Chiba: Where’s My Livestock?!

Chapter 104: Chiba: Where's My Livestock?!

The gate of Chiba's Farm stood before them. Chiba and Uchiha Fugaku had a lengthy conversation, exchanging words and ideas. Eventually, Fugaku took his leave.

Chiba didn't concern himself with how the village was discussing the death of the Third Hokage or the rumors surrounding him. He had already gained a reputation for consuming manure, so the backlash from killing the Hokage meant very little to him.

"People's words are meaningless! Unfortunately, they hold no power over me."

Having gathered his belongings, Chiba decided to inspect the farm. He wasn't in a hurry to find Danzo; he knew he couldn't escape anyway.

With determined strides, Chiba entered the farm.

He had recently witnessed several members of the Aburame clan capturing hares and releasing pheasants into the farm. Based on his observations, there should have been hundreds of wild birds in the area.

"It seems that the Aburame Clan has caught quite a lot within the past day or so..."

Starting from the foot of the mountain, Chiba was filled with anticipation. But as he made his way around the mountain, he began to feel puzzled. After circling several times, Chiba became increasingly disheartened.

"Am I blind? Why are there no wild birds?"

Suspicion clouded Chiba's mind. He had clearly seen the Aburame clan releasing wild birds into the farm earlier, so why were they nowhere to be found now?

"Could it be...did they all run to the mountainside?"

Chiba's thoughts led him to believe that this might be the case.

"What mischievous little fellows! I spent so much time wandering around the base of the mountain."

With a smile on his face, Chiba proceeded towards the mountainside.

After a while...

He reached the mountainside. Then, he circled the area several more times. To his surprise, all he found were a few scattered feathers from the wild birds.

"How mischievous! It seems that all the wild birds have gone to the mountaintop to bask in the sun."

With this realization, Chiba rushed towards the mountaintop. Treading lightly, he reached the summit. What he saw there left him dumbfounded.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

There were more than a dozen snakes, each as thick as a bucket, lazily sunbathing.

"So these snakes ate all the wild birds?"

Chiba was taken aback. He couldn't help but wonder if the Aburame clan had played a trick on him. How could they not possess such basic common sense?

"Damn it!"

With a snap of his fingers, Chiba activated his Five Elements Unleashed technique.

Puff, puff!

The snakes scattered in all directions, revealing large quantities of wild bird feathers. There were even some wild birds that had yet to be fully digested.

Enraged, Chiba used his palms to launch a feces-slinging attack, chasing the snakes away.

After this messy episode, Chiba left the mountaintop.

As he exited the farm gate, Chiba spotted Aburame Zhihui and Shizuka not far away, squatting on the ground with their backsides raised, engaged in some unknown activity.

"Sister, look at this maggot. Does it remind you of anything?"

"No."

"This is the offspring of a worm and a fly. Think again..."

"Hybrid breed?"

Shizuka blurted out, but Aburame Zhihui shook his head.

At that moment, Chiba approached them.

"Sister, why don't you understand? It means that as long as you and Chiba—Chiba?"

As soon as Aburame Zhihui mentioned Chiba's name, he noticed Chiba leaning over with his head stretched out. This startled him.

"Ahem! Why are you walking so silently, just like my father?"

Aburame Zhihui felt embarrassed.

He was about to get to the point, but now their lord had arrived.

"Did your clan catch all the animals on the farm?" Chiba inquired.

"Yeah, so what? We caught a lot!" Aburame Zhihui replied enthusiastically.

"Did you catch any snakes?"

"Snakes? What snakes? Why would we catch snakes?"

Taken aback by Chiba's question, Aburame Zhihui grew suspicious. He wasn't foolish; he knew that catching snakes in the wild was an important mission.

"You didn't catch any snakes?"

"No, we only caught hares and pheasants."

Hearing this response, Chiba fell into deep thought. He realized that someone else must have been at work on his farm. After all, the farm's fences were only a little over three meters high, and any ninja could easily toss a snake inside.

"So, who was it this time?"

With lingering doubts, Chiba departed from the back mountain.

He was going to find Danzo. Chiba believed that Danzo was more suitable for investigating such villains. The nemesis of villains could only be villains themselves, and Danzo was the king of villains.

On his way to the Shimura clan residence, Chiba noticed that the Danzo family home was empty. Thus, he proceeded to the Root headquarters. Before entering the base, Chiba witnessed a peculiar scene.

At that moment, Danzo emerged from the base gate, holding a white cloth in his hand. His face was filled with sorrow and regret.

"Chiba, I'm at a loss..."

Approaching Chiba, Danzo cried out in grief, his tears falling to the ground with a "click."

"Sarutobi Hiruzen forced me into an alliance and wanted to assassinate you. If I didn't comply, he would've slaughtered my people..."

Danzo choked up as he spoke, sneakily observing Chiba's reaction.

"But, I'm your friend. I can't assassinate you!"

After uttering those words, Danzo extended his arms and revealed the inscription of "Chiba is my friend" engraved in his own blood on his arm.

The words were crooked, and the blood continued to flow.

"Alright! I'm here to ask for your help in investigating something."

Unable to bear the situation any longer, Chiba quickly changed the subject.

…

In the field.

Upon hearing Chiba's request, Danzo immediately regained his composure. The sorrowful and regretful expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a serious and dignified demeanor.

"Somebody deliberately released snakes on my farm. Help me uncover who is responsible."

After conveying his request, Chiba turned and left. Danzo, on the other hand, was perplexed. He had thought it would be a significant matter, only to discover it was such a trivial issue.

Wasn't Chiba supposed to discuss the succession of the Fourth Hokage? Why did he suddenly shift his focus to investigating snake releases?

Although displeased, Danzo carried out his duty. After all, Chiba had allowed him to leave, and he needed to distinguish between right and wrong.

Soon enough, the Root members set out to investigate. An hour later, Chiba witnessed three individuals being brought to the back mountain.

Orochimaru remained silent.

Jiraiya appeared anxious.

Tsunade was furious and embarrassed.

"Master Chiba, after conducting the investigation, we have determined that it was these three who released the snakes."

A Root member spoke respectfully.

"Good."

With a wave of his hand, Chiba signaled that they could leave.

Then, he fixed his gaze on the trio.

"Let's talk. You killed 100,000 livestock on my farm. How will you settle this debt?"