***
After presenting the Ninja Academy's gift, Chiba Shun glanced at the little girl beside the widow and felt a flicker of familiarity. He studied her carefully, searching his memory, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember where he had seen that face before.
Then the girl's mother gently prompted her, "Yugito, thank Shun-senpai."
Chiba Shun froze for the briefest moment. Yu... Yugito?
Who had been the Two-Tails' jinchuriki in the original story? Yugito Nii.
The answer struck him like a spark in dry grass, but he mastered himself almost instantly. He had already met the Third Raikage face-to-face, and he had even seen the future Fourth Raikage a few times when he was younger. Yugito's identity surprised him, but not enough to leave him gaping like a fool.
After thinking it through, Chiba Shun guessed Yugito probably had not become a jinchuriki yet. Still, whether that was true or not hardly mattered. Her talent was bound to be exceptional.
Could I take her as a disciple? The thought surfaced before he could stop it.
If he could guide Yugito early, and if she still became the Two-Tails' jinchuriki in the future like she had in the original timeline, his standing in Kumogakure would rise by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, he was only a chunin. Neither Yugito nor her mother would likely think much of someone of his rank.
Just as Chiba Shun exchanged a few polite words with the family and prepared to leave, several more people entered through the front gate.
There were three of them. Walking in the center was the Third Raikage. Behind him followed two senior advisers. One of them, Yukio, was someone Chiba Shun had met before when he traded for sensory ninjutsu.
The other was a woman around the same age as the Third Raikage. Chiba Shun had heard her name before: Sanada Masaki.
He immediately bowed and greeted them. "Greetings, Raikage-sama. Greetings, honored advisers."
When he straightened up, he caught the subtle shift in their eyes. The Third Raikage and both advisers lingered on Yugito for a moment longer than they did on anyone else.
So she really has already entered the higher-ups' field of vision? Chiba Shun's thoughts tightened. If Yugito had already been marked as a future vessel for the Two-Tails, then his chances of taking her in as a disciple had just become much slimmer.
At that moment, Yugito suddenly ran up to the Third Raikage, lifted her little face, and said with fierce seriousness, "Third Raikage Uncle, I want to take revenge on Konoha's White Fang!"
The Third Raikage halted. After a short silence, he replied in a grave voice, "Yugito, you're still too young. With your current strength, defeating Konoha's White Fang is impossible."
He did not brush the child off with a perfunctory answer. Perhaps because of her future importance, perhaps because he respected her spirit, he answered her honestly.
Yugito gritted her teeth and said nothing. She simply stared at him, stubborn and blazing with the kind of will that didn't belong to an ordinary three-year-old.
In a world where chakra existed, even children were not always truly childish.
That was when an idea flashed through Chiba Shun's mind. He glanced around. Other than Yugito and her mother, the only people present were the village's top brass.
So he took the risk and stepped forward. "Raikage-sama, I have an idea. It might be possible to get rid of White Fang."
The Third Raikage frowned. Before he could speak, Adviser Yukio snapped like thunder. "Silence! You're just a chunin. Do you even understand how strong White Fang is?"
"And you dare to talk about killing him? Do you know how few people in the entire ninja world would dare claim they can defeat him with certainty?"
"In our Hidden Cloud, only the Third Raikage himself has that confidence. Sunagakure has publicly declared that if their ninja encounter Konoha's White Fang during a mission, they may abandon the mission on the spot."
"And you—a mere chunin—dare spout nonsense like this? Do you think the ninja world is some playground game like the ones you teach at the academy?"
Chiba Shun fell silent at once. The gap in status between them was too wide. If he argued back, it would only make him look reckless.
But the Third Raikage first looked at Yugito, who was watching with open expectation. Then he turned to Chiba Shun and said, "Speak. Tell me what you're thinking."
Relief slid through Chiba Shun's chest. White Fang was destined for tragedy anyway. If he could turn that knowledge into merit, then this was practically free credit.
So he said slowly, "To kill White Fang, we don't need to do it ourselves. We can use Konoha's own power to destroy him."
After saying that, he cautiously looked at the others, half-expecting another storm of abuse to come crashing down on him. To his surprise, the Third Raikage remained silent, and even Yukio did not interrupt.
So Chiba Shun continued. "Before the Second Shinobi War, White Fang was the future of Konoha. He was considered one of the strongest candidates to become the Fourth Hokage."
"But now the Third Hokage has produced three monster disciples, each one with the bearing of a future Kage. In that situation, White Fang's brilliance makes the master look overshadowed."
"I believe the Konoha high command is already troubled by how to handle him. They likely already want to suppress him. If that's the case, why don't we give them a push?"
The Third Raikage asked, "Be specific."
Only then did Chiba Shun realize he had finally captured the Raikage's full attention.
"Adviser Yukio already said it," Chiba Shun replied. "Sunagakure has openly declared that missions can be abandoned if White Fang appears. If our village makes the same announcement, White Fang's reputation will soar even higher."
"And if we secretly send people into Konoha to spread word of his exploits, won't the Konoha leadership start thinking he's deliberately building prestige for himself? That he's forcing his way upward?"
"At that point, we can make contact with people in Konoha's upper ranks—someone like Danzo, who calls himself the darkness of the ninja world. I believe Danzo would be very willing to help suppress White Fang."
