The ANBU cleanup squad had arrived.
"Kakashi-sama."
Four masked figures dropped down from the trees.
When they saw the scene before them, even they couldn't hide their astonishment.
The Four Celestial Symbols Men from the Artisan Ninja Village?
What were they doing here?!
And more importantly—
Chiba had actually used a sealing formation to trap one of the Celestial Artisans!
"Senpai, his armor absorbs chakra. Your Wood Release won't be effective."
"I see."
kid immediately changed tactics. The four ANBU spread out, forming a square around Hishin, their hands weaving through hand seals.
In moments, sealing scripts crawled over Hishin's entire body like living lines of ink.
Chiba released his suppression slightly.
"You… you damned dogs of the Five Great Villages— I'll kill you all! I'll kill you!!"
Hishin thrashed wildly. The runes surged as his armor tried to resist.
But then—
Chiba appeared in front of him in an instant.
Palm Strike!
The chakra barrier covering the armor flickered and destabilized, and before Hishin could react, another figure came up from behind.
Kakashi, too, struck out with a Five Elements Seal, disrupting the armor's chakra flow.
His interference wasn't as precise as Chiba's, but it worked just as well.
The two exchanged a quick glance—then their blades flashed in unison.
One clean stroke.
The head fell, blood spraying into the air.
Both Kakashi and Chiba exhaled heavily, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.
"Kakashi-sama, are you all right?"
"kid, if you'd come any later, we'd be dead for sure."
Kakashi pulled off his forehead protector wearily.
He truly had no chakra left—not a drop.
If he pushed any further, he'd be gambling his life.
"It's not that we were slow, Senpai… you and your team just move too fast."
kid couldn't help but sigh.
He glanced around.
Over a dozen samurai and the Celestial Artisans—only two had survived by the time they'd arrived. Any later, and even those two would've been gone.
Thinking about it carefully, the only real contribution he'd made was taking over the sealing formation from Chiba at the end.
The corner of kid's mouth twitched.
He'd heard rumors about this kid, but seeing it firsthand…
This was something else entirely!
"That technique you used earlier—was that a new version of the Binding Formation?" kid asked.
"Mm." Chiba nodded tiredly.
"Kakashi-sensei, Tenten, Tsukikage Kaza."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"
The two girls, still tidying up the battlefield, turned immediately when they heard him.
"Well done."
Kakashi raised a weary thumbs-up.
"Kakashi-sensei, I didn't really do much—eh? Kakashi-sensei?"
"He's out cold," Chiba said quickly, catching Kakashi before he slumped over.
The strain from using the Sharingan had been brutal. If he hadn't swallowed a soldier pill at the last second, things could've been much worse. For now, though, his body was in no danger.
"Let us handle him."
kid supported Kakashi with a quiet sigh.
These Genin… unbelievable.
He had already inspected the battlefield. The main enemies had been dealt with by Kakashi, yes—but Chiba's contributions were nothing short of crucial.
To come up with countermeasures st those weapons in the middle of battle… this kid was remarkable.
"Thank you."
Chiba pushed himself to his feet.
This was where his recovery ability shone.
Even with most of his chakra depleted, his stamina and mental energy were already starting to return. He couldn't fight, but he could move around without issue.
After setting Kakashi down, kid followed Chiba's guidance to find Yuichi.
The samurai was completely drained, yet still conscious—refusing to collapse.
Tenten, having finished collecting the battlefield, looked subdued. Tsukikage Kaza, too, wore a gloomy expression.
"What's wrong with you two?"
"Chiba-kun… we didn't really do much."
Both girls lowered their heads.
They knew their own performance well. So when Kakashi had praised them, it had only made them more embarrassed.
"That's normal. I was just support, too. Today, Kakashi-sensei was the one who did the heavy lifting."
Chiba smiled faintly.
"That's not true! You held off the samurai and killed four of them, then gave Kakashi-sensei the perfect opening to strike! And later you helped complete the sealing formation—"
Tenten began counting off every one of his feats.
It was only while cleaning up that she realized just how much Chiba had accomplished. Compared to him, the danger she and Tsukikage Kaza had faced seemed trivial.
Tsukikage Kaza fell silent for a long moment before murmuring, "I regret it… I should've signed up for the Chūnin Exams."
"Yeah. You've been protecting us all this time," Tenten added softly.
"You both helped," Chiba said, chuckling. "If it weren't for Tenten's precise throws and wire control at the end, I couldn't have completed the sealing formation."
"We're a team, right?"
He smiled warmly.
One of the reasons he'd chosen Konoha over kid or Orochimaru was this—the faint but genuine sense of companionship.
The others only cared about using people.
That kind of life… he'd had enough of it.
"No matter what, we'll work harder," Tenten said, clenching her fists. "We can't always be the ones watching your and Kakashi-sensei's backs!"
Tsukikage Kaza nodded firmly.
"By the way," Chiba said, pointing at the sealing scroll, "those four ninja tools are sealed inside there, right?"
"You want to study the Four Great Tools?"
Tenten's eyes sparkled.
As a self-proclaimed ninja tool fanatic, she knew all about the Four Celestial Symbols Men' weapons. She'd sealed them herself, half with the intention of secretly examining them later.
She hadn't expected Chiba to be thinking the same thing.
"So you had that idea too, huh? No wonder you were so eager to clean up."
"Hehehe."
Tenten laughed, scratching the back of her head.
Tsukikage Kaza looked at them enviously. "You two have your passions. I… still don't know what I'm good at."
"You do," Chiba said. "The Moonlight clan's swordsmanship is famous in Konoha. And now that you've seen the Land of Iron's techniques, you can use them for inspiration."
"Mm. That's true."
Tsukikage Kaza thought for a moment, then nodded.
If it was swordsmanship, she did have some confidence.
But thinking about it now—Chiba had started out a novice in the sword, and now he could take down four Iron Country samurai on his own…
Her so-called talent felt laughable by comparison.
"Hard work beats talent. Even a slow bird can fly if it starts early—and you're not even slow," Chiba said encouragingly.
"And what about you, then?" Tsukikage Kaza asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Good question. Ordinary birds and hawks aren't the same species," Chiba replied with a grin, winking before walking off toward kid's group.
"Heh…"
Tsukikage Kaza couldn't help but chuckle.
She wasn't nearly as quiet in private as she appeared—she could take a joke or two.
Besides—
Chiba wasn't wrong.
She followed him, feeling much lighter.
When they reached the site of Kakashi's earlier battle, Chiba crouched and examined the ground.
He couldn't help but sigh for Kiyoda Shin.
Cut down in one stroke by Yuichi.
And that supposed ambush? It had only destroyed a water clone.
Kakashi had really played him for a fool.
Watching the two unconscious figures, kid fell silent in thought.
Chiba walked up behind him.
"kid-senpai."
"Hmm?"
"You can use Wood Release, right? Why not build us a temporary shelter here? We can rest for the night and leave when Kakashi-sensei wakes up."
"…"
kid paused—then sighed .
Sometimes, he thought, even the cleanup crew just had to go along with the genius kid's orders.
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