Chapter 51: Anbu, Time to Clean Up the Mess!

The Anbu unit tasked with cleaning up the battlefield had arrived.

"Lord Kakashi."

Four figures descended from the trees.

Seeing the devastation before them, they could not help but look stunned.

The Four Celestial Beings of the Village of Artisans?
What were they doing here?
And more importantly...
Chiba had actually trapped the Four Celestial Beings using a sealing technique...

"Senior, his armor can absorb chakra. Your Wood Release won't have any physical effect."

"I see."

Yamato instantly changed his strategy, the four operatives positioning themselves at the four cardinal points to weave hand seals.

Moments later, intricate sealing formulas crawled all over Hisan's entire body.

Chiba temporarily released his suppression.

"You... you bastards from the Five Great Nations, damn you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you!"

Hisan struggled frantically.

Those sealing formulas immediately began to counterattack.

However, the very next instant, Chiba's figure appeared right in front of him.

With a single palm strike!

The chakra barrier on the armor rapidly fell into disarray. Following closely behind, another figure lunged in from his rear.

Kakashi similarly employed the Five Elements Seal to disrupt the flow of chakra.

Although not as precisely targeted at the Infinite Hole Armor as Chiba's technique, it proved equally effective. Together, the two swung their blades in a synchronized arc.

Heads rolled, and blood gushed like a fountain.

Kakashi and Chiba exhaled simultaneously, collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion.

"Lord Kakashi, are you alright?"

"Yamato, if you guys hadn't arrived, we really would have been in mortal danger."

Kakashi tiredly pulled down his forehead protector.

He truly had no chakra left.
Not a single drop.
To make another move now would mean burning away his own life force.

"It's not that we were slow, Senior; it's that you and your subordinates were far too fast," Yamato couldn't help but complain.

He cast a glance around the area.

A dozen samurai, along with the Four Celestial Beings, had been whittled down to just two by the time they arrived. Had they been any later, presumably neither would have remained.

On second thought, his entire contribution seemed to be merely taking over Chiba's sealing array at the very end.

At this realization, the corners of Yamato's mouth twitched involuntarily.

Though he had long since heard tales of Chiba's great reputation, this was...
This was simply too fierce!

"Was that technique just now a new binding seal?" Yamato asked.

"Mmm," Chiba nodded wearily.

"Chiba, Tenten, Kazuasa."

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Tenten and Kazuasa were in the midst of tidying up the battlefield. Hearing Kakashi call out to them, they hurriedly stood up and turned around.

"Good job!" Kakashi gave them a thumbs-up.

"Kakashi-sensei, I only provided negligible help at the very en—Kakashi-sensei?"

"He's passed out." Chiba reached out to steady Kakashi.

The burden the Sharingan placed on Kakashi was immense. Had he not consumed a military ration pill at the last moment, the situation likely would have been far worse. At the very least, his physical body was currently out of danger.

"Let us take him."

Yamato supported Kakashi, then let out a soft sigh.

Goodness...
What terrifying Genin!

He had already surveyed the traces of battle earlier; while Kakashi had undoubtedly shouldered the primary burden against the Four Celestial Beings, Chiba's role was by no means insignificant.

To devise a countermeasure in such a short span of time—this kid was truly remarkable!

"Thank you." Chiba stood up.

This was precisely when having strong recovery capabilities proved its worth.
Even though his chakra reserves were nearly depleted, his physical stamina and mental energy were steadily recuperating. While he couldn't engage in further combat, routine activities posed no problem at all.

After Yamato and his team settled Kakashi down, they located Yuuichi under Chiba's guidance.

Though the samurai was pushed to the absolute limits of exhaustion, he had still managed to stave off unconsciousness.

Having finished clearing the battlefield, Tenten and Kazuasa returned with rather downcast moods.

"What's wrong with you two?"

"Chiba-kun, we... we didn't really contribute much." Tenten and Kazuasa lowered their heads.

They were painfully aware of their performance, which made Kakashi's praise sting with even greater shame.

