As the ice shattered, so did what remained of Jūzō Pibara.
In that instant—
As the dense mist of the Hidden Mist Technique slowly dissipated—
Every person inside the hall stopped fighting.
They stood frozen, staring at Chiba
The battle had lasted no more than ten minutes.
And yet this unknown boy had slaughtered two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Two elite jōnin.
One after the other.
What kind of monstrous strength was this?!
For a moment, both sides stood in stunned silence.
Chiba smiled faintly.
"Surrender."
"Or die."
The moment his words fell—
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Every member of the Kirigakure envoy corps dropped their weapons.
What should have been a massacre—the extermination of the Yuki Clan—
Was crushed effortlessly by Chiba alone.
He turned to Yuki Yoru, who stood there dazed and hollow-eyed.
"Clan Head," Chiba said calmly, "detain them for now."
"They'll be useful later."
Yuki Yoru finally snapped back to reality.
"Y-Yes… yes."
He hurriedly ordered the clan members to bind and imprison the surrendered envoys, then began organizing the aftermath.
The wounded were carried away by medical-nin.
The rest of the clan gathered unconsciously around Chiba.
From that moment on—
Yuki Yoru's authority as clan head existed in name only.
Every member of the Yuki Clan had already accepted Chiba as their new leader.
In the shinobi world, strength was absolute.
And more importantly—
Chiba had dragged the Yuki Clan back from the brink of extinction.
Even Yuki Yoru himself voiced no objection.
He had already accepted it.
Yuki Setsuna stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Chiba—complex, shaken, emotional.
"Chiba… so that's who you really are."
He smiled lightly.
"I'm nothing special. In this world, I barely count."
And it was true.
At his current level, he was merely a powerful elite jōnin.
Whether he had reached Kage-class strength was still uncertain.
His Ice Release—borrowed from the power of the Ice-Ice Fruit—was still in its early stages.
Ice Blades.
Ice Spheres.
Frozen Time Capsules.
Their lethality, destructive force, and range were all limited.
The reason he had been able to kill Raiga Kurosuki and Jūzō Pibara was partly due to their arrogance—
—and partly because of his elemental body, which rendered him immune to most physical damage.
Even so, Chiba reflected on the battle.
He lacked experience.
If he were more seasoned, the fight would have been cleaner. Faster.
But that was only natural.
This had been his first real battle.
And his opponents had been veterans who survived countless wars.
Yuki Yoru let out a long sigh.
"Chiba… I was the clan head, yet when annihilation loomed, I could do nothing."
"You saved the entire clan."
"So the position of clan head…"
"Belongs to you."
The surrounding clan members nodded without hesitation.
Chiba chuckled.
"Is that really appropriate?"
"I'm young. Hardly convincing."
Yuki Yoru shook his head.
"After what happened today, who would dare oppose you?"
"Who would even think to?"
The clan members spoke in unison:
"Lord Chiba, we will obey all your orders!"
"The clan head position belongs to you alone!"
Seeing no reason to refuse further, Chiba nodded.
"Very well. I'll accept it."
From that moment on—
Chiba officially became the Clan Head of the Yuki Clan.
Yuki Yoru stepped down to become an elder.
Soon after, Chiba began discussing future plans with the elders.
Killing two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen meant one thing—
The Fourth Mizukage and Kirigakure's upper echelon would never let this go.
And the Yuki Clan was still far too weak to confront Kirigakure head-on.
Only after assuming leadership did fully grasp the clan's reality.
Fewer than a thousand members in total.Chiba
Barely a hundred shinobi among them.
Most were genin and chūnin.
And those who had truly awakened the Hyōton kekkei genkai—
Fewer than twenty.
Among them were Yuki Yoru and four other elders—
All possessing strength on par with jōnin.
As for others like Yuki Setsuna, although they had awakened the Hyōton kekkei genkai, their actual combat power was only at the chūnin level.
Such strength was indeed insufficient to contend head-on with a colossal power like Kirigakure.
However—
Chiba was not particularly worried.
The Hidden Mist Village itself was already riddled with internal and external crises.
Expecting them to focus all their strength on a single task was nothing more than wishful thinking.
To say nothing else—
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was under the control of a powerful genjutsu.
The era of the Bloody Mist had grown increasingly extreme.
Rebel forces launched coups and insurrections almost daily.
And countless shinobi were defecting, abandoning the village altogether.
Under such circumstances—
How much strength could Kirigakure truly spare to deal with the Yuki Clan?
The two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen sent this time were likely the strongest force they could muster.
And even if stronger enemies were to arrive—
They still had Chiba.
In the end, after extensive discussion, the clan members gradually set their worries aside.
Chiba then issued another order.
He sent trusted clan members to secretly infiltrate Kirigakure—
To spread a single message throughout the village.
That message was—
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, is being controlled by genjutsu.
The escalation of the Bloody Mist is the result of an external conspiracy.
This was not a rumor.
It was the truth.
And precisely because it was true—
It would spread.
Chiba smiled faintly.
"With this, the upper ranks of Kirigakure will be busy tearing themselves apart for a while."