After taking office in Konoha, the Third Hokage did not launch sweeping reforms or rush to implement new policies.
Instead, he led Konoha steadily, doing his best to minimize the negative impact of the Second Hokage's passing.
Konoha could only be called fortunate.
When the war ended, the Second Hokage was still alive, so the village had not experienced the upheaval that other hidden villages had faced when their Kage changed.
And precisely because the Second Hokage had given the village a chance to catch its breath after the war, the Third Hokage had a much easier time taking office than the third-generation Kage of other villages.
In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the documents on his desk with a troubled expression. He rubbed his brow, took his pipe out of a drawer, and lit it.
He took several deep drags, filling the Hokage Office with smoke. Only then, under the nicotine's influence, did his tightly knitted brow relax a little.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come in."
The door to the Hokage Office opened, and someone Hiruzen Sarutobi had not expected walked in.
"Boss Chiba? What brings you here today? Is there something you need help with?"
"Hello, Third Hokage."
Tetsuya grinned and walked over to stand across from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Oh, no need to be so formal. Please, sit. Is the ramen shop closed today? Aren't you usually there looking after it?"
"Haha, no. I took on an apprentice, so he's helping look after the shop now. With my clone there to guide him, it doesn't matter whether I'm there in person."
"Oh? You learned the Clone Technique?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was more interested in Tetsuya learning the Clone Technique than in the Chiba Ramen Shop taking on an apprentice.
Although the Clone Technique was only one of a ninja's three most basic techniques, it was still difficult for someone with little aptitude for being a ninja to learn.
"Yes, hehe, I learned it, though it took me quite a bit of time and money."
"Quite a bit of money?"
"Yes. I'm a slow learner, so I paid to have ninja teach me several more times. I figured that if I learned to make clones, I could get more done."
"Haha, so that's how it was."
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled kindly, then asked,
"So, is there something you came to see me about today?"
Tetsuya nodded, his expression turning serious.
"Here's the thing, Third Hokage. I feel like my little shop has reached the limit of how much it can grow in the village, so I'd like to do business elsewhere."
"You want to do business elsewhere? In the Land of Fire? Or throughout the Shinobi World?"
"Uh, for now, I'm only aiming for the Land of Fire."
As he spoke, Tetsuya suddenly grew excited.
"But I believe that, given enough time, I can open Chiba Ramen Shops all over the Shinobi World! Even if I can't become a ninja, I'll still make the Chiba Clan's name known throughout the Shinobi World!"
Seeing Tetsuya's excitement, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and nodded. He admired that confidence.
"Of course. That's a wonderful dream, and I believe you can achieve it too. But the village already allows its residents to do business outside. You don't need to come and tell me about something like that."
Tetsuya smiled and explained why he had come.
"Well, actually, I'm here to post a mission."
"Oh? Post a mission? I see."
Hearing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and took a mission form out of a drawer beside his desk.
"Tell me, then. What kind of mission would you like to post? I'll write it up for you and have it put on the mission board."
"I'd like to post an escort mission."
"An escort mission?"
"Yes. I'm planning to visit the various cities in the Land of Fire and do some research on the ground. Only once I understand those cities well enough can I properly plan the ramen shop's future."
In truth, the escort mission was entirely unnecessary. At this point, Tetsuya felt he had nothing to fear from the ninja of any village.
Unless a village's Kage personally made a move, ordinary ninja really would not be able to deal with him.
But a village's Kage would have to have far too much time on their hands to come after an ordinary Ramen Shop owner like him.
Besides, even against a village's Kage, Tetsuya was completely confident he could escape. After all, the speed of Lightning Release Chakra Mode was not something just anyone could hope to match.
Still, in everyone else's eyes, he was a hopeless case who had barely managed to learn the Clone Technique. If he dared to leave the village and travel alone, someone was bound to get suspicious.
If he was going to put on an act, he had to make it convincing and cover every angle: post a mission and hire a ninja to protect him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wholeheartedly approved of Tetsuya's decision to hire an escort.
"You've thought this through. Just what I'd expect from Boss Chiba, who's made his Ramen Shop such a thriving business."
"You flatter me, Lord Hokage."
"Not at all. I truly think you have an excellent head for business, Mr. Chiba."
As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi finished writing up the mission request.
"All right, Mr. Chiba, I've written up your request. How about we classify it as a top-tier C-rank mission? Since you'll only be traveling within the Land of Fire, you probably won't encounter ninja from other villages. Still, you'll be traveling all over the country, which will take some time, so we'll use the highest rate."
"No problem."
"Good, then it's settled. I'll issue you a village entry and exit permit too. That should make coming and going a little easier."
"Thank you, Third Hokage."
Sure enough, Hiruzen Sarutobi was pretty likable when he was young.
Soon, Tetsuya paid the deposit and left the Hokage Office with his documents. Before leaving, he gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a membership card. Although Hiruzen was not short on money, it was the status that mattered. After all, he was currently the only member in all of Konoha.
Back at his Ramen Shop, Tetsuya could not help feeling curious.
"I wonder who'll take the request tomorrow and travel around the Land of Fire with me."
Honestly, he was rather looking forward to it. After all, during his idle moments lately, he had learned some genjutsu from the Yellow Immortal.
He wanted to test the waters and see whether his genjutsu would work on ninja.
"Hmm, a C-rank mission should get me at least one Chunin, right? Preferably not a team of one Jonin and three Genin."
He imagined the next day's journey as he leaned over the counter, watching the pedestrians passing outside the shop.
Now that he could openly use clones, Tetsuya had some free time on his hands.
Business at the shop had been fairly average lately, though. Cup Noodles sales had actually overtaken those of his regular ramen.
That got him thinking: perhaps he should forget about opening branches and simply sell Cup Noodles in cities throughout the Land of Fire instead?
Early the next morning, Tetsuya arrived at the Ramen Shop.
"Teuchi, I'm heading out for a while. I'll leave the shop to you. My clone will stay here, so ask him if there's anything you don't understand."
"Yes, teacher."
Although Teuchi looked about the same age as Tetsuya, he still dutifully addressed him as his teacher.
When Teuchi first asked to learn how to make ramen from him, Tetsuya had been startled. He had thought the young man before him was the future owner of Ichiraku, but the timing did not seem to fit.
Only after asking him a few questions had he confirmed that this Teuchi was not Ichiraku, but was very likely the father of that legendary Ichiraku.
The moment he thought of the future Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku having to call him Grandmaster, Tetsuya agreed to take Teuchi on as his apprentice.
After going over the things Teuchi needed to watch out for, Tetsuya headed to the gates of Konoha's Shinobi Village.
The ninja who had taken the escort mission had already been waiting for quite some time.
"Hey! Boss Chiba, I've been waiting ages for you."
"Sakuya?! I didn't expect you to be the one who took the mission."
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