Kankuro's apology

At the intersection, everyone remained at an impasse.

More precisely, Chiba was watching them with an amused look.

The scene was utterly silent.

Even someone as thickheaded as Naruto Uzumaki noticed that something was off.

"Apologize."

After a long while, Chiba's calm voice broke the silence, without the slightest fluctuation.

"Why should..."

Kankuro instinctively tried to argue, but the moment he met Chiba's eyes, he froze again.

It was hard to imagine.

They were both genin, yet the other boy seemed to have him firmly outmatched, whether in presence or anything else.

"Konohamaru bumped into you, and he's already apologized."

Out of consideration for their status as guests, Chiba explained:

"So I hope you'll show the same attitude and apologize too."

"Also, Sasuke, how much longer are you going to stay up in that tree?"

He looked toward the trees beside the road.

Sasuke Uchiha was well hidden among the branches.

If Chiba hadn't spoken up, none of the others would have noticed him.

"And our last guest from Sunagakure."

"You can't just use ninjutsu freely inside the village."

Yellow sand swirled, and Gaara appeared before them.

Sasuke Uchiha was startled.

He hadn't detected the other boy's presence at all this entire time.

Chiba looked at Gaara's red hair and shook his head.

Whether this boy, starved of love since childhood, could still become friends with Naruto was truly anyone's guess.

But that had nothing to do with Chiba, and he had no reason to worry about it.

Compared with Gaara, he was much more interested in the pretty girls.

"Kankuro, apologize."

When Gaara wasn't consumed by madness, he was fairly polite.

"S-sorry."

Between his fear of his younger brother and Chiba's menacing stare,

Kankuro promptly backed down.

Both of their gazes were terrifying, each worse than the other.

If he didn't apologize now, Kankuro feared he might not make it out of this street alive.

"I hope we'll meet at the Chunin Ninja Exams."

Gaara left them with those words before departing.

Their older sister Temari, on the other hand, seemed to have a much better attitude than either of her brothers.

"Bye!"

"See you at the Chunin Ninja Exams!"

In Temari's eyes, someone with Chiba's strength was certain to take part in the Chunin Ninja Exams.

As for that blond kid, it was hard to say.

"That's our boss!"

Konohamaru looked at Chiba with eyes full of admiration.

Naruto Uzumaki rubbed his nose, looking delighted.

"Of course! Chiba's really strong!"

Ever since they had met at the Ninja Academy, Chiba had always taken good care of Naruto Uzumaki.

Not just in his training, but in his daily life as well.

Chiba had far more money to spare than Naruto Uzumaki.

That was especially true after he signed a Summoning Contract with Nekomata.

At first, he had thought he would need to take care of Nekomata and provide him with silvervine.

Only later did he discover that Ninja Cat Castle made no small amount of profit each day.

Even after covering the ninja cats' expenses, a considerable sum remained.

So Chiba no longer had to worry about money.

Sakura Haruno's face went pale when she saw Chiba.

She remembered what had happened that day again.

Chiba's very presence was like a nightmare.

Chiba, however, didn't pay much attention to that.

He still had a ninjutsu scroll to deliver.

If things went as well as he hoped, Nekomata would soon be able to help.

It all depended on how talented Nekomata was.

He had originally planned to have Cat Granny deliver it to him.

But after giving it some thought, Chiba decided it would be better to handle something like this himself.

Kakashi Hatake, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen, and there was no telling what he was doing.

The three of them waited a long time on the Great Bridge where they had agreed to meet.

They waited until the sun was high in the sky.

"Yo!"

"I got lost on the path of life again."

"So I'm a little late."

Kakashi Hatake appeared atop the railing.

"I called you here today because there's something I want to tell you."

"I've personally recommended all three of you for the Chunin Ninja Exams."

"Of course, it's not compulsory. Whether you take part is entirely up to you."

Kakashi Hatake handed over three exam eligibility certificates.

In other words, their admission passes.

Ignoring Naruto Uzumaki, who had drifted off into fantasies, Chiba asked:

"When are the Chunin Ninja Exams?"

Kakashi Hatake looked at them with smiling eyes.

"In seven days."

Chiba let out a sigh of relief.

That meant he had more than enough time.

Now it all depended on Nekomata's talent.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'd like to apply for permission to leave the village."

"I signed a Summoning Contract with a ninja cat at Ninja Cat Castle."

Chiba had no intention of hiding anything about Nekomata.

"Is it that Nekomata?"

Kakashi Hatake considered it for a moment. "Go and come back promptly, and stay safe!"

He wasn't particularly worried about Chiba's safety.

Besides, the three of them had handled their last mission on their own.

After receiving permission to leave the village, Chiba also asked Kakashi Hatake for a sheet of Chakra Paper.

Come to think of it, he still didn't know Nekomata's chakra nature.