Sure enough, the moment Chiba Shun finished speaking, Advisor Yukio barked, "Enough!"
"Shun Chiba, what gives you the right to talk about the village's strategy? And how long has it been since the Second Shinobi World War ended? Kumogakure is at its weakest right now. If the village loses a war, can you bear that responsibility?"
Chiba Shun kept his mouth shut.
But the Third Raikage lifted a hand, stopping Yukio before he could continue. He was dissatisfied with Chiba Shun's recklessness too, but Shun had been working under him the whole time. At a moment like this, the Raikage was still willing to give him one chance to explain himself.
"On one hand, you're advising us to form an alliance with Konoha," the Third Raikage said. "On the other, you're suggesting we prepare for war. What exactly are you trying to do?"
It sounded like a question. In truth, it was a lifeline.
The instant he heard it, Chiba Shun replied, "Raikage-sama, moving troops toward the Land of Fire doesn't necessarily mean we have to start a war."
"If the other three great villages follow our lead, if they really move and a chance appears to break Konoha or at least cripple it, then we strike. But if they hesitate, or if Konoha manages to hold them off, then we proceed directly with the alliance."
He spoke faster now, the idea already laid out in his head.
"Either way, Hiruzen Sarutobi already said the details of the alliance would have to be negotiated by higher-ups. We can hold those talks at the border of the Land of Fire. If the other three great villages really move against Konoha, then our alliance with them will only become more valuable. That means better terms for us."
The room fell quiet.
Not just the Third Raikage. Even Advisor Yukio, who had disliked him from the start, looked at him differently this time.
The higher-ups exchanged glances. Then they began to discuss it among themselves in low voices. After a while, the Third Raikage made the decision.
"Fine," he said. "We'll notify the other three great villages first. At the same time, we'll begin gathering troops in secret."
"If White Fang falls into trouble, we march on Konoha. And at the same time, we send word to Hiruzen Sarutobi that I intend to sign an alliance treaty with him at the border of the Land of Fire."
After that, the conversation shifted to the details of the negotiations with Hiruzen Sarutobi. Chiba Shun was no longer needed. He was dismissed from the Raikage's office and sent away.
By the time he returned to his residence at the Ninja Academy, the frustration had settled deep in his bones.
Then he pushed open the door and froze.
Sakai Hashi was already there.
Not only that—somehow, he had apparently convinced Aoki Yuuichi to let him move in.
Chiba Shun looked him over once, and the first thing he noticed was how different his presence felt. Sharper. Denser. The trip to the Land of Iron had clearly changed him.
The moment Sakai Hashi saw him, he lit up and strode over.
"I only found out you went to Konoha after I got back from the Land of Iron," he said in a rush. "I honestly thought you weren't coming back. So? How was it? Was Konoha really as dangerous as everyone says?"
He didn't even wait for an answer before piling on more.
"I heard they have this thing called Hokage Rock, and you can see it from almost anywhere in the village. Is that true? Did you meet any of Konoha's genius brats? Did you fight any of them? What about swordsmen? Were there any crazy enough to be researching multi-sword styles like us?"
He rattled on nonstop, then suddenly cut himself off.
His eyes had landed on the sword strapped across Chiba Shun's back.
Very carefully, almost reverently, he reached out and touched it.
Then he looked up, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. "This blade... it can conduct chakra, can't it?"
Chiba Shun didn't answer. He only nodded once, then unfastened the sword from his back and placed it in Sakai Hashi's hands.
Hashi held it like a treasure.
He studied it from hilt to tip, turning it over and over, inspecting every inch for a long time. Finally, he lifted his head and asked, "This thing has to be worth at least three hundred thousand ryo, right? Your salary for half a year is only that much."
"What happened? Did you suddenly get rich? You had enough money to buy something like this?"
Chiba Shun poured himself a cup of water, took a long drink, then said, "I didn't buy it."
"Yotsuki A and I killed a jonin from Kirigakure together. This was one of the spoils. A doesn't use swords, so he gave it to me as part of my reward."
Sakai Hashi clicked his tongue in amazement. "The Raikage's son really is generous."
He looked at the sword a few more times before, with obvious reluctance, returning it.
Chiba Shun smiled. "You like it?"
Hashi nodded so hard it looked like his neck might snap.
Chiba Shun laughed. "Then work hard, save your money... and buy one yourself."
He took the sword back immediately.
Sakai Hashi's teeth clenched. For a second, he had actually thought Chiba Shun was going to give it to him.
Only then did Chiba Shun ask, "So? How was the Land of Iron?"
At that, Sakai Hashi's expression changed. Pride flashed through his eyes.
"My swordsmanship improved a lot," he said. "I can use four swords properly now. Really properly. And my one-sword style went through a complete transformation too."
As he spoke, he drew a blade and gave it a casual swing.
An invisible slash tore out through the doorway and carved a sharp mark into the ground outside.
Chiba Shun's eyes widened.
He had seen this kind of fighting style before—in the original story, from the Konoha swordsman Hakumo Hayate. Sword aura. Or, as some called it, a vacuum blade.
"Sword qi?" Chiba blurted. "You—did you break into jonin level already?"
A long time ago, the two of them had talked about this exact thing. If a swordsman could release sword aura, then their chakra level had almost certainly reached jonin territory.
