Kurenai Yuhi's pretty face now that she'd just come out of the bathroom. He simply wanted to know where she'd gotten the confidence to say something like that.
"Sorry, but I'm not comfortable leaving my back in your hands."
"You could get killed without even knowing what hit you, and you still want to keep watch?"
At that, Kurenai Yuhi's eyes widened as she stared at Chiba, and she took a deep breath.
She was so angry she nearly died.
But remembering that Chiba was protecting her, she forced down her resentment and gritted out,
"Is that so? In that case... Chiba, I'll leave it to you."
"That's for the best," Chiba said flatly.
Kurenai Yuhi promptly flopped onto the bed and wrapped herself up tightly in the blanket.
Some time passed.
Darkness gradually settled in, and the only sound around them was the quiet chirping of crickets.
"Chiba, are you... still awake?"
"What is it?"
"About this time... thank you!"
Chiba didn't answer.
He simply leaned against the wall, quietly waiting for his Daily Mission to refresh.
Not long after, when a snore came from the bed, Chiba was utterly stunned.
That little girl, Kurenai Yuhi, was snoring?
Just then, Chiba suddenly froze.
His Observation Haki picked up something moving in the darkness.
After Chiba stepped outside, he saw a white snake coiled around one of the wooden pillars of the building.
The snake flicked its tongue and spoke in a human voice.
"Chiba-kun, I never expected someone like you to be interested in women, too."
Orochimaru had come after all.
Chiba's guess had been right.
A single sentence wouldn't have been enough to make Orochimaru give up.
Wiping out every trace was more Orochimaru's style.
If Chiba had let Kurenai Yuhi go home normally tonight, she would have become one of the many children who had gone missing from the Konoha Ninja Village recently.
Fortunately, Chiba had spoken to the girl.
And the girl had chosen to trust him.