Chiba! Senju Qianye!

Konoha.

Senju Clan compound.

The once-vermilion walls had long since become weathered and peeled away.

After enduring wind and sun, the rotten, blackened grain of the wood beneath had been exposed.

Even the clan crest that symbolized the Senju Clan's glory was mostly covered by vines and moss.

Desolate.

Dilapidated.

Deathly silent.

Chiba stood before the main gate, quietly taking it all in.

There was not a trace of anger in his mind, only the indifference of an outsider.

Rotten roots needed to be pulled out.

Since he had inherited the Senju name.

This place would be his first stop in taking over Konoha.

Chiba raised his foot, ready to step over the weed-covered threshold.

"Stop."

A cold voice suddenly came from the treetops overhead.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three black shadows descended like ghosts.

They formed a triangular formation, firmly surrounding Chiba in the middle.

Eagle Mask.

Bear Mask.

Cat Mask.

All three wore standard Anbu uniforms, with cold ninja blades strapped to their backs.

An intense killing intent instantly sealed off the surrounding space.

"Chunin Chiba."

"Lord Hokage summons you."

"Come with us immediately."

The Anbu wearing the Eagle Mask stepped forward, his tone lofty and condescending.

In their eyes, this young man without a flak jacket was nothing more than bottom-tier cannon fodder.

If the Hokage had not personally given the order.

Elite Anbu directly under the Hokage would not even spare trash of this level a glance.

Sending three people to summon a Chunin was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Chiba stopped.

He did not turn around, nor did he even raise his eyelids.

It was as if the three murderous Anbu around him were nothing more than an insignificant breeze.

"I don't have time."

The three calm words left Chiba's mouth.

Without the slightest fluctuation.

Without any emotion.

The three Anbu were visibly stunned.

They even wondered whether there was something wrong with their ears.

Faced with a summons from the Anbu.

A mere Chunin actually said... he did not have time?

"You're courting death!"

The hot-tempered Anbu in the Bear Mask roared in fury.

What utter humiliation!

How could the Anbu's dignity be trampled by some lowly Civilian Ninja!

Bear Mask kicked off the ground, charging toward Chiba like a cannonball.

He did not draw his blade.

There was no need for a weapon against trash like this.

He directly extended his right hand in tactical gloves and viciously grabbed for Chiba's shoulder.

He wanted to crush this arrogant brat's shoulder blade!

He wanted the other man to know who truly called the shots in Konoha!

Five meters.

Three meters.

One meter.

Bear Mask's fingers were less than ten centimeters from Chiba.

Yet Chiba still did not turn around.

The instant the Anbu's hand was about to touch Chiba.

The Chakra within Chiba's body stirred ever so slightly.

Centered on Chiba.

A terrifying Chakra pressure spread outward.

At that moment, the air seemed to turn into solidified cement.

Bear Mask's charging body was like one that had slammed into an invisible city wall.

Crack!

A crisp sound of breaking bones rang out.

Bear Mask's outstretched right arm instantly bent at a grotesque angle.

But that was only the beginning.

That terrifying pressure, like a raging tsunami, slammed viciously into his chest.

Pfft!

Bear Mask sprayed a mouthful of blood.

His entire body flew backward at ten times the speed at which he had come!

He smashed through three large trees along the way before crashing heavily into a ruined stone wall.

Bricks and stones shattered, burying more than half his body.

At the sight.

The expressions beneath Eagle Mask's and Cat Mask's masks had completely twisted.

What was going on?

Wasn't this brat just a Chunin?

How did he possess such terrifying Chakra?

Most importantly.

He had seriously injured a Special Jonin merely by releasing his Chakra?

This had to be a joke, right?

"Draw your blades!"

The next moment.

The Anbu in the Eagle Mask let out a shrill roar.

Although he still could not understand what was happening, nor did he want to face a monster like Chiba.

To complete the task assigned by the Third Hokage, he could only force himself to act.

Clang! Clang!

Two ninja blades instantly left their sheaths.

However.

Even with blades in their hands, they did not feel the slightest sense of security.

Because that terrifying pressure had not disappeared with Bear Mask's fall.

Instead, it was becoming heavier and heavier!

So heavy that even breathing felt as if their lungs were being torn apart!

Chiba finally turned around.

He looked at the two Anbu as if they were facing a great enemy.

There was not the slightest ripple in those clear black-and-white eyes.

"Get lost."

The single icy word left his lips.

The immense Chakra of a late-stage Super Kage surged once more.

Boom!

Eagle Mask and Cat Mask did not even have time to scream.

Like kites with broken strings, they were blasted away by that terrifying pressure.

In midair.

Both of their masks shattered, and blood sprayed wildly from their mouths.

Then, like broken sacks, they crashed heavily into the mud dozens of meters away.

Chiba withdrew his gaze.

These three Anbu were too weak.

So weak that he had no interest in even making a move.

He turned around and stepped over the moss-covered threshold of the Senju Clan compound.

Leaving the three severely injured Anbu with only his proud, receding back.

Hokage's office.

The air was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood behind his desk.

The pipe in his hand had fallen to the floor, scattering tobacco everywhere.

But he paid it no mind.

His gaze was fixed tightly on the two Anbu kneeling on the ground.

Eagle Mask and Cat Mask.

The two supported each other, covered in blood and unable to even stand steadily.

Beside them lay Bear Mask, unconscious, his right arm completely ruined.

These were Anbu elites!

One ordinary Jonin and two Special Jonin!

But now.

They had been reduced to such a miserable state.

What made Sarutobi Hiruzen's scalp tingle most was Eagle Mask's report from earlier.

"Are you certain?"

"His Chakra alone seriously injured all of you?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was extremely hoarse, like fingernails scraping glass.

"Y-Yes."

"Lord Hokage, I am certain."

"The target did not use any ninjutsu and did not even move a single step."

"He merely... merely used the force of his Chakra to shatter Bear's bones."

"If he had not shown mercy at the end."

"The three of us would already be dead."

Eagle Mask endured the agonizing pain in his chest, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

After being a ninja for so many years.

This was the first time he had encountered such a terrifying existence.

Hearing that.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind buzzed.

Impossible!

Even as the Third Hokage, hailed as the "Professor of Ninjutsu."

He could not possibly seriously injure three elite Anbu merely by releasing Chakra!

So how could that Chiba do it?

A little over a year ago.

Chiba had still been a waste who only knew three ninjutsu.

Now.

Had his strength actually surpassed Sarutobi Hiruzen's?

How was that possible!

What exactly had that madwoman Tsunade done to him!

"Where did he go?!"

"Where did you stop him?"

Suddenly.

Sarutobi Hiruzen remembered something.

He grabbed Eagle Mask by the collar and demanded urgently.

"At the edge of the village..."

"The southeast corner..."

"The old site of the... Senju Clan..."

Eagle Mask could barely breathe from the chokehold as he answered in fits and starts.

Boom!

The answer was like a thunderbolt striking Sarutobi Hiruzen square on the head.

He let go.

He staggered back two steps uncontrollably and collapsed heavily into his chair.

The Senju Clan.

Chiba had gone to the Senju Clan!

Why would a civilian orphan, upon returning to the village, not go home but head straight for those long-forgotten ruins?

The answer was obvious.

Chiba.

Senju Qianye!