"Teacher Minato, what happened? How...?"
With a soft thud, Chiba landed, his face hardening as he hurried over to Minato Namikaze and asked anxiously.
What was going on?
Why was Minato Namikaze here? Shouldn't he have been with Kushina?
Could the attack have come early?
Had Kushina already...
No! Impossible! If it really was an attack, then Minato Namikaze couldn't possibly be standing here. He should have been with Kushina.
Even if something had happened to Kushina... Minato Namikaze would not be standing here.
And if something truly had happened, Minato Namikaze absolutely could not still be standing here.
What was going on?
What urgent matter could it be?
Could it be that, because of him—because of the information he had provided—the Night of the Nine-Tails had already become completely different?
But... no matter how much things changed, this situation should not be possible!
As he walked, anxious thoughts flooded Chiba's mind one after another, and he frantically began analyzing the situation.
Slap!
But before those calculations in his mind had even passed, before any further thoughts could arise and before he could finish asking his question, a pair of hands landed heavily on his shoulders.
"Wh-what do we do? Chiba, wh-what do we do?"
Then, a formerly handsome face abruptly leaned close. Yet there was none of its usual gentleness, composure, or authority. There was only wave after wave of panic, and even the words spilling from his mouth were frantic and stammering.
"What is it... Teacher Minato?"
Seeing Minato Namikaze so flustered, Chiba's eyes widened slightly. His heartbeat quickened, and he himself began to panic a little.
It was the first time he had ever seen Minato Namikaze like this. He could not even imagine what kind of matter could make Minato Namikaze panic to such an extent.