Currently, the Third Kazekage of Hidden Sand is missing, Hidden Mist Village is experiencing internal strife due to the Bloody Mist policy, Kumogakure suffered heavy losses from the Eight-Tails' rampage, and Hidden Stone Village, seeing the unfavorable situation, chose to retreat and temporarily avoid engaging in battle with Konoha Shinobi, opting for evasion.

The entire Shinobi World fell into an eerie peace.

But everyone understood that the reason for this peace was the internal turmoil within the three major Ninja villages: Sand, Mist, and Cloud.

The current Shinobi World was like a bomb ready to explode, with battle possibly reigniting at any moment.

Time flew by, and another two years passed.

Chiba was now 18 years old.

And Kakashi was 9 years old.

During this period, Chiba and Kakashi worked together on various missions.

Because Konoha held the advantage in the Land of Hot Springs, the frequency of battles had significantly decreased, so during this time, Kakashi returned to Konoha to take the Chunin Exams.

Chiba and Kakashi both couldn't understand this.

Kakashi had already been a Chunin for three years, so why did he still need to take the Chunin Exams?

At the same time, Kakashi also had a problem: whenever he encountered Uchiha Obito, he clung to him like a burr, impossible to shake off.

Furthermore, in these two years, the Shinobi World's situation had become increasingly chaotic.

Hidden Sand had used all its village's strength to search for the Third Kazekage's whereabouts, but could never find him, forcing Hidden Sand into a state of disarray.

Currently, Hidden Sand is temporarily led by Rasa, who has become the acting Kazekage.

This is because Rasa inherited the Magnet Release: Gold Dust from the Third Kazekage, and his prestige in Hidden Sand is the highest.

However, even with an acting Kazekage, some problems caused by Hidden Sand losing its Third Kazekage still cannot be resolved.

Meanwhile, to resolve the internal strife within the Hidden Mist Village, they chose to redirect the conflict outside the village.

The current Hidden Mist Village is like a mad dog, attacking indiscriminately, whether they encounter Konoha Shinobi or Kumogakure.

Hidden Stone Village still chose to retreat; it seemed they would not act until the situation became clear.

This meant that Konoha now only had to face the pressure from Kumogakure.

Konoha had now dispatched a large number of Ninja into the Land of Hot Springs, completely pushing Kumogakure back to the border line, preventing them from crossing.

At the same time, a new emerging organization appeared in Hidden Rain Village.

The Akatsuki.

The current philosophy of the Akatsuki is 'to change the world through gentle means to usher in peace, building a bridge of hope towards world peace through communication between people.'

The Akatsuki is dedicated to peace, traveling everywhere.

...

"Chiba-sensei, all enemies have been dealt with."

Kakashi, with blood still splattered on his face, reported the mission to Chiba.

Chiba nodded: "Mm, there are very few Kumogakure roaming the Land of Hot Springs now. Let's return to the Konoha Garrison to rest for a while."

Seeing that Chiba's expression seemed a bit off, Kakashi asked, "Chiba-sensei, what's wrong? You seem to be in a bad mood."

Chiba said in a low voice, "Only one year left, Kakashi."

Kakashi immediately realized what Chiba was referring to: "Is it that Mito-sama only has one year left, and Konoha will have to restart the seal of the Nine-Tails again?"

"That's right."

"Chiba-sensei, do we have a plan now?"

"No, with my current military achievements, it might not be enough to make Hiruzen Sarutobi change his mind."

Kakashi's brows furrowed, and his expression darkened: "Then do we need to return to Konoha?"

Chiba shook his head and said, "No need. I've arranged for Ryūchi Cave snakes to monitor Uzumaki Mito, though it's not really monitoring. Uzumaki Mito knows about the existence of those snakes, so if anything unusual happens with Uzumaki Mito, I'll know immediately.

Let's go, let's head back."

Chiba took Kakashi back to the Konoha Garrison.

Chiba found Orochimaru and asked, "Orochimaru-sensei, do you have any missions?"

Orochimaru took out a mission scroll: "There's just the right mission for you. The Third Raikage's son, Blue Lightning A, and the current Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, are active in the Land of Hot Springs, imitating you by attacking Konoha Shinobi everywhere.

A and Killer Bee have very special identities. This is the mission with the greatest merit so far. How about it, will you accept?"

Chiba nodded and agreed: "I'll take this mission."

As Chiba took the scroll and prepared to leave, Orochimaru reminded him: "Chiba, you don't need to be too nervous.

I've received intelligence from Root. The situation for Konoha is no longer so difficult. Danzo is preparing to ally with Sarutobi-sensei to suppress the Uchiha, and you should be very clear about who that person is; you are the most suitable one.

Moreover, Miyuki Uzumaki's talent in Sealing Jutsu is excellent; she's learning Sealing Jutsu smoothly with Kushina.

Your current strength and achievements, and you are about to play an important role in the Uchiha issue, plus Miyuki Uzumaki's outstanding talent.

Most importantly, your Mangekyō Sharingan. You are now enough to make the Konoha higher-ups change their minds."

Chiba did not relax after hearing Orochimaru's reminder.

Chiba replied, "Orochimaru-sensei, I don't want any variables, so until things are settled, I cannot let my guard down."

Orochimaru said to Chiba, "Chiba, there is nothing certain in this world. Change is everywhere, all the time."

Chiba nodded gently and said, "I know, so I want to maximize the possibilities. I can't yet ignore all difficulties, so unless absolutely necessary, I don't want Kushina to have to follow me everywhere to avoid being hunted, because I cannot guarantee her complete protection during a pursuit.

Orochimaru-sensei, then I'll go execute the mission."

Chiba left Orochimaru's room and began to execute the mission.

...

In these two years, Killer Bee had been diligently training, and now he could transform into his Tailed Beast form at will, just like the previous Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B.

What moved the Eight-Tails and A was that even though Killer Bee was met with cold shoulders and ostracism from the villagers due to being a Jinchūriki, he always maintained a positive and optimistic attitude.

Therefore, Killer Bee and the Eight-Tails cooperated extremely well, rarely losing control.

So A brought Killer Bee to the battlefield in the Land of Hot Springs, both killing Konoha Shinobi and training Killer Bee to control the Eight-Tails' power.

Chiba was rushing towards the last known location of A and Killer Bee.

Chiba was vaguely looking forward to it. Ever since he released the Eight-Tails in Kumogakure and witnessed A's strength, Chiba had always hoped to fight elite Ninja of A's caliber.

He was getting tired of opponents who couldn't even fight back.

It had been a long time since Chiba had experienced an evenly matched battle.

And... this encounter with A and Killer Bee might very well earn him Witness Points as a reward.

With his fighting spirit fully ignited, Chiba accelerated his pace.