After separating from Might Duy, Chiba began walking home.
On the way back, Chiba recalled the feeling he had after opening the Eight Inner Gates earlier. The sudden surge of strength was so overwhelming that he kept replaying the experience in his mind.
Then, a question emerged in his thoughts.
Why was there such a huge gap in strength between Might Duy and Might Guy, who also opened the Eight Inner Gates?
Might Duy, who opened the Gate of Death, fought against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure and kicked them into the Lucky Three Treasures. This incident led Biwa Juzo, one of the seven, to ask every time he met a Konoha ninja, "Do you know Might Duy?" It was clearly a psychological scar caused by Might Duy's power.
But compared to Six Paths Madara, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were not enemies on the same level at all. Chiba believed the reason for this huge gap was that Might Duy knew that practicing the Eight Inner Gates required a strong foundation. Might Guy's strength had been built from a young age, allowing his strength to reach the level of Six Paths only after opening the Gate of Death.
...
"Hey, I'm back, Chiba. It's later than usual today. Did something happen?" Chiba, whose thoughts were interrupted, realized he had returned to the Uchiha clan without noticing.
Looking up, he saw the guardian of the clan speaking.
"It's Brother Tsuchino. It took a long time to learn the new ninjutsu today, so I came back a little late."
"Chiba, you're really hardworking. You're worthy of being the genius of our Uchiha clan."
Uchiha Tsuchino gave Chiba a thumbs up and smiled.
Uchiha Chiba wasn't embarrassed by Tsuchino's praise. After all, Tsuchino was just telling the truth.
Although Chiba earned the title of genius, the system took most of the credit.
In this regard, Chiba thought to himself, "If you hadn't logged in before the time travel, never mind. But if you logged in after traveling through time and didn't open it, it would be a waste of time traveling."
"Brother Tuye, it's getting late. I'm going back first."
Seeing that Chiba didn't want to talk much, Uchiha Tsuchino let him go with understanding.
...
When Chiba arrived at his house, he saw that the lights were still on. He sighed slightly in his heart—sure enough, his mother was still waiting for him, as always.
When he opened the door, he wanted to say, "I'm back," but he saw Uchiha Genka already asleep at the table. The words reached his throat but he swallowed them.
Without thinking much, he went directly to Uchiha Genka and gently picked her up.
He didn't know if it was because she was too tired, but Uchiha Genka didn't wake up when moved from the living room to the bedroom.
After laying Uchiha Genka on the tatami and covering her with a quilt, he walked out quietly.
After taking a shower, he returned to his bedroom.
However, Chiba didn't go to sleep immediately.
Sitting on the bed cross-legged, he began refining chakra.
Uchiha Chiba always uses the talent of "overgrowth" before going to bed. He refrains from using it during the day because refining chakra requires both physical and mental energy. Uchiha Chiba didn't want to be mistaken for having "kidney deficiency" at such a young age, nor did he want his mother to worry.
As this power continued to pour out, his body began to absorb it, as if every cell in his body was rejoicing.
An hour later, he had to stop when his physical strength was exhausted. His body had reached its limit and could no longer continue.
Despite feeling exhausted, he felt a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment as his body grew stronger.
...
The next day.
Seeing Chiba devouring food, Uchiha Genka couldn't help but wonder, "Is this child really named Uchiha and not Akamichi? Or did our family have an intermarriage with the Akamichi clan somewhere in the past? Otherwise, I can't explain why my son eats so much."
Sensing Uchiha Genka's gaze, Chiba looked up at her with a questioning expression.
"Mom, don't you want to eat?"
Uchiha Genka smiled when she heard this. "You can eat. I'm full."
Seeing this, Chiba didn't think much of it. He was already hungry and continued to devour the food on the table.
After breakfast, when he reached the gate of the Uchiha clan, he saw Uchiha Mikoto squatting on the ground with nothing to do, counting ants.
"Good morning, Mikoto-san."
"Chiba, can't you go out earlier? I'm always waiting for you."
Mikoto was frustrated with this cousin who always went out late.
"Oh, it's fine. As long as you're not late, it'll be okay."
"Hmph."
Seeing that Chiba was unconcerned, Mikoto turned and walked out of the clan.
When Chiba saw this, he shook his head helplessly and followed her.
...
Arriving at school, the two walked into their respective classes.
"Chiba, good morning."
"Good morning, Shikaku. You're still so low on energy."
"Good morning, Chiba. Would you like some potato chips?"
"Good morning, Choza. Are you really treating me to some potato chips?"
Akamichi Choza, who was eating potato chips, froze when he heard this.
Bad memories resurfaced.
Five years ago, on the first day he entered ninja school, Choza, who was somewhat introverted, tried to make friends by offering snacks. But his classmates politely refused, which made him feel disappointed. In his understanding, good friends should share snacks.
However, he wasn't discouraged.
Then he came to Chiba.
The scene was exactly the same as it was now.
He thought Uchiha, being proud and noble, would behave like the others, but something unexpected happened. Chiba thanked him and took the potato chips from his hand. In just a few seconds, the whole bag of chips disappeared into his stomach.
Choza was dumbfounded, but despite losing a bag of chips, he gained his first real friend at ninja school.
...
Back to the present.
After a long moment of internal struggle, Choza finally spoke, "Well, I'll treat you to some, but Chiba, I can only give you half."
Uchiha Chiba knew how much food meant to Akamichi Choza.
With a smile, he replied, "Alright, you treat me to potato chips, and tomorrow, on Saturday, I'll treat you to grilled fish."
"Really, Chiba?"
When Choza heard the mention of grilled fish, his eyes immediately lit up.
Uchiha Chiba smiled and nodded.
"Of course, it's more real than real gold."
"Grilled fish? Chiba, you're making grilled fish?"
Just as he finished speaking, Nawaki with khaki hair appeared in front of them.
When Nawaki shouted so loudly, everyone's attention turned to him.
Chiba, in the center of attention, felt a chill run down his spine.
Originally, he and Akamichi Choza were big eaters, but even though the others couldn't match their appetites, they still formed a crowd.
Had he just shown off his cooking skills to them? There was no need for such enthusiasm.
Sighing helplessly, he thought, "Looks like tomorrow I'll be a slave to my friends."
It could only be said that the food culture in the ninja world was similar to the chicken in the previous life: there's some, but not much.
"Alright, alright, let's all go. Choza, Shikaku, Haichi, and Zhiwei, meet at my house tomorrow."
Akamichi Zhiwei, sitting in the corner, nodded with satisfaction upon hearing Uchiha Chiba mention him.
As expected of you, Chiba, you're the only one who can notice my existence.
If Chiba knew what Aburame Zhiwei was thinking, he would calmly point out, "If I didn't use the Observation Haki, I would've ignored you."
After all, the Aburame clan's low profile was well-known.
"What about me?"
Seeing that Chiba didn't mention him, Nawaki eagerly asked.
"You can come too. That's it."
Uchiha Chiba glanced at the fool, frustrated.
"Yeah..."
Nawaki, who had received Uchiha Chiba's approval, was about to cheer, but was interrupted again.
"Senju-san, didn't you hear the class bell? You haven't sat down yet."
"Um, okay, teacher."
Nawaki, scolded by the teacher, could only return to his seat.
The teacher, seeing that everyone was present, skipped the roll call.
"Alright, let's begin class now."