"That's normal. I was mostly playing a support role myself; Kakashi-sensei did the heavy lifting and swept through the battlefield today." Chiba smiled.

"No, that's not true! You pinned down those samurai, managed to kill four of them in counter-attacks, created the opening for Kakashi-sensei's decisive strike, and later assisted with the sealing..." Tenten rattled off their achievements.

Only while cleaning up the battlefield had she truly understood what Chiba had accomplished.
Compared to him, the dangers she and Kazuasa had faced hardly counted for anything.

Kazuasa remained silent for a moment before speaking up, "I regret it. I should have participated in the Chunin Exams."

"Yeah, you protected us too well," Tenten reflected self-critically.

"You both contributed. If Tenten hadn't precisely thrown and manipulated those ninja tools at the end, I wouldn't have been able to complete the binding seal array in coordination."

"We're a team, aren't we?" Chiba smiled warmly.

When faced with the hypothetical choices involving Konoha, Danzo, and Orochimaru in the past, he had ultimately chosen Konoha. One of the reasons was that they at least retained a shred of genuine "comradeship."

The other factions were built entirely on mutual exploitation.
That was simply too exhausting!
He could never get used to living like that.

"Anyway, we're going to work hard from now on. We can't just keep watching your and Kakashi-sensei's backs forever," Tenten clenched her fist.

Instead of her previous dejection, a renewed fighting spirit flickered in her eyes.

Kazuasa nodded heavily in agreement.

"Right, once we head back, I actually have a favor to ask you," Chiba pointed toward the ninja scroll. "Those four sets of ninja tools are inside your sealing scroll, right?"

"You want to study the Four Great Ninja Tools?" Tenten's eyes lit up.

As a certified ninja tool enthusiast, how could she possibly not have heard of the legendary tools of the Village of Artisans? She had rushed to seal them away precisely with the intention of secretly studying them during the transport back.

To think Chiba was thinking along the exact same lines.

"Looks like you had the same idea. No wonder you were so eager to clean up the battlefield."

"Hehehe." Tenten scratched her head with a grin.

Kazuasa looked on with envy, murmuring softly, "Must be nice. You both have things you love and want to study, but I still have no idea what I should be doing."

"Actually, you can do it too. The Moonlight clan's swordsmanship is famous throughout Konoha, and this time you even witnessed the swordsmanship of the Land of Iron. You can spend some time pondering it when we get back," Chiba suggested.

"Hmm, I suppose so." Kazuasa pondered for a moment before gently nodding.

When it came to swordsmanship, she still harbored a tiny, fragile shred of confidence.
Yet, when she thought back, Chiba had once been a mere beginner in swordsmanship, yet now his mastery was formidable enough to single-handedly slaughter four elite samurai from the Land of Iron...
Her own talent paled into complete insignificance compared to monsters like them.

"Hard work can make up for a lack of natural talent; a clumsy bird can fly ahead early—besides, you're hardly a clumsy bird," Chiba encouraged.

"And what about you?" Kazuasa couldn't help asking.
Was this supposed to be comforting?

"A fine question. Ordinary birds are definitely different from eagles," Chiba grinned broadly, winked at her, and turned to walk toward Yamato's group.

"Heh." Kazuasa let out a soft chuckle.

Now that they were familiar with one another, she wasn't particularly reserved in private and could certainly take a joke.
Besides...
What Chiba said was the truth.

As she followed after him, her spirits felt much lighter.

Upon reaching the site where Kakashi and the others had fought, Chiba inspected the surroundings, feeling a silent wave of sympathy for Kiyota Nobu.

He had been cleaved in half by a single slash from Yuuichi.
And his own stealthy assassination attempt had apparently resulted in nothing more than killing a water clone...
Kakashi had completely played him for a fool!

Looking at the two unconscious individuals, Yamato fell into deep thought.

Chiba walked up from behind.

"Yamato-senryo?"

"Hmm?"

"Since you know Wood Release, why don't you build a temporary cabin? Everyone can rest here for the night, and we can set off once Kakashi-sensei wakes up."

"..."