Wind and Rain

Uchiha Chiba left the training ground.

His heart hammered against his ribs. This strange sensation brought his ominous premonition to a fever pitch. He moved with such incredible speed that Katsuzuki of the Salamander, who was following behind, couldn't help but be startled; she had to use a secret technique just to accelerate and keep up with him.

"You're running too fast!" Katsuzuki of the Salamander panted as she trailed behind Chiba.

"Sorry, I'm a bit anxious. After all, Konan is still just an ordinary person who hasn't even condensed or refined her chakra. Even if she's fine, I need to get there quickly." Uchiha Chiba's figure leaped through the forest, transforming into an imperceptible shadow that grew faster and faster.

Katsuzuki: Do you have any idea how difficult it is to run with these two lumps of meat?

Chiba: Eh! I remember a novel where a woman surnamed Bai once said she wanted to cut these two lumps of rotten meat off! How about...

Katsuzuki: Get lost!

Barely ten minutes later, the two arrived at the gates of Amegakure.

Today was the monthly black market in Amegakure.

"Damn it, why is the son of the Demigod of the Ninja World here today of all days?"

"Brothers, especially those slave traders over there, stop selling! Retreat quickly! If that little ancestor catches you, you'll be lucky to walk away with just a layer of skin peeled off."

"Forget it, forget it. With this guy around, this month's black market is a total loss. Let's come back next month."

Several black market merchants cursed as they packed up. It wasn't that Amegakure forbade the black market, but... the black market here sold slaves. Some were children left behind after their clans were wiped out, some were ninjas with special bloodline limits, and a small portion were people captured for various reasons.

As for Katsuzuki of the Salamander, although she was a bit foolish, she couldn't stand to see human trafficking. Whenever she encountered it, she would deliver a brutal beating and force the slave traders to release everyone. After all, her father was the currently prominent Demigod of the Ninja World, and no one could do anything to her.

The passing desperadoes lowered their hat brims. Most of them knew Katsuzuki; she was famous for being "all chest and no brain." If she found something she didn't like, it meant death or injury. They couldn't fight her, and they couldn't curse her. Seeing this woman was as unpleasant as swallowing a dead fly.

However, at this moment, Katsuzuki of the Salamander had no heart to deal with them.

At the steamed bun shop:

"Oh? It's Chiba. Where's Konan?" Yahiko heard footsteps behind him and set down his bag of flour.

"Konan isn't here?" Uchiha Chiba's pupils constricted. Damn it! he thought.

"Yeah, Konan went to deliver food to you, Chiba-bro, a few hours ago." Yahiko blinked, assuming Chiba would have brought her back.

"What's wrong?" Even as slow as Yahiko was, he sensed something was off from the look on Chiba's face.

"It's nothing... Yahiko, don't go back to the camp outside the village tonight. Stay here, you hear me?" Uchiha Chiba's expression was grave. He didn't even need to think; the only one who would use this kind of threat was Danzo...

It couldn't be wild beasts; the Rain Ninja guarding the gates were sensory-type ninjas, as were those near the training ground. Yet, on his way here, the Rain Ninja at the training ground said they hadn't sensed Konan, and the ones at the village entrance only knew she had left.

Danzo...

Even though I'm not even at the Kage level, you would still use such underhanded tactics?

"Danzo... I will definitely kill you." Uchiha Chiba's pupils shifted instantly, his Double Tomoe Sharingan filled with rage.

Then, Katsuzuki of the Salamander walked out from the nearby house: "Little Chiba, I've already arranged it with Grandma. They'll stay here until we get back."

The two walked out of the bun shop.

"My father is at the front lines. Should we ask him for help?" Katsuzuki of the Salamander asked.

"No, Master Hanzo is at the front, about to launch an all-out attack on Konoha. This battle determines everything that follows. I cannot let Master Hanzo be distracted by my own affairs. I must rely on myself." Uchiha Chiba sighed; he knew clearly which side was more important.

Furthermore, at most, Danzo would only send two Kage-level powerhouses. After all, which village's second-in-command would have the leisure to send several Kage-level subordinates to kill a child who wasn't even Kage-level yet?

Although even two Kage-level opponents were tricky, someone like Danzo, who wouldn't stop until his goal was reached, didn't care about the cost—he only cared about the result.

What's more, Chiba still had his forbidden techniques.

"Where are we going to look? I haven't been to the battlefield in a while, and I'm stifled!" Katsuzuki of the Salamander tied her hair into a ponytail, ready for action.

Right! Where?

Uchiha Chiba closed his eyes, his brain racing. They came for him, for his map. They had sent people to hunt him down all the way to that abandoned village.

Later, another ninja had arrived near that same village—their small base. That meant they must have taken Konan to that village. Perhaps they were waiting there for him!

"Sister Katsuzuki, don't come. This is my business; there's no need to drag you into it." Uchiha Chiba didn't look back as he strode forward.

Katsuzuki of the Salamander jumped up and punched Chiba on the head.

"Little Chiba, how bold!" How could Katsuzuki of the Salamander pass up a hard-won chance to fight? Besides... she couldn't watch her only friend fall into danger.

"You could die," Uchiha Chiba said with a faint smile.

"Then I'll die." Katsuzuki of the Salamander followed in Chiba's footsteps out of Amegakure.

On the road, Chiba and Katsuzuki discovered the meat bun, now soaked and ruined by the rain...

"There is no trace of chakra here. They must have powerful sensory ninjas; no wonder the village guards and the training ground sentries failed to detect anything. This... this is a blind spot." Katsuzuki of the Salamander pressed her delicate hand against the muddy puddle on the ground as she spoke, then turned to look at Chiba standing beside her.

The guys who came this time aren't just lunatics, Chiba thought to himself. They're troublesome...

One had to remember that defeating that madman called "Hannya" last time had involved many external factors: first, Hanzo the Salamander's black toxin had disrupted his nervous system; second, Hannya was too bellicose to bother with underhanded tactics; and third, he had had the support of Hanzo's Right Hand, a powerhouse at the Kage level.

"Since they deliberately chose a time when Master Hanzo was away, it means they are fully confident they can finish me off—and they want this map." As he spoke, Uchiha Chiba pulled a leather map from his pocket.

Why did he remember it so clearly?

Because—

The location recorded on that map—

Back then, inside the cave, Uchiha Chiba had seen a mark in his mind that looked almost identical to the Uchiha clan crest, and at the same time, he had also seen... his own name.