"Chiba, did you have trouble sleeping again last night?"
Iruka had just entered the classroom when he spotted Chiba slumped over his desk in the last row, his cuff still stained with mud that hadn't washed out.
"I heard someone on the roof."
Chiba raised his head, dark circles beneath his eyes from staying up all night.
"They kept watching me."
The chatter in the classroom died down.
Iruka walked over to the desk, blocking the other students' stares.
"Lord Hokage assigned them to protect you. They won't hurt you."
"That's what everyone wearing a mask says."
Chiba buried his face in his arms again, watching the window with only one eye.
A team of Anbu hid in the treetops, and another was stationed behind the school building.
A third team was farther away. They concealed their presence better than the Root ninja from last night, but when they changed positions, they stayed out of the first two teams' sight.
Two teams belonged to the Third Hokage.
The remaining one came from Root.
"Did that old Third Hokage send so many people to watch you?"
Naruto turned around, looking envious as he leaned over Chiba's desk.
"Why don't they protect me? I want the Anbu to escort me, too."
"Because you're too noisy."
"What kind of reason is that?!"
Iruka picked up a piece of chalk and tapped the blackboard.
"Naruto, turn around. Today we're learning chakra extraction. Interrupt the lesson again, and you'll stand outside."
Naruto pouted and faced forward, but Inuzuka Kiba leaned over from the other side.
"Hey, Chiba, yesterday's punch doesn't count. I hadn't let Akamaru get worked up yet."
Akamaru, tucked inside Kiba's jacket, barked twice at Chiba.
"Does your hand still hurt?"
Chiba glanced at Kiba's bandaged right wrist.
Kiba tucked his hand under the desk.
"It's nothing. I only stopped because I was afraid I'd send you to the hospital."
"Weak."
"You just wait!"
"Inuzuka Kiba, do you want to stand outside, too?"
Iruka set down the chalk. Kiba immediately fell silent, and Akamaru ducked back into his collar.
Soon, a rough diagram of the human chakra network appeared on the blackboard.
"Chakra comes from physical and mental energy. You need to maintain a balance when extracting it. If either side is excessive, you'll waste chakra."
Iruka picked up a leaf and stuck it to the center of his forehead.
"Today, we'll practice maintaining chakra. Keep the leaf on your forehead. The longer it stays there, the better your chakra control."
"Teacher, what if someone has too much chakra?"
When Chiba spoke, many students in the classroom turned to look at him.
Iruka thought for a moment, then picked up another leaf.
A large chakra supply is an advantage, but it also makes control more difficult. You should focus on reducing your output for now.
"How do I figure out how much I have?"
"Extract chakra repeatedly and keep track of how many times your body can handle it. But you're still young, so don't exhaust your chakra."
Chiba caught the leaf that was handed to him and pressed it to his forehead.
Chakra flowed through his network. The leaf stayed in place, but its edges curled after a moment.
Too much output.
He immediately cut it by more than half, and the leaf flattened against his forehead again.
The Sage Body restored chakra far faster than the other students' bodies. The chakra he'd used up the night before had already returned.
Based on how much chakra Iruka had used during his demonstration, Chiba could now control at least five times as much as the other children his age.
And this was only the Sage Body, before its second awakening.
"Mine fell off, teacher! There's definitely something wrong with this leaf!"
Naruto picked up the leaf that had landed on the tip of his nose and raised his hand in protest.
"There's nothing wrong with the leaf. You poured in too much chakra all at once."
"Then I'll use less."
The leaf was placed against his forehead again, only to be flung onto Sasuke's desk by the excess chakra.
Sasuke took the leaf off and casually tossed it back.
"Idiot."
"Sasuke, who are you calling an idiot?"
"Whoever answers."
Naruto rolled up his sleeves, ready to pounce, but Iruka grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back to his seat.
The class resumed its practice, but Chiba deliberately let the leaf fall from his forehead.
His time ranked around the middle of the class—not so poor that he'd look useless, but not good enough to make the Anbu more wary.
A branch outside the window swayed once.
The Anbu team assigned by the Third Hokage recorded the result.
Before lunch, a ninja wearing a medical unit armband appeared at the classroom door.
"Senju Chiba, last night's attack may have left you with internal injuries. Lord Hokage has arranged for a medical examination."
Chiba recognized his face.
The man had stood behind the reception staff the day Chiba entered Konoha. Inside his sleeve was the fixed bandage Root used to conceal its identity.
"Where will I be examined?"
"At the medical unit. It won't take long."
The man held out his hand, intending to pull Chiba from his seat.
Chiba recoiled, knocking over his chair. The noise drew Iruka from the hallway.
"Don't touch me! You said last night you were only taking me away, too."
The ninja withdrew his hand.
"You've misunderstood. I'm with Konoha's medical unit."
"Please show me the examination order from Lord Hokage."
Iruka stepped in front of Chiba and held out his palm.
"He's a student, and you're taking him off school grounds. I need to verify the paperwork."
"The paperwork will be sent later."
"Then the examination can wait until later."
Their gazes met from a few feet apart. Before long, a real Anbu appeared at the end of the hallway.
The medical ninja didn't argue further. He turned and left the school building.
Chiba clutched Iruka's sleeve, only letting go once the man was out of sight.
"Teacher, will he come back?"
"If his paperwork isn't in order, I won't let anyone take you away."
Iruka righted the chair, then crouched down to inspect Chiba's arm.
"If something like this happens again, come to me first. Don't try to tough it out alone."
"Can you beat them?"
Iruka's hand stopped in midair. Then he ruffled Chiba's hair with a firm hand.
"Your teacher will make sure you're safe."
Chiba didn't pull away.
It wasn't a particularly clever answer, and it wouldn't stop Root from spying on him. Still, it sounded better than the self-serving concern of the higher-ups.
During lunch, he skirted the training field, intending to return to class along its edge.
The sound of shuriken striking a wooden target came from the woods, each throw spaced at roughly the same interval.
Chiba pushed aside the drooping branches and saw Sasuke practicing his throws alone in an open clearing.
Three shuriken flew one after another. Two hit the center of the target, while the last struck near the edge.
"Had enough of watching?"
Sasuke didn't turn around. A new shuriken was already in his hand.
"You raise your shoulder when you throw."
"I didn't ask you."
"That's why the last one missed."
Sasuke reset his stance, this time deliberately lowering his shoulder. His shuriken skimmed past the first two and struck the center of the target.
He turned to face Chiba.
"You didn't use your full strength when you punched me yesterday."
"You're holding back, too."
"Want to fight?"
"You're not good enough yet."
Sasuke clenched the shuriken in his hand. At last, a crack appeared in his cool expression.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because you're desperate to prove yourself."
Chiba walked past him without slowing.
"When the person you truly want to kill is standing right in front of you, that desperation will get you killed first."
The woods fell quiet for a moment. Then the sound of another throw rang out behind him.
This time, every shuriken hit.
Chiba left the training field, glancing up at the school building's roof from the corner of his eye.
A Root watcher was signaling to a companion. The signal pointed somewhere other than the classroom.
In that direction lay the Senju Clan Grounds.
Before you continue