"Naruto Uzumaki?!"
Chiba put on a puzzled expression.
Naruto Uzumaki recognized the boy before him as the transfer student from earlier that day.
He was rather pleased that Chiba remembered his name.
"How do you know my name?"
At this point, Naruto often pulled pranks.
But he only did it to get people's attention.
Deep down, he was still just a lonely, pitiful child.
"Oh, Iruka-sensei called your name thirty-eight times during class."
"You're the number one troublemaker in class!"
At that assessment, Naruto immediately hung his head, looking dispirited.
With nothing better to do, Chiba had made up a number off the top of his head, yet Naruto had actually fallen for it.
"It wasn't that many!"
Naruto muttered under his breath, unconvinced.
Chiba casually helped him up without dwelling on it.
But when he spotted the paint and rope on the ground, his curiosity got the better of him, and he asked without thinking:
"What are you doing with all this stuff?"
Naruto Uzumaki's expression instantly turned sly.
He glanced left and right. Seeing no one nearby, he leaned toward Chiba and whispered:
"I'm about to do something big!"
Chiba's expression turned odd as something suddenly came to mind.
Don't tell me...
[Host's current circumstances detected. Special Sign-In mission issued.] [Mission: Check in at Hokage Rock. Graffiti must be painted on it!] [Mission reward: Jonin-level chakra capacity!]
The arrival of a new Sign-In mission naturally delighted Chiba.
But the mission's requirements gave him a headache.
Painting graffiti on Hokage Rock wasn't exactly a serious offense, but it was still pretty nasty.
The real issue was who did it.
Naruto had the Third looking out for him, so naturally, nothing would happen to him.
Chiba, on the other hand, had no powerful background or backer.
He had only just arrived in Konoha. Getting Jiraiya into trouble already was hardly a wise choice.
But when he saw the mission reward...
Chiba gritted his teeth. Death comes for everyone. If I survive, I've got a whole life ahead of me!
What he lacked most right now was chakra.
Although he had already been tempered by natural energy at Mount Myōboku, his own chakra capacity was still severely lacking.
If he completed this mission, he would shore up that final weakness.
And so-
Chiba looked at Naruto with a mischievous grin, an expression Naruto found strangely familiar.
Hadn't I seen that somewhere before?
The oblivious Naruto never considered that if he looked in a mirror right then...
The face in the mirror would bear more than an eighty percent resemblance to Chiba's expression!
"Naruto, see, I just got to Konoha, so I don't really know anyone yet."
"And nobody knows me either. If I want everyone to get to know me quickly, I need to do something big!"
With his silver tongue, Chiba talked Naruto Uzumaki in circles.
"You're saying you want me to bring you along?!"
Naruto could hardly believe it.
Most kids his age in Konoha went out of their way to avoid him.
Very few ever approached him to do anything together.
Even Shikamaru and the others rarely joined in on his pranks.
Chiba was the first!
Naruto Uzumaki couldn't help feeling touched.
His gaze instantly grew determined.
"Okay!"
"Then let's go all out!"
With Naruto leading the way, Chiba soon reached Hokage Rock.
Looking up at the four faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, he felt a surge of emotion.
"Let's start with the First!"
Chiba adjusted the paint bucket in his hand and channeled chakra into the soles of his feet.
Without using any equipment, he stepped straight onto the rock face and walked up Hokage Rock.
The graffiti work began!
Naruto Uzumaki stared blankly at Chiba standing on the cliff face and murmured:
"Is that ninjutsu too?"
Half an hour later, the system notification sounded again.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the special Sign-In mission. Distributing reward...]
As the mechanical voice faded, Chiba sensed chakra beginning to surge through every cell in his body.
His total chakra kept increasing.
Before long, his chakra capacity had reached Jonin level!
After briefly adjusting to the sudden surge of chakra within him, Chiba felt his strength had grown tremendously.
At the very least, during these early days, he could live quite comfortably as long as he didn't go looking for death.
Naruto had just finished up as well, having covered the Third's and Fourth's faces with paint. They looked rather ridiculous.
By then, however, someone had already spotted them.
As one of Konoha's landmarks, Hokage Rock drew plenty of attention.
Naturally, any changes to it were noticed at a glance.
"Catch those two brats!"
The shout immediately sent several ninja racing toward Hokage Rock.
They leaped from the buildings and rapidly closed in on the pair.
The sight made Naruto's scalp prickle, and he whispered:
"Chiba, should we make a run for it?"
Chiba couldn't help rolling his eyes.
Now you're panicking?
What were you thinking earlier?
Besides, with this many ninja surrounding us, you still think you can run?
Surrounded by the ninja, Chiba remained perfectly calm. He had already worked out how to handle this.
As for Naruto, he could only hope for the best.
Here's hoping he makes it through in one piece!
Before you continue