Three days later
At the training grounds
Uchiha Chiba's gaze was icy. He flicked his right hand and hurled the sickle, gripping the chain tightly with his left. The sickle slammed into a training dummy, its sharp blade hooking into its leg. Chiba yanked hard, then rushed toward the dummy, pulling on the chain with all his strength until it bound the dummy tight. The sickle flew back into his hand, and the dummy was already riddled with holes.
Uchiha Chiba let out a breath.
"You've picked up quite a bit of the basics. No wonder you're an Uchiha—you've got a good knack for learning. But you've still got a long way to go, kid." Hanzo the Salamander's muffled laughter came from beneath his mask.
Then,
Konan came out from the side carrying a lunchbox.
"Lord Hanzo." Little Konan had been bringing Chiba meals for three days now, but she still got terribly nervous whenever she saw Hanzo the Salamander.
"Hmm, you're here again, little girl. Don't be afraid. I'm not some bad guy. Hahahaha!" Hanzo the Salamander laughed, standing still.
Then,
Konan went over to Uchiha Chiba.
Ever since Hanzo the Salamander had chosen Chiba as his personal disciple three days ago, the four of them—Konan, Chiba, Yahiko, and Nagato—had been brought to Amegakure. Hanzo had generously prepared a house for them and even found Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan jobs children could do, offering them some food in return. Still, the three of them were more accustomed to living in their old little hideout. They said it held too many memories.
"Chiba, I made these myself at the steamed bun shop. Eat them while they're hot." Little Konan looked at Chiba with sparkling eyes. She'd had many more chances to be alone with him over the past few days. Before, Chiba had always found somewhere to train by himself, and the only time she could find him was at night.
"Thanks, Konan." Chiba smiled. After three days of basic training, he'd learned about half of Hanzo's sickle technique. With the Sharingan's ability to memorize and Chiba's talent, it wasn't unreasonable to learn that much in such a short time.
After a while,
Uchiha Chiba stood up.
He gripped his sickle and stared at Hanzo the Salamander in the distance.
"Kid, come at me with all you've got. After training today, I'll tell you something—something good for you... maybe. In this world... no." Hanzo the Salamander narrowed his eyes. He gripped the chain in his right hand and wrapped it around his arm. Normally, he wielded the sickle with his non-dominant right hand, but today he was using his dominant left hand.
The next second,
A glint flashed in Uchiha Chiba's eyes. He pushed off the ground, and the sickle in his hand swept sideways at an uncanny angle!
BANG!!!!
A cloud of smoke billowed as a terrifying shockwave swept through the area.
A few breaths later,
The smoke cleared.
Uchiha Chiba was straining to hold his sickle against Hanzo's one-handed strike. Hanzo, by contrast, simply stared at Chiba's face.
"Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique."
His scarlet Sharingan snapped open.
A single tomoe turned slowly.
Hanzo the Salamander closed his eyes.
His free left hand instantly seized Chiba's wrist. Then he wrenched it hard, and the sound of bones shifting out of place rang out.
Uchiha Chiba's body went limp for a moment.
"As I thought. It looks like I was asking too much of you..." Hanzo the Salamander opened his eyes. In the next instant, the scarlet gleam of the Sharingan appeared in the sickle's shining blade.
Genjutsu!
"You underestimated me, kid." Hanzo smiled. He'd broken free of the genjutsu in the space of a single breath.
The scene before Hanzo's eyes kept changing.
Then,
Uchiha Chiba was down on one knee, his hand trembling around the sickle.
"Not bad, kid. With a Chunin's chakra reserves, managing to hold me for one breath is something to be proud of. You know, I could kill countless ninja like you with one hand. Don't worry too much about your future." Hanzo the Salamander put away his sickle and walked over to Uchiha Chiba.
Wait.
Something seemed off.
Hanzo the Salamander suddenly stopped.
Then,
He abruptly took a big step back.
"You little brat! Two layers of genjutsu. The moment I hit you, I was already caught in the first one, wasn't I... Hahahahahaha! Good! Excellent!" Hanzo the Salamander suddenly hurled his sickle at the figure before him.
CRACK!
Everything around Hanzo shattered like a mirror.
In the distance,
Uchiha Chiba's eyes were bleeding, and he was gasping for breath. Hanzo hadn't struck his hands.
"How was that?" Chiba's chest heaved. Trembling, he wiped the streak of blood from his cheek.
Hanzo the Salamander applauded.
"Impressive, kid. You've passed. Here's some good news: tomorrow, Konoha's forces are launching an all-out assault. You're coming to the battlefield with me. Take this and wear it. I'll come find you at dawn." Hanzo the Salamander brushed the rain off his cloak, then tossed him a mask. A moment later, he vanished.
Only Chiba remained at the training grounds.
Chiba looked at the mask in his hand.
"He gave me a mask... He's thought this through pretty well. It'll come in handy, though. If I can stop Uchiha Madara's plan a few years from now... Damn, just thinking about how Danzo's men tried to assassinate me twice right after I got here pisses me off... One day, I'll become Hokage and openly make that old geezer miserable." Uchiha Chiba put away the Fox Mask and muttered to himself.
Meanwhile,
Beneath Root headquarters,
The very Danzo being grumbled about was scowling.
BANG!!!!!
Danzo slammed his fist down on the table before him.
"Can we get that map back or not? I've figured it out. We went after an Uchiha brat just for his eyes. That brat somehow killed two Root Jonin, then somehow killed a Jonin who was at full strength and specifically assigned to deal with him. And that brat is only a Chunin! You're all useless!" Danzo was furious as he pounded the table, which finally broke into a pile of splinters.
The Twelve Root Members present all lowered their heads.
These twelve Root Members were the strongest under Danzo. Almost all of them were on the verge of Kage Level, and two were already Kage Level. (The power levels won't be unbalanced. White Fang and the Sannin are also Kage Level, not to mention the other strong fighters on the Third's side.)
One of the twelve Root Members, a long-haired man wearing a Hannya Mask, saw that no one else was speaking and spoke in a muffled voice. "Lord Danzo, I, Hannya, am willing to go to the Land of Rain to retrieve the map for you. I'll kill the brat and take his eyes while I'm at it."
When Hannya spoke, Danzo's expression visibly improved.
His gloomy eyes turned to Hannya.
"Hannya, be careful. Don't let the forces there discover you. The ninja of Amegakure are no good, and the ninja of Konoha are even worse... You are Konoha's roots. You must put Konoha's interests first..." Danzo turned around and tossed him a scroll.
"This is a storage scroll. If you run into a troublesome enemy you can't deal with quickly, tear it open. Inside are a pair of nearly blind Three Tomoe Sharingan. They contain a powerful genjutsu, the Second Hokage's Bringer-of-Darkness Technique... Go." Danzo said no more.
Hannya dropped to one knee. "I'll complete the mission without fail."
Before you continue