Sakai Hashi grinned. "Heh. Not officially. I haven't gotten the rank yet. I'm planning to rest for a few days, then apply for a promotion mission and make it official."
There was no formal exam for jonin. Promotion only came through appointment from the higher-ups, usually after special missions were completed.
Chiba Shun felt a faint sting of discouragement.
Everyone around him was improving. And somehow, they were all improving faster than he was.
But the feeling only lasted a moment.
He looked at Hashi and said, "I got a lot out of this trip to Konoha too. The Raikage gave me credit for an S-rank mission."
"That means I can exchange it for one A-rank ninjutsu free of charge. I'm planning to give that chance to you. You can use it for the Lightning Release Stimulation Technique—the Lightning Release Body Flicker Technique."
"I've already looked into it. It's an A-rank ninjutsu, and it gives huge support to taijutsu fighters. Yotsuki A uses it. In that battle, I saw him kill a Kirigakure jonin in one strike after activating it."
For a moment, Sakai Hashi seemed to stop breathing.
He barely heard anything after the words S-rank mission.
His eyes shone. "Really? It was really recorded as an S-rank mission?"
"I've only got a few A-rank mission records, and all of them were done with my squad leader. I've never had anything to do with an S-rank mission before. What kind of reward did you even get for one trip to Konoha?"
Then he remembered something and stared at Chiba Shun.
"Wait. You led that team to Konoha alone, didn't you? Don't tell me you completed that S-rank mission independently?"
Independent completion meant independent rewards. Anyone who had ever been poor understood what that meant.
Chiba Shun nodded. "Yes. But twenty-four children went with me, and only two came back alive. I had to contribute part of the reward."
Sakai Hashi swallowed hard. Then, almost reverently, he asked, "For an S-rank mission... how much?"
Chiba Shun smiled. "A-rank missions range from one hundred and fifty thousand ryo to one million. S-rank missions are anything above one million."
Hashi's eyes nearly burst with light.
"We're rich," he said. Then louder, unable to hold it in: "We're actually rich! We'll never have to worry about money again!"
Chiba Shun snorted. "For now, maybe. But you're about to start learning the Lightning Release Stimulation Technique. I haven't trained it myself, but I know for a fact it'll burn through money like crazy."
That finally cooled Hashi down a little.
Then he frowned. "Wait. My Four-Sword Style is complete now. I'm starting research on the Five-Sword Style next, and I have a feeling that if I can make it work, it'll already count as an A-rank sword art."
He looked at Chiba Shun seriously.
"You should keep that A-rank slot for yourself. You still don't have an A-rank ninjutsu that suits you."
Chiba Shun laughed. "There aren't any A-rank ninjutsu in the village that fit me, so that slot isn't much use to me anyway."
Then he lifted a brow.
"Besides, how do you know I don't have any A-rank ninjutsu?"
Sakai Hashi stared blankly. "If not from the village, then where would you get one? You think Konoha would just hand you ninjutsu?"
Chiba Shun took another sip of water and answered, "Guess right. It really was a gift from Konoha."
Hashi's jaw dropped.
"The details are classified," Chiba Shun added before he could ask more. "So don't pry. Get some rest. Tomorrow we're going to the Raikage Building to redeem your ninjutsu."
Sakai Hashi nodded immediately.
Judging by his expression, there was no way he was sleeping that night.
The next day, the two of them went together to the mission office inside the Raikage Building.
The clerk handling the desk was a female chunin. She checked Chiba Shun's identity, then pulled up his mission records.
What happened next caught even him off guard.
Not only did he have one S-rank mission recorded—he also had an A-rank mission on file.
After asking about it, Chiba Shun learned the reason. During the battle on the return trip, Yotsuki A had temporarily drafted him into his team for the kill on the Kirigakure jonin. The village had recorded that as an A-rank mission.
Even though he had only played a supporting role and hadn't received any direct payment for it, Chiba Shun was still delighted.
He had thought the chakra-conducting sword was the full reward Yotsuki A gave him. This extra mission record was pure profit.
Mission records were incredibly valuable.
You needed enough of them to redeem ninjutsu from the village. You needed them for promotions too. In the ninja world, these records were as practical as money—and sometimes more valuable.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Chiba Shun moved on to the main point and directly claimed the reward for the S-rank mission.
The female chunin informed him that the reward had been personally approved by the higher-ups.
One million ryo.
Even though it was only the lowest tier of S-rank reward, both Chiba Shun and Sakai Hashi were stunned into silence.
This money belonged to Chiba Shun alone.
When the female chunin actually placed one million ryo in cash in front of him, both boys just stared at it, their minds going blank.
The clerk wasn't surprised in the slightest. She had seen reactions like this many times before. Since the office wasn't busy, she simply waited in silence for the two of them to come back to their senses.
It took Chiba Shun a long while.
Only after that did he remember the A-rank ninjutsu exchange.
He immediately specified the technique he wanted: Lightning Release: Body Flicker Technique.
And just as he had promised, he used the opportunity to let Sakai Hashi learn it.
This kind of transfer wasn't against the rules. Very quickly, Sakai Hashi was taken through the full training method for the Lightning Release Body Flicker Technique.
But after he finished memorizing it, an elite jonin from the mission department personally sealed the knowledge in his mind.
Even if Chiba Shun wanted to learn it later, Sakai Hashi would no longer be able to teach it to him.