Chapter 17: Why Compare Yourself to Chiba?

Chapter 17: Why Compare with Chiba?

“Third Hokage, I also wanted to train him. I had invited him to join the Anbu before, but he hasn’t come to see either you or me these past few days. Looks like he’s not planning to join,” Kakashi reported.

“Hehe, Kakashi, take a look at this,” the Third Hokage said with a smile, his eyes crinkling with delight.

“What is it?” Kakashi asked, taking the paper from him.

It wasn’t a scroll but an application form.

“‘Project Proposal for the Strengthening Medicinal Bath’.”

What was this?

He examined it carefully.

It promised rapid fatigue relief and accelerated absorption by the body.

If such a medicine could be produced, physical enhancement would happen much faster than before.

“Created by Chiba?”

“Mm,” the Third Hokage nodded softly, then leaned back in his chair with a long sigh.

“Kakashi, if I were ten years younger, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment—I’d take him as my disciple immediately.”

“...” Kakashi inwardly suspected he was hinting at something.

He picked up the application again, reading it through a few more times. “What about the cost?”

“That boy tried five different formulas. The ones submitted are the two cheapest options. Though their effects are somewhat weaker, the price is affordable enough that even a Genin can manage it with some saving,” the Third Hokage said, clearly pleased by this.

Chiba came from a commoner background, so he always considered price alongside efficacy. The rations pills before, now this medicinal bath—both reflected that practical mindset.

Kakashi felt conflicted.

He was genuinely impressed by Chiba—the boy’s strength, character, and intelligence surpassed his expectations, arguably the most promising disciple he’d ever wanted to take.

“If you’re worried about Naruto, I don’t think you need to be,” the Third Hokage smiled.

“Why?” Kakashi asked, puzzled.

“I’ll grant you some authority so you don’t have to follow the usual procedures. You’ll have one year. Do you have confidence you can train Chiba into a competent Chunin within that time?”

“This...” Kakashi grasped the Third Hokage’s meaning.

One year.

To make Chiba a qualified Chunin, then he could step back gracefully. If Naruto turned out hopeless, Kakashi could return to lead the class again.

That actually sounded not bad.

Before Kakashi could ponder further, the Third Hokage added, “Although I’m old, I can still offer guidance from time to time. You’ll need to take care of most of it yourself.”

He was worried Chiba might be led astray.

Talent-wise, Chiba only lacked innate skills like nature transformation and genjutsu, but in other areas, his potential was extraordinary, rivaling that of the Second Hokage in his prime.

All that was needed was proper guidance to ensure he didn’t become someone like Orochimaru.

Kakashi wasn’t really suitable for that.

At least, Chiba wouldn’t respond well to Kakashi’s rough teaching style.

“I understand. Then I’ll take charge of the assessment,” Kakashi agreed.

...

“Senior Kitayama,”

“There’s a project that requires everyone to conduct continuous observational experiments for a week...”

“What project?”

Everyone immediately gathered around.

Hyakusa was slower and ended up at the back.

Kitayama gave a brief explanation.

“It’s a medicinal bath formula project. It has the Hokage’s approval to proceed with experimental trials. If the tests prove stable, it can be released for sale.”

“Formula?”

They had heard of medicinal baths, but mostly as aristocratic luxuries with little real effect.

They quickly crowded closer to examine.

After reading, they exchanged glances.

No wonder Chiba had been visiting the Nara family so often lately—he must have been working on this. So the Nara family had a stake in the formula as well?

There was an opportunity!

Although their share might only be the broth, the business was bound to grow. Their role was primarily experimentation and subsequent preparation, so the workload wasn’t heavy.

Everyone’s enthusiasm surged.

“That kid Chiba is too clever. It’s a pity he doesn’t know medical ninjutsu.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Comparing ourselves to him is maddening!”

Fushou and the Kusunoki group whispered among themselves.

Hyakusa chuckled.

Compare?

You’re still thinking about comparing?

That guy was a reincarnation of the Second Hokage himself. Comparing to someone like that was only asking for misery.

He grumbled inwardly, then quietly copied the formula for experimentation.

By the time Chiba arrived at the hospital, the entire medical team was already bustling with activity. The lab smelled heavily of herbs, even stronger than the locker room that day.

Everyone was so enthusiastic!

He was very pleased.

That meant he didn’t need to pay too much attention.

Chiba sat down, pondering what to do next while visualizing the Bodhi seed in his mind.

One mark, two marks...

Sure enough, another pattern appeared!

It was still faint but much broader than the narrow line from the ration pills.

So,

Did the length represent the potential benefits?

It seemed about right.

This new mark’s potential rivaled the chakra needle—it was unclear what the exact benefits were yet.

Chiba wandered around the hospital but found no target of personal interest, so he went out for a run.

The following days were quite monotonous.

Reading, training, sleeping—his routine was simple. Yet he noticed his classmates had become more studious recently; even Rock Lee was focusing on his studies.

Could exams be coming?

Passing by the school, Chiba checked the time and decided to take a look.

Sure enough.

The school was quiet, everyone earnestly taking exams, though a few were training alone on the playground. TenTen was always among them, but Neji...

Chiba scanned the area, then approached.

“TenTen.”

“Eh, Chiba? What brings you here? Aren’t you with the medical team today?”

TenTen looked surprised.

Earlier, Chiba used to submit weekly reports, but after becoming a special-ninja, he was exempt from school reporting except when passing by for exercise.

So,

TenTen had the impression he had already graduated, seeing him again felt somewhat odd.

“Just passing by on a run. I noticed Rock Lee hasn’t been training much lately, maybe because exams are near. How are you doing?”

“Ah, it’s okay. I’ll graduate for sure.”

TenTen smiled slightly.

“That’s good. What about Neji?”

Chiba looked around but saw no sign of Neji.

They hadn’t met often during classes, but Neji’s grades were just below Chiba’s. There was no way he was still taking exams.

“He graduated early like you did. That was last month. Maybe you were busy then and didn’t know,” TenTen explained.

Chiba thought for a moment.

He must have been deeply engrossed in studying the strengthening medicinal bath formula.

No wonder he hadn’t noticed.

“Forget it. That guy’s been acting strange lately. Every time Neji hears your name, he clenches his fist in anger beside me. Let’s not talk about him. What have you been up to? Still at the hospital?”

TenTen’s expression was full of unspoken complexities when mentioning Neji.

Chiba didn’t know what to say.

Was this an unexpected reaction?

He hadn’t targeted Neji intentionally!

Oh.

Without him around, Neji would definitely be first, and now few remembered Neji was a genius too.

Maybe that was true...

He shook his head silently, not dwelling on it.

“I’m just wandering around the hospital for now. I only go when needed. Mostly, I’m reading, training, and researching. It’s quite leisurely.”

(End of Chapter)