Chiba Shun stopped there. It was already one thing for the village elite to listen to his ideas. It was something else entirely to think he could interfere with how they executed them.
The Third Raikage exchanged a look with Adviser Yukio. Both men saw the same thing in each other's eyes: temptation.
What truly made the three senior figures think this plan might succeed was a single name. Danzo.
In their eyes, Danzo was exactly the sort of man who would do anything if it served his interests. His shadow had already stretched far enough that even Kumogakure knew about Konoha's internal bloodletting among the old advisory faction left behind by the Second Hokage.
Even so, the Third Raikage did not decide anything on the spot.
He simply chatted with Yugito and her mother for a few more minutes, offered them compensation money on the village's behalf, and then left with the advisers.
Chiba Shun also took his leave under Yugito's curious gaze.
The girl had not actually understood most of what he had said. What puzzled her most was simple: why would the leaders of Konoha want to destroy one of Konoha's own heroes?
Several days later, an ANBU operative came to find Chiba Shun and escorted him directly to the Raikage's office.
It was the first time he had ever entered that broad, imposing room. He let his gaze flick over the Third Raikage's desk for only an instant before lowering his eyes and bowing to the men and women already gathered there.
There were four high-ranking figures in Kumogakure. Judging by their ages, two were veterans from the era of the Second Raikage, while only Sanada Masaki seemed to belong to the Third Raikage's generation.
Could it be that, just like Konoha, the village's upper ranks are divided into factions? The thought slipped through Chiba Shun's mind, but he kept his face blank.
The Third Raikage did not waste time on formalities. "Shun Chiba," he said, "if the village sends you to Konoha to contact Danzo, are you confident you can persuade him?"
For one terrible second, Chiba Shun nearly blurted out a curse.
They'd dug the hole, and now they wanted him to jump into it.
What kind of place was Konoha? For countless transmigrators, it was home base, the safest place in the world, the perfect starting point. But in Chiba Shun's eyes, Konoha was a dragon's den and a tiger's lair—the highest floor of the Demon Tower, the single most dangerous place in the entire ninja world.
And to make matters worse, he had offended Danzo not long ago.
Who was Danzo? A man who never hesitated when it came time to dirty his hands.
But in the face of the current situation, Chiba Shun had no room to retreat. He glanced at Adviser Yukio without saying a word. Maybe it was just his imagination, but the man's expression felt strangely pointed.
Chiba Shun drew a deep breath and answered in a steady voice, "Raikage-sama, if the village is willing to cooperate with me, then I have at least a seventy percent chance."
The Third Raikage nodded. "What kind of cooperation do you need?"
Chiba Shun considered for a moment and then said, "Three things. First, the village needs to write to the Third Hokage and express the Hidden Cloud's goodwill. We need to send Konoha a signal that Kumogakure is interested in an alliance."
"Second, I propose an exchange between the ninja academies of both villages. I can select twenty or thirty students from our academy to act as representatives and travel to Konoha."
"Third, I ask that Raikage-sama write a secret letter expressing his willingness to form an alliance with Konoha. I will then secretly deliver that letter to the Third Hokage."
Without hesitation, the Third Raikage said, "Very well. Make your preparations. We leave in half a month."
Adviser Yukio added coldly, "This is an S-rank mission."
Chiba Shun swallowed, then bowed. "Yes."
Yukio's words were not praise. He was not handing Chiba Shun a chance to profit. He was reminding him that this mission mattered to the village at the highest possible level—and that if necessary, Chiba Shun was expected to die to complete it.
But Chiba Shun had no power to refuse.
He simply wrote Adviser Yukio's name down in the ledger inside his heart.
By the time he left the Raikage's office, his mood had sunk into the mud.
Still, there was no use wallowing in it. Once he returned to his quarters, he sat down and began taking stock of everything he owned.
Besides his four ninja swords and the usual assortment of support tools, he had around two hundred thousand ryo in cash.
After thinking it over, Chiba Shun decided to make one more trip to the ninja tool shop and buy extra explosive tags.
Ninja could periodically receive basic tools from the village, but the amount was small—nowhere near enough for a real mission. And as for expensive consumables like explosive tags, the village didn't issue those at all.
He stood in the shop for a long while, hesitating, calculating, wincing. In the end, he only bought twenty explosive tags.
One cost three thousand ryo. It was painful enough to make his heart bleed.
After that, he purchased five more longswords.
He could now barely manage a four-sword style, but he had not yet mastered the five-sword style. In ordinary situations, four blades should have been enough. But after his last battle against Konoha's intelligence ninja, he had learned a harsh truth: swords could break in combat.
That meant backups were necessary.
Fortunately, his ninja pouch had spatial storage properties, so carrying several extra blades was not a problem. Five quality iron-forged longswords cost him another fifteen thousand ryo.
Before leaving, Chiba Shun's gaze drifted one last time to the most eye-catching weapon in the shop: a blade said to be capable of conducting chakra to a certain degree.
Then he forced himself to look away.
The price hanging beneath it read a terrifying three hundred thousand ryo.
If you haven't reached jonin level yet, don't indulge in fantasies beyond your station. Chiba Shun repeated the thought to himself and turned to leave, but the weight of the coming mission remained pressed heavily against his chest.