Naruto: In the name of the Senju, he made the ninja world tremble.

In the cold winter, pure white snowflakes drifted down, wrapping the entire Hidden Leaf Village in a thick blanket. Sparse pedestrians on the road had snowflakes covering their hair and hurried past.

The aroma of Ichiraku Ramen wafted through the streets early in the morning, soothing the hungry stomachs of early-rising workers.

"Uncle Ichiraku, another bowl of tonkotsu ramen, please," Chiba said, as she sat in the corner, finishing her ramen in a flurry of bites, and then eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new bowl.

Because they rushed back overnight, and most of the people in Konoha Village were still asleep, Genma-sensei made an appointment with the three of them to have sukiyaki the day after tomorrow, and to distribute the rewards there.

After saying goodbye to Uchiha Tsuki, who was in a hurry to go home to take care of his younger sister, Chiba and Tsuki went straight to Ichiraku Ramen to fill their empty stomachs. The man living alone was so generous; he went to a restaurant whenever he wanted.

At that moment, there were only a few people in Ichiraku's shop, so the extra-large portion of tonkotsu ramen was quickly delivered to Chiyu.

Just as Chiyu was happily slurping his ramen with pickled cucumbers, Iruka next to him still had more than half of his ramen left in his bowl, his mind still replaying what Genma-sensei had said.

"Iruka, you can't judge others by your own standards. Chiba's behavior is already very mild. You've never been to the front lines of a battlefield, so you don't know the darkness of human nature. I know this might have a big impact on you, but you have to know that even the most lush tree has to be rooted in the earth and endure the nourishment of darkness."

"Moreover, none of Chiba's actions violated the village's rules. Both we and the merchant guild that commissioned the mission are very satisfied with this. They have already mentioned in the mission statement that they hope to sign a long-term protection agreement with Konoha in the future. And you are the only one with objections to all of this."

"If you continue like this, you'll eventually have to part ways with Chiba. Or, as you said yourself, once you've accumulated enough merit to become a Chunin, you can apply for a ninja instructor position. That might be more suitable for you."

These words floated in his mind all the way, making him feel somewhat confused. He always felt that Qian Yu had a different kind of sharpness about him now, instead of the feeling of retreating three steps when the group first formed.

"Chiba." Iruka called softly, his head still down, his chopsticks constantly picking at the ramen.

"What's wrong, Iruka?" Chiyu put down the empty bowl, took out a tissue to wipe the soup from the corner of her mouth, and then waved to Uncle Ichiraku. The uncle smiled and said he understood, then turned around and started cooking a large bowl of ramen. He liked kids who ate with gusto.

"Do you remember what kind of person you wanted to be when you became a ninja?"

"Someone who can die peacefully in their old age." Qianyu chewed on a crunchy pickled cucumber, her tone quite solemn.

But you said you wanted to become a ninja like the Hokage of the past, protecting the Will of Fire of Konoha, Iruka thought with a pang of sadness as he watched Chiba happily accept the new ramen and begin to devour it.

"Living to a ripe old age and protecting Konoha are not mutually exclusive," Chiba said, as if she knew what Iruka was thinking. After taking a big gulp of the delicious noodle soup, she looked at Iruka to the side.

"Iruka, I grew up in Konoha. Every blade of grass and every tree here makes me feel comfortable. I love the ramen and barbecue here. So I must die peacefully in Konoha. If anyone tries to disrupt or destroy Konoha, I promise I will make them pay ten times the price."

"To achieve this, I need to cultivate diligently. Wouldn't it be better if I could find a way to collect resources and improve my strength without violating the village rules?"

"So, I'm also protecting Konoha. What's the difference?" Chiba said, slurping up another mouthful of ramen and drinking a sip of the broth. Ah, so comforting.

Although Iruka felt that something was missing in Chiyu's words, after thinking about it, he found that what she said made a lot of sense. Could it be that he was just being too stubborn?

Feeling his thoughts were becoming even more chaotic, Iruka could only nod silently before quickly finishing the ramen in front of him.

Watching Iruka's departing figure, Chiba shook her head slightly and then continued slurping her noodles.

"I really don't have the talent for talk-no-jutsu. Iruka's personality is more suited to being a teacher at the Ninja Academy."

Watching Iruka leave, Chiba suddenly felt her appetite wasn't so good anymore. After finishing her ninth bowl of ramen, she got up and walked towards the Senju family home. She wanted to check on her grandfather's condition and also see Granny Senju, who probably had a lot to ask her.

As the snow fell heavily, Qianyu's figure gradually disappeared from sight. The cold wind howled past, carrying snowflakes and burying the clear footprints.

"The Grass Ninja Village was attacked? The leader is dead? Suspected assassination squad from the Hidden Mist Village were involved? Just last night?"

Genma Shiranui looked at the document in his hand with a puzzled expression. They were still in the Land of Grass just last night.

"That's right. Our scouts in the Land of Grass saw it with their own eyes from afar using reconnaissance ninjutsu, and then used special methods to transmit the news back."

With his back to him, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to be admiring the snow scene outside the window as he spoke to Genma Shiranui about the news sent back by the spies.

Genma Shiranui didn't quite understand the Hokage's meaning, because he was just a special Jonin, and it seemed like he had no right to offer his opinion on this matter.

"After the Grass Village was severely damaged, there will be a short period of downtime for commissioned missions from the Land of Grass. Onoki and I are both hoping to take on the missions from the Land of Grass," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, sitting back down with a hint of joy in his eyes.

"Originally, the Grass Ninja Village took about half of the missions within the Land of Grass, while Konoha and Iwa Ninja split the remaining half. Now, in the commission you brought back, Koinu, no, Shirakawa Trading Company is willing to sign a long-term protection mission with Konoha. This means we can legitimately enter the Land of Grass and take over the Grass Ninja Village's share of the missions. This alone is enough to make Onoki anxious."

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but smile. He knew Onoki too well; that guy would never be the first to start a major battle. He was the complete opposite of Kumokage.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly handed the mission documents to the Anbu before turning back to Genma Shiranui. "This time, I've decided to raise the mission level by one and award the rewards based on completing a B-rank mission. Based on your performance, if you complete another B-rank mission, Chiba and the others can apply to become Chunin."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I'll take my leave now."

Watching Genma Shiranui's retreating figure, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe and put it to his lips, recalling another intelligence report sent back by the scouts about the death of the samurai named Tetsuzo.

"Looks like I was overthinking it. Well, that's fine too. There's nothing wrong with becoming the next Tsunade."

As the sighs subsided, a look of disappointment appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.