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

"Chiba, congratulations on your promotion to Chunin," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a kind smile on his aged face, looking at Chiba with admiration in his eyes. "Kakashi rarely gives such high praise to newcomers."

"You're too kind, Hokage. The two seniors were very kind to me, otherwise I'm afraid I would have had a hard time passing the test." Qianyu smiled shyly and scratched his head unconsciously with his right hand.

Looking at the face that resembled his teacher's, Hiruzen Sarutobi always felt a certain degree of tolerance for the child in front of him, which was also the reason why he turned a blind eye to the huge changes in Chiba's personality.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already accepted that this child had undergone such a great change only after experiencing the life-or-death ordeal of the Nine-Tails Catastrophe.

After all, as he once said, no matter what, he couldn't really let his teacher's descendants die out completely. Even though he had experienced many trials of power, he couldn't get past this mental hurdle of profiting from a teacher's legacy.

Moreover, based on nearly a year of intelligence gathering, he judged that Chiba's upper limit should be "tobirama no Tobirama," and without his two trump cards, Flying Thunder God and Water Release, Konoha could still suppress him.

Unaware of the many meanings contained in Hiruzen Sarutobi's kind gaze, Chiba was also pondering in her mind that she would begin training in "Water Release: Water Severing Wave" when she returned later.

He always felt insecure without a trump card.

Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi put his pipe in his mouth, took out a pre-prepared mission scroll from the drawer next to him, and placed it on the table.

"Chiba, we were originally going to pair you and Uchiha Tsuki with new teammates, but this mission was rather rushed and involved classified information."

"So I'll have you two newly promoted Chunin handle this. It'll be perfect for keeping things hidden," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, gesturing for them to open it and take a look.

Qianyu didn't refuse and directly picked up the scroll to break the seal and examine it himself.

This is a mission of level "A". Chiba and his team are going to the Land of Rain, where they will make contact with a Konoha spy planted in another ninja village, and receive intelligence from him. What is this spy's codename...?

Looking at the scroll in Chiyu's hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi was filled with emotion. Danzo's Root was truly a treasure trove. He had obtained the enemy's intelligence system this time, so he had to make use of it as soon as possible. This was also why this mission was so urgent.

However, because his thoughts were wandering far away, he did not notice the strange fluctuation in Qianyu's eyes when she looked at the scroll, which was only fleeting.

"Any ideas?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a smile as he knocked the ashes out of his pipe.

"The upper and lower limits of the danger of this mission are quite different," Qianyu said solemnly as she carefully put away the scroll and pondered what she had just seen.

"The best outcome would be for me and the other side to exchange intelligence in a timely manner without being discovered, while the worst outcome would be to discover that our enemy is far larger than ourselves."

"So, what was the final result?"

At this point, Chiyu stopped talking. He believed that the Third Hokage had understood his meaning, since this kind of mission was not something a ninja of his level was qualified to receive.

"I naturally thought of that as well, which is why I arranged for you to meet in the Land of Rain," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, a nostalgic look flashing in his eyes. "The Kage of Amegakure seems to have run into trouble in recent years, but his reputation remains, and elite Jonin from other ninja villages won't easily set foot there."

"By the way, Qianyu, I've also assigned you a temporary teammate. Come in."

As soon as Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, the side door of the Hokage's office opened, and before he even arrived, a coughing sound came through.

"Ahem, long time no see, Chiyu! Congratulations on your promotion to Chunin! Ahem!"

With a sallow complexion, dark circles under his eyes, and an age similar to Qianyu's, Moonlight Gale greeted Qianyu with a smile, then immediately began to cough.

"Hayate? So you're my and Yue's temporary teammate." Chiba said, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi with suspicion, wondering if he was joking.

Qianyu had no doubt about Moonlight Gale's strength, but her mission required a certain degree of secrecy, and perhaps the other party's body was not quite suitable.

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally saw through Chiyu's doubts, but he just smiled at Chiyu, tacitly acknowledging that he hadn't made a mistake.

Despite her doubts, Chiba could only leave the Hokage's office with Hayate Gekko and then go to find Uchiha Tsuki to discuss their departure.

At the same moment, on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, Orochimaru, who had deliberately taken a long detour, finally encountered the person he least wanted to see.

"Indeed, so far, the person who understands me best in this world is you, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya, sitting cross-legged on Gamabunta's back, looked at Kimimaro, who was blocking Orochimaru's path, with a hint of appreciation in his eyes. Kimimaro was able to stand upright even under the pressure of two Kage-level powerhouses, which showed that he had good potential.

However, Jiraiya was in no mood to pay attention to Kimimaro, that snarling little beast. He had been waiting here for so long, and his anger was about to burst.

When Orochimaru saw Jiraiya bite his finger, his golden snake eyes narrowed slightly. He reached out and pulled Kimimaro behind him, biting his own finger at the same time.

"Spiritual communication!"

Moments later, the two enormous figures clashed in a fierce battle on the border of the Grass Country, causing the entire Grass Country to tremble as if struck by an earthquake. Everyone watched in horror as the two giant beasts locked in combat.

The newly appointed Kusakage, standing in the distance, had a bitter taste in his mouth. He couldn't stay in this wretched place any longer. In the past two years, the village had faced annihilation three times. Even Konoha, the leader of the five great ninja villages, had never experienced such a thing.

The white substance hidden underground also witnessed this scene, following the battlefield with ease until one side finally withdrew.

Half an hour later, the gaunt Nagato stared at the pitcher plant emerging from the ground in front of him, lost in thought in his red Rinnegan eyes.

"Orochimaru? He's quite a talent, but he was recruited later in the recruitment process."

Listening to Nagato's mutterings, Black Zetsu's attention was drawn to the other's skeletal body, and a look of worry flashed through his mind.

Madara Uchiha was a unique individual; he could easily possess the Rinnegan and place it on Nagato of the Uzumaki clan, which actually dragged Nagato down to this point.

At this moment, Black Zetsu was very worried about Nagato Uzumaki, who was the vessel. He had a vague idea of ​​finding a backup vessel. The best way was to use the physique of a Uzumaki clan member to replenish Nagato Uzumaki. Since the Uzumaki clan was wiped out, it was not easy to find one. Even if one was found, they were mostly strategic resources of major powers.

The grand plan for a thousand years cannot afford to fail. A resolute look flashed in Black Zetsu's eyes. If the quality is not good, then quantity will make up for it. He refused to believe that there were no other ninjas in the ninja world with strong vitality.