"Third Hokage, I really wanted to mentor him myself. I even invited him to join the ANBU, but he hasn't come to see me or you these past few days. Looks like he's not planning to join."
"Hehe… Kakashi, take a look at this."
The Third Hokage's eyes were narrowed with amusement, a smile tugging at his lips.
"What is it?"
Kakashi took the document being handed to him. It wasn't a scroll, but an official project application form.
Project Proposal: 'Body-Strengthening Herbal Bath'
Huh?
He scanned it carefully.
Rapidly alleviates fatigue, accelerates physical absorption.
If such a medicine could truly be produced, the rate at which the body strengthened would increase dramatically.
"This was created by Chiba?"
"Mm."
The Third nodded lightly, leaning back in his chair with a long sigh. "Ah, Kakashi… if I were ten years younger, I wouldn't hesitate for a second. I'd take that boy as my disciple on the spot."
"…"
Kakashi had a strong suspicion that the old man was hinting at something.
He glanced through the application . "How's the cost?"
"That child tested five different formulas. The one he submitted uses the two cheapest versions. The effect isn't quite as strong, but it's affordable—even a genin could manage the expense with a bit of saving."
That was precisely what pleased the Third the most.
Chiba was of civilian birth, so he didn't only focus on effectiveness—he also took price into account. The same was true for his Soldier Pills, and now for this herbal bath.
Kakashi looked conflicted. He really did admire the boy. Chiba's ability, temperament, and intellect all astonished him. Truth be told, this was the one student he most wanted to take under his wing in his entire life.
"If you're worried about Naruto," the Third said with a smile, "I think you needn't be."
"Why's that?" Kakashi asked, puzzled.
"I'll give you certain permissions—so you won't need to follow standard procedure. I'll grant you a year. Do you have the confidence to raise Chiba to the rank of chūnin within that time?"
"..."
So that was what the Third meant.
A year—to train Chiba into a competent chūnin. After that, Kakashi could step back honorably. And if Naruto still turned out to be hopeless, he could always return to lead the team .
Didn't sound like such a bad deal.
While Kakashi was still mulling it over, the Third added casually, "Though I'm old now, I can still offer the occasional bit of guidance. But the rest will depend on you."
The Hokage was clearly concerned that Chiba might stray from the right path.
In terms of raw talent, Chiba's only weak points were nature transformation and genjutsu aptitude. In all other respects, his genius bordered on monstrous—on par with the second Hokage himself.
What he needed was proper guidance—to ensure he didn't become another Orochimaru.
kid, unfortunately, wasn't suitable for that kind of role. Chiba wasn't the type who could thrive under that kind of rough, explosive teaching.
"I understand," Kakashi said at last. "I'll take responsibility for his assessment."
"Senior Kitayama."
"We've got a new project—everyone needs to run observation tests for a full week."
"What project?"
The moment she said that, the entire Medical Department crowded around her. Baicao, who was slow to react, ended up squeezed at the back.
Kitayama Xu gave them a brief explanation.
"It's a formula for a medicinal bath. The Hokage has already approved the project. Once testing is complete and results are stable, it'll be cleared for public sale."
"A formula?"
They'd all heard of herbal baths before—but those were the toys of nobles, and most weren't actually very effective.
The group quickly huddled closer to read the documents.
When they finished, their faces showed a mix of surprise and excitement.
No wonder Kankurō Chiba had been visiting the Nara Clan so often lately—he'd been working on this! That meant the Nara Clan family probably had a stake in the formula too.
That was promising.
Even if they only got a small share of the profits, this venture was guaranteed to make money. Their part would be mainly testing and later production—hardly difficult work at all.
The team's enthusiasm shot through the roof.
"That Chiba kid is just too smart. Shame he's not a medical-ninjutsu user."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"Ugh, comparing ourselves to him just hurts."
Fengxiang and Nanshi muttered under their breaths.
Baicao chuckled softly.
Compare? You people still think you can compare with him?
That boy's practically a reincarnation of the second Hokage! Competing with someone like that—aren't you just asking to be miserable?
He thought this silently as he copied down the formula and went off to start his tests.
By the time Chiba arrived at the hospital, everyone was already fully engrossed in their work. The air in the Medical Department laboratory was so thick with herbal fragrance that it made the men's changing room from that day seem mild in comparison.
Everyone's enthusiasm impressed him.
That meant he wouldn't have to personally oversee much—perfect.
Chiba sat down, mind already wandering toward his next goal. In his consciousness, he visualized the Bodhi Seed within him.
One mark… two marks…
Sure enough, another faint pattern had appeared!
It was still shallow, but noticeably longer than the one from the Soldier Pills.
So length represented potential kidn?
That seemed about right.
This new mark's potential was almost on par with the Chakra Needle—though its exact benefit was still unclear.
After a quick round of the hospital and finding nothing else that required his attention, Chiba went outside for a run.
The next few days passed in dull repetition.
Reading. Training. Sleeping.
A simple routine—but Chiba began noticing something odd. His classmates seemed a lot more studious lately. Even Lee, of all people, was suddenly studying hard.
Don't tell me… exams are coming up?
Passing by the Academy one day, he checked the time and decided to stop in.
Sure enough—silence filled the classrooms. Everyone was taking their exams with serious faces. Down on the training grounds, though, a few students were still practicing; among them was Tenten. But Neji was nowhere to be seen.
Chiba walked over.
"Tenten."
"Huh? Chiba? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the Medical Department today?"
Tenten looked surprised.
Up until recently, Chiba had been submitting weekly reports to the school, but ever since becoming a specially appointed ninja, he'd been exempt from that duty. Unless he happened to pass by during training, he rarely set foot in the Academy anymore.
To her, he already felt like someone who'd graduated long ago. Seeing him here felt strangely out of place.
"Just passing through while jogging," Chiba said. "Haven't seen Lee training lately, so I figured maybe exams were coming up. How's it going?"
"Eh, not bad. I'll pass for sure."
Tenten smiled faintly.
"That's good. What about Neji? Haven't seen him."
Chiba glanced around.
Back when he was still attending, he and Neji hadn't interacted much, but Neji's grades had always been just below his own—it was odd not to see him in the exam.
"He graduated early, same as you," Tenten explained. "That was last month—you were probably too busy to notice."
Chiba thought for a moment.
Right—he'd been deep in his research on the Body-Strengthening Herbal Bath around that time. No wonder he hadn't heard.
"Forget it," Tenten sighed. "Kankurō's been acting weird lately. Every time someone mentions your name, he clenches his fists in frustration. Let's not talk about him. What about you? Still working at the hospital?"
She looked exasperated just mentioning Neji.
Chiba didn't quite know how to respond.
Was that my fault?
He hadn't tried to compete with Neji or anything.
Well… if he hadn't existed, Neji would've been ranked number one. Now, hardly anyone even remembered that Neji was a "genius" too.
Okay, maybe he could see why the kid was frustrated.
Chiba shook his head lightly, pushing the thought aside.
"The hospital work's pretty casual now," he said. "I only go when they need me. Mostly I read, train, and experiment. Pretty peaceful, really."
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