In the Hokage Office, the Third sat behind his desk.
He rested his chin on his hands and studied the two young boys before him.
"Naruto Uzumaki!"
Already nervous, Naruto Uzumaki shuddered when he suddenly heard the Third call his name.
"Do you realize how serious a mistake you made this time?"
Naruto Uzumaki hung his head, barely daring to meet the Third's gaze.
Had it been an ordinary prank, Naruto Uzumaki might still have felt indignant.
But because he had foolishly listened to Mizuki, he had dragged Chiba into danger as well.
That inevitably left Naruto Uzumaki feeling down.
"Lord Third, Naruto didn't do this on purpose."
Iruka spoke up in his defense:
"This only happened because Mizuki misled Naruto."
The Third nodded, indicating that he understood.
"If Mizuki hadn't been involved, I wouldn't have let Naruto off lightly."
"I'll let it slide this time, but you owe Chiba a proper thank-you."
"If he hadn't been there, you probably would have been the one injured!"
Naruto Uzumaki nodded repeatedly, looking at Chiba with even greater gratitude.
By now, Chiba was one of the people he felt closest to.
Even though they had only just met.
"Thank you, Big Brother Chiba!"
Naruto Uzumaki sounded utterly sincere, without the slightest hint of pretense.
The Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, regarded Chiba with a scrutinizing gaze.
Chiba naturally noticed, but he remained perfectly composed, showing no sign of panic.
He had gone to help rescue Naruto as a friend.
Besides, Chiba's age made him look far less suspicious.
With Jiraiya vouching for him as well, he was confident the Third wouldn't start keeping tabs on him.
Chiba smiled and nodded without saying anything more.
Seeing this, the Third sighed and waved a hand, indicating that they could leave.
The matter of Naruto Uzumaki's punishment was quietly dropped.
Only Naruto Uzumaki could get away with something like this. Anyone else who stole the Scroll of Seals would likely have been put through hell, if not killed.
Chiba still coveted the ninjutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals.
But with Konoha's higher-ups standing in the way, he could only put the Scroll of Seals out of his mind.
It wasn't the only path Chiba could take to grow stronger.
Sign-in!
The thought of his special advantage sent a surge of excitement through him.
"To celebrate Chiba's recovery and Naruto being let off without punishment..."
Walking ahead of them, Iruka turned back and said:
"My treat today! You two pick the place!"
Before Chiba could speak, Naruto shouted:
"Ichiraku Ramen!"
But then he looked cautiously at Chiba and asked:
"Big Brother Chiba, you should decide."
Chiba chuckled and said:
"Let's have ramen, then. Teuchi makes a pretty great bowl."
At Ichiraku Ramen, the three chatted freely about all sorts of things.
Most of the time, though, Naruto Uzumaki did the talking while Chiba and Iruka listened.
He was one of the most tragic characters in the early part of Naruto.
Naruto had hardly any friends, and opportunities to talk with someone were even rarer.
The next day, when Chiba returned to the Ninja Academy, he was told that team assignments were about to be announced.
Come to think of it, which teacher will I be assigned to?
Like a butterfly flapping its wings, Chiba's presence was bound to change the original course of events.
And this was the perfect opportunity to see how that course had changed.
Students kept crying out in the noisy classroom.
They were rather excited to learn that they would soon be assigned to teams.
The moment Chiba entered, he saw Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha facing each other.
The two glared fiercely at one another, as though they wanted to kill each other with their eyes.
The other girls were shouting for Uchiha Sasuke to teach Naruto a lesson, making the scene quite chaotic.
But a classmate suddenly standing up brought an abrupt end to the commotion.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha collided, their lips meeting!
Then the entire classroom descended into chaos.
Chiba found a seat in a corner and waited for the teacher to arrive.
After a lengthy speech, Iruka finally began announcing the team assignments.
At that moment, Chiba perked up.
Finally, the main event!
The first few teams weren't worth Chiba's attention.
"Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and..."
Iruka lowered the sheet of paper in his hand, looked at the students, and announced clearly:
"Chiba!"
Chiba was utterly dumbfounded when he heard his name.
What was going on?
Had I taken Sakura Haruno's place?
This wasn't how things were supposed to start!
As though he knew what Chiba was wondering, Iruka gave an immediate explanation.
"Team assignments are based on your everyday performance and grades."
"The most important criterion is balance!"
Before you continue