Two days later.
Konoha's gates.
The sunlight was somewhat dazzling.
Izumo leaned listlessly against the guard post and let out a huge yawn.
As one of Konoha's gatekeepers, the job was truly dull.
Aside from occasionally checking the travel permits of merchant caravans entering and leaving.
They spent most of their time staring blankly into space.
Kotetsu, beside him, was lowering his head as he sorted through the registration records.
"Hey, Kotetsu."
Izumo nudged his companion with an elbow.
"Want to grab a drink tonight? The usual place."
Kotetsu did not even look up.
"No."
"I lost money yesterday. How could I be in the mood?"
Just as the two were engaged in their usual bickering.
A set of unusually rhythmic footsteps came from the road outside the gates.
The sound was not loud.
Yet every step seemed to fall precisely upon the rhythm of one's heartbeat.
Izumo subconsciously raised his head, his gaze passing over the long fence.
At the end of the road, a young man approached.
He wore a plain robe without any markings, his black hair fluttering slightly in the wind.
He was clearly just walking alone, yet he gave off an exceedingly strange impression.
It was as though he had merged into the surrounding wind, sunlight, and even the dust upon the ground.
There was nothing abrupt about him.
He seemed so natural that it sent chills down one's spine.
"Hey..."
Izumo's voice caught in his throat.
He instinctively straightened up, his hand quietly reaching toward the Ninja Tool Pouch at the outside of his thigh.
The aura around the newcomer was far too distinctive.
That tranquil, abyssal stillness was absolutely not something an ordinary person could possess.
Noticing his companion's strange reaction, Kotetsu abruptly looked up as well.
The young man did not stop walking and soon arrived before the checkpoint.
"Show your identification."
Forcing himself to remain calm, Izumo extended his hand according to procedure.
The young man remained composed as he took a slightly worn booklet from his robes and handed it over.
Izumo accepted the booklet.
He opened the first page, his gaze sweeping over the photograph and name.
Then.
His eyes widened further and further, as though they were about to pop out of their sockets.
"Ch... Chiba?"
Izumo's voice instantly rose several octaves.
Upon hearing that name, Kotetsu's body jolted violently.
He snatched the ninja identification from Izumo's hand and stared fixedly at the information on it.
Name: Chiba.
Rank: Chunin.
Number: 012604.
That was right.
It was that Chiba!
But...
How was this possible?
Kotetsu abruptly raised his head.
His gaze shifted repeatedly between the young man before him and the photograph on the identification.
The person in the photograph had the restraint and timidity of a Civilian Ninja between his brows.
But the person before him.
Although the contours of his features still retained traces of the past.
The composure and indifference radiating from his very bones made him seem as though he had become an entirely different person!
What terrified Kotetsu most was not even the change in temperament.
It was a memory from over a year ago.
At that time, while organizing the village entry and exit records, he had noticed a Chunin named Chiba.
Chiba had accepted a C-Rank escort mission and left the village, yet had not returned for an entire month.
Normally.
In a case of such an overdue return, the most likely explanation was defection or death.
Back then, Kotetsu had hurried to the Hokage Office to make his report.
And what happened?
The Third Hokage had merely brushed him off with a casual remark.
He said Chiba had gone to carry out another secret mission and told him not to worry about it.
And now.
The guy who was supposedly carrying out a "secret mission" had simply returned!
"Is there a problem?"
Chiba looked at the two men standing there dumbstruck and spoke faintly.
His voice was soft, yet it carried an unquestionable pressure.
Kotetsu felt his scalp go numb, as though some terrifying primordial beast had fixed its gaze upon him.
"N-no problem!"
Kotetsu handed back the ninja identification, his movements as stiff as a puppet's.
Chiba took the identification and casually tucked it back into his robes.
Without giving the two another glance, he walked straight through Konoha's gates.
"Kotetsu, don't you think..."
"The way he looked at us just now was like he was looking at two ants?"
Watching Chiba's receding figure.
Izumo swallowed, his voice trembling badly.
Kotetsu did not answer.
He abruptly turned around and sprinted madly toward the Hokage Building.
He had to report this immediately!
There was definitely something wrong with this Chiba!
The streets of Konoha were as bustling as ever.
The cries of vendors and children's laughter intertwined.
Chiba moved through the crowd, his pace neither hurried nor slow.
Under the enhancement of the Perfect Sage Body.
Nothing within a hundred meters, not even the slightest rustle of wind or grass, could escape his perception.
This was the confidence that power brought.
More than a year ago.
He had merely been a cannon-fodder, useless Chunin.
Even when walking down the street, he had needed to tread carefully, afraid of offending the child of some major clan.
But now.
He looked down upon this village.
Every person here, every conspiracy, every scheme.
Before his overwhelming power, all of it seemed so laughable.
Soon.
He stopped at an intersection.
To the left was the main road leading toward Konoha's prosperous central district.
To the right lay a desolate area at the edge of the village, concealed by dense woods.
Chiba did not hesitate for even a second.
He turned directly and walked down the weed-choked path to the right.
That was where the Senju Clan's former grounds lay.
Hokage Office.
The strong smell of tobacco filled the room.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind a broad desk, taking a deep draw from his pipe.
Amid the curling smoke.
His age-spotted face appeared inscrutable.
Before him, an Anbu wearing a fox mask knelt on one knee.
"Are you certain it was him?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a ring of smoke, his voice low.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
"The guards at the gates have already verified his identification."
"The person is indeed Chiba, the Chunin who left the village nearly two years ago."
The Anbu lowered his head as he reported.
Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, a complicated light flickering in his cloudy old eyes.
Chiba.
Of course he had not forgotten that name.
That Chunin boy Tsunade had taken a liking to and brought along with her.
At the time, Sarutobi Hiruzen had reviewed all of Chiba's files, yet found nothing outstanding about him.
He had assumed Tsunade had lost money gambling outside the village, or gotten drunk and made a ridiculous decision on a whim.
He was merely an insignificant Chunin anyway.
If Tsunade wanted to take him away, then so be it.
As long as she did not cause any major trouble.
But.
She had been gone for nearly two years.
And now, that brat had suddenly returned to the village.
Where was Tsunade?
Why had Tsunade not returned with him?
What irritated Sarutobi Hiruzen even more was this.
Since the brat had returned to the village, why had he not come to report to the Hokage Office immediately?
According to Konoha's rules.
A ninja returning after a prolonged absence from the village had to immediately report their duties to the Hokage!
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at the clock on the wall.
A full half hour had passed since the Anbu had reported Chiba's arrival.
What was that brat dawdling over?
Could it be that after spending so long with Tsunade, he had picked up her foul habit of disregarding rules?
Did he dare disregard him, the Hokage, simply because he was a disciple of one of the Sannin?
A trace of displeasure flashed through Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.
He was Tsunade's teacher, which naturally made him the boy's grandmaster.
Just what had Tsunade taught that brat over the past two years?!
"Go."
Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his pipe, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"Bring him here."
"Tell him this is the Hokage's order."
"..."
Before you continue