Uzumaki Kushina, in Chiba's arms, dozed off again, nestling her head into his chest.

Feeling Uzumaki Kushina's even breathing, Chiba was now full of strength as if he had been injected with chicken blood, and his whole body felt light and airy.

Chiba felt himself filled with an indescribable sense of happiness.

When Chiba returned to Konoha, it felt as if time had flown by in the blink of an eye, and he sighed in his heart at how quickly time passed.

Upon returning to Konoha, Chiba's smile instantly vanished, replaced by an unapproachable demeanor.

The Ninja guarding Konoha's gate noticed Uzumaki Kushina in Chiba's arms and immediately surrounded him.

"Chiba, what happened? Why are Uzumaki Kushina and you returning from outside the village?"

The situation was becoming increasingly tense, and Konoha's Ninja, regardless of whether they left the village, needed to register.

Chiba's icy gaze swept over the Ninja surrounding him: "Kushina was abducted in Konoha by Kumogakure Ninja. Have you still not noticed until now?"

"What?!"

This group of Ninja was utterly shocked.

Uzumaki Kushina being abducted was not important in their eyes; what was important was that she was abducted in Konoha.

One of the Ninja immediately rushed to the Hokage Building, preparing to report this matter to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Meanwhile, Chiba ignored the inquiries of the others and continued walking forward on his own.

One Ninja, seeing that Chiba was ignoring them, immediately became displeased and questioned, "Hey, Chiba! What do you mean by leaving directly without answering our questions?!"

Chiba answered coldly without turning his head: "What good would it do if I answered you? As Ninja guarding Konoha, you are completely unaware of this matter. I don't know if it's due to your incompetence or dereliction of duty. Whatever it is, I don't seem to have an obligation to answer you, because you are not my superiors."

Chiba ignored their flushed faces and continued straight ahead.

Chiba arrived at Mito Uzumakis Residence.

At this time, Uzumaki Mito had already returned to her residence.

After Uzumaki Mito discovered that Uzumaki Kushina, who should have completed her mission and returned much earlier, was still missing, she immediately went to find Hiruzen Sarutobi and informed him of the situation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately dispatched Anbu to question Uzumaki Kushina's two companions for information. After learning that Uzumaki Kushina had left much earlier, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized something was wrong and had almost all Anbu dispatched to search for Uzumaki Kushina.

Meanwhile, Uzumaki Mito was worrying about Uzumaki Kushina's safety in her residence.

As soon as she heard movement at the door, Uzumaki Mito eagerly opened it.

Upon seeing Uzumaki Kushina sound asleep in Chiba's arms, Uzumaki Mito immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the stone in her heart dropped.

Chiba said expressionlessly, "Mito-sama, I've brought Kushina back. Kushina is very tired. Please take her to a room to rest, Mito-sama."

Uzumaki Mito carefully took the sleeping Uzumaki Kushina. She had only focused on Uzumaki Kushina just now, but now focusing on Chiba, she noticed that his entire body bore traces of battle, and his clothes had many burn holes.

Uzumaki Mito asked with concern, "Chiba, are you injured?"

"I am not injured. I still need to go to the Hokage Building to report this matter to Hokage-sama. I will take my leave now."

Chiba bowed to Uzumaki Mito and then left.

Uzumaki Mito watched Chiba's departing back, her gaze flickering slightly.

Not long after Chiba left the Hokage Building, an Anbu appeared in front of him: "Chiba, Hokage-sama wants to see you immediately."

Chiba followed the Anbu to the Hokage Building.

Upon arriving at the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru were both inside.

Chiba bowed and said, "Hokage-sama, Orochimaru-sensei."

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked in front of Chiba and asked with a solemn expression, "Chiba, what exactly happened?"

Chiba recounted the events to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression became very grim, and at the same time, Orochimaru's expression also turned very serious.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru: "Orochimaru, what do you think of this matter?"

Orochimaru pondered for a moment before saying, "Regardless, one thing is certain: enemy Ninja have infiltrated Konoha. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to abduct Kushina so easily."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was gloomy: "It seems they are about to lose their patience."

Chiba continued, "Hokage-sama, I have brought back the heads of three Kumogakure Ninja."

Chiba took out a scroll and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's spirits lifted, and he praised, "Well done, Chiba! With their heads, the sensory Ninja can analyze the memories in their brains to obtain intelligence."

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately summoned an Anbu Ninja and instructed him to give the scroll to a sensory Ninja for analysis.

Chiba continued to report: "Hokage-sama, there is one more thing I need to report. While I was on a mission to clear out pirates, I discovered three Ninja mixed among them.

Since I was unsure of the identity of these three Ninja, but they seemed to be attempting to infiltrate the Land of Fire, I did not kill them and captured them alive."

Chiba used the Summoning Technique to summon the White Snake.

"White Snake, spit out those three Ninja."

"Yes, Chiba-sama."

The White Snake opened its mouth, and its abdomen writhed, spitting out three Ninja from its belly.

Unfortunately, the Ninja whose spine was broken by Chiba with the blunt side of his blade had been squeezed to death due to the cramped space inside the White Snake's body.

However, the other two Ninja were still alive and had even woken up.

Seeing Chiba, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Orochimaru staring at them, especially Chiba, they immediately retreated in terror.

Hiruzen Sarutobi again summoned an Anbu. The Ninja who had died was also taken to the sensory Ninja for memory analysis, while the other two living Ninja were taken to the Interrogation Department for interrogation by the interrogation Ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to the map on the desk and asked Chiba, "Chiba, where did you encounter that group of pirates?"

Chiba pointed to a location on the map.

Seeing the location Chiba pointed to, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes immediately narrowed.

Orochimaru's hoarse voice came, "It seems... Hidden Mist Village also intends to enter the fray."

This was because the place Chiba pointed to was next to the Land of Waves, and to the right of the Land of Waves was the Land of Water.

Currently, the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves had no interaction.

The Land of Waves, on the other hand, had a very good relationship with the Land of Water.

Therefore, if Ninja from Hidden Mist Village of the Land of Water wanted to land on the coast of the Land of Fire, they would have to pass through the Land of Waves.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression became increasingly grim. The entry of Hidden Mist Village meant that four of the Five Great Ninja Villages were now hostile to Konoha.

Once the war broke out, Konoha would have to face the four great Ninja Villages of Kumogakure, Hidden Stone, Hidden Sand, and Hidden Mist.

And this would be a war covering the entire Land of Fire, endangering Konoha.