Uchiha Chiba glanced around.
Just now,
it seemed like a sharp gaze had lingered on him for a moment... Had he imagined it?
"Let's go home." Uchiha Chiba looked at Konan.
Konan nodded and followed Chiba.
"Wait, Chiba... Urk... Take me with you." Yahiko seemed to catch the smell of blood again, and his stomach clenched. He even threw up bile.
Chiba didn't answer right away. He looked back at Konan, who nodded.
"Come on." Chiba tightened the worn straw raincoat around himself, his voice calm.
Perhaps he could become one of Jiraiya's students too, and then join the Akatsuki. But to prevent Obito from changing and that deliberate accident from happening, next...
Over the next seven years,
Uchiha Chiba had to become a renowned strong shinobi in the Ninja World. Only then would he have enough strength to save Obito. First, to prevent the tragic events of the original story from coming to pass. Second, as long as the Fourth Hokage didn't die, that old bastard Danzo wouldn't dare make a move against the Uchiha Clan. He didn't have much attachment to them, but no matter what, they were his original body's blood relatives... What if he could become Hokage?
"It's just a shame... I won't be able to gather chakra for a year... What a waste of time..." Uchiha Chiba muttered to himself, his gaze a frost-edged blade fixed on the path ahead.
Yahiko glanced at Chiba without thinking, but Chiba's expression startled him. Yahiko turned to Konan and said, "Chiba... His eyes are so scary."
"Scary? I think he looks so cool~" Following Yahiko's stunned gaze, the little girl Konan's cheeks had already turned bright red. She simply watched Chiba's profile.
Yahiko: Oh my god.jpg
Little did they know,
far behind the three of them, in a tree...
"That kid looks familiar." A shinobi in a Konoha uniform rubbed his chin. A mask hung at his waist; he looked like he was from Root.
"It's been two months since Chen and Moon Crow's reports stopped... If I remember right, they were on an assassination mission the last time I heard from them... That map must still be on Moon Crow's body." The Root shinobi's arm was wrapped in bandages, and his codename, "Wood Ghost," could just barely be made out.
Wood Ghost silently watched the backs of Chiba and the others. No one knew what he was thinking.
Meanwhile, the three returned to their hideout.
"None of the steamed buns were stolen today. Eat them while they're hot." Konan washed her hands with rainwater she'd collected in a basin, then placed the buns on a stool.
The three children, all around ten years old, gathered around the stool and pressed their palms together.
"Let's eat." Konan closed her eyes gently and spoke softly.
"Let's eat," Yahiko said reverently.
Chiba said nothing. He merely closed his eyes for a moment out of courtesy. He knew how important food was; it wasn't that he was disrespectful. It was just that after spending months on the battlefield in his original body, he would've died a hundred times over if he'd stuck to the old habits.
After they finished eating,
Yahiko struck up a casual conversation. "Chiba, Konan, when do you think this rain will stop?"
Yahiko's orange hair swayed in the wind, and raindrops dampened it.
"Maybe in another month or two." Konan blinked. She'd learned a fair bit, so this question wasn't beyond her.
"It won't stop... not while people are still around." Uchiha Chiba closed his eyes, still trying to gather chakra.
"Yeah... You're right. It won't stop... But I want to make it stop." Yahiko clenched his fist at the sky.
"That'll take a long time. The trees are rotting, and the fruit won't grow." Chiba stood up and stretched. Feeling the pain in his abdomen, he once again gave up on trying to gather chakra.
Then,
Chiba returned to the corner and rested quietly.
"What does Chiba usually do? Surely he doesn't just sit around like this?" Yahiko looked at Konan.
"Hmm... Chiba's probably just tired today. Otherwise, at this time of day, he'd still be sparring with the wooden training dummy outside." Konan pointed to the dummy outside.
Yahiko looked in the direction she was pointing.
A wooden training dummy, soaked by the rain, stood there quietly.
"But don't shinobi all use ninjutsu, like water and fire techniques? Could Chiba be the kind of shinobi who specializes in taijutsu?" Yahiko rubbed his chin, thinking of the shinobi he'd seen.
Konan sighed.
"Chiba's injured. He can't gather chakra, so he'll need to rest for quite a while..." There was a hint of sadness in Konan's voice.
The rain continued to fall in a gentle patter.
Outside Konoha,
the force led by Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade was only two days away from the Land of Rain.
"Let's rest here. We'll enter the Land of Rain tomorrow, so be ready for battle at any moment." Orochimaru's hoarse voice rang out. He waved for the shinobi behind him to rest.
Nearby,
"This wretched war..." Tsunade clenched her fists. Ever since her grandfather, Hashirama Senju, had died from his many hidden injuries, the Ninja World had known no peace. Her second grandfather, Senju Tobirama, had also been killed not long afterward in the war, after running out of chakra, by the two rogue shinobi from Kumogakure, Kinkaku and Ginkaku...
"Orochimaru, are you sure Nawaki doesn't need to be transferred to the support unit?" Jiraiya suddenly asked. He looked at Tsunade, then at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru shook his head.
"After all, Nawaki is my student. As long as I'm here and he doesn't act recklessly, he won't get hurt. Jiraiya, you're worrying too much." His hoarse voice fell silent.
Tsunade spoke up beside them, her eyes flickering as she sighed. "My little brother wants to become Hokage. He's not particularly talented, but because he's Grandpa's grandson... everyone in the village thinks he's far too important. It's made him so stubborn."
At the time, the Sannin were only around twenty. As students of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, they'd been assigned to take part in the Second Shinobi World War and lead the charge on the front lines.
Meanwhile, the White Fang of the Leaf, Hatake Sakumo, was responsible for the front against Sunagakure. Once the fighting there ended, he was to immediately reinforce the battlefront at Amegakure.
Jiraiya saw how downcast Tsunade looked and reached out, intending to pat her shoulder in comfort...
"By the way, where's Dan?" Tsunade asked Orochimaru.
At the sound of Tsunade calling Dan's name, Jiraiya's hand paused, then quickly pulled back.
"Dan seems to be with the intelligence unit. His Spirit Transformation Technique is a great help." Orochimaru blinked. He'd naturally noticed Jiraiya's movement.
"I'll go see him." Tsunade stood up.
"Jiraiya, you lecher, what are you staring at from behind me?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and waved a fist in front of him.
"You, of course! Hahahahaha!" Jiraiya seemed to be back to his usual shameless self.
"You..." Tsunade clenched her fist.
A moment later,
Tsunade shook her head. "I'll go see Dan. Let me know if anything happens."
With that, Tsunade gradually disappeared from Jiraiya and Orochimaru's sight.
Before you continue