Due to the considerable distance between the starting and finishing points, Uchiha Chiba had to take care of Nawaki and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. As a result, the five of them only arrived at their destination by noon the next day.
Since they had rushed straight to the finish line, they were the first to arrive, with no other teams in sight.
Standing before the tall tower marking the endpoint, Chiba turned around and instructed, "Shikaku, you go ahead and submit the scroll. Nawaki and I will wait here."
As he spoke, he pointed toward the Konoha ninja stationed in the tower.
However, the three members of Ino-Shika-Cho shook their heads. "No, you gave us the scroll, and we need to help you," Shikaku protested.
"That's right. Even though our individual strength may not match yours, Chiba, our combined secret techniques can still be of great assistance," Yamanaka Inoichi added.
The secret combination techniques of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio?
Chiba couldn't help but recall a scene from the anime that was deeply ingrained in his mind. The Nara clan's shadow technique acting as a rope while the Akimichi clan member played the role of a yo-yo—it was almost comical. He barely managed to suppress his laughter, knowing that if he burst out laughing, Shikaku and the others might misunderstand.
"No, Nawaki and I are enough," Chiba insisted.
"Nawaki, what do you think?"
"Huh? Me?" Nawaki hesitated before agreeing, "I think Chiba is right. The two of us can hide better. With more people, the chances of being discovered increase."
Chiba was momentarily speechless. Did they really need to hide?
Still, he couldn't blame Nawaki—his thinking aligned with what a competent ninja should do. After all, not everyone had the ability to charge in and dominate the battlefield effortlessly like Chiba did.
"But wouldn't an extra person add more strength?" Akimichi Choza asked, still reluctant to leave.
"Fine. If you want to stay, then stay," Chiba relented, seeing their determination.
The five of them ended up waiting an entire day.
Because they had arrived so quickly, the other teams were still battling for their scrolls.
By noon the next day, just as they were growing impatient and considering searching for opponents themselves, two figures finally appeared in front of the tower.
"Chiba, wake up! Someone's coming!" Nawaki nudged Chiba, who was lying on the ground.
"Huh? Someone's here?"
"Yes! Get up quickly."
Nawaki's shout also roused the other three.
"Let's see who it is. After waiting so long, we finally have some action," Yamanaka Inoichi said excitedly.
After an entire day of waiting, he was relieved to have a distraction from boredom.
"Hey, look! Isn't that Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi?" Akimichi Choza suddenly exclaimed.
Although the two Hyuga brothers weren't in the same class as Choza, the Hyuga clan was one of Konoha's most prestigious families. Hyuga Hiashi was even confirmed to be the next clan head, so the trio was familiar with them.
Hearing this, Chiba looked over and confirmed it—indeed, it was Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi.
"Chiba, what do we do? The Hyuga are also from Konoha. Should we rob them?" Nawaki asked hesitantly.
Naoki didn't want to fight fellow Konoha ninjas, but he wasn't the one making decisions—Chiba was.
Chiba remained silent, observing the approaching Hyuga brothers.
He immediately noticed a stark difference in their appearances. Hyuga Hiashi, walking in the front, had a few stains on his clothes but otherwise looked presentable. In contrast, Hyuga Hizashi, trailing behind, looked battered. His clothes were torn, and blood stained his face.
Chiba had always known about the strict hierarchy within the Hyuga clan, but seeing it firsthand was another matter. The way the clan treated its branch members was almost inhuman. In Chiba's eyes, calling them slaves of the main branch wasn't an exaggeration.
"Forget it. Let them pass. We'll keep waiting," Chiba decided after a moment of thought.
He made this choice because of Hizashi's miserable state.
Despite being brothers, Hizashi had been branded with the cursed seal of the caged bird simply because he was born later. His son, Hyuga Neji, would later suffer the same fate. And when Kumogakure attempted to kidnap Hyuga Hinata, the cowardice of both Konoha and the Hyuga clan led to Hizashi being forced to sacrifice himself for his elder brother.
Chiba despised such hypocrisy. The Hyuga claimed to protect the Byakugan, yet they enslaved their own family members out of selfish desires.
If they truly wanted to safeguard their Dojutsu, why not follow the Uchiha clan's example?
Both were prestigious Dojutsu clans, yet no one dared to openly steal a Sharingan. That was because, if such an act was discovered, the Uchiha clan would do whatever it took to reclaim their eye—no matter the cost.
This relentless pursuit was why no one in the ninja world dared to take the Sharingan lightly.
Hearing Chiba's decision, Ino-Shika-Cho felt relieved. The Hyuga were one of Konoha's most powerful clans, and they didn't want to risk unnecessary hostility over a minor skirmish.
Nawaki, on the other hand, simply didn't want to fight fellow Konoha ninjas.
Meanwhile, Hyuga Hiashi spotted the five waiting figures in the distance and abruptly halted.
Hyuga Hizashi, noticing this, also stopped, maintaining a certain distance from his brother.
"Hizashi, what do you think they're doing there?" Hiashi asked.
"They might be waiting to see who arrives. I've heard about Chiba. They say he could rival Hokage's disciple, Orochimaru, even before graduating," Hizashi responded seriously.
Hearing this, Hiashi's expression darkened.
They had fought hard to obtain a scroll, yet now it seemed like their victory might be short-lived.
Though both he and Hizashi were considered geniuses within the Hyuga clan, and Hiashi had even mastered techniques like Kaiten and the Eight Trigrams Palms, the thought of fighting Chiba filled him with